FileFront Forums - Japanese Ballon Bombs

"Most known is the cavalry 'charge' on 1.September 1939 in the area of the 'passage' between Pommern and Danzig.

What really happenend was that two squadrons of the 18th Polish Lancer Regiment, under instruction of Colonel Kazimierz Mastelarz tried to surprise a German infantry unit (belonging to German 20th Motorised Infantry Division).

By late afternoon, with a company of tankettes of the 81st Armoured Troop the 18th Lancers were holding the most northern Polish positions near Chojnice while the remainder of the Pomorska Cavalry Brigade fell back southward. The Regimental Colonel Kazimierz Mastelarz had already sought permission to fall back across the Bzura River, which was in his rear to a more easily defendable and less risky position.

Permission had been refused. By late afternoon Mastelarz decided he had no choice but to take some sort of active initiative on his own. Abandoning the broken down tankettes he mounted half his men giving him a force of less than two normal line squadrons.

He aimed to outflank German infantry positions and take them from the rear. At about 7 P.M. the Poles came across German infantry in a forest clearing. Determined upon a surprise attack Mastelarz swept into the clearing with a mounted sabre charge that annihilated the German units. The Poles chased the German infantrymen in the gallopp, when a German armoured car unit (and possibly Panzer I), which had arrived on the scene.

The German vehicles emerged around the corner (left hand side of the area being charged were some woods which took a left hand curve). Colonel Mastelarz then had two possibilities: stop the attack and turn and make flight - and being shot to pieces by the automatic cannons of the German vehicles (or tank machine guns)before getting out of shooting distance. Or head straight for the tanks and disappear between them (and thus put the Germans at risk, mutually to shoot themselves) and finallly into forest area.

Mastelarz decided for the second possibility. Bystanders could take this as a cavalry charge. In truth it was a desperate, but ingenious escape attempt. The Germans were so surprised of the sight of the 'charging' cavalry that they hardly fired. Colonel Mastelarz actually succeeded in saving his units. 20 men were lost. On the next day Italian reporters visited the place of the happening, where German officers told them, on the basis the dead cavallerists, of the 'antiquated and helpless' charge.

A myth was born."

German's also used Calvary (most german guns were horse drawn)

Look at this topic . . . . balloon bombs were never used on troops, and Bat bombs . . . . it is a ridiculus posting. Including Calvary in FH (even though they were used all over in WWII) is not a serious suggestion.

Humor . . . look into it :)