Propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels used the myth to prove the stupidity and irrationality of Poles, that the country needed to be crushed and that the Poles were incapable of governing themselves. The Germans spun the story because it was useful for their propaganda machine, which painted the Poles as backward and underlined German military superiority.
At the charge at Krojanty on September 1st 1939, elements of the Polish cavalry charged and dispersed a German infantry battalion. On May 11 last year, a CNBC presenter said that Macy’s department store in New York “is like the Polish Army in WWII – it tried to field cavalry against German tanks and it did not end well,” which prompted a robust response from the Polish Ambassador in Washington.Ī Polish uhlan with a 35 anti-tank rifle. The myth has persisted until the present. Time Magazine and The New York Times ran lurid pieces and Winston Churchill even referred to the incident in his war memoires. The story was taken at face value and spread around the world overnight. The Italian correspondent wrote a colourful piece for Corriere della Sera in which he claimed to be an eye-witness to the purported charge. The next day, the Germans brought war correspondents to the scene and pushed the false narrative that the Poles had charged the armoured vehicles. The Poles took control of the clearing, but at the same time German armoured vehicles that had been hiding in the forest appeared and opened fire on the exposed Poles, who galloped away with heavy losses. Two squadrons of Polish cavalry seized the opportunity and charged on horseback striking the enemy down with their swords and lances. The origin of the myth most likely comes from the very first day of the war when the 18th Pomeranian Uhlans spotted a group of 800 German infantry resting in a clearing. One of the most prevailing myths of the Second World War is that of Polish cavalry charging German tanks. The biggest cavalry victory was at the Battle of Mokra near Częstochowa when Polish riders dismounted and used their anti-tank weapons to destroy or damage around 100 German tanks and armoured vehicles.
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