Polish cavalry charges 1939

[Peter Lyon]

We all know the Polish cavalry charged the German tanks in an example of stupidly suicidal bravery in the 1939 campaign, right?

Well, no. Great article on Wikipedia about it (for all its faults, Wikipedia does come up with gems occassionally). Hopefully this copies Ok.

[edit] Cavalry Charges and Propaganda
Apart from countless battles and skirmishes in which the Polish cavalry units used the infantry tactics, there were 16 confirmed[1] cavalry charges during the 1939 war. Contrary to common belief, most of them were successful.

The first of them, and perhaps the best known, happened on September 1, 1939, during the Battle of Krojanty. During the action, elements of the Polish 18th Uhlan Regiment met a large group of German infantry resting in the woods near the village of Krojanty. Colonel Mastalerz decided to take the enemy by surprise and immediately ordered a cavalry charge, a tactic the Polish cavalry rarely used as their main weapon. The charge was successful and the German infantry unit was dispersed.

The same day, German war correspondents were brought to the battlefield together with two journalists from Italy. They were shown the battlefield, the corpses of Polish cavalrymen and their horses, alongside German tanks that had arrived at the field of battle only after the engagement. One of the Italian correspondents sent home an article,[2] in which he described the bravery and heroism of Polish soldiers, who charged German tanks with their sabres and lances. Other possible source of the myth is a quote from Heinz Guderian's memoirs, in which he asserted that the Pomeranian Brigade had charged on German tanks with swords and lances.[3] Although such a charge did not happen and there were no tanks used during the combat, the myth was disseminated by German propaganda during the war with a staged Polish cavalry charge shown in their 1941 reel called "Geschwader Lützow".[1] In that movie Luftwaffe Avia 534B trainer planes of Czech origin acted as Polish PZL-11 fighters. After the end of World War II the same fraud was again being disseminated by Soviet propaganda as an example of the stupidity of Polish commanders and authorities, who allegedly did not prepare their country for war and instead wasted the blood of their soldiers.

Even such prominent German writers as Günter Grass, later accused of anti-Polonism by Jan Józef Lipski among others, were falling victims to this Nazi deception. Grass wrote the following passage, somewhat metaphorically, in his famous novel The Tin Drum:

O insane cavalry... with what aplomb they will kiss the hand of death, as though death were a lady; but first they gather, with sunset behind them - for color and romance are their reserves - and ahead of them the German tanks, stallions from the studs of Krupps von Bohlen und Halbach, no nobler steeds in all the world. But Pan Kichot, the eccentric knight in love with death, lowers his lance with the red-and-white pennant and calls on his men to kiss the lady's hand. The storks clatter white and red on rooftops, and the sunset spits out pits like cherries, as he cries to his cavalry: "Ye noble Poles on horseback, these are no steel tanks, they are mere windmills or sheep, I summon you to kiss the lady's hand".
Other cavalry charges of 1939 were as follows:

September 1 - Battle of Mokra - 19th Volhynian Uhlan Regiment took by surprise the elements of German 4th Panzer Division, which retreated in panic.[2][4] During the charge, lances were used.
September 1 - Battle of Janów - 11th Polish Legion Uhlan Regiment on a recce mission encountered a similar unit of German cavalry. Lieut. Kossakowski ordered a cavalry charge, but the enemy did not accept battle and after a short clash withdrew[1] towards their positions.
September 2 - Battle of Borowa Góra - 1st squadron of the 19th Volhynian Uhlan Regiment encountered a squadron of German cavalry in the village of Borowa. A charge was ordered, but the Germans withdrew.[1]
September 11 - Osuchowo - 1st squadron of the 20th Uhlan Regiment charged through[1] the German infantry lines to avoid encirclement, and broke through. There were negligible losses on both sides.
September 12 - Kałuszyn - 4th squadron of the 11th Polish Legion Uhlan Regiment charged overnight at the German positions in the town of Kałuszyn. Although the charge was a mistake (the Polish infantry commander issued a wrong order which was understood as a charge order while the cavalry was meant to simply move forward), it was a success. After heavy casualties on both sides, the town was retaken[1] in the early morning.
September 13 - Mińsk Mazowiecki - 1st squadron of the 2nd Grochów Uhlan Regiment charged German infantry positions, but was repelled by German MG and artillery fire.
September 13 - Maliszewo - 1st squadron of the 27th Uhlan Regiment was engaged in heavy fighting near the village of Maliszewo. After the Germans were beaten[1] and started to retreat towards the village, the Poles charged and took the village along with a large number of German prisoners.
September 15 - Brochów - elements of the 17th Wielkopolska Uhlan Regiment charged towards the German positions to frighten [1] the enemy infantry. Shortly before reaching the range of enemy weapons, they dismounted and continued their assault on foot; the attack was successful.
September 16 - Dembowskie - a platoon from the 4th squadron of the 17th Wielkopolska Uhlan Regiment charged towards a small German outpost located around a foresters' hut. The small number of Germans withdrew.[1]
September 19 - Battle of Wólka Węglowa - Most of the 14th Jazłowiec Uhlan Regiment (without its MGs and AT platoon) was ordered to probe the German lines near the town of Wólka Węglowa. After elements of 9th Malopolska Uhlan Regiment arrived, the group was ordered to charge through the German lines to open the way towards Warsaw and Modlin for the rest of Polish forces who were withdrawing from the Battle of Bzura. The Poles charged through a German artillery barrage and took the German infantry by surprise.[1] Polish losses were high (205 killed and wounded), the German losses remain unknown, but the Polish unit broke through and was the first to reach Warsaw after the Battle of Bzura.
September 19 - Łomianki - recce squad of 6th Mounted Artillery Detachment charged through the German lines in the town of Lomianki and paved[1] the way for the rest of the unit to Warsaw.
September 21 - Battle of Kamionka Strumiłowa - 3rd squadron of the 1st Mounted Detachment (improvised) charged through German infantry who were preparing to assault the Polish positions. The preparations were paralysed and the Germans withdrew.[1]
September 23 - Krasnobród - 1st squadron of the 25th Wielkopolska Uhlan Regiment charged towards the town of Krasnobród. After heavy casualties, they reached the hilltop on which the town was located. A unit of German organic cavalry from the German 8th Infantry Division countercharged from the hill, but was repelled and the Poles captured the town and took the HQ[1] of the division, together with its commander and about 100 German soldiers. 40 Polish combatants previously taken prisoner by the Germans were also freed.
September 24 - Husynne - reserve squadron of the 14th Jazlowiec Uhlan Regiment (some 500 sabres), reinforced with an improvised cavalry unit of police and some remnants of divisional organic cavalry, was ordered to break through the Soviet infantry surrounding the Polish positions in the village of Husynne. The charge was lead by the mounted police, and the Soviet forces withdrew in panic.[1] However, the attack was soon halted by a strong Soviet tank unit. Casualties were similar on both sides.
September 26 - Morańce - 27th Uhlan Regiment twice charged an entrenched German infantry battalion in the village of Morańce. Both charges were repelled with heavy casualties (the Poles lost 20 KIA and about 50 wounded, German losses are unknown). After the second charge the Germans sent out a soldier with a white flag and, after a short discussion with the Polish commander of the Nowogródek Cavalry Brigade, the Germans withdrew.[1]

[edit] Strengths and Weaknesses
The weakness of the Polish cavalry were:

Damaged machinery can be fixed relatively fast or many of its parts recycled for use in other similar machinery. However, it is a much longer process with an injured horse, and one cannot revive a horse.
Some number of soldiers, instead of being sent to the front lines, were assigned to care for injured and hungry horses during the battle. A probable figure would be up to five percent of the fighting force, which limited combat effectiveness. Such a position was called a "koniowodny".
The strengths of the Polish cavalry were:

Poland did not have a sufficiently developed modern air or ground transportation infrastructure to support fuel, spare parts, maintenance assistance and replacement vehicle distribution. One of the foreseen enemies was Soviet Union and the horse cavalry requiring no fuel and lubricants became an asset to the Polish forces.
Many Polish conscripts of the day had more experience with horses than vehicles, and needed less training to fight successfully.

[edit] References

[edit] Notes
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n (Polish) Marcin Lewandowski (2005). Szarże we wrześniu 1939 (Cavalry charges in September of 1939). Kawaleria II RP. Retrieved on 2006-04-26.
^ a b (English) Steven J Zaloga (1982). Polish Army, 1939-1945. Osprey Publishing, 9-10. ISBN 0-85045-417-4.
^ (English) M Evan Brooks (2002). "The Polish Cavalry Charge", Military History's Most Wanted. Brassey's, 330. ISBN 1-57488-509-X.
^ (English) Steven J Zaloga (2002). Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg. Osprey Publishing, 42. ISBN 1-84176-408-6.

[edit] General references

[edit] See also
Battle of Komarów
Polish cavalry brigade order of battle

[edit] External links
The Glorious Polish Cavalry
Society of the Military Horse

[Chevalier]

Wikipedia can deliver quite interesting information at times!

[Drakki]

I read a few years ago, but no longer have the source, that the last successful cavalry charge was by Italians in 1942 on the Eastern Front.

According to my memory it was a properly formed up charge by the entire Italian Cavalry Division which charged home on a Soviet infantry position, got off their horses and took photos and then returned to their lines.

[Robbo]

Awesome Peter! Ty for that.

[Callum]

New Zealand Mounted Rifles also did a number of successful charges on horseback during WW1 altough their usual practice was to dismount and fight as infantry.

[Drakki]

Well I should have just gone to Wikipedia of course.. Turns out my memory was nearly correct...

The 1 Cavalry Division Eugenio di Savoia was an Cavalry Division of the Italian Army during World War II.

The Eugenio di Savoia was mobilized in 1940, as a cavalry division and took part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia. The Division remained in Yugoslavia in the Italian XI Corps (Ljubljana) as an occupying force on the Dalmatian coast. After the Italian surrender the Division was disbanded in September 1943.

While in Yugoslavia, the 14 Alessandria Regiment is credited with having conducted the last cavalry charge by the Italian Army in World War II. On 17 October 1942 the regiment was encircled by a group of Tito's partisans near Poloj in Croatia. That night the cavalry launched repeated sabre charges against the partisans. Despite heavy casualties, the charge succeeded and broke through to safety.