Project Hungarian Update: Psiloi
These are the psiloi for my Hungarian army. They are the Hungarian crossbowmen who act as the Reg PS(O) and the Bohemia handgunners as Reg Ps(S). They will help the army to hold the difficult ground. The Ps(S) can also fight reasonably well in good going with Ps(O) support.
Handgunners or Arquebusiers
The handgun was a popular weapon in the hands of the Hussites and its use spread through out the Balkans. Janos Hunyadi requested handguns, cannons and associated ammunition prior to the long campaign from the towns of Transylvania. So domestic production of these items is probable. As described by Matthius the handgun was not at that time a efficient battlefield weapon and required protection for the gunners. The use of tabor war wagons was long established as the ideal way to deploy handgunners in relative safety. The Hungarians clearly expanded on this by using the Clipeati as a protective screen. Nearly every major battle that Janos Hunyadi fought in has references to handgunners. Varna there were some 600 handgun armed Bohemians defending the Tabor. Kosovo Polje there were 2,000 handgunners defending the Tabor. Though usually described as German or Bohemian there are also references to Transylvanian handgunners as well, the army of 1475 had 2,000. Not unreasonable if the area was producing the weapons.
Light Infantry
Though never implicitly identified in the sources the usual assumption is that these light infantry were archers or crossbowmen. KomJathy in A thousand years of the Hungarian art of war says of the light infantry,
'The main assignment of both lines was to protect the third line of musketeers and the fourth line of light infantry with bows, lances, and axes.' And
'During attack they approached the enemy lines, protected by the musketeers' fire: once the enemy line was broken, hand-to-hand combat was carried out by the light infantry.'
He unfortunately does not list the original sources for these statements though most of it is clearly based on Matthius' description. The numbers of archers available to the Hungarians and their vulnerability to hostile cavalry makes their use from behind more formidable foot a logical choice.
