The skirmish at Krojanty on 1 September 1939 became the basis for a lasting myth that Polish cavalry charged German tanks with lances.
Key Facts
- Date
- 1 September 1939
- Distance from Chojnice
- 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) km
- Part of larger battle
- Battle of Tuchola Forest
- German force dispersed
- Infantry battalion
- Polish units protected
- 1st Rifle Battalion and Czersk Operational Group
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
On the first day of the German invasion of Poland, 1 September 1939, German forces advanced through the Pomeranian region. Polish cavalry moved east along a railway toward a crossroads near Chojnice, where German infantry had positioned themselves in a forest clearing, presenting an opportunity for a mounted charge.
Polish cavalry charged and successfully dispersed a German infantry battalion near Krojanty. Shortly after, German armoured cars emerged from a nearby forest and opened machine gun fire, forcing the Polish cavalry to retreat. The engagement was brief but cost Polish soldiers and horses, and foreign journalists arriving afterward misread the scene.
The attack delayed the German advance sufficiently to allow two Polish units to withdraw safely. Journalists who saw dead horses and cavalrymen filed false reports of Poles charging tanks, which Nazi propaganda amplified into a myth implying Polish backwardness. The image of lancers attacking panzers became one of the most persistent misconceptions of the Second World War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent