andpuff

So yesterday when briefly talking about Avatar, I said:  "And I thought about Polish cavalry charging German tanks and how people repeating history  isn't so much heartbreaking as it is a stupid result of bad strategy.  I expect that wasn't exactly what they wanted me to think about."

And jeza_red said: "I'm always curious about that "Polish Cavalry" thing... funny stereotype, almost as funny as "history" classes some people have attended."

And I thought: "Wait?  What?  That didn't happen?"  So I looked it up.  And found that the Polish Cavalry actually charged infantry at Krojanty, took machine gun fire, many casualties, and had to retreat; although they'd delayed the German advance and the mission was considered a success. The tanks came from a reporter's misinterpretation of the bodies on the battlefield after the Battle of Tuchola Forest and the charge that never happened became myth.   A myth of tragic bravery against overwhelming odds but still, myth.

So I apologised to jeza_red because I imagine that, being Polish, she's a little tired of her country's history being misrepresented world wide.  Also, she definitely has a point about the history classes I took. 

Although it's been so long things are definitely blurry, I suspect not much, if any at all, of the scant  WWII history I had touched on anything but the Canadian involvement.   A little Dieppe, a little Vimy Ridge, a mention of Hong Kong and otherwise, nada.  And lest you think all the Canadian bases were covered, I lived in a town where there was a POW camp during WWI and II and would never have known it had my grandfather not been stationed there during WWII.  It was never mentioned in the nine years I went to school less than ten kilometers away from it.

Anyway, this whole thing made me wonder how much "popular knowledge" of history is less than factual.  A proportion we'll never realize if the people who know the facts don't sigh deeply and jump in.  Thanks to jeza_red , I found out something I didn't know.

Now you know it too.
 

myrealtears

Henry had a split second to shift his body before his full weight landed on top of Vicki as she let out an, "oomph." The motel's darkened room didn't keep him from seeing her startled expression and he snuggled close, "I didn't think you could take all of me at once."

Not able to see him clearly in the dark, she traced the outline of his smile with her finger tips, "You have a high opinion of your assets."

Frowning into her fingers he said, "You know perfectly well I meant my weight."

Her lips formed an evil grin as she said, "Gotcha."

myrealtears

Henry gestured for Vicki to to take her seat as he sat across the isle, fastened his seat belt, took a deep breath, closed his eyes and waited for the plane to take off.

Vicki sat, fastened her seat belt and turned her head to watch Henry. She couldn't see his face but felt his tension mounting as the plane's engines built the power needed to race down the field and lift it's wings toward the sky. Speaking softly she asked, "If you hate this so much, why did you fly back here in the first place?"