for and equipped by magnats or cities Some units of the Commonwealth used fairly unusual tactics. These units included: Husaria: heavy cavalry armed with lances; their charges were extremely effective until advances in firearms in the late 17th century substantially increased infantry firepower. Cossacks: general name for all Commonwealth units of light cavalry, even if they did not contain a single ethnic Cossack; fast and maneuverable like oriental cavalry units of Ottoman Empire vassals, but lacking the firepower of European cavalry such as the Swedish rajtars. Tabor: military horse-drawn wagons, usually carrying army supplies. Their use for defensive formations was perfected by the Cossacks, and to a smaller extent by other Commonwealth units. Army without a country (1795–1918) After partitions of Poland, during the period from 1795 until 1918, Polish military was recreated several times in Poland during uprisings like the November Uprising of 1830 and the January Uprising in 1863, and outside Poland like during Napoleonic wars (Polish Legions in Italy). The Congress Kingdom of Poland, ruled by Russian Tsars with a certain degree of autonomy, had an Army in the years 1815-1830 which was disbanded after the unsuccessful insurrection. Large numbers of Poles also served in the occupiers' armies: Austro-Hungarian (before 1867 Imperial Austrian), Imperial Russian and German armies (before 1871 Prussian). However, these powers took care to spread Polish soldiers all over their armies and as a rule did not form predominantly Polish units. During World War I, the Polish Legions were set up in Galicia, the southern part of Poland under Austrian occupation. They were both disbanded after the Central Powers failed to provide guarantees of Polish independence after the war. General Józef Haller, the commander of the Second Brigade of the Polish Legion, switched sides in late 1917, and via Murmansk took part of his troops to France, where he created the Blue Army. It was joined by several thousand Polish volunteers from the United States. It fought valiantly on the French front in 1917 and 1918. Second Polish Republic and World War II (1918–1945) When Poland regained independence in 1918, it recreated its military which participated in the Polish–Soviet War of 1919-1922 and in World War II, 1939–1945. During the German occupation of Poland, a number of resistance movements were created, of which the Home Army was the most significant. People's Republic of Poland (1947–1989) The Polish armed forces, then known as Polish People's