Day by Day with the Russian Army, 1914-15Pares, Bernard
History
Day by Day with the Russian Army, 1914-15
Pares, Bernard
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Poland; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, English
_March 22._--At 10 o'clock in the morning we marched out to Riechwald;
the roads were sunk in mud. Kolaris tells us of a four days' fight
at Sekow; of his company there were very few left. The division is
attacking the heights with the Imperial Rifles, the 26th and the 21st.
The Commander of our company was told that in the trenches there were
about fifty Russians who were only waiting for us to surrender. When
we attacked we found as a matter of fact that we had no less than two
Russian regiments against us with four machine guns.[3] The company
of Kahlen marches out to a bare hill, but is met by a murderous fire
and is almost destroyed. The Little Russians are almost all left on
the field, either dead or seriously wounded. They are very lacking in
initiative and resource. When one goes up-hill the heavy knapsack is
a great hindrance. According to what the officers think and what the
soldiers say, this attack was an evident impossibility. Of the officers
there fell Nietsche and Haube. Heavily wounded were Andreis, Lajad and
Ensign Steiner. Riechwald is a dirty Ruthenian village. Near the church
we buried Ensign Buhlwas. Our company is in the trenches eastward of
Riechwald in the direction of the Dukla Pass. The company has been
in the trenches there for seven days in all. At times the Russian
artillery bombards our trenches. Our cannon reply. After dinner, work.
Close to us on the right there burst two shrapnels, and two hundred
yards from my house a Russian shell went past. In front of us, twenty
yards away, there is a hut with our Staff. Not long ago a shell fell
there; luckily there was no one here. In the evening at 9 o'clock the
company returned from the trenches.
_March 24._--At 5 o'clock in the morning there was an alarm. We go off
to the trenches to relieve the 21st Regiment. Our trenches are not very
sound. We are always improving them. The Russians look at us from their
trenches, but do not fire.[4] They, too, are working at their trenches.
Our sixteen-year-old volunteer went out on the Mahlsdorf side _and saw
there_ seven Austrian soldiers. Perhaps they were Russians disguised.
The Brigadier-General has forbidden us to send any scouting parties to
Mahlsdorf. The 21st Regiment sent out a Czech and a German scouting
party, but neither of them came back. We could not hear any firing.[5]
In front of our trenches there is a wire entanglement, at which we put
a sentry, to listen, especially at night, when any danger appears.[6]
By night our outposts fire on the Russians, but the firing soon dies
away.[7]
_March 25._--We have come out of the trenches. In the evening we all
sat together and had a good time with music and beer. The news came
that Przemysl had fallen. Probably now the Russians will march on Dukla
and on Krakow. Lots of complaints against our generals. No one has
anything to say in favour of our offensive.[8]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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