1. Polish cavalry charge
The image of a Polish cavalry charging German tanks in September of 1939 is ingrained in our collective memory as one of the most futile moves in the history of warfare. Apart from being extremely courageous (not to mention extremely stupid), it is also very untrue. The Poles didn’t charge tanks. When you think about it, who would in their right mind? What would they hope to achieve with lances and sabers against steel-armored vehicles? But at the time it was useful, as it propagated the need for resistance against one of the most efficient war machines humanity ever saw, regardless of how useless and counterproductive said resistance was.
The truth is that a unit of German infantry blundered near the positions of Polish Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade, near the village of Kroyanty. The brigade commander, Colonel Adam Zakrzewski, saw the opportunity for his, by then obsolete unit, to inflict some damage to the hated enemy, so he ordered his 18th Uhlan Regiment to attack them. Uhlans quickly routed infantry in the open, but as soon as they were done, a German recon unit, consisting of light armor, appeared and started mowing them down with heavy machine gun fire. The Poles retreated, losing about 25 dead and twice that many wounded. The Germans were so impressed with the action that they were even considering a tactical retreat in the sector.
The day after the battle, Germans brought was correspondents to the site. One of them, an Italian Indro Montanelli, seeing the dead horses and Polish cavalrymen among tank tracks, wrote a piece about a cavalry charge that gave rise to the one of the most popular history myths.
