Quite. The fact that those "educated" occifers insisted on repeated cavalry charges against tanks by the troops they commmanded (among other brilliant military maneuvers) pretty much guaranteed those Educated Intellectuals and the poor enlisted peons they led died "gloriously" for their country. Only the uneducated common people survived.
To paraphrase Patton: 'Your job is not to die for your country. Your job is to make sure the other poor fool dies for his.'
Somehow, the Poles did not manage to learn that particular lesson.
The Myth of the “Polish Cavalry Charge Against Tanks”
https://skeptoid.com/blog/2014/03/10/the-myth-of-the-polish-cavalry-charge-against-tanks/
Polish Contributions to World War II
http://gadabyte.com/ww-ii/poland.html
Yeah, tell the Poles who airdropped into Arnhem during Operation Market Garden. /s
What you’ve related is what’s commonly known as “conventional wisdom”. Like much conventional wisdom, it’s largely bull-pucky:
“Close examination of the performance of Polish Cavalry in September of 1939 reveals a combat record markedly different than that of horsemen suicidally charging tanks. Throughout the campaign the cavalry repeatedly proved itself to be the elite of the Polish Army by maintaining its discipline and resolve in the face of a situation that was untenable from the start. In fact, the morning of the encounter at Krojanty, the commander of the German 20th Motorized Division asked for permission to withdraw in the face of “intense cavalry pressure.†That same day at the village of Mokra, the WoÅ‚yÅ„ska Cavalry Brigade, entrenched in excellent positions, repulsed repeated attacks by the German 4th Panzer Division. The Podolska Cavalry Brigade even managed to slip behind German lines and briefly invade East Prussia, where it caused considerable confusion and consternation.[12] Reluctant praise for Polish Cavalry can even be found among the recollections of the invading Germans. Guderian writes:
“During the night the nervousness on the first day of the battle made itself felt more than once. Shortly after midnight the 2nd (Motorised) Division informed me that they were being compelled to withdraw by Polish cavalry. I was speechless for a moment; when I regained the use of my voice I asked the divisional commander if he had ever heard of Pomeranian grenadiers being broken by hostile cavalry. He replied that he had not and now assured me that he could hold his positions. I decided all the same that I must visit this division the next morning.
“It should be noted that cavalry units fighting around Kock in central Poland did not surrender until October 6th, while some elements of the Podolska Brigade even managed to avoid surrender altogether and escape into Hungary.”
For more detail see:
http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/polishcavalry.aspx
see also the citations in post 21
The Polish army knew they were marching to their death during WW 2. They weren’t going to let their country fall without a fight. Compare that with France.
Actually Germany had very few tanks in 1939 and most of the invasion equipment was pulled by horses. Read The Chief Culprit which details the 1939 and 1941 invasions. It’s a real eye opener
Where did you learn that bulls**t? This is a part of Nazi propaganda, spread by Goebells to ensure that Poles are treated as Untermensch. Yet here you are, over 70 years after the war started , still believing this crap. Ignoramus.