A Towarzysz was a junior cavalry officer or knight-officer in the army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 16th century until the Commonwealth's demise in 1794. During the 19th century towarzysz assumed the same meaning as the Russian товарищ, picking up its communist overtones in the 20th century, with the military meaning fading in use. Use of expressions such as ' was frowned upon and the communist government encouraged use of towarzysz or '. In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's National army towarzysz was usually a noble who served for a period of time in the Army as a horseman with his mounted retainers and free servants, or with none or one retainer and very few free servants, organized into banners/companies. His pay was relative to the type of cavalry unit he served, whether in, banners. He usually brought between 1 and 4 men with him in his "retinue" prescribed by his current military contract with his commander, the rotameister, and the state. He armed, provisioned and commanded his retainers, and his free servants, that provided care for horses and weapons, forage, set up camp, and mended equipment. In the light cavalry, a towarzysz usually fought with a very small poczet. They were differentiated based on their horse unit origin, depending on whether they joined a heavy cavalry unit –, a medium cavalry banner – towarzysz kozacki, a light cavalry banner – towarzysz lekkiego znaku etc. The richest and most prestigious were towarzysze that came from the winged hussar banners, but their own expenses' burden was the most excessive and grew as the 17th century progressed. After 1775 reforms that modernized Polish-Lithuanian cavalry towarzysz was usually a lancer and a head of the smallest unit in the Kawaleria Narodowa, Pulk Jazdy Przedniej or other various guard cavalry regiments of the Commonwealth.
Curiosities
In Austrian empire, after the Second Partition of Poland, in 1781 a Polish-style cavalry regiment under the name Königliche galizische adelige Leibgarde was organized, preserving the Towarzysz-pocztowy unit organization. In Russia, after the Third Partition of Poland in 1797, two Polish-based cavalry regiments were organized: Konnopolski Regiment and Tatar Regiment along the lines of towarzysz-pocztowy organization. In the Prussian army under Frederic William II of Prussia and his successor there were several cavalry regiments organized along the lines of Polish towarzysz cavalry from the Polish and Polish Tatar nationals under the Prussian rule, and one cavalry regiment was actually called Towarzysz Regiment, organized in 1799. The regiment retained towarzysz and retainers structure and a Polish uhlan lance as primary weapon, but this regiment did not survive Prussian collapse of 1806, where most men went, along with their horses and weapons into Polish service. However other Polish-based regiments were converted to Uhlan regiments in 1807 and formed basis for Prussian uhlan regiments until the end of Prussia.
