When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, a semi-legitimate and almost completely fabricated story soon spread in the German-Italian press that the Poles had launched a desperate cavalry charge against German tanks advancing westwards. This story had almost no basis in truth, but an episode that really happened was exploited by German propaganda to boost the morale of its men and internationally spread an image of Germany as a technological and modern power against Poland, whose image became that of a backward and decaying power.

The inspiration for this propaganda mythisation has its origins in an incident that actually happened in September 1939 near Krojanty in western Poland. As the German army began its advance into the country, infantry units sent on an advance reconnaissance mission were surprised by a charge of the Polish Cavalry near the Krojanty forest. The Poles inflicted considerable losses on the Germans, but were subsequently forced to retreat after the arrival of German armoured vehicles, which opened fire with heavy machine-guns and forced the Polish units to retreat. About fifty people were killed and wounded on the field, but the next day the episode was manipulated by the Nazi propaganda machine. The armoured vehicles were referred to as ''tanks'' and no mention was made of the fact that the Polish cavalry led the charge against infantry units, but retreated as soon as they saw the arrival of the armoured vehicles armed with machine guns.

Moreover, it should not be assumed that the Polish cavalry, which was indeed an important department within the armed forces, was a corps that was out of step with the times or necessarily used 19th century tactics. The Polish cavalry, also called Ulans, often used horses to move quickly, but then fought on foot using rifles, light artillery and even machine guns. This event, which has remained etched in the collective memory of many as a 'historical fact', is a clear demonstration of the power of propaganda, especially in wartime, and how it is sometimes able to construct narratives so powerful that they stand the test of time.