Polish cavalry

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
15th Poznań Uhlans Regiment
Mieszko I and Polish Uhlan during World War II

The Polish cavalry (

mêlée weapons
.

Early medieval times

The first Polish cavalry was created by the Duke of

Abraham ben Jacob who traveled in 961–62 in Central Europe. He wrote that the drużyna of Mieszko I had 3000 men, who were paid by the duke.[1]
The Prince's druzhina also received a share of military loot.

Battle of Grunwald

Until the 14th century, the Polish armed forces were composed mostly of mounted soldiers. By the start of the 15th century, the core of the Polish armies was formed by mounted

tabors
and servants.

Towarzysz pancerny

One of the finest examples of usage of the early Polish cavalry was the Battle of Grunwald of 1410. During the battle, the Polish armoured cavalry was used to break through the Teutonic lines. In addition, the Polish forces were helped by Lithuanian light cavalry of Eastern origins and by Tartar skirmishers, who used mostly hit-and-run tactics. During the battle, after initial clashes of the light cavalry, the Teutonic Order split its forces, which were then defeated by an armoured cavalry charge.

16th and 17th centuries

In the 16th century the introduction of

Tartars
.

Polish Winged Hussar, wings visible. Painting by Aleksander Orłowski

1503 saw the formation of a first

Stefan Batory
, the hussars had replaced medieval-style lancers in the Polish army, and they now formed the bulk of the Polish cavalry.

Over the course of the 16th century hussars had become heavier in character: they had abandoned wooden shields and adopted plate metal body armour. With the

Chocim (1673) and Lwów (1675), the Polish hussars proved to be the decisive factor often against overwhelming odds. One of the most notable examples of such victories of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy hussars was the Battle of Kircholm of 1605, in which 3,000 hussars under Jan Karol Chodkiewicz managed to defeat 11,000 soldiers of Charles IX of Sweden
- with negligible losses.

As one of the very few units in the Polish national standing army (most of other units were formed as

firearms
and quick-firing artillery, the Polish hussars' tactics and armament remained almost unchanged until they were absorbed into the National Cavalry regiments in the 1770s.

At first hussars performed most services but as they grew heavier the need arose for a medium or lighter cavalry. The 16th century saw creation of lighter cavalry known as 'Kozacy' (singular 'Kozak' hence 'towarzysz kozacki') until 1648 and then known as 'Pancerni' from the 1650s on until the 1770s, 'Kozacy Pancerni' can be translated as 'Armoured cossacks') in the Kingdom of Poland or '

Cheremis, Circassians
(similar to Kozak/Pancerni) and Hungarians.

Uhlan fighting a foot soldier

The early 18th century saw the creation of yet another cavalry formation that influenced most European armies of the time: the

Augustus III. The uhlans were light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols, which gave them enough power and at the same time adding to their versatility and manoeuvrability. In addition, the Polish uhlans, or ułani as they were called in their native tongue, introduced a new uniform style composed of a colourful jacket with a coloured panel in the front, dark trousers with colourful stripes on the sides and a high, pointed cap called czapka
(often rendered chapska in English).

19th century: the Napoleonic Era

Battle of Somosierra, one of greatest successes of 19th-century Polish cavalry

With the advent of the 19th century Poland was partitioned by her neighbours. However, the Polish army was not disbanded and instead most of it was simply drafted into the armies of the occupying countries. Thanks to that, the Polish cavalry traditions were retained. After the creation of Duchy of Warsaw, many Poles volunteered for the Polish cavalry units fighting in the Napoleonic Wars alongside the French army.

The new formation of uhlans proved to be not only fast and effective, but also very influential: during the

Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Finally, the Polish cavalry detachments were also present in Haiti, where they helped the French administration to quell a slave revolt. However, perhaps the most notable success of the Polish cavalry in that period (and certainly the best known) is the Battle of Somosierra, a part of the Peninsular War
.

Uniform of 2nd Uhlan Regiment of Polish Legions (1914–1918)
Jacket and hat of lance corporal of 1st Greater Poland Uhlans Reg. aka 15th Uhlans Regiment
Banner of 16th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment

During his advance on Madrid, Napoleon was blocked on 30 November 1808 by 9,000 Spaniards under General San Juan in the valley of Somosierra in the Sierra de Guadarrama. Because of the rough and uneven terrain, the Spanish forces could not easily be outflanked. Their positions were well-fortified and guarded with artillery. Impatient to proceed towards Madrid, Napoleon ordered his Polish light cavalry escort of some 87 troops, led by Jan Kozietulski, to charge the Spaniards. Despite losing two thirds of their numbers, the Poles succeeded in forcing the defenders to abandon their position.

20th century

The Polish-Soviet War

In November 1918

Polish Army
used different uniforms, different equipment and different strategy. However, all of the units shared the same traditions and, despite all the differences, were able to cooperate on the battlefield.

In late January 1919, the reorganisation of the Polish Army began. All previously-existent cavalry squadrons were pressed into 14 newly formed cavalry regiments, which in turn were joined into six cavalry brigades after 7 March 1919. Later a seventh brigade was added and some of the brigades were joined into two semi-independent cavalry divisions.

The newly recreated Polish Cavalry units were of modern type and were trained in both cavalry tactics and in trench warfare. After the

Polish-Soviet War
broke out, these were one of the very few combat-ready troops in Polish service. The lack of advanced military equipment on both sides of the front made the cavalry a decisive weapon in breaking the enemy lines and encircling the Russian units. In addition, smaller cavalry detachments (usually squadron-sized) were attached to every infantry brigade and served as reconnaissance and support units. Also, the lack of sophisticated equipment made the traditional role of the cavalry once again important. The Polish cavalry units were equipped with sabres, lances and all types of armament that were typically used by the cavalry in previous centuries.

During the war, the Polish cavalry brigades and divisions took part in most of the notable battles, including the pivotal

sabers and lances
played a vital role. Because of that, it is sometimes referred to (by Poles) as "the greatest cavalry battle after 1813" and the last cavalry battle.

World War II

Polish cavalry in the 1930s.
Polish uhlan with wz. 35 anti-tank rifle. Military instruction published in Warsaw in 1938.

During the

organic
cavalry detachment used for reconnaissance.

In contrast with its traditional role in armed conflicts of the past (even in the

Battle of Krojanty, no cavalry charges were made by the Polish Cavalry against German tanks. The Polish cavalry, however, was successful against the German tanks in the Battle of Mokra.[3]
The Polish cavalry did not discard the lance as a weapon until 1934 or 1937 and continued to use it for training purposes up to the outbreak of World War II.

Although the cavalrymen retained their

anti-tank rifles
and other pieces of modern weaponry.

During the campaign, the brigades were distributed among the

Polish Army
.

After the September Campaign, the Polish Army on the Western Front continued its pre-war tradition of Uhlan regiments giving their names to armoured units, while Polish units on the Eastern Front used cavalry as mobile infantry until the end of the war.

After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, several Polish units, including cavalry forces, were formed by the Soviets. One of these units carried out the last Polish cavalry charge at the Battle of Schoenfeld, where a surprise cavalry assault succeeded in overrunning the German defensive positions.

After World War II

Soldiers of 1st Tank Battalion (1. batalion czołgów) of 15th Greater Polish Brigade of Armoured Cavalry (15. Wielkopolskiej Brygady Kawalerii Pancernej) - continuatirs of tradition of 15th Poznań Uhlans Regiment (15. Pułk Ułanów Poznańskich)
PZL W-3WA Sokół from 66 Airforce Squadron (66. Dywizjon Lotniczy) of 25th Aeromobile Cavalry Brigade (25. Brygada Kawalerii Powietrznej)

Combat cavalry units existed in the Polish Army until 27 January 1947, when the 1st Warsaw Cavalry Division was disbanded. The last Polish cavalry unit, the Representative Squadron of the

Representative Squadron of Cavalry of the Polish Army
. The unit is under the auspices of the army, which thus returned to its cavalry tradition. The squadron is present at most official anniversary celebrations in Warsaw, as well as other towns of Poland. In other places people are forming reenactment groups that continues, often with help of army, the traditions of local cavalry units. An example of such a society is the Volunteer Representative Squadron of City of Poznań which is a tribute to the 15th Poznań Uhlans Regiment. These remained until the Eastern Bloc collapsed, as the Soviet Union collapsed too. Afterwards, The Polish military was freely able to expand, or follow whatever perimeters it wanted.

The combat traditions of Polish cavalry are continued by the armoured (Kawaleria Pancerna) and aeromobile (Kawaleria Powietrzna) units of Polish Land Forces.

Cavalry charges and propaganda

Apart from countless battles and skirmishes in which the Polish cavalry units fought dismounted, there were 16 confirmed cavalry charges during the 1939 war. Contrary to common belief, most of them were successful.

The first and perhaps best known cavalry charge happened on 1 September 1939, during the Battle of Krojanty. During this action, elements of the 18th Pomeranian 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,[6] 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.[7] 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]

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!—picking blueberries on horseback. With wimpled lances, red and white. Squadrons of melancholy and tradition. Picture-book charges. Over the fields of Lodz and Kuno. Modlin, freeing the fortress. Galloping so brilliantly. Always awaiting the setting sun. Only then does the cavalry attack, when both foreground and background are splendid, for battle is so picturesque, and Death the artist's model, one leg engaged and one leg free, then plunging, nibbling blueberries, rose- hips tumble and burst, release the itch that spurs the cavalry to charge. Uhlans, itching again, wheel their horses about where shocks of straw are standing—this too a striking image—and gather round a man called Don Quixote in Spain, but this one's name is Pan Kichot, a pureblood Pole of sad and noble mien, who's taught his uhlans how to kiss a lady's hand on horseback, so now they always kiss the hand of Death as if he were a lady, but gather first with sunset at their backs—for atmosphere and mood are their reserves—the German tanks before them, stallions from the stud farms of Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach, nobler steeds there never were. But that half-Spanish, half-Polish knight so in love with death—brilliant Pan Kichot, too brilliant—lowers his red-white wimpled lance, bids you all to kiss the lady's hand, cries out so that the evening glows, red-white storks clatter on the rooftops, cherries spit out their pits, and he cries to the cavalry, "Ye noble Poles on horseback, those are not tanks of steel, they are windmills or sheep. I bid you all to kiss the lady's hand!"[8]

On 1 September 2009 Sir Simon Jenkins, writing for The Guardian newspaper's website, characterised the notion of pitting Polish cavalry against tanks as "the most romantic and idiotic act of suicide of modern war."[9] On 21 September 2009, The Guardian was forced to publish an admission that his article "repeated a myth of the second world war, fostered by Nazi propagandists, when it said that Polish lancers turned their horses to face Hitler's panzers. There is no evidence that this occurred."[9]

"Representative Cavalry Squadron of Polish Army" on military parade in Warsaw commemorating the Feast of the Polish Army 2006
Polish Mounted Police city of Poznań

Other cavalry charges of 1939 were as follows:

  1. September 1 - Battle of Mokra - 19th Volhynian Uhlan Regiment took by surprise the elements of German 4th Panzer Division, which retreated in panic.[6][10] During the charge, lances were used. In fact, the cavalry charge in the traditional sense was neither planned, nor executed. The mounted infantry rode over behind the attacking German armor in behind the tankettes with the tank men throwing smoke grenades to cover the approach. Indeed, the mounted infantry did repel the German support infantry and forced part of the German armored regiment to continue to advance while deprived of the infantry support.
  2. September 1 - Battle of Lasy Królewskie - 11th Legions Uhlan Regiment on a reconnaissance 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 towards their positions.[11]
  3. 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.[12]
  4. September 11 - Osuchowo - 1st squadron of the 20th Uhlan Regiment of King Jan III Sobieski charged through the German infantry lines to avoid encirclement, and broke through. There were negligible losses on both sides.[13]
  5. September 11–12 - Kałuszyn - 4th squadron of the 11th Legions 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 in the early morning.[13]
  6. September 13 - Mińsk Mazowiecki - 1st squadron of the 2nd Grochow Uhlan Regiment[citation needed] charged German infantry positions, but was repelled by German MG and artillery fire.[14]
  7. 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 and started to retreat towards the village, the Poles charged and took the village along with a large number of German prisoners.[13][15]
  8. September 15 - Brochów - elements of the 17th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment charged towards the German positions to frighten the enemy infantry. Shortly before reaching the range of enemy weapons, they dismounted and continued their assault on foot; the attack was successful.[citation needed]
  9. September 16 - Dembowskie - a platoon from the 4th squadron of the 17th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment charged towards a small German outpost located around a foresters' hut. The small number of Germans withdrew.[16]
  10. September 19 -
    Battle of Bzura. The Poles charged through a German artillery barrage and took the German infantry by surprise. 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.[17][18][19]
  11. September 19 - Łomianki - recce squad of 6th Mounted Artillery Detachment[citation needed] charged through the German lines in the town of Lomianki and paved the way for the rest of the unit to Warsaw.[20]
  12. 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.[13]
  13. September 23 -
    8th Infantry Division countercharged from the hill, but was repelled and the Poles captured the town and took the HQ of the division, together with its commander and about 100 German soldiers. 40 Polish combatants previously taken prisoner by the Germans were also freed.[21]
  14. 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 led by the mounted police, and the Soviet forces withdrew in panic. However, the attack was soon halted by a strong Soviet tank unit. Casualties were similar on both sides.[22]
  15. 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.[23]

Present time

In Poland there are now several Volunteer Representative Squadrons. The Polish Army also has a "Representative Cavalry Squadron of the Polish Army" (Polish: Reprezentacyjny Szwadron Kawalerii Wojska Polskiego).

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ibrāhīm ibn Ya‛qūb al-Isrā'īlī al-Ṭurṭūshī," by Lutz Richter-Bernburg, in: The Oxford Companion to World Exploration, David Buisseret, editor-in-chief, 2 vols., Oxford UP 2007, I:402b-403b
  2. ISBN 83-00-02555-3
  3. ^ http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/APHistory/Cavalry_Myth/cavalry_myth.html The Mythical Polish Cavalry Charge
  4. ISBN 0-85045-417-4
  5. ISBN 978-1-4728-1618-4
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-85045-417-4
    .
  7. ISBN 1-57488-509-X
    .
  8. ^ Grass, Günter. The Tin Drum. Translated by Breon Mitchell. Hermann Luchterhand Verlag GmbH, 1959. https://www.scribd.com/read/249308891/The-Tin-Drum
  9. ^ a b Jenkins, Simon (September 1, 2009). "End these bogus parallels. We are fighting no Nazis now". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  10. ISBN 1-84176-408-6
    .
  11. ^ Ryszard Juszkiewicz: 11 Pułk Ułanów Legionowych im. Marszałka Edwarda Śmigłego-Rydza. Ciechanów: Ciechanowskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Krajowy Ośrodek Dokumentacji Regionalnych Towarzystw Kultury, 1998. ISSN 0860-4134 p.141
  12. ^ Antoni Skiba (1971). Boje 19. Pułku Ułanów Wołyńskich w kampanii wrześniowej. Wydawn. "Przegladu Kawalerii i Broni Pancernej". p. 52.
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-83-04-03364-1
    .
  14. ISBN 978-83-05-11122-5
    .
  15. ^ Przegląd kawalerii i broni pancernej: kwartalnik historyczny. Zrzeszenie Kół Pułkowych Kawalerii. 1991. p. 252.
  16. ISBN 9788321003856
    .
  17. ^ Włodzimierz Pawlak. Szarża u wrót stolicy : Wólka Węglowa [1939 r.], Polska Zbrojna. 1995, nr 185, p. 9
  18. ^ Bogusław Polak, Lance do boju. Szkice historyczne z dziejów jazdy wielkopolskiej X wiek-1945, KAW, Poznań 1986, p. 312
  19. ISBN 978-83-05-11122-5
    .
  20. ^ Marian Porwit (1959). Obrona Warszawy, wrzesień 1939: wspomnienia i fakty. Czytelnik. p. 181.
  21. ISBN 83-7250-074-6
    .
  22. ISBN 978-83-86842-02-5
    .
  23. ISBN 978-83-240-5724-5
    .

External links
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