Wow, that's actually a good news !

[chacal83000]

Well, I just wanted to share with you my surprise and happyness about founding this forum for a game I always wanted put on computer !

It's a long time since my last game of WIF:FE and i always hoped for somthing less 'monstrous'. CWiF was a deception and i get myself elsewhere... and now I found that after years of development a computer WiF is near to be realeased ! I'm happy because I will not have to be frustrated by months and months of needed devlopement ! By the time I'll have finished to read this forum I'm sure the game will be realeased ! (Hope so[;)] !) My only regret is that i haven't been there in the community for sharing ideas ! But it's not too late !

So happy to be there, and sorry for poor english !

[Sewerlobster]

Welcome,
It is never too late to share ideas. I am sure this forum will quickly become a great place of MWiF interaction once the game is released. Just reading all the trivia and alternate strategies has been great fun for me already and I can not wait until players start posting their triumphs and tragedies here.

[chacal83000]

Thanks for the welcome,

Yes, sure we'll have plenty of good AARs to read, and comment ! I always liked to read how others play, surely because being unable to find time for playing myself. Ant that always is good source of good strategies, or things to do or not to do or even funny things to do ( I love how the italians in Wif have this potential of doing 'funny' things.... )

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: chacal83

Thanks for the welcome,

Yes, sure we'll have plenty of good AARs to read, and comment ! I always liked to read how others play, surely because being unable to find time for playing myself. Ant that always is good source of good strategies, or things to do or not to do or even funny things to do ( I love how the italians in Wif have this potential of doing 'funny' things.... )

The threads at the top of the forum serve as a quasi-index, pointing to other threads that people have asked about often. You might want to look at the tutorials, since they cover alot of the basic aspects of the game and how they appear on the screen (e.g., the maps and counters).

[chacal83000]

Yes, thanks Steve, I'm browsing actually the maps and discovering the job that was accomplished... All the world in the Europe size... something I would only dream some time ago ! Ah the pleasure of Island hooping... in the endless Pacific... or the adventurous expeditions in siberians steppes...[:)]

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: chacal83

Yes, thanks Steve, I'm browsing actually the maps and discovering the job that was accomplished... All the world in the Europe size... something I would only dream some time ago ! Ah the pleasure of Island hooping... in the endless Pacific... or the adventurous expeditions in siberians steppes...[:)]

Great Avatar chacal83 [:D]
Why this choice ?

[chacal83000]

Indeed it's great Froonp [:D],

I'm born in Poland, and last time I visited was in Tarnow, a small city of the south. And of course because Polish cavalry has great history all over ceinturies (no they didn't charged german tanks with sabers like a common urban legend says in september campaign....just german propaganda !)

[Mad Russian]

ORIGINAL: chacal83

Indeed it's great Froonp [:D],

I'm born in Poland, and last time I visited was in Tarnow, a small city of the south. And of course because Polish cavalry has great history all over ceinturies (no they didn't charged german tanks with sabers like a common urban legend says in september campaign....just german propaganda !)

I don't believe that's a complete myth, but I think it only happened one time.

Good Hunting.

MR

[macgregor]

I don't know if it happened or not. But if it did, wouldn't the Poles be the first to acknowledge it? I would think there would be some sort of memorial commemorating such a brave, however suicidal act of defiance.

[Mad Russian]

I'll have to look it up and see. IIRC, there was an instance where Polish cavalry attacked German tanks sparking the entire "historical" mythical belief that it was normal practice.


The Charge, battle 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 village of Krojanty  in Pomerania which until 1920 had been part of Germany as Krojanten, thus the area was known to Germans. They advanced east along the former Prussian Eastern Railway to railroad crossroads 7 kilometres from the town of Chojnice (Konitz) where elements of thePolish Cavalary   attacked the German infantry battalion. During the attack the cavalry received machine gun fire from German armored personnel carriers stationed nearby and were forced to retreat. Delay of the German advance is claimed as successful completion of the Poles' mission.

The same day, German war correspondents were brought to the battlefield, together with two journalists from Italy. They were shown the corpses of Polish cavalrymen and their horses, as well as German tanks that had arrived at the place after the battle. One of the Italian correspondents, Indro Montanelli, sent home an article, in which he described the bravery and heroism of Polish soldiers, who charged German tanks with sabres and lances. Although such a charge did not happen and there were no tanks used during the combat, the myth was used by German propaganda during the war. German propaganda magazine Die Wehrmacht reported on 13 September that the Poles had gravely underestimated German weapons, as Polish propaganda had suggested that German armored vehicles were only covered with sheet metal, leading to a grotesque attack. After the end of  World War II it was still used by Soviet propaganda as an example of stupidity of pre-war Polish commanders, who allegedly did not prepare their country for the war and instead wasted the blood of their soldiers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Krojanty

So, you are right. I knew that there was a charge that was against armored vehicles but I'd forgotten that it was against armored personnel carriers.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: macgregor

I don't know if it happened or not. But if it did, wouldn't the Poles be the first to acknowledge it? I would think there would be some sort of memorial commemorating such a brave, however suicidal act of defiance.

According to the Polish author Januz Piekalkiewics it sort of happend once by "accident".

During the day therer is hard fighting along the railroad Chojnice-Naklo. The cavalry has fought unmounted. In order to help the infantry to retreat the cavalry decides to counterattack. They form in a small wooded area close to Krojanty.

5 pm on the 1st of september the 18th colonel Mastalerz, of the 18th Ulan regiment, orders the 1st squadron to attack. Major Malecki in command signals with his saber to start the charge. Rittmeister Swiesciak leads the charge. The 2nd squadron joins the charge. 250 riders in a close line formation now charges the german infantry with drawn sabers over open terrain. After shooting down a few of the poles the suprised german soldiers break and run for their lives. The polish Ulans pursue up on the road to Chojnice. After a turn of the road they suddenly encounter a column of tanks and some motorized infantry. Before they can turn their charging horses they are fired upon. Chaos errupts and the poles split up in small groups trying to get away. Horses with their rider shot continue to charge towards the armor. Colonel Mastalerz rides with a small group of soldiers towards the action to try to help his men to get away and is killed. During a few minutes the 18th Ulan regiment loses half of its riders.

Thats how the legend was born that the Polish Cavalry charges armor with drawn sabers. The truth is that they never performed a planned charge on tanks. On several occations cavalrymen encountering armor rode straight towards the tanks at full speed to get past the tanks and get away before the tanks could turn. Riding from the tanks was almost always often doomed to fail.

---

I should really replace "Orm" with "To Late"

[chacal83000]

Orm is right with the description, in fact during september campaign there was very few  charges done by polish cavalry, which most of the time fighted dismounted. All of them were done against infantry and most were succesful. But history retained the one pointed by Orm. Which like said was used by Axis propagenda to show how stupid were poles, then by soviet propagenda.

Curiously it's still survived in schoolbooks in western countries, even nowdays...