Pospolite ruszenie
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Józef Brandt, Pospolite Ruszenie at a River, 1880

Pospolite ruszenie (Polish for "common movement"; the French term levée en masse is also used), is an anachronistic term describing the mobilisation of armed forces, especially during the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The tradition of wartime mobilisation of part of the population existed from before the 13th century to the 19th century.^{citation needed} In the later era, pospolite ruszenie units were formed from the szlachta (Polish "nobility"), in cavalry units; their weapons were the szabla, or, "sabre," and various pistols and carbines.^{citation needed}

Historical development

Before the 13th century, pospolite ruszenie was the customary method employed in the raising of Polish armies. Gradually, however, because of concerns about the stability of the economics of feudalism, and the perceived unreliability of untrained peasants, it became rare for large numbers of them to be mobilised; therefore only landowners were mobilised. The landowners included knights — who were later granted szlachta status.^{citation needed}

Pospolite ruszenie units were usually organised on a voivodship (literally, "one who leads the warriors") basis and varied in quality. Szlachta from regions like Kresy (the Commonwealth's eastern borderland), where combat was common, created fairly competent units, while those from peaceful regions of the Commonwealth lacked battle experience and training compared to regular-military troops or mercenaries. From the 16th century, pospolite ruszenie recruits were used less often than were professional military troops; nonetheless, the szlachta continued to believe they formed an elite army, and that their participation in the defense of the country was an important reason for their privileged position in it.^{citation needed}

The privileges granted by kings to the szlachta (particularly the 15th-century "Privilege of Cerekwica" and "Statutes of Nieszawa") limited the king's right to call for pospolite ruszenie, especially for actions outside the territory of Poland.^{citation needed} The pospolite ruszenie was eventually outclassed by professional forces.^{citation needed}

After 1794, under the influence of revolutionary France and Enlightenment ideas about the role of the militia, pospolite ruszenie was consisted of all able-bodied males between 18 and 40 years of age.^{citation needed} In 1806, by decree of Napoleon, the pospolite ruszenie in the Duchy of Warsaw served for a short period as the reserve force and recruitment pool for the regular army. During the November Uprising in 1831, the Sejm (Polish Parliament) called for pospolite ruszenie recruits from the ages of 17 to 50, but that plan was opposed by General Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki.^{citation needed}

During the Second Republic of Poland (1918-1939), the pospolite ruszenie consisted of reserve soldiers, aged 40-50, and officers, aged 50-60. They were required to participate in army exercises and to serve in armed forces during times of war. In mobilization schemes, the pospolite ruszenie was utilized as the "third wave" of troops arriving to the front.^{citation needed}