Battle of Krojanty

Date	September 1, 1939
Location	Near Krojanty, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland 53°43′32″N 17°37′55″E / 53.72556°N 17.63194°E / 53.72556; 17.63194Coordinates: 53°43′32″N 17°37′55″E / 53.72556°N 17.63194°E / 53.72556; 17.63194
Result	German victory

Belligerents

Nazi Germany

Poland

Commanders and leaders

Hans Gollnick

Mauritz von Wiktorin

Kazimierz Mastalerz †

Strength

~800
76th Infantry Regiment
Armored reconnaissance vehicles
30 guns

~250
18th Pomeranian Uhlans
1st & 2nd squadrons,
1 platoon of 3rd and 4th sq.

Casualties and losses

11 killed
9 wounded

19—25 killed
40–50 wounded

The charge at Krojanty, battle at Krojanty,the riding of Krojanty or skirmish of Krojanty was a cavalry charge that occurred during the Invasion of Poland in the Second World War. It took place on the evening of September 1, 1939, near the Pomeranian village of Krojanty. Polish soldiers advanced east along the former Prussian Eastern Railway to railroad crossroads 7 kilometres from the town of Chojnice (Konitz) where elements of the Polish cavalry charged and dispersed a German infantry battalion. Machine gun fire from German armoured cars that appeared from a nearby forest forced the Poles to retreat. However, the attack successfully delayed the German advance, allowing the Polish 1st Rifle battalion and Czersk Operational Group to withdraw safely.

Happening on the first day of the war, it was one of its first clashes, and part of the larger Battle of Tuchola Forest. The incident became notable as reporters visiting the site soon after saw the dead bodies of horses and cavalrymen which led to false reports of Polish cavalry attacking German tanks. Nazi propaganda took advantage of this, suggesting that the Poles attacked intentionally, believing that the Germans still had the dummy tanks the Versailles treaty restrictions had permitted them. The scene of Polish cavalry charging the Panzers with their lances has become a modern-day myth.

Polish units were engaged in battle from 0500 against elements of German 76th Infantry Regiment (Colonel Hans Gollnick) of 20th Motorised Division under Lt. Gen. Mauritz von Wiktorin, which operated on the left (northern) flank of XIX Panzer Corps under Gen. Heinz Guderian. Early in the day, Polish cavalry had intercepted German infantry moving towards the Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk) and slowed their progress.

...
Wikipedia