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15-September-1915
With the recent sighting of partisans we began to mobilize… not a large force, only a few dozen men, there was no need for more, since they were in marshland, so the more men we brought the larger a target we became, therefore fewer was better, and with camouflage it was ideal to deal with them.
Although first I wanted to talk to them, so I brought Ferdinand in case they spoke Russian. I could handle Ukrainian, so I hoped at least one of them spoke the necessary language.
The area we were heading to was Polesia, north of Kiev, and unlike other zones such as the fertile plains south of Kiev where large scale agriculture was being developed, here it was marshes… marshes… and more marshes… filled with cold mud. It reminded me of my time in Masuria, but we had to hunt these partisans, the last thing you want is for these groups to grow, because it usually turns into an uphill fight.
As soon as we got off the train with my operations group we contacted the unteroffizier in charge of the village where partisan presence had been reported and where they were believed to be operating nearby.
''Greetings, give me a summary of the situation'' I said while observing the nearby marshy forests around the village.
''Unknown number of hostiles, they managed to acquire weapons, so we do not know how many they are or how well armed. They attempted to ambush my men during a patrol around the village. After a quick search of the town we discovered people missing from their homes, so we suspect they were the ones who tried to ambush us… although we have no idea where they got the weapons, we searched every house thoroughly and removed everything'' said the unteroffizier who was leading the group of young men who clearly looked nervous.
''Textbook partisans… we need to carefully investigate where they got the weapons and ammunition, this could be a Russian attempt to incite the population against us by exploiting the hunger they created, so they might be smuggling weapons from Russian lines'' I said while watching the forest.
''Understood… do you require my assistance and that of my men for this mission?'' the officer asked, tilting his head slightly.
''No… secure the area… nothing happened at the storage depot, right? I think this is about food, so it may have been their intention to steal the supplies there'' I said while taking out my rifle.
''The village supplies are secured. Figures were seen around the area after the failed ambush, but the food remains untouched, we have enough for three months and two additional weeks under current rationing. The complaints are the usual, people are hungry, but we have not yielded and the food remains in place, I have checked my men several times in case they try to steal or smuggle anything'' said the officer.
''Good… keep it that way… we will investigate the marshes and return as soon as possible'' I said while signaling my men to begin moving into the swamp.
''So what do we do… shoot to kill or wound?'' said Ferdinand while putting on his balaclava and adjusting his camouflage.
''Trying to take them alive without injuring them would be ideal… something I have not taught is what happens when you shoot partisans'' I said while beginning to walk over the muddy ground as we entered the forest.
''What happens…? you just shoot them and hunt them until none are left'' said Ferdinand
''If there are ten partisans and you kill two… how many are left?'' I said, looking at him.
''Eight'' he replied while stepping over a root.
''Wrong… twenty… by killing those two you may convince those who were not fully committed to take up arms, or because you killed a loved one they now want revenge and will do anything to kill you, pushing them into fighting you… so ideally we want to talk to them, calm them down, see what their problem is and try to solve it in the least bloody way possible… if that is not possible… then we kill every last one of them and make sure they never get the chance to speak about what happened here'' I said as we kept walking.
''I understand…'' said Ferdinand, somewhat confused, as he was about to step into the water to reach the other side.
''Stop… those waters must be full of leeches… and do you see that over there?'' I said pointing across the body of water.
''No… what…? a snake'' said Ferdinand while focusing where I pointed.
''Yes… the terrain is dangerous… I think they know it well, so we must not get careless… do not enter the water, watch where you step… and stay alert'' I said as we began to move around the marsh.
Time passed quickly as we avoided entering the multiple bodies of water and kept swatting away mosquitoes, which, thanks to our well sealed camouflage uniforms adapted for low temperatures, could only bother us around the eyes, making them relatively easy to deal with.
There were also many snakes in the area, along with other insects flying everywhere.
And from time to time we heard wolves howling, although that did not concern us much, unless the wolves were truly starving they did not attack humans, and we were heavily armed to stop any attempt from a pack. What we did watch out for were signs of boars, since they were aggressive when you entered their territory, forcing us to be more cautious.
We moved through the area trying to find any kind of tracks that could guide us to our objective.
We walked for several hours until the sun set, until we found the first sign of movement.
''Tracks…'' I said, lowering my head as I noticed the imprint of a boot.
''Not very fresh, the mud has hardened, so a few hours have passed since someone stepped here'' said one of my men.
''But we have the direction they moved in, because there are more tracks there, now we just need to follow them and we will reach our objective''.
We began moving, following the tracks, listening to the multiple howls of wolves across the marsh, while our eyes were practically covered in mud because of the mosquitoes.
As we kept moving, we found tracks that were getting closer and closer.
''Blood…'' I said, touching it to check how fresh it was.
''Quite fresh… you can tell what they hunted, there are more blood stains'' said one of my men, pointing at the other spots.
''This is a hoof… they probably hit a boar… and took it as food'' I said, observing the hoof marks.
''Yes… that must be it, look here there is a hole, it must have rolled around here and there is a lot of fresh blood'' said Ferdinand while examining the area.
''Good, they must be close, let's move'' I said, starting to move again.
Trying to follow the tracks they had left, we moved through the marsh, ignoring how the darkness was closing in around us, until after going around several swamps and avoiding provoking a nearby pack of wolves, we began to smell the air and there was a scent of roasted meat.
''They are close…'' I said, sniffing the air, and everyone raised their heads to smell.
We kept moving until we finally spotted smoke rising between the dense trees that blocked our view as we approached.
Noticing there was a large group of people around a fire, with what looked like makeshift tents, using cloth and branches to hold them up, and they were roasting a boar.
''Now what?'' asked one of my men who was aiming his rifle at them.
''We wait until they fall asleep… I do not think they are organized or smart enough to post night sentries, or maybe they are and only a couple will stay awake, which we can deal with easily''.
We stayed in position watching them laugh and eat, relieve themselves nearby, waiting for them to go to sleep, which did not take long, but we noticed they did leave guards, there were two men in the center of the camp keeping watch.
Without saying a word, we began advancing slowly, moving in complete silence, avoiding stepping on the wetter mud so we would not make noise.
Taking a long time, what should have taken a minute, we were now very close to the fire
That was when I began to hear them speaking in Ukrainian.
''And when are we supposed to strike the Germans?'' I heard one say.
''I do not know… they are still not coordinating how we will divide the supplies with the other groups… nothing has been agreed yet'' the second replied while scratching his beard.
When both turned their backs to us, we moved in, and I, with another of my men, got behind them, and before they could react I had my hand over one partisan's mouth and my arm around his neck applying pressure, while my legs locked around his torso applying a chokehold, while Ferdinand copied the technique, though not as cleanly, and the others entered the tents and took the rifles inside, gathering them.
Two shots into the air were enough to alert everyone, and within seconds, after knocking out the partisan, we had the Ukrainian partisans under control, they were many, but they did not have many weapons.
Quickly they all came out and formed up, kneeling with their hands raised while trembling.
''23 rifles…'' said one of my men, throwing them onto the pile that had formed
''And there are around 120 people between men and women'' I said while walking through the camp checking for anything else.
''So what do we do with them…? talk to them and try to calm them down?'' Ferdinand asked.
''Yes… ideally, but I heard there are more groups, we need to know who is coordinating them, if this is larger like I said, we will probably have to kill them all'' I said while walking and looking at the surrendered partisans.
''How many are there in total…? I heard them say there are more groups and they are planning an attack'' I said, looking at the one who seemed to be the leader, since everyone was looking at him.
The man did not answer, he just stared at me.
''The crime you have committed is enough to hang every single one of you and send your children to orphanages… so you better talk and I might show mercy'' I said, crossing my arms and staring at him without looking away.
''I do not know'' the partisan leader replied.
''What do you mean you do not know? you had meetings to divide food… right? you are planning an attack against the garrisons'' I said, crouching down and bringing my face close to his.
''The group we had contact with are Russians… soldiers trying to put pressure on Kiev… they offered us food if we cooperated'' he said lowering his head.
''The attacks are coming from Russia, it seems they want to retake Kiev… it is possible a full offensive is coming, but they would have to cross the marshes… unless they wait for them to freeze, that would make troop movement much easier'' I said, still crouched.
''Do you think the Russians are that stupid to launch an offensive in the middle of winter?'' said Ferdinand.
''Yes… if Kiev falls it would break a large part of the Austro-Hungarian logistical system and we know theirs is not good, the front could collapse if their offensive succeeds'' I replied, looking at Ferdinand.
''Well… that makes sense… do we go back and report it?'' Ferdinand asked.
''Yes,we do that…'' I said, standing up.
''And what do we do with the partisans?'' one of my men asked, pointing his rifle at the prisoners.
''I am going to give them work… the alternative is to kill them all to keep them quiet… but killing people for no reason… meh… we take them back with us and keep them under watch, that way they get food… hand over the rifles to the local garrison… and send a message to organize hunting patrols, if there are boars in the area it could be a source of food for these communities'' I said as I began heading back toward the village.
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