<P> Only the Polish--Lithuanian Commonwealth with its far greater emphasis on cavalry warfare, large population of Szlachta nobility and general lower military technology level among its foes retained the lance to a large degree, with the famous winged Polish hussars having their glory period during the 16th and 17th century against a wide variety of enemy forces . </P> <P> The mounted lancer experienced a renaissance in the 18th and especially in the 19th century . This followed on the demise of the pike and of body armor during the 17th century, with the reintroduction of lances coming from Poland and Hungary . In both countries formations of lance - armed cavalry had been retained when they disappeared elsewhere in Europe . Lancers became especially prevalent during and after the Napoleonic Wars: a period when almost all the major European powers reintroduced the lance into their respective cavalry arsenals . Formations of uhlans and later other types of cavalry used 2 to 3 m lances as their main weapons . The lance was usually employed in initial charges in close formation, with sabers being used in the melees that followed . </P> <P> The Crimean War saw the use of the lance in the Charge of the Light Brigade . One of the four British regiments involved in the charge, plus the Russian Cossacks who counter-attacked, were armed with this weapon . </P> <P> After the Western introduction of the horse to the Native Americans, the Plains Indians also took up the lance, probably independently, as American cavalry of the time were sabre - and pistol - armed, firing forward at full gallop . The natural adaptation of the throwing spear to a stouter thrusting and charging spear appears to be an evolutionary trend in the military use of the horse . </P>

What does the name lance mean in english