The Rise Of Australasia

Experience has proven that morale significantly affects the combat effectiveness of a military force.

Although the Polish Army bravely resisted the German Army in the early stages, when they learned that support from the rear was obstructed, morale within the Polish forces fluctuated wildly.

The greatest impact of this was that the Polish Soldiers, when facing the German forces, no longer possessed the determination to win at all costs or the courage to fight fearlessly unto death.

"Fortune favors the bold in a narrow path," and Richard Burke's fifth Infantry Regiment quickly defeated the Polish forces in combat and successfully captured the Polish eighth Infantry Regiment's position before nightfall.

The position of the Polish eighth Infantry Regiment was very important. After the position was overrun, the entire 35th Division's line was torn open with a massive gap, awaiting the entrance of the German forces at any moment.

Unfortunately, if the 35th Division were to be defeated, the defensive line of the Polish Third Army Group would also be compormised. Escalating to the entire Third Army Group, this posed a great danger to the entire Polish front line.

This is the reality of the battlefield, where the defeat of a small-scale force can trigger a wider-ranging, complete collapse.

The most critical issue was that the entire Polish Third Army Group had already suffered heavy losses.

As one of Poland's most elite Army Groups defending against Germany, the Third Army Group had a total of seven infantry divisions, three artillery divisions, one tank division, and four cavalry divisions.

As the war raged on, the total reinforcement provided to the Third Army Group from the rear did not exceed the strength of one division, yet the battle casualties of the Third Army Group had already surpassed the personnel of two infantry divisions.

This also meant that the Third Army Group no longer had many reserve forces to support the collapsing units on the defensive line.

It would be unsustainable for the cavalry divisions to abandon their horses and enter the trenches to engage in offensive and defensive combat with the enemy.

While this might resolve the immediate front line crisis, for the Third Army Group, it would be equivalent to giving up their most elite cavalry troops and entrusting all their hopes to the infantry.

This was simply impossible for the Polish Army, which placed great emphasis on their cavalry. To defend the front line, the Commander of the Third Army Group devised a plan to use the cavalry in a raid on the German flanks to briefly halt the Germans' advance.

This led to one of the most famous scenes of World War II.

Following the orders of the Third Army Group Commander, three Polish cavalry divisions launched a surprise attack on the German Second Army Group.

Why were only three cavalry divisions deployed? Because the remaining cavalry division had to stay behind to protect the headquarters of the Polish Third Army Group and serve as the only reserve force for the entire Third Army Group.

To create the best possible opportunity for these three cavalry divisions, the Polish Third Army Group committed all reserve forces to the battlefield, in an effort to hold off the Germans as long as possible.

Although only 20 years had passed since World War I, the way battles were fought had changed greatly compared to the last war.

It was undoubtedly very difficult for the three cavalry divisions to execute a rear flanking maneuver on the German Second Army Group.

After all, the German Air Force dominated the airspace at the front line and deployed a large number of reconnaissance aircraft to scout Polish movements.

To deceive these reconnaissance aircraft and perfectly execute the surprise mission was a high demand on the Polish cavalry.

Initially, the Polish cavalry did well, not only evading detection by German reconnaissance aircraft but also reaching the planned position for the surprise attack.

However, it was only after the Polish Cavalry got close to the German forces that they realized something was wrong; the flank of the German Second Army Group was not made up of infantry but armored tanks and motorcycle units encased in iron.

The Polish forces tried to steady themselves and launched an attack on the well-prepared German tank units ahead.

But soon, the Polish soldiers grasped the vast disparity between cavalry and tanks.

The enemy's tanks were like moving fortresses, able to withstand their rifle fire and machine gun volleys.

This situation was completely different from World War I; the cavalry seemed to have no chance against the tanks.

Although the cavalry divisions brought along some artillery, it was clearly impossible to stop and rely on blasting the enemy's tanks with their cannons at that moment.

Watching the enemy's cannon barrels rotating slowly, they would certainly not give them a chance to stop and deploy their firearms.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Accompanied by the continuous firing of tanks, the three Polish cavalry divisions were instantly and severely impacted.

Although the division's warhorses were trained, the blast of the artillery still caused some panic among the horses.

As the cavalry drew closer to the tanks, the enemy stopped the artillery fire and began using machine guns mounted on the tanks for strafing.

From the beginning, the outcome of this encounter was already determined.

The Polish cavalry stood no chance against the German tanks, which remained in an invincible position and easily countered whatever attacks the Polish cavalry divisions could mount.

In the distance, from a significantly larger tank, came the light laughter of the tank division commander, "How foolish of these Poles to still be waging war with the mindset of the last European conflict. They don't even realize that 20 years have passed since the last great war in Europe."

"Now is the time to send them to meet God, our mission is not these cavalry troops but the main force of the Polish frontline,"

As the German commander had mocked, cavalry charges and frontal assaults were tactics used 20 years ago during World War I.

Back then, nations had few tanks, and they were highly prone to malfunctions, so cavalry played a very important role.

But now, aside from certain strategic advantages in steep mountainous areas, on the vast, flat plains it is clear that tanks hold a significant advantage.

Although Poland had more numbers, three cavalry divisions stood no chance in front of a tank division.

This encounter lasted less than two hours before ending in a comprehensive victory for the German Army.

Apart from a small number of Polish cavalry that fled the battlefield, the remainder either fell during the previous charge or were captured by the German forces.

The introduction of tank forces completely changed the trajectory of the German-Polish war.

One cannot help but mention the deployment of the Polish Army. Like in World War I, they generally adopted an all-encompassing defensive posture.

In simple terms, although Poland had over 300,000 troops on the Westline, these forces, like a wide net, were deployed along the entire border.

Although reinforcements had increased the number to about 400,000, it still hadn't changed the fact that Polish forces on every section of the border were few and far apart.

If this were World War I with both parties' army groups making frontal advances, such a defense might have been without fault.

But the times had changed, and for the Poles to adopt such defensive measures was clearly to expose their weaknesses to the Germans.

How to effectively counter the dispersed Polish defense?

The simplest method is to use tank forces like a sharp blade to rapidly tear through the Polish defenses.

Five days after the onset of the war, a large number of German tanks finally entered the fray, joining the combat against Poland.

Although the German Second Army Group did not have many tanks, it still boasted the scale of two tank divisions.

Compared to Polish tanks, German tanks emphasized defense and firepower, thus having an advantage in combat.

Moreover, since the Polish Third Army Group had only one tank division, it was clear they could not withstand a head-on confrontation with German tanks.

First, the failed cavalry raid and the subsequent total collapse shocked the commander of the Polish Third Army Group. Following that, the German tanks, like a sharp knife, rapidly cut through the Polish defenses, leaving the Third Army Group's commander somewhat at a loss.

The issue now was not the German tanks cutting through the lines but, after breaching, the influx of German forces was likely to tear apart the entire line, thereby compromising the defensive posture of the Third Army Group.

Even more worrisome was that in the vicinity of the battlefield, only the Third Army Group represented the Polish main force. Should the Third Army Group collapse without sufficient support, the route to Warsaw would be left wide open.

Furthermore, the failure of the Third Army Group would significantly impact the Modlin Army and the Narew Force to the north of Warsaw. These two units comprising the Polish Second Army Group were the main force to counter the German First Group Army.

If the defensive posture of the Polish Second Army Group was affected, they might face a joint encirclement of Warsaw by both the German First and Second Army Groups.

Once the German forces joined up, the Polish First Army Group would also fall into the Germans' encirclement. In such a scenario, Poland would be at a severe disadvantage.

Not only would the capital be surrounded, but most of the troops on the Westline battlefield would also face a crisis.

"We absolutely cannot allow the Germans to break through our lines!" the commander of the Polish Third Army Group said with determined conviction, "The time to test us has come! Tell all brigade generals, I want them to hold the lines at all costs until reinforcements arrive."

But where were the reinforcements?

The commander of the Polish Second Army Group was asking himself the same question at the moment.

Compared to the Third Army Group, the Second Army Group faced less pressure.

Until now, the German First Group Army had not launched a large-scale offensive, leading the Poles to conclude that the main battlefield was in the Westline and to redirect a portion of the soldiers from the eastern borders to the Westline.

However, the commander of the Polish Second Army Group had an uneasy feeling. If the Germans were prepared for war in advance, they wouldn't just attack from the front.

One must remember that, after reclaiming the Polish Corridor, Poland's situation in the west became precarious. East Prussia and Cilicia, like a gaping mouth, were ready to swallow Poland whole.

This also meant that attacking Poland from these two directions could yield better results.

Especially from the direction of East Prussia, being especially close to the Polish capital of Warsaw, was one of the likely directions of German attack.

Though the Germans had remained quiet so far, the Polish Second Army Group commander believed that the situation was not so simple.