Hakkapeliitta is a historiographical term used for a Finnish light cavalryman in the service of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden during the Thirty Years' War. Hakkapeliitta is a 19th-century Finnish modification of a contemporary name given by foreigners in the Holy Roman Empire and variously spelled as Hackapelit, Hackapelite, Hackapell, Haccapelit, or Haccapelite. These terms were based on a Finnish battle cry hakkaa päälle, commonly translated as "Cut them down!"
Hakkapeliitta featured on a 1940 semi-postal Finnish postage stamp
The battle of Lützen
Åke Henriksson Tott's tomb in the Cathedral of Turku
Finnish cavalry crossing the river Lech in the Battle of Rain, Thirty Years' War, 1632. Matthias Merian in Danckerts Historis, 1642.
Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was primarily raiding, reconnaissance, screening, skirmishing, patrolling, and tactical communications. Prior to the 17th century they were usually armed with swords, spears, javelins, or bows, and later on with sabres, pistols, shotguns, or carbines.
Polish-Lithuanian light cavalry during the Battle of Orsha in 1514, by Hans Krell
The infamous Charge of the Light Brigade, in the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 (painted by William Simpson in 1855)
Mongol soldier on horseback, preparing a mounted archery shot
French 4th Hussar at the Battle of Friedland, 14 June 1807. Vive L'Empereur! by Édouard Detaille, 1891.