Читать книгу Poles in Kaisers Army On the Front of the First World War - Ryszard Kaczmarek - Страница 10

Famous for its military drill, the tradition of the Prussian Army dates back to the eighteenth century, and it mainly derives from the Silesian Wars waged by Frederick II. These traditions served as an example for the next generations of Prussian officers while the mythicization of victories of that time aimed to integrate the Prussian state, notably the eastern territories inhabited by Poles. The nineteenth-century staff analyses also primarily referred to the campaigns of 1740–1763 and the biographies of the most famous commanders of the time. Many Prussian regiments were named after those commanders. The regimental traditions and the officer ethos referred to the absolutist Frederician monarchy.

However, the German Army and the Prussian troops that participated in the First World War had a different character, which mostly resulted from the changes in the Hohenzollern state after the lost war with Napoleon in 1806–1807, and later thanks to Helmuth von Moltke the Elder’s mid-nineteenth century continuation of the reforms.

After losing the battles of Jena and Auerstedt to Napoleon, a group of young officers introduced organizational and operational-tactical transformations in the army. The group consisted of Gerhard Johann von Scharnhorst, August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, and Hermann von Boyen, supported by an outstanding war theoretician of growing prestige, Carl von Clausewitz. Thanks to their efforts, king Frederick William III introduced wartime universal conscription in 1813 along with the new military decoration – the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz) – initially produced exclusively in a foundry located in Gliwice, Upper Silesia.

The changes at the beginning of the nineteenth century concerned not only universal conscription but also the democratization of officer cadre, although the latter did not succeed until 1914. What played a significant role in the revival of the Prussian Army at the early stage of the reforms was not only the effort of the young Prussian officers but also the example of spontaneously created anti-Napoleonic voluntary troops. Adolf von Lützow commanded the most famous unit with nearly 3000 volunteers that mostly consisted of liberal students who fought against the French occupiers. Von Lützow’s black-red-gold colors were later adopted by student associations (Burschenschaften) that fought for German ←7 | 8→unification, which turned it into the symbol of the German nationalist and democratic movement; a tradition later evoked by Landwehr. The anti-French tradition in the Prussian Army grew stronger after The Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

The military reform was finished in 1814–1820, only after the Napoleonic Wars, but it no longer based on the liberal tradition of national liberation movements in German lands. The main goal was to further modernize Prussian army, once again a growing European power. To reach this position, Prussia implemented universal conscription. Since then:

— all men served three years of compulsory military duty; however, in 1833, the conscription in infantry had to be limited to two years due to financial reasons; gradual reestablishment of three-year compulsory military duty started in 1850 only to be formally decreed in 1856¹;

— until the age of thirty-two and after completion of the compulsory duty, all men had to go through two-year training in military reserve force as part of the first Landwehr contingent (Landwehr ersten Aufgebots) to be called upon in times of war (that was the case in 1849, 1850, and 1859); since 1859, each trained Landwehr regiment (Landwehr-Regiment) supported an infantry regiment with the same number, which in case of war functioned as a reserve line regiment that gathered members of the Landwehr’s three youngest years²;

— members of the remaining Landwehr’s older years formed the ranks of the second Landwehr contingent (Landwehr zweiten Aufgebots) until the age of thirty-nine;

— the trained soldiers until the age of fifty remained at the disposal of the Landsturm, called upon in case of a direct threat to the territorial defense of their place of residence in wartime.

Moreover, the reform planned for the democratization of the officer corps that began with the creation of the Landwehr in 1813. However, the corps of professional officers retained its elite character until 1914. Prussians and then German professional officers considered their profession as exceptional, which was to result from their constant willingness to sacrifice their lives. That was the reason why the officers expected different treatment in terms of criminal and civil law. ←8 | 9→The specific character of this professional group stemmed from its observance of a separate code of honor, according to which all disputes were settled without the interference of the administration and civil courts. It was mostly connected with the noble provenance of this group. Although at the beginning of the twentieth century half of the officer corps was of bourgeoisie origin, the majority of professional positions of higher officers were still held by the aristocrats. In 1909, out of thirty Generals of the Infantry, only two belonged to the bourgeoisie. Among lieutenant generals (Generalleutnant), this ratio was forty-four to seven, and among the major generals (Generalmajor) – seventy-five to thirty-one in favor of the nobility. It means that the stereotypical caricatural image of an officer was quite true to life: he was to come from a Junker family in the eastern Prussian territories, east of the Elbe, with his inseparable monocle, and usually behave arrogantly, rigidly, and boastfully though possessing little knowledge of the world.³

Reserve officers (Landwehroffizier) were very numerous in the mass conscription army at the time of the war mobilization in 1914 and belonged to an much different group. Most of them represented the bourgeoisie, while later the majority even consisted of the representatives of the working class. Over time, it was the education and property that was crucial to obtaining the rank of junior reserve officer rather than noble background. The way to reach the officer ranks was different in the case of professional military. It resulted from the military reforms of the first half of the nineteenth century, which allowed recruits to choose between one-year voluntary military duty over the earlier two or three-year compulsory duty, which created a new category of “one-year volunteers” (Einjährig-Freiwillige). After the completion of this shorter training, volunteers could apply for the appointment to the rank of reserve lieutenant. However, there were additional conditions for the approval for the special one-year duty. Only graduates of at least the first grade of Gymnasium and Realschule (Obersekunda) could submit applications, that is, usually seventeen-year-olds. It also meant that the applicant will cover the expenses like housing, weaponry, and uniforms. The latter obligation was particularly difficult to fulfill. Such a one-time expense costed 2–3 thousand marks, far exceeding the income of small craftsmen and merchants. This is why only 30–40 percent of secondary school graduates – the potential “one-year volunteers” – enrolled in this type of military training. Between 1906 and 1910, 181 thousand people were eligible, but only 59 thousand exercised the possibility. But the professional officers hardly ←9 | 10→tolerated even those enrolled before 1914. Most often, the latter would become an object of mockery in regiments due to their insufficient military training and lack of experience. Nevertheless, they usually tried to meet the requirements, which enabled them to enter the circle of professional officers. Moreover, the reserve officers adopted the professional officers’ features and values important in first-line regiments: discipline, order, punctuality, sacrifice for the duty, and even the behavior and worldview mocked by the civilians. They later implemented these views in their everyday life, which led to the popular belief that the soldiers the German Empire.⁴

Right before the First World War, patriotically oriented representatives of the Polish intelligentsia exploited this system and enlisted as “one-year volunteers,” so that they could later use the experience in their work toward the rebirth of the Polish state. For example, the national-democratic Association of the Polish Youth “Zet” recommended such way of action, as Bogdan Hulewicz testifies in memoires on his voluntary enlistment to the German Army: “I was healthy, physically skilled, athletic, and inured, my ZET “brothers” in Munich picked me out for the future instructor in Rifle Squads. Therefore, avoiding the German military one-year duty was out of the question, so after a couple of study semesters, I reported to the draft board in October 1912. To receive a comprehensive military training and reach the rank of reserve lieutenant was part of ZET’s program, which I followed enthusiastically. I chose a naval battalion quartering in Kiel, where I received military training in the infantry and the navy, as well as in the essential aspects of field and naval artillery.”⁵

Apart from “one-year volunteers” and already during the Frist World War, there emerged an intermediate category between commissioned and non-commissioned officers was proved a gradual democratization of the German officer corps, even if forced by the growing recruitment needs. That is, there appeared the function of a deputy officer (Offizierstellvertreter). At first, those waiting for the commission were treated like non-commissioned officers and received no admission to the caste of the professional military men. Only when front losses increased did they become significant front commanders at section and platoon level.⁶

There was a strong tradition both in the Prussian officer corps and among officials that dated back to the Frederician period, which was to keep class ←10 | 11→diversity among those nominated by the king. The goal was to integrate the state around an absolute monarch. For instance, in 1815–1830, the king appointed in the Upper Silesian 22nd Infantry Regiment seven officers from Saxony, five from Mecklenburg, four from Westphalia, four from the Kingdom of Poland, three from Pomerania, two each from Rhineland, Hanover, and Hesse, one each from Holstein, Anhalt, Franconia, Austria, Russia, and England. What integrated all of them was loyalty to the Hohenzollern dynasty that they conscientiously cultivated as part of the regimental tradition. All the officers of the 22nd Infantry Regiment had to have “solely monarchist views” and keep distance toward “any party-oriented attitude.”⁷

The military reform partially changed also this tradition, even among commissioned officers. The new generation of officers of the 22nd Infantry Regiment stemmed from the Upper Silesian destitute nobility already from the 1820s. However, we mean here the families that settled in Silesia only in the eighteenth century. Hopes for quick enrichment often turned out illusive, so the newcomers’ sons and grandsons, after having obtained appropriate education, decided to pursue a military career in the nearest regiments. They spent the initial part of duty in regiments as officer aspirants (Offiziers-Aspiranten), due to the lower cost of such accommodation. This was facilitated by the fact that, after the Napoleonic Wars, regiments received permanent locations of residence with barracks.

At the time of regiments permanent location in the Upper Silesia before 1866, the frequency of officers’ contacts with the surrounding Silesian nobility grew, as we read from reports of this gradual process:

There was a lively, valorous spirit in the regiment during the stay in its garrison. The most important was to keep in close touch with exquisite local circles. At the beginning of the carnival season, young men visited nearby homes in rigid service dress uniforms and feathered hats sprucely worn on neatly arranged hair. Families of high officers and officials along with the noble families – all cordially greeted the officers from the 22nd Infantry Regiment due to their courteous and quiet behavior. For this reason, the families willingly and voluntarily allowed the officers to make acquaintances with their daughters…. In the fusilier bataillions that quartered in small garrisons (Brzeg, Kłodzko, Opole), officers were particularly eager to fulfill their social duties. In this way, former captains and lieutenants [who had already completed active duty and lived in their rural estates] could longer entertain themselves in the circle of young officers who then belonged to the new generation. The unmarried grey-haired men felt like fathers ←11 | 12→to these young modest officers, always eager to help them with money in case of need, which the “young blood” often lacked during parties.⁸

The long garrison stay and the increasingly closer relations between different strata of inhabitants in the eastern Prussian territories – even more true in the case of local non-commissioned officers and soldiers – over time caused the Prussian regiments, which sometimes received particular location by chance, to transform into local troops, which also complied with the objectives of the military reform. The aforementioned 22nd Infantry Regiment quartered in Upper Silesia in order to “train the young people of Upper Silesia to become good soldiers and citizens thanks to the new [reform] bill and the involvement of officers. This established and tightened contacts with all social classes in the province. Thereby, the reformers intended the burghers to adopt military virtues and motivate the brave to volunteer.”⁹

However, these reassurances did not ameliorate the very bad opinion about Polish recruits from the eastern territories until the mid-nineteenth century, in particular from Upper Silesia:

Conscription of recruits for the regiments offered the officers a chance to display their talents. At that time, the annual arrival of recruits allowed them to make many observations of the physical and moral decay of the Upper Silesian population that was to characterize this region. Shoeless, with torn thick linen trousers and similar jackets with tassels, sometimes dressed in cheap clothes from thrift shops; they stood together in front of the barracks and only spoke Polish, which made them seem dull. Their long hair under old hats never encountered a comb. Their eyes were hazy from the coal dust of the local mines. Weak as children, the conscripts who “brought great hope” pushed their way into the barracks. Later, their hair was cut and they were cleaned. When Lieutenant von Goszicki saw the transport for the first time, he said “We should have been sent here maids who would teach these men how to keep their place clean and orderly and how to properly nourish themselves. Only this way could we accustom them to the new conditions.” Their susceptibility to alcohol must have drawn special attention to the gravity of the problem. However, there definitely appeared no [negative] attitude towards them. After the introduction of harsh discipline, Poles quickly manifested their military penchant: commitment to duty, extraordinary endurance in long marches, and loyalty to superiors. Hence, we praise them highly.¹⁰

At the time, the duty was still quite different from the one in the second half of the nineteenth century, after von Moltke’s reforms. An ordinary member of the ←12 | 13→22nd Infantry Regiment received a monthly salary of 2 Prussian thalers, 16 silver groschen, and 6 pfennigs with 12 silver groschen and 6 pfennigs as food benefit (Viktualienzuschuß), because he was supposed to buy everything on his own in the garrison. Non-commissioned officers received an additional benefit of 3 silver groschen. As a comparison, the wages of professional officers were much higher: the commandant of the same regiment received 2500 thalers per year, staff officers 1800 thalers, captains 800–600 thalers, lieutenants 200–300 thalers. They also received food benefits and benefits for their military decorations, especially for the Iron Cross (one thaler per month).¹¹ Meanwhile, in the 1860s, a typical textile industry worker earned about 120 thalers per year and a qualified worker in the highest paid metallurgical industry could receive even over 300 thalers.¹²

There were no communal kitchens in the regiment, so meal preparation became a form of training. Everyone still received soup in the morning (for 10 pfennigs) but they had to prepare the rest of the meals on their own. The selected soldier would go shopping to the city market with lieutenant supervision:

Most of the recruits were not able to do this, they did not know the value of money or the prices of vegetables or meat, let alone the knowledge of spices. Many of the newcomers had to learn how to properly eat meat. However, later they cooked very well and clever soldiers began after a short time to comment on the effects of the gastronomic art. Colonel von Goszicki soon discovered that he did not need women to improve the living standards of the local population! The opposite sex could do it. After two or three years of duty, a soldier was able to prepare a tasty meal for a relatively small amount of money, keep his place clean and orderly, and regularly clean his uniform and shoes; but he also used comb, brush, soap, and hand towel on a daily basis, which became his second nature. Later, he would teach his wife how to do these things.¹³

Nevertheless, the main focus was military training, especially drills, marches with full load, and shooting. The most outstanding soldiers in this duty moved to special three-grade military schools that operated within the regimental framework, after which they could obtain ranks of non-commissioned officers. The lectures at the school were led by former professional non-commissioned officers along with full-time and over time (“one-year volunteers”) officers. Classes began on October 1 and ended in spring. For Polish recruits, these schools also served as places of complementary education in elementary subjects, such as reading ←13 | 14→and writing in German: “out of uneducated Polish recruits, the lessons produced gifted non-commissioned officers and minor officials.”¹⁴ Uneducated recruits testified to the negligence of public education which, since the Frederician times, was theoretically universal. There was still a very low turnout in folk schools, particularly in the countryside, which resulted in very high levels of illiteracy until the mid-nineteenth century.

Even after 1848, many non-commissioned officers recruited from the inhabitants of the Opole district, were not able to read or write what made it very difficult to fulfill the official duties. They coped with the situation in an astonishing way: “Many of them were illiterate. An individual that after many years of duty sometimes obtained the rank of company lieutenant, wrote orders with his own signs that resembled letters, that is, he actually shorthanded it according to his own system of signs, but later read it convincingly and confidently.”¹⁵