Poles in Kaisers Army On the Front of the First World War. Ryszard Kaczmarek

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СКАЧАТЬ felt a bit uneasy, but a transport of Germans form Westphalia joined us already at the first lodging in Beckingen. Now that our regiment is complete, our non-commissioned officers and officers are exclusively German.¹⁸²

      However, the carefree atmosphere quickly disappeared, even before the first fights, when they faced the weather conditions. The necessity of organizing additional training for the reserve soldiers before departure foretold the coming difficulties. The first long march of the Infantry Regiment No. 157 from Saarland through Luxembourg to the Belgian border turned out to be a nightmare for many soldiers. Not only the heat but also the undulating terrain caused many difficulties. The soldiers were unprepared for such an extreme effort. The satchels turned out to be overpacked as full equipment became a burden. They began to fall beside the road on the first day. To make things worse, the confiscated horses also proved too weak to drag carts packed with ammunition and equipment. The soldiers managed to keep a wagon in a column only thanks to an additional horse team. Moreover, the provisions were lacking. There was a constant lack of drinking water. Already in Luxembourg, supply officers faced difficulties with obtaining food due to their lack of experience. There was no shortage of food but, rather, the Luxembourgians treated the Germans “reluctantly,” to put it mildly. Only over time, they decided to use a carrot-and-stick approach toward them, but also toward the Belgians and the Frenchs: “However, a little pressure and cash worked wonders.”¹⁸³ When the Infantry Regiment No. 157 finally reached the concentration place after the two-day-long march, it had to ←66 | 67→remain there until August 18, just in order to allow the exhausted soldiers and animals to rest, but also to conduct additional training that aimed at developing the organization of marches in columns. Only then was the regiment ready to move to the frontline.¹⁸⁴

      The soldiers of Poznań regiments faced similar difficulties. One of them recalled the march in August 1914 as a torture, especially because they once walked seventy kilometers in a single day (!), which was twice the quota predicted for an infantryman in the German pre-war plans:

      We already walked about fifty kilometers today. The sun burns, our faces and eyes are deluged with sweat that eats into our dried larynxes. Further and further without rest. One after another collapses and, after a short break, continues to slog onward so as not to lose his regiment in the ocean of people. Finally halt. The kitchens arrive and hastily serve food. Other columns march next to us, not only on the road or besides, but across the country, through the grains, potatoes, broken fences, and rails. Constantly onward and onward in some kind of a crazy rush. They banned us from drinking water because the wells are supposedly poisoned. We cannot overcome our thirst. The thirsty mob over a stream that flows along a burned village. They scoop water with hands, some fill hip flasks and vessels, some drink directly from the stream. Suddenly a command: “Prepare yourselves for departure.” We haven’t finished eating. Some pour away the rest, some pour it into hip flasks. There was no time for rest. The stragglers barely managed to catch up, and now – keep walking – there is no time for eating…. We march forward again. Our legs refuse to walk, refuse to flex, they are like trees, but after a hundred meters they get used to it once again and our boots steadily but stiffly hit the ground, stirring clouds of dust. We already marched more than sixty kilometers today – nearly seventy. We should rest. We have been marching since 2 am and now it is 5 pm.¹⁸⁵

      The 63rd Infantry Regiment faced similar difficulties during their march. After a nice three-day-long journey by train, when they received gifts and singing at stations, they had to march over stone paved roads, which turned out to be grueling for the reserve soldiers, only one week in the regiment. It was not only the heat and burden but now also boots and footwraps that exaggerated the torture. Abraded feet were a real issue for the medical services because, over time, they caused deep wounds that required ambulatory treatment that removed a fair number of infantrymen out of active duty. Its consequence was the considerate slowing of the march of regimental columns that became increasingly stretched. The coachmen still had difficulties driving new horse teams due to shorter initial ←67 | 68→trainings. After arriving at the concentration place, they incessantly practiced marching and shipping.¹⁸⁶

      The way to the frontlines looked slightly differently for the artillerymen of the 12th Infantry Division. They also departed from Grodkowo and Nysa on August 7–8 and, after three days, reached Saarbrücken. Also in this case the mood was exquisite, and even the lack of beer or wine was not an issue. The soldiers enjoyed the delightful landscapes through train windows. The transports indeed traveled according to mobilization schedules, but at a very slow speed of twenty to thirty kilometers per hour, which allowed the soldiers to cherish the surroundings. The soldiers of the 21st Field Artillery Regiment did not struggle so much with constant march due to the higher number of carts that could carry some of their own equipment. Quite surprisingly, descriptions of this march do not reveal hostility from Luxembourgians, which was an issue for the infantrymen. After the war, many cordially recalled the people of Luxembourg who willingly sold food for German marks. In the lodgings, the incredibly hospitable Luxembourgians were to admire the burly German bodies. Some recall an anecdote about a reserve officer who bathed under a bridge as local girls suddenly showered him with flowers from the bridge. The situation was ironically summed with words: “Oh, if only his beloved wife could see this.” Thus, we should not be surprised that, at the moment of their arrival at the destination, the artillerymen were in exquisite moods.¹⁸⁷

      At the moment of concentration and after crossing the French border, the Pomeranian regiments joined the First Army, key in the 1914 campaign. Initially, the Silesian VI Army Corps operationally belonged to the Fourth Army commanded by Duke (Herzog) Albrecht of Württemberg. The V Army Corps – which included the VI Reserve Army Corps – of the Fifth Army stood to the left of the Silesians. The V Army Corps was commanded by the successor to the throne (Kronprinz), Wilhelm Hohenzollern. At the beginning of the war, the Silesians fought against the Fourth French Army under the command of General Fernand de Langle de Cary, that were also to conduct an offensive toward the Ardennes. This French Army consisted of II Corps, Colonial Corps, and XII Corps.¹⁸⁸ The troops of the V Army Corps of Greater Poland faced the Third French Army under the command of General Emmanuel Ruffey (since September 1914, under ←68 | 69→the command of General Maurice Sarvail). This Army consisted of IV, V, and VI Infantry Corps along with the 7th Cavarly Division.

Baptism of Fire

      Most soldiers remembered particularly well their first combat with the French and the Belgians. Baptism of fire is something extraordinary in the life of a recruit. For the first time, they had to face the fact that they must kill and may be killed, while their closest friends fall on the battlefield. They had to learn that not always would they kill someone anonymous, but sometimes they would stab the bayonet in the back of an enemy that stood right next to them. Later, frontline experience allowed the soldiers to partly accustom to the state of constant threat of life and participation in a mass murder, but the first time was a true baptism of fire for every young man. Furthermore, it was an opportunity for officers to assess the preparation of their troops and readiness for absolute submission to orders, even if the commander was about to send them to inevitable death on the battlefield.

      Often, extreme exhaustion and emotions from battle made soldiers stop thinking rationally, which eased them into submission. The automatism of trained motions blunted their decision to go under enemy’s fire. A man from Greater Poland recalls his first fight as a dramatic experience:

      We hear a command: “Form an extended line! Down – up – march, march, down, and up etc…. Don’t be afraid boys, the French shoot too high so СКАЧАТЬ