COBI Polish Uhlans Set 2062

COBI's Polish Uhlans set contains 44 blocks making three figures and a horse: a lancer with a Mauser 98A and a cavalry sabre, a soldier with interchangeable headgear — field cap or wz. 31 helmet — and a gunner with the Browning wz. 28 light machine gun. All markings are printed; the set contains no stickers.

The charge that never happened

Almost everyone has heard that Polish cavalry charged German tanks with lances in 1939. It is the most durable myth of the campaign, and it is wrong.

What happened at Krojanty on 1 September was that a Polish cavalry squadron charged a German infantry battalion resting in a clearing and scattered it. German armoured cars then appeared on the flank and the Poles withdrew under fire, leaving dead men and horses on the field. Italian journalists were brought to the site the next day, saw cavalry casualties among armoured vehicles, and reported a charge against tanks. German propaganda found the story useful. So, later and for different reasons, did Soviet propaganda in Poland, because it made the pre-war Polish state look backward.

Polish cavalry in 1939 were mounted infantry. They rode to a position, dismounted, and fought on foot with rifles, machine guns and anti-tank rifles. The sabre and lance existed, but the doctrine did not call for using them against armour — and at Krojanty the target was men on the ground.

In the COBI range

Part of the Historical Collection WWII figure series. September 1939 was the start of the same war covered by D-Day (2058A), Stalingrad (2061), Monte Cassino (2063) and Berlin (2064).

Specifications

Pieces: 44 · Figures: 3 with one horse · Age: 6+ · Interchangeable headgear on one figure