In 1920, Babel was assigned to Komandarm (Army Commander) Semyon Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army, witnessing a military campaign of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920. He documented the horrors of the war he witnessed in the "1920 Diary" ("Конармейский Дневник 1920 года", "Konarmeyskiy Dnevnik 1920 Goda"), which he later used to write "Red Cavalry" ("Конармия", "Konarmiya"), a collection of short stories such as "Crossing the River Zbrucz" and "My First Goose". The horrific violence of "Red Cavalry" seemed to harshly contrast the gentle nature of Babel himself.