In 2019, an army rose from the ashes of rebellion to become one of the main S/M armies of the time. Closing after only a year of being one of the most notable armies from the New Viking sphere, the Winged Hussars have returned, this time more prepared than ever.

On 17th December, one of the most notable S/M armies from the early era of CPPS armies, the Winged Hussars, returned to the Club Penguin Army community with much praise. Beginning their return two months ago, the Hussars finally reached their first pinnacle point of being an army in this community – registering in the league! However, despite their return bringing much praise, many members of armies today do not understand who the Hussars really are. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WINGED HUSSARS

Long before the Winged Hussars, Shinzo, WH leader, led another army with the Winged Hussars co-founder, Ripmam. This army, known as the Club Penguin Socialist Movement, was created in the summer of 2018, prior to the outbreak of World War VII. Following the beginning of the war, they were eventually recruited into the Red Dawn Alliance. During their participation in the alliance, the Movement became among the first armies to help bring down the Rebel Penguin Federation titan, marking the first victory against the RPF in CPPS armies. Following the war, Shinzo along with Phil, another founder of the Winged Hussars joined the Templars and became high-ranking members of the army.

A Foundation Through Revolution

As 2018 neared its end, many members of the Templars began to show disdain for the Templar’s administration at the time, often referring to it as “dictatorial”. Despite this, many of the later founders of the Hussars rose up in the ranks of the Templars, reaching high command and leadership positions. This disdain led to a boiling point on 6th January 2019, as several notable members of the Templars left the army and created their own army, The Holy Army of Jerusalem. Three days later, they changed their name to the Winged Hussars, thus founding the army. The army themed themselves after the real-life Winged Hussars, a legendary Polish-Lithuanian cavalry unit. The founders included the likes of Ripmam, Dagyr3, Snork, Phil, and Shinzo; all names that became well-known in the 2019 S/M scene. 

The Elite Guardians, and subsequently, the New Viking Alliance, aided the Hussars during their foundation. The Hussars soon became official members of NVA, making them the third member of the alliance. The Hussars were unique in that they made use of a Wix website instead of a WordPress website. Later on in January, the Hussars formally declared independence from the Templars, officially starting the rebellion. 

The Exodus

Soon, Xing, the leader of the Templars, realized his troops weren’t just leaving – they were rebelling. This led to an all-out war against the Hussars, which became later known as the “Templar Exodus”. This conflict was the first war to occur in 2019, and the war saw the Guardians and New Viking Alliance team up with the Winged Hussars to guarantee independence for the Hussars. Raids occurred back and forth, but the Templars were unable to match the size of the New Viking Alliance. The war lasted through most of January and ended once most of the community fled Club Penguin Online. With the conclusion of the war, the New Viking Alliance and Templars split the server Blizzard in half. Thus, the Hussars achieved their independence.

Peace Brings Opportunity

Following the war, the Hussars finally could focus on themselves. Throughout the next months, the Hussars grew significantly, reaching an average max between 5-9. The community’s standards deemed those sizes normal for S/M armies at the time. The Hussars forged an alliance with the Pizza Federation, another one of CPPS armies’ main S/M armies. The Hussars held many tournament-based events, which became a signature characteristic of the Hussar’s event schedule. Among these events were a series of sparse invasions, coinciding with the release of the third Club Penguin army map. Alongside the invasions, operations, and tournaments was another great battle for the Hussars; a battle against the RPF. While the battle did not end in a Hussar victory, the battle showed that the Hussars would fight to the last bone, even against the greatest titans of its era, just like the real Winged Hussars!

In the summer of 2019, the CPPS known as Club Penguin Armies: The Game was released, which led to the development of the fourth Club Penguin army map. With the map being introduced once again, many armies sought to develop their empires via server invasions, and the Winged Hussars were no different. What resulted was a massive race for servers, in which the Hussars invaded several servers at the time. The Hussars invaded Free Penguin in particular, Among all of the servers they captured, the Hussars declared Frostbite, CPATG their revered capital.

Hard Work Pays Off

Impressively, the Hussars reached the top position of the Top Ten armies in May of 2019, and continued to chart fairly high throughout the rest of the month. This accomplishment is not something to take lightly; the Hussars reached a position that was mostly dominated by armies such as the Elite Guardians and the Rebel Penguin Federation at the time. As the year progressed, and larger armies began to take part in the Club Penguin Armies project, the Winged Hussars would chart usually right below the top five.

By the later parts of the summer of 2019, the Hussars’ hard work proved to have paid off. From maxes of 5-9, the Hussars maxed 8-10 for most of their events, which put them among the medium armies at the time. The Hussars took part in the Summer Circuit, reaching far into the tournament, but ultimately losing to the Elite Guardians and Mopia after a long hard fight against each of the armies.

Knock, Knock. It’s Democracy!

While developing their empire throughout the year, the Hussars also developed their government back at home. With that in mind, a notable characteristic of the Hussars was the frequent elections for the “Emperor” position. The amount of elections is unknown, but several were held throughout 2019, with Snork winning the most elections and Shinzo winning the second most amount. The only remaining archive of the elections is the May 2019 election, in which Shinzo was victorious.

Democracy has been a quintessential part of the Hussar culture, as it can be inferred that they will do all they can to prevent their government from becoming like the one they rebelled from – a dictatorship.

September Drop Who?

As summer comes to an end for most countries across the world, a phenomenon known as the “September Drop” usually occurs, which can be characterized as a significant decrease in overall max. The Hussars did not really face this phenomenon, as they continued to hit maxes of 7-10 on average, even hitting in the teens every now and then. Continuing on like normal, the Hussars still held frequent events throughout the fall of 2019, but it was clear that interest began to wane over the months.

Despite waning interest, the Hussars prepared themselves for yet another war, this time against the Duck Knight Army. The DKA, wanting to gain more territory, declared war against the Hussars. The Hussars attempted to defend their land but failed to defend during one invasion. However, the Wild Ninjas invaded a Duck Knight territory under their noses, which saw the DKA change their focus on the Wild Ninjas. Following a treaty, the Hussars joined in a war against the Wild Ninjas alongside the Duck Knights, which was successful at first until the Wild Ninjas began to fight back, which saw them turn the tide of the war. The war soon came to an end through another treaty, and peace was established once again.

Or, so they thought. Just a few days later, the Cosmic Army, another S/M army, declared war on the Hussars. This war would not really amount to anything, and the formal conclusion of the war remains unknown.

The Journey Never Ends

Activity in the army, and in the community in general, decreased throughout the months of October and November. Snork, the primary remaining leader, announced that the Winged Hussars would be closing, and held their last event on 22nd November 2019. This did not mean an immediate end to the Winged Hussars; they merged into the Pretzels army, and Snork became a notable leader there for the remaining duration of the army’s existence.

With the Pretzels being closed, many former Winged Hussars members took refuge in the Pizza Federation army, with Snork becoming a leader there as well. In fact, the Hussar culture was so abundant inside of the army, that they even held several Discord-related events that emphasized the new dual culture of their army. This new culture fueled the Pizza Federation in what would become their best year, 2020, in which they won Beach Brawl and the Challengers Cup, and maxed 32 in Christmas Chaos X. Snork would go on to be remembered as a Pizza Federation legend and later a S/M Army Legend for their remarkable leadership.

The Pizza Federation would close in 2021, which effectively put an end to the Winged Hussars for the next two years. By the time of late 2021, every former member of the Winged Hussars went inactive and retired.

THE RETURN OF THE WINGED HUSSARS

Nearly three years after the closure of the Winged Hussars, Shinzo, Winged Hussars founder, returned to the community in October. Unbeknownst to most, Shinzo was scheming a creation of a new army, after spending some time playing the CPPS New Club Penguin. Originally just creating an army dubbed the International Penguin’s Federation, Shinzo was able to come into contact with Ripmam, another WH founder. Shinzo, alongside Eden, Shiden, and Ripmam created the second generation of the Winged Hussars.

Once November hit, they quickly began holding events on New Club Penguin and started to recruit heavily. Starting with just a max of 4 at the start, they slowly grew throughout the later parts of November and early December, hitting an average max of about 5. Impressively, despite their low max, they showed that it is possible to have clean formations with a low max, which shows how much armies have developed since 2018.

Knock, Knock. It’s Democracy Again!

Clearly after all of these years, democracy has not left the blood of the Hussars. During the early stages of their revival, the Hussars developed a constitution, further building on their previous democratic roots. So far, an election for Emperor has not occurred, but this will be a likely occurrence in the near future.

Upon analysis of their constitution, the Hussars show once again how unique they are. The Hussars government structure appears to resemble a constitutional monarchy but uses direct democracy as a means for voting and operation. Unlike most armies that make use of a oligarchy-based government, this is quite unique by today’s standards and is akin to the People’s Republic Army from early Club Penguin Army history.

Welcome Back, WH!

Once December arrived, the Winged Hussars began to grow at a noticeably significant rate. From maxes of 5 in November and early December, the army began to hit maxes of 6-7, and ultimately they managed to jump to sizes of 12 one event after the other! These events are therefore some of the most successful events in the entire army’s history, which can be attributed to the hard work they have put in over the past two months. Once again, the Winged Hussars made use of very clean formations despite their low size, which shows how well-trained the army has become in a matter of only a month since their first event.

After months of hard work, the Winged Hussars proudly exceeded the size of 10 minimum to register their army and officially registered their army on 17th December. The Hussars received much praise after registering and were officially accepted as members of the Club Penguin army community a day after registering.

Winged Hussars Moving Forward

Following their registration in the community and maxing 12 yet again in their following event, it is safe to say that the Winged Hussars will become another great member of the Club Penguin Armies family and have a bright future at that! With the goal of getting more information regarding Winged Hussars and the new generation of the army, Club Penguin Armies managed to sit down with Shinzo, Winged Hussars Monarch, for an exclusive interview.

First and foremost, who are you?

Hey! Firstly, I want to say that I feel very honoured for having me here. My name is Shinzō. I’m 21 years old and a German citizen, although living in Poland, where I am studying. A proud Winged Hussar, I am very passionate about Club Penguin Armies and the Community, ever since becoming a part of it!

What has your career been like?

It started in the summer of 2018 after playing Club Penguin Online with my former friend, who was later on also a founder of the Winged Hussars. We had never heard of CPA before and had no real concept of it at the time and was originally started as a joke. Hence, my/our first army, the Club Penguin Socialist Movement, was relatively unorganised. Although, at that time World War VII come around and Xing had invited us to join the war on the side of the Red Dawn Alliance. This is where I first gained practical experience and where CPA truly captured me. However, soon after the war ended and armies abandoned CPO, I thought that this was the end and I would never return. That, though, would prove to be a wrong thought when a few months after this Xing contacted me, asking me to join the Templars. At that time, I thought I had gone relatively unnoticed, hence I was very surprised by this. I accepted, happy to return to CPA. Then, in the Templars, this is where I met and became friends with Ripmam, Dagyr3 and Snork, among others. Time went by and the all of us rose the ranks, eventually becoming either Leaders, or Leaders in Training. Then, due to reasons we will come back to later, we founded the Winged Hussars. We were doing amazing. Sadly, shortly after independence, defacing happened and it was unclear whether the WH would continue, or not. Luckily, we gathered and caught ourselves again, although sadly loosing around half our members. Nevertheless, in the time of the WH, I have made many more great friends, tightening my bond with the other Founders and also the new members of the WH. Time went by and, sadly, in the summer of 2019 I have lost my interest in CPA because of personal issues at the time, which led to me taking a break and later on retiring. From then onwards, I had only kept occasional contact with Ripmam and had not approached the CPA Community in over 4 years, until recently. I’m thankful for every day I have been in CPA, through sad and happy times alike, as I had always people who were supporting me.

Why did you return to armies and what is your opinion on the current state of armies as opposed to 2019?

The reason for my return to CPA has been fate. I don’t think there is any other word that could sum it up better: I had gotten a hit of nostalgia in mid October of 2023 and decided to join New Club Penguin and just ask around if anyone knows about the state of CPA. There, I met Eden, one of our other Monarchs/Leaders and Founders and now a very dear friend of mine. We ralked the whole evening about CPA. The next day, I logged on again and asked the same question. I met Shiden, someone who’s never heard of CPA before, but he was very intrigued. Together, we all decided to join the CPA Community in the shape of creating an army. Sadly, Shiden’s interest in CPA did not last very long.

Regarding the current state of CPA Community as compared to 2019, I perceive it as a much friendlier community with much less toxicity. Especially, when I rejoined, I was met by much excitement and happiness from old friends, which further strengthened my opinion that rejoining the CPA Community was the right decision. Although, I must say that there is still a lot that I have to catch up on, as a lot has changed since 2019. But now that the Winged Hussars have become an official army once more, we have been again met by a lot of excitement and support, as well as advice by many, many people. I’m really happy to be a part of the CPA Community once more with a lot of friendly members and friends by my side! And I’m very much looking forward for the Winged Hussars participating in official CPA activities and participating in a lot of hopefully friendly and mutually benefiting competition!

What is the story behind the foundation of the Winged Hussars and what led to its return?

The story behind the foundation of the Winged Hussars is one of enmity and friendship – sadness and happiness: In later 2018, me and most of the other Templar High Command, including Ripmam, have observed increasing controversial statements and actions by the Templars’ Founder Xing, among others. This grew to a point where he had enough and simply wanted to leave. Hence, we all decided to form a new army in the shadows until we had enough support to make it official: The Winged Hussars. It was a big effort, one that was always at risk of failing if just one of our members had talked. Luckily, it all went to plan and we gathered the support that we needed. However, we could have never defeated the Templars and thus seceded on our own. Which is why we asked for support and received it in the form of the Elite Guardians and the New Viking Alliance. This resulted in the Winged Hussars later on being recognised as a separate army by the whole CPA Community, including the Templars. Needless to say, without the EGCP and the NVA, the Winged Hussars would never have existed.

Now to 2023: As already previously stated, Eden, Shiden and me had decided to found another army. However, I did not want to revive the Winged Hussars with myself being the only Leader of the Winged Hussars in 2019. Luckily, I decided to reach out to Ripmam, who I still had some contact with after 2019, shortly after this. Happily, he replied and was interested in joining Eden’s, Shiden’s and my efforts. Together with Ripmam, we saw it as a wise to rebrand the army, then known as International Penguin’s Confederation, to the Winged Hussars. From there onwards, we have met amazing people, gained very valuable members and made great friends! We are deeply thankful for every of our members!

What are your plans for the Winged Hussars moving forward?

I cannot speak solely for myself, as the Winged Hussars is an army led by all Monarchs/Leaders with equal say, as well as soon a parliamemt to decide on important matters. However, if it was up for me to decide, I would like to see the Winged Hussars cooperating with other armies and make great friends along the way, maintaining friendly competition, as mentioned previously. I am looking forward to see further interaction and diplomacy with all the other armies as we move along.

Especially, I would like to draw emphasis to our alliance with the EGCP, who had supported us from the first moments in 2019 and are now supporting us from the first moments in 2023. This alliance is more than platonic – it is friendship and brotherhood. Hence, I would love to see the EGCP and WH cooperate even more tightly in the future. Love goes out to all of EGCP’s Leaders and Members, from me, Ripmam, Eden and the whole of the Winged Hussars!

Nevertheless, of course we also have a lot of ambition and I am certain that the Winged Hussars and her members will work tirelessly to catapult ourselves up the Top Ten, see ourselves fighting in tournaments and do our best at all times, growing stronger and stronger day by day! I know what our members are capable of and I know that we will gain many, many more in the future. Our goal is to create an army and a community where people feel welcomed and where they can feel like in a big family. I’m very proud of every single one of them and I know that we can all, together, achieve greatness! Let’s give our best and let’s show the CPA Community what we are capable of! I love you all!

NIC O NAS BEZ NAS! / NOTHING ABOUT US, WITHOUT US!

A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD

It is clear that the leadership of the Winged Hussars is extremely dedicated to making their army more successful than ever before. From the development to an in-depth constitution, to fast growth over just a month, and to reach some of the army’s largest sizes in their entire history, it is safe to say the future of the Hussars is brighter than the sun on a hot dry day. An army based on direct democracy and devotion to defend their dignity no matter what, it is no wonder why the Winged Hussars became such a staple back in the past, and it looks like this will happen once again.

With the new year approaching, a whole new canvas awaits to be painted on by the leaders and members of our community. Now that the Winged Hussars are officially a part of the community, what will 2024 bring them? Will they become a staple of the S/M community once again? Will they become a major army and carve their legacy in the community far deeper than before?

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