Читать книгу Poles in Kaisers Army On the Front of the First World War - Ryszard Kaczmarek - Страница 15

After the war, all authors of the memoirs unanimously state that – at the end of July 1914 – no one seriously anticipated the outbreak of a war, not to mention the possibility of a worldwide conflict. One may find a lot of evidence that the abrupt turn of events was a great surprise to everyone in Germany. Some officers were on leave. The field training exercises became a routine of little intensity due to the heat wave that occurred in summer of 1914. It was only after the Kingdom of Serbia rejected Austrian government’s ultimatum that many realized the threat of war. A breakthrough moment for the officers and soldiers on active duty was July 31, when they received an order from the headquarters, signed by Wilhelm II, “The State of Imminent Threat of War” (Zustand der drohenden Kriegsgefahr); according to the plan, it meant the beginning of mobilization. Already this signal meant that the regiments to participate in frontier actions had to prepare themselves for immediate combat.

In the evening of July 31, Wilhelm II stood on the balcony of the Berlin Palace and addressed these famous words to France and Russia: “We will show the enemy, what it means to irritate Germany!” (Dem Gegner werden wir zeigen, was es heißt, Deutschland zu reizen!).

Full mobilization started on the very next day, in the afternoon of August 1. Although Wilhelm II kept reassuring the public about his peaceful intentions, he openly admitted that –in his opinion – attempts to annihilate the German Reich recently abound. All German newspapers published his throne speech. In the Polish western territories, much of the public attention also focused on Wilhelm II’s speech to Berliners gathered in front of the royal palace, in which he reassured them about the unity of all Germans during the imminent war: “Gentlemen, you read what I told my nation from the palace’s balcony. [Since now] I know only Germans! As a proof of my determination to get through misery and death together, regardless the differences between parties, estates, and confessions, I order party executives to approach me and solemnly pledge it.”¹¹⁴ On August 2, Germany declared war on Russia and on France. On August 5, Wilhelm II reauthorized the Iron Cross, a military decoration only ←47 | 48→granted in wartime, since the beginning of the nineteenth century.¹¹⁵ The Great War began.

The enthusiasm in the first days of the war was particularly big in the cities, also in Greater Poland and Upper Silesia. However, it only occurred in some social circles. Modern historians quite unanimously reject the idea of a common euphoria after the declaration of war on Russia and France. In fact, as much as it was popular among the bourgeoisie and the intelligentsia, working-class families did not share the sentiment. A similar situation occurred in borderland territories inhabited by national minorities. The conviction about general enthusiasm resulted from the festive mood on the streets and on squares of large German cities, sustained by daily press and state officials.¹¹⁶ The inhabitants of Upper Silesia, Greater Poland, Masuria, and Pomerania also cautiously looked at the Germans who indulged in this collective madness, particularly at mass volunteers. The majority of Poles soberly assessed the situation: “The biggest fool is the one who voluntarily joins the army, oh he later regrets it, but it is too late.”¹¹⁷

Later reluctance toward paramilitary training imposed on young men further confirms the lack of enthusiasm of the whole society. So-called Youth Brigades (Jugendwehr) were to prepare boys under seventeen years old to wartime conditions. It was a structure formed in the German Reich as early as in 1896 and tasked with the military training of the youth before they began active duty. Since 1911, the Youth Brigades belonged to the nationwide German Youth Association (Jungdeutschland-Bund). The organization closely cooperated with combatant soldiers associations in the recruitment of members. During the war, the Youth Brigades were required to cooperate with schools in the introduction of paramilitary training to all the youth in units specifically formed for this purpose. Retired soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers participated in this training. After the outbreak of the war, the ministers of war, education, and internal affairs ordered the introduction of obligatory military training for young men over sixteen years old, beginning with the school year of 1914/1915.¹¹⁸ In Upper Silesia, the poor turnout at these trainings was a constant object of ←48 | 49→complaints.¹¹⁹ The reluctance toward hard training – focused on military drill and gymnastics – was particularly noticeable in the summer, when there was more work at households because all working-age men were conscripted. The participation of local notables in training helped very little to promote mass enthusiasm to fight for the Kaiser.

Nevertheless, despite the lack of enthusiasm toward the war, loyalty prevailed, in which the pledge of allegiance to the German homeland and emperor played a substantial role. However, today such an assertion may seem unexpected, especially because it often conflicted with political beliefs of Kaiser’s subjects. One of the thousands of conscripts wrote: “The mind boils of outrage when seeing the violation of the Polish soul. Let the Germans fight for their Vaterland. Why are we supposed to fight for them? For a matter that is alien to us. But there is no escape. [We swore] the oath!”¹²⁰ Such a spirit appears in the memoirs of the soldiers from Greater Poland,¹²¹ Pomerania, Masuria, but also Upper Silesia.¹²² The Prussian authorities did not doubt Polish loyalty and even emphasized the fact that the Poles act like most of German citizens. The position of Polish national leaders further reinforced this conviction, even the National Democrats in Greater Poland emphasized in 1914 the necessity of Polish loyalty toward the German authorities, despite the internment of Polish activists and the ban on publishing or strict censorship of the Polish press.¹²³ Such appeals appeared in Pomeranian Gazeta Toruńska (Toruń Daily: “Let us not delude ourselves! Let us keep calm and caution, we must fulfill our duty, we cannot help it”)¹²⁴ and in Upper Silesian Katolik (The Catholic: “The one who cares for his head must avoid any hassle with the authorities and behave as quietly as he can, he must care both for his and another’s discipline, for order”).¹²⁵

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On August 1, the news about the mobilization initially spread by word of mouth, but the announcements started to appear already in the afternoon, also the one about Landsturm mobilization. A peculiar placard regarding this mobilization preserved to this day was prepared by the German military in bizarre Polish to exclusively address the Polish-speaking inhabitants of the eastern provinces of Upper Silesia. The aim was probably to make it understandable for the older generation, who never partook in the advantages of the universal mandatory German education. With its peculiar language in the Upper Silesian dialect with many Germanisms, this document is today hardly understandable even for Poles. The legible translation reads:

Immediately today, after the publication of this announcement, [one must] report without waiting for an order. [This refers to] all non-commissioned officers and men with military training moved to Landsturm – including those moved from guard units, i.e. all non-commissioned officers and men moved to Landwehr II or Navy Landwehr (Seelandwehr) – who are below forty-five years old, of the following types of arms and units: infantry, naval infantry, marksmen, cavalry, railway troops, stretcher carriers, all naval non-commissioned officers, feldshers, sanitary non-commissioned officers who served at least for half a year, military treasurers, gunsmiths, gunsmith assistants, all sailors trained in gunfight, craftsmen, and tailors. Moreover, those who do not belong to Landsturm and who voluntarily want to join…. Those from the Rybnik province [should report] to Rybnik.¹²⁶

Masses of worshippers appeared at church services all over Germany on the next day, on Sunday. The emperor ordered this Sunday to be a nationwide day of prayer. The officially designated day for common contemplation unexpectedly turned into a more profound reflection on the imminent tragedy and the possibility of losing close relatives. The mood at homes was often gloomy, particularly among the elderly. Józef Borzyszkowski follows various journals and diaries to describes this Sunday in Pomerania in the following way: “Today is ←50 | 51→Mobilmachung [mobilization]. Oh, Holy Virgin and Saint Joseph, intercede grace on our behalf so that we benefit from this Epiphany.”¹²⁷ The bells rang in Pomeranian cities as people visited churches “with lamentation.” Many confessed their sins because they expected the worst. For the sake of their relatives, people often funded crosses and chapels for the benefit of the conscripted.¹²⁸

The outbreak of the war resulted in the immediate mobilization of German first-line units; it looked similar in all regiments. The Upper Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 157 received the order at 2.45 am on July 31. According to the mobilization plan, the first battalion and machine gun company had to prepare in six hours to moved out to the border. Horses arrived at the regiment already at 4 pm of the same day, while at 7.30 pm, the battalion and company were prepared to move to Kluczbork, which was the concentration site.¹²⁹ The Field Artillery Regiment No. 21 – that belonged to the same Upper Silesian 12th Infantry Division – received the order about the imminent threat of war at 3 am. Immediately, each battery prepared four cannons with a team of horses, an ammunition carrier, an reconnaissance vehicle, one cart with provisions, and reserve horses to march out. The troop was accompanied by ammunition columns, each consisting of twenty-seven vehicles (twenty-four of them had a team of six horses!). From the very evening of July 31, confiscated horses arrived at the regiment – assigned earlier in the mobilization plan – in order to move this mass of equipment and wagons. Soldiers collected their combat uniforms while horses were fit with new harnesses. First batteries of the regiment were ready to depart at 6.30 pm, when they received a repeated order about the threat of war.¹³⁰

Similarly, the Infantry Regiment No. 47 and the Infantry Reserve Regiment No. 37 mobilized in Śrem, Greater Poland:

Finally… mobilization! Loud posters announce to everyone: “Mobilization!!!” The youngest cohorts of reserve troops immediately [go] to regiments, levy in masses to man bridges, edifices etc. They will report on the second day, the older cohorts of reserve on the third, fourth, and fifth… July 31, 1914, is the first day of the mobilization. A true human migration… herds of horses. Patrols walk around the city. The bridge is blocked by on both sides by harrows…. Such mood dominated the first days of the mobilization ←51 | 52→in Śrem, a provincial town adorably located by the Warta River, where the second battalion of the forty-seventh Prusian infantry was stationed. Here, the mobilization to the Reserve Regiment No. 37 applied to young soldiers, mostly Poles. The order was… on the fourth day! There reports the local youth, supported with an ample battalion of reserve soldiers from Pleszew and the region, in order to fulfill their hard duty to – the invader. By the emperor’s order, [they are] to become victims of the Moloch of war. They answered the call! Summoned, they were incorporated into the company and assigned lodgings.¹³¹

The reserve soldiers spent August 1 preparing for railway travel. The arriving soldiers and volunteers received combat uniforms, arms, ammunition, satchels, and supplementary equipment.¹³² This thirty-kilogram equipment of an infantry man was very rich but – as they soon learned – it excessively constrained soldier’s mobility during fights. The uniform of a German infantryman of 1914 consisted of a masking field-grey jacket, according to models from 1907 and 1910 (Feldrock 07/10). However, in many regiments, the soldiers still wore the old blue uniforms, visible from afar due to their intensive color, which made them perfect targets for sharpshooters, just like the French and Belgian uniforms.¹³³ The eight-button jackets fastened under the neck. Hannover-type regiments’ buttons were decorated with the royal crown (Kazimierz Wallis belonged to such a regiment). During the war, these were replaced by simplified combat shirts with covered buttons (Feldbluse 1915). The regiment’s number ornamented the epaulettes. In the case of Hannover-type regiments, they received an additional inscription “Gibraltar,” in memory of the fights against Napoleon: “We wear a cerulean band with the inscription “Gibraltar” on our left arm below the elbow. This signifies the remembrance of battles we fought in Gibraltar.… I sent my old shoulder straps with number 51, because I now wear number 79.”¹³⁴ A red trimming ornamented long trousers (model of 1910), while the long leather shoes (Marschstiefel 66) enjoyed little popularity among the soldiers, despite their sturdiness. There were obviously solid but very rigid, and particularly the new pairs caused painful abrasions that were hard to heal, which often turned into bleeding wounds during long marches.¹³⁵ German soldiers wore a leather belt with a brass buckle ornamented with the emblem of the land in the German Empire (model 1895). The belt had a leather pouch with sixty cartridges (model 1909), a bayonet ←52 | 53→sheath, and a defensive grenade (model 1913). The helmet (popular Pickelhaube) or, actually, a leather crash helmet with a characteristic brass tip, had a special masking plain weave cover in field-gray with a big red regiment number over the forehead. The soldiers in the rear wore a round cap (Mütze 10), according to the regulations, which forbid them to walk in the open without headgear. The red band of the cap included country colors and imperial colors above them. In 1915, the cap cut was simplified; it remained round but lacked the colorful band, only the trimming and two colorful symbols.¹³⁶

A typical German infantryman carried on his back a satchel (Tornister 95); initially strengthened with cowhide but, later, produced from plain weave. There was a rolled-up raincoat strapped around the satchel and, below it, the food bag (Brotbeutel 87) with a belted canteen. In 1914, canteen were enamel (Feldflasche 93) but, later, aluminium (Feldflasche 07 and 10). It was all supplemented by the attached metal mess kit (Kochgeschirr 10).¹³⁷ The satchel generally contained personal belongings and personal hygiene utensils (soap, comb, sometimes a little mustache comb) and often also a sewing kit in a special metal case, because the uniform had to always be clean, regardless the weather and length of service. Later, soldiers also received playing cards ornamented with military motifs (generally the Old Maid), and in the West they also received pictorial pocket German-French dictionaries. For identification, every soldier had a military identity card (Militärpass) and an identification badge in a leather case carried around the neck (Erkennungsmarke).¹³⁸ Noteworthy, Kazimierz Wallis describes this baggage in a letter to his father: “I already wear boots, marching trousers, and a forage cap. Here we received: 1 pair of boots, 1 pair of hemp shoes, 2 pairs of stockings, 2 pairs of trousers (marching and white), 3 pairs of pants (underwear), 3 shirts, 2 neck bands, 1 Litewka modra (blue jacket), 1 pair of Pulswärmer, 1 Kopfschützer, 1 pair of gloves, 1 forage cap, 1 towel, 1 belt.”¹³⁹

Not all regiments had the best uniforms and equipment. Everything happened in a rush, especially the preparation of soldier equipment, because time was of key importance when one hoped for victory. As a peasant of Greater Poland that joined the army recalls: “Everyone received necessary elements of military equipment [on the second day after the conscription], except for the bayonet and rifle. They did not hurry with handing out uniforms but only threw around ←53 | 54→the necessary number of stuff – and it was handled. No one cared if the uniform was much too bigger or too small. The same for the boots. The chamber non-commissioned officers tended to viciously put helmets on soldier heads: sometimes they put in normally but, sometimes, time they pressed it with all their might while holding the by the metal tip; after such a procedure, the helmet fit everyone, regardless if it reached the ears or remained on the top of the head. We received navy-blue uniforms with grenadiers’ badges and white facings; besides that, various trousers, black pre-war trousers, or grey field ones; all of them had one thing in common: they were raggedy.”¹⁴⁰

Of course, each infantryman received a rifle. It was the famous Gewehr 98 (caliber 7.92 mm); a perfect rifle, produced until the very end of the war, loaded with stripper clips (with box magazines that held five cartridges). Gewehr 98 weighed 4.14 kilograms, barrel measured 740 mm. It was a precise and reliable weapon with the range of an effective gunshot that amounted to 1000 meters. A true novelty was the gun sight that allowed soldiers to conduct very precise fire.¹⁴¹ The second a soldier started to fight, he put a bayonet on the gun barrel; a bayonet with a flat edge (Seitengewehr 98/05) carried by the soldiers in a special etui on the belt (model 1898). During the war, the more popular bayonet was a similar one but with serrated edge, 50-centimeter-long (the serrated edge was 36.8 centimeters long). It was initially produced for sappers and soldiers of train subunits, mainly for wood cutting. However, it was ill-famed; it is easy to imagine how terrible wounds it could inflict by stabbing. The rumor had it that the French and the British lynched German soldiers who carried that particular type of bayonet. Therefore, its use gradually declined.¹⁴²

An artilleryman’s hand weapon looked differently. Apart from the classic uniform, his equipment consisted of a helmet with different artillery tips and a short cavalry rifle with a cartridge belt for fifty sharp cartridges in place of a Gewehr.¹⁴³

While filling the satchel with prescribed supplies was not difficult, it was almost impossible to carry more things during the long march or train journey, when one had to always hold a rifle, as Wallis writes: “When we depart, we will be able to take as few things as possible because it is horribly difficult to carry so much military stuff. I can only take smoked bacon that you sent me, a can ←54 | 55→of sugar, a jar of marmalade, powdered soup, and Formamint tablets [to heal inflammations of the oral cavity]. We will receive bread before departure.”¹⁴⁴

It was a real challenge for quartermaster units to hand out all the equipment to dozens of thousands of soldiers. Before receiving a uniform, each soldier had to undergo examination. Next, he received soldier’s pay from the regimental paymaster. The paymaster also regulated the payments for confiscated horses. The authorities especially strictly supervised the handing out of identification badges with special lanyards. Furthermore, the officers could use the stand for sharpening sabers and sharp-edged side-weaponry. In the end, the individual gun squads and ammunition columns in artillery regiments collected live ammunition for the cannons.¹⁴⁵

The barracks of the regiments, whose combat units immediately went to the front line, were quickly populated by the reserve soldiers. Garrison cities cheerfully greeted new arrivals at railway stations, as they immediately transferred to their old barracks, often accompanied by the reserve officers who greeted them. After collecting uniforms and equipment under the command of reserve officers – under whom they most often previously served during active duty – they soldiers sent to the company with which they participated in the annual exercises in the military training area.¹⁴⁶ In the first stage of the supposedly fast mobilization, such a way of conscription resulted in situations, in which the soldiers and officers recruited at the beginning of the war mostly came from the garrison’s vicinity. For example, the Upper Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 62 partly comprised soldiers from Saxony and Silesia in active duty, but the reserve soldiers that quartered there on August 1 stemmed exclusively from Upper Silesia.¹⁴⁷

Adhering to the instructions on posters and in press, young men came in the scheduled day and hour from garrison cities and surrounding villages. Special decrees determined how the conscripts had to look when arriving to the military unit. They had to arrive on time, sober, after thorough washing, and in clean clothes. The conscripts who did not report in the place of conscription, were late, or did not obey the instructions were subject to a significant penalty payment (up to thirty marks) or five-day arrest.¹⁴⁸ Paweł Nowak recalls his conscription ←55 | 56→to Landwehr’s Silesian corpus in the following way: “After a short simple parting with wife and two kids, I left my home on August 2, 1914, at 5 am, and, according to the mobilization plan, I responded to my homeland’s summon in Bytom, at the scheduled place and time so as to be enlisted to feldgrau.”¹⁴⁹

Before leaving the barracks, soldiers participated in a mandatory march through the city’s streets, which aimed at convincing non-believers that the German Army is strong and efficient. This is how the send-off of the Infantry Regiment No. 22 looked like: “Equipped with military tools, there stand the companies in perfect order, tightly together. These marvelous healthy men from Saxony and Silesia, but also the Upper Silesian reserve soldiers.”¹⁵⁰ Similarly, the regiment in Śrem paraded among the crowds of city dwellers: “Stretched in long lines, companies occupied the market square in Śrem. Wagons on the sides. The commanders assume command over the companies. All city dwellers appear to accompany their relatives to the railway station. The heavy backpacks are set and filled with various treats. In groups to the right! And a long line of a marching column heads toward the railway station. Wives, children, fiancées, parents, siblings, and friends accompany both sides of the column. Last look at the town hall, the church’s tower, and the sky-blue ribbon of the Warta River. A steaming train is ready. The soldiers fill the cattle wagons with benches.”¹⁵¹

The process of the mobilization was not everywhere the same; sometimes there was embarrassment. For instance, the reserve soldiers of the Infantry Regiment No. 157 did not arrive as regularly as they were expected, and their physical condition did not meet officers’ requirements. After all, maneuver warfare required the infantry to march at a proper pace. On August 6, the regiment was ready to head off but only after it departed as a whole toward the military training area in Hajduki Nyskie, it turned out that the military competences and the synchronization of subunits were far from the requirements of German officers. Returning after the strenuous march on a scorching day, the reserve soldiers were so exhausted that their march through the city streets was called off due to their miserable appearance.¹⁵²

The confiscation of horses, or strictly speaking, their adaptation to military duty, was an even bigger issue. Each horse underwent a veterinary examination ←56 | 57→and – while there was no question about the quality of carthorses – there were very few good saddle horses for officers. Fitting them with new harnesses and adapting to work in teams of sometimes even six horses required a lot of effort.¹⁵³