11-August/1915
A few days had passed since our operation ended and we had taken part in several engagements that were more like skirmishes, mostly to slow down Russian forces that had launched a counteroffensive in Ukraine. The Austro-Hungarian advance had been so slow that it took time for them to cover the territory we had gained, forcing us to fall back significantly, though not as far as the Dnieper.
In the north, the Russian advance was far more noticeable. They pushed us back considerably, though not enough to threaten East Prussia or Poland. Still, they managed to reclaim a large portion of the territory we had taken during the previous offensive.
Overall, the offensive had gone better than expected. We lost Lithuanian territories that were sparsely populated compared to Ukraine, which was densely populated and had that black soil that was practically gold for agriculture. It just needed to be optimized and perhaps supported by industrial machinery. But that was always the same damned problem. I knew how a diesel tractor worked internally, but building one with the tools and electrical systems available at the time was impossible. It constantly gave me headaches because I could not fully apply what I knew and was forced to improvise.
Things began to unfold exactly as I feared. Only a few days after the Russian withdrawal and the northern counteroffensive, with a massive front line now established, Ukrainians had very little to eat. The Russians had burned everything they could or taken it back to their core territories.
It did not take long to see people searching for food, digging for roots, trying to hunt birds, or combing through forests. With the language barrier, begging near army camps rarely worked, though it was a common sight.
"What are you doing?" Hans asked when he saw the men working over the pot in the camp.
"Cooking instead of letting Ukrainians starve outside because of those Russian bastards" I said while opening a can of tomatoes and pouring it into the mixture.
"That is true… but we should not be using our own reserves. That is asking for punishment" Hans said nervously.
"I am not using army reserves. This is from what we captured in Russia. Remember all the food we took from them" I said while cutting pork and dropping the pieces into the pot.
"Yes… but that was distributed among us" Hans replied.
"I paid most of them for their rations. A few marks for whatever extra they had. I also traded fresher food for canned rations or better quality supplies instead of salted legs and dried meat. This does not affect the army. It comes from my own pocket" I said while stirring.
"Still… remember you are not on good terms with the Generalfeldmarschall on this front. This is asking for trouble" Hans said as he smelled the boiling broth.
"I will keep that in mind… it needs more salt" I said after tasting it.
"Do you need help with that?" Hans asked removing his gloves.
"Of course. Gather bowls. We will have to distribute food and this will likely attract more Ukrainians. We do not have enough for everyone, so once they eat we will have to push them away by force" I said while stirring the large pot in the middle of the camp.
"I understand" Hans said.
Several of my men joined us, bringing bowls and wooden spoons as we continued cooking. Once the meat was ready and the meal turned out surprisingly well despite relying on preserved ingredients, we rolled out one of the mobile field kitchens.
Apparently, one of my captains knew someone in army logistics and we were finally issued the mobile kitchen assigned to our unit. Because of our mission profile and constant redeployments, we had never received it before.
As we moved outside the camp, I began hearing Ukrainian mothers asking for food while showing me their children.
Without saying much, I started handing out food. I knew exactly what was going to happen and what I was doing was not smart, but seeing people starve made my stomach turn. It reminded me of my childhood. Doing nothing would have been worse.
We distributed bowls as fast as possible. As soon as the first people received food, they began heading back toward nearby villages, likely to spread the word.
I had twenty men distributing everything we had as quickly as possible to avoid drawing even more people before supplies ran out.
Even with my money and the deals I had made with soldiers, there was no way to feed everyone.
As soon as the food ran out, we collected as many bowls as we could and quickly retreated into the camp, knowing more people would soon arrive.
And they did.
A large crowd gathered outside, shouting and begging for food.
That was something that haunted me… not being able to do anything.
Shortly after, we were assigned an urgent mission. There were disturbances in a nearby city and we were ordered to help bring the situation under control.
I accompanied Hans, who was in charge of managing the population due to the lack of personnel after recent engagements with the Russians.
When we arrived, we found a group of Austro-Hungarian troops who had apparently been sent for the same purpose.
"Major Karl von Posen" I said as I saluted the Austro-Hungarian officer.
"Oberst Vasyl" the officer replied.
"What brings you here Oberst if I may ask?" I said placing my hands behind my back.
"Just watch" he said signaling his men. His German was surprisingly good for a Ukrainian.
I followed him as we approached groups of Ukrainians who were trying to calm the situation.
There seemed to be unrest. I could hear shouting and soldiers moving through the streets, though I did not understand why.
When I saw black smoke, it became clear there had been a fire, which could have been the source of the problem. We kept moving and soon heard desperate screams.
That was when we reached a part of the city and found a large number of dead people. Cracked skulls, clear signs they had been beaten to death, and others who had been shot.
''Partisans?'' I said looking at the Oberst while observing what seemed to be a large group of enraged Ukrainians
''Worse… a pogrom… and I do not have the men to stop it'' said the Austro-Hungarian officer
That was when everything made sense. The ones being killed were Jews… and their homes were being looted.
''Shit…'' I said, moving my hand toward my pistol, but the Oberst placed his hand over mine before I could do anything and pointed toward some of the men attacking the Jewish civilians
''Many are former Russian soldiers who deserted and kept their weapons… unless we have more men to fight I would not recommend it…'' he said, pointing at those holding rifles and beating a man to death
''What do you mean… we are not going to do anything?'' I said, staring at him
''People are hungry… and the Jews were the ones who had most of the food that was not taken by the Russians… many were merchants, so they had large reserves… if we open fire we turn them against us… if we let this happen their hunger will calm down in a few weeks or months and we avoid an uprising against us'' he said seriously
''So they sent us here just to watch while they kill innocents'' I said, clenching my teeth
''No… we have orders to control the situation, but I only have 500 men available, all Ukrainians… what do you think will happen if I order them to fire on their own people?'' he said, with a faint smile, just as resigned as I was
''A rebellion and problems in the rear'' I said, shaking my head
''There is nothing we can do except make them nervous with our presence and try to get them to disperse. That is all we can do, but without firing'' said the Oberst
I nodded and we began doing just that, supporting the Austro-Hungarians in trying to calm the population and make them disperse. It worked with some, but in most cases we were forced to watch the brutality unfold. Bodies everywhere… while people pulled food out of Jewish homes and fought over it like rabid dogs.
Hours passed where we could do nothing but watch, until we finally managed to disperse the massive crowd. Then we began removing the bodies, which seemed to number in the thousands, pulling them out of the streets and looted houses.
When it was finally over, at dusk, men arrived telling me the Generalfeldmarschall was summoning me. It seemed the day was about to get worse.
When I arrived back at the headquarters of Paul von Hindenburg, after being driven there, I found him alone. That told me things were about to go badly, since none of the other generals were there to intervene.
Hindenburg stared at me when I saluted him and did not return it. He simply kept tapping the table with his finger while looking at me with clear disdain.
''You disobeyed my orders… Karl…'' he said, staring at me
''The orders given by you were fully carried out… all railway lines have been destroyed'' I said, standing straight, already understanding what this was about
''I ordered you not to kill any Russian general… not only did you disobey, you put your men at risk for your thirst for glory… you killed a Russian general like a dog, dishonoring the idea of a proper battle, and captured another through deception… on top of massacring who knows how many officers with your vile and cowardly methods'' he said, pointing at me, clearly furious
''We only disrupted the Russian rear… we lost 32 men in the operation… most of them during the first days after the explosions… and all bodies were recovered'' I replied
''I do not care about your excuses, you coward… hiding in the shadows and attacking like nothing more than a bandit… listen carefully… as long as I command this front and have authority, you will never receive another promotion… I will block anything I can… I will remove this stain from our army… so we are not turned into the disgrace you are making us into…'' he said angrily
For a moment I felt the urge to pull my pistol and put two rounds into that idiot… but I held myself back. I knew I would not leave that room alive.
''I would recommend you leave the army… I will sign an honorable discharge'' his eyes remained fixed, waiting for an answer ''… but until then I will make sure you do nothing but disobey orders and that you never spread your garbage methods of war again'' he said, baring his teeth
When I gave no response, he frowned again
''There is no need for you to report anything… I have already informed the Oberste Heeresleitung…'' he said, throwing a letter onto the table
''The Kaiser wants to see you… now get out of here'' Hindenburg said, with a twitch in his brow
I took the letter and kept it while looking at the Generalfeldmarschall
''May I be dismissed?'' I said, staring at him
''Get out'' he growled
I nodded, left the room, and began reading the order he had given me
It seemed Wilhelm II wanted to see me for some kind of reward for my actions… that explained why he was so angry. I had overshadowed him, and his ego could not accept it.
Without saying anything, I took advantage of the opportunity. This was exactly what I wanted, so it did not take long before I was heading back to a train station by vehicle, taking my men with me to Berlin for what appeared to be some kind of personal commendation, where even German media would be present.
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