Pospolite ruszenie

Before the 13th century, the feudal levy of knights was the customary method employed in the raising of Polish armies in the Kingdom of Poland of the Late Middle Ages.

[4][5] A privilege of 1388 extended that compensation for losses incurred when defending the country and confirmed that the nobles were to receive a monetary wage for their participation and that they should be consulted with by the king beforehand.

In time, pospolite ruszenie became increasingly amateurish and inefficient when compared to professional soldiers; Bardach notes that this process can be seen as early as the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66).

[7] In addition to the lack of training, discipline and unstandardized equipment, the time it took for a pospolite ruszenie to be called to arms and gathered in a designed spot (often, close to a month) was also a problem.

[13] During the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794, under the influence of revolutionary France and Enlightenment ideas about the role of the militia, pospolite ruszenie was redefined as consisted of not only the nobility, but all able-bodied males between 18 and 40 years of age.

[14][15] 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.

[14] 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.