POLISH CAVALRY NCO MOUNTED

The history of the use of uhlan units in the Polish army dates back to the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) and the times of the Congress Kingdom (1815-1831). At that time, the lancers were perceived as a theoretically light cavalry unit, which, however, due to its excellent training and having a lance equipped with it, could also successfully carry out the charge on the battlefield. Along with the birth of the independent, the Second Polish Republic, lancers were established in the Polish army, referring indirectly to the 19th-century traditions. Units of this type played a significant role during the war with the Bolshevik onslaught of 1919-1921, especially in the Battle of Komarów in 1920. In the period 1921-1939, the Uhlan regiments were perceived as one of the best in the Polish Army - sometimes you can even come across the term "elite". Shortly before the outbreak of World War II (in 1937), the Polish cavalry was reorganized, including the Uhlan regiments, as part of which cavalry brigades consisting of 3 or 4 regiments were created, and in this structure they joined the 1939 war. Before the outbreak of the war, there were 27 regiments of lancers in Poland, which most often performed very well during the September campaign. It is worth adding that these were well-trained units, often with high or very high morale, which in 1939 used horses primarily for marches, and led the fight as rushed units, with the use of small arms or anti-tank weapons. Among the fairy tales, one can argue that the Polish uhlans charged with their sabers on the tanks - this is nothing more than a figment of German and Italian propaganda. One of the best examples of the effective use of lancers in the September campaign is the battle of Krojanty. Two lancer regiments were also part of the Volyn Cavalry Brigade, which fought at Mokra.