re: #48 A hollow voice says, Beware the strongman con

Didn’t the Polish military include horse cavalry when WWII started?

Yes, although the stories of Polish soldiers on horseback charging German tanks is largely a myth. The Polish armed forces were actually relatively modern for the era, and they gave the Germans a serious fight. The problems were A) they were fighting a two-front war (Germans and Soviets), B) their most modern weapons were in short supply, and C) their defensive plans assumed rapid relief from their treaty partners (Britain & France).