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The charge at Krojanty, battle of Krojanty, [1] the riding of Krojanty or skirmish of Krojanty [2] was a Polish cavalry charge on the evening of 1 September 1939, the first day of the Second World War, near the Pomeranian village of Krojanty. It occurred at the start of the invasion of Poland and was part of the larger Battle of Tuchola Forest.
The Polish-Soviet War showed Poland the benefits of mobility in military conflicts but Polish officials were unwilling (and unable) to invest heavily to make that a reality. Polish Cavalry Brigades were still effectively used as mobile infantry but in the end fell against German motorized units, however Germany also used cavalry for ...
On 1 September 1939, the XVIII Panzer Corps, part of the German 14th Army, crossed the Polish border from Slovakia. In an attempt to outflank the positions of the Polish Kraków Army under Gen. Antoni Szylling defending Silesia and western Lesser Poland, the Germans crossed the Tatra passes and assaulted the towns of Chabówka and Nowy Targ.
Cavalry of Poland during a parade in Warsaw, August 1939. During the German invasion of Poland in 1939, cavalry formed 10% of the Polish Army. [2] Cavalry units were organised in 11 cavalry brigades, each composed of 3 to 4 cavalry regiments with organic artillery, armoured unit and infantry battalion. Two additional brigades had recently been ...
At 1000 on September 5 the German 12th Infantry Division and 1st Cavalry Brigade made contact with the Polish defenses and mounted an assault, which was repelled by accurate Polish artillery fire. Around noon, Panzer Division Kempf arrived on the battlefield, and the Germans launched another attack, supported by artillery and six Heinkel He 111 ...
It arrived in the area at the height of the battle and opened fire from a distance of almost 2.5 km, which was beyond the effective range of all German tank guns of the time, in the end destroying or knocking out several more Panzer I and IIs. Also, more Polish cavalry, made up of the 12th Uhlans Regiment, was moved to the area; the men ...
The German force fighting in the battle consisted of the entire XVI Panzer Corps.The unit, part of German 10th Army, was the strongest Panzer corps in the Wehrmacht and on 1 September 1939 included between 616 and 650 tanks of all types (the entire Polish Army had 313 proper tanks altogether, not including reconnaissance tankettes).
Their road towards south was blocked, however, by two German corps - VIII Army Corps (around Biłgoraj), and by XXII Panzer Corps, consisting of 2nd Panzer Division and 4th Light Division (around Hrubieszów, Zamość and Tomaszów Lubelski). Polish forces, concentrated around Frampol, were surrounded by six to seven German divisions.