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Four Weeks in the Trenches - Fritz Kreisler · With Frederick The Great: A Story of the Seven Years' War

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  Speaker 1: Four Weeks in the Trenches by Fritz Kreisler. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Recording by f N. H. Four Weeks in the Trenches
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  Speaker 1: by Fritz Kreisler, Part One to my dear wife Harriet,
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  Speaker 1: the best friend and staunchest comrade in all circumstances of life.
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  Speaker 1: I dedicate this little book in humble token of everlasting
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  Speaker 1: gratitude and devotion prefess. This brief record of the fighting
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  Speaker 1: on the Eastern Front in the Great War is the
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  Speaker 1: outcome of a fortunate meeting. The writer chanced to be
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  Speaker 1: dining with mister Kreisler soon after his arrival in this
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  Speaker 1: country after his dismissal from the hospital where he recovered
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  Speaker 1: from his wound for nearly two hours. He listened, thrilled
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  Speaker 1: and moved to the great violinist's modest, vivid narrative of
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  Speaker 1: his experiences and adventures. It seemed in the highest degree
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  Speaker 1: desirable that the American public should have an opportunity of
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  Speaker 1: reading this narrative from the pen of one in whose
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  Speaker 1: art so many of us take a profound interest. It
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  Speaker 1: also was apparent that, since so little of an authentic
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  Speaker 1: nature had been heard from the Russo Austrian field of warfare,
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  Speaker 1: this story would prove an important contribution to the contemporary
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  Speaker 1: history of the war. After much persuasion, mister Kreisler reluctantly
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  Speaker 1: acceded to the suggestion that he write out his personal
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  Speaker 1: memories of the war for publication. He has completed his
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  Speaker 1: narrative in the midst of grave difficulties, writing at piecemeal
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  Speaker 1: in hotels and railway trains in the course of a
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  Speaker 1: concert tour through the country. It is offered by the
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  Speaker 1: publishers to the public with confidence that it will be
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  Speaker 1: found one of the most absorbing and informing narratives of
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  Speaker 1: the war that has yet appeared. F G. Part one.
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  Speaker 1: In trying to recall my impressions during my short war
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  Speaker 1: duty as an officer in the Austrian Army, I find
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  Speaker 1: that my recollections of the period are very uneven and confused.
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  Speaker 1: Some of the experiences stand out with absolute clearness. Others, however,
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  Speaker 1: are blurred. Two or three events which took place in
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  Speaker 1: different localities seem merged into one, while in other instances,
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  Speaker 1: recollection of the chronological order of things is missing. This
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  Speaker 1: curious indifference of the memory to the values of time
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  Speaker 1: and space may be due to the extraordinary physical and
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  Speaker 1: mental stress under which the impressions I am trying to
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  Speaker 1: chronicle were received. The same state of mind, I find
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  Speaker 1: is rather characteristic of most people I have met who
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  Speaker 1: were in the war. It should not be forgotten too,
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  Speaker 1: that the gigantic upheaval, which changed the fundamental condition of
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  Speaker 1: life over night and threatened the very existence of nations,
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  Speaker 1: naturally dwarfed the individual into nothingness, and the existing interest
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  Speaker 1: in the common welfare left practically no room for personal considerations.
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  Speaker 1: Then again, at the front, the extreme uncertainty of the
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  Speaker 1: morrow tended to lessen the interest in the details of
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  Speaker 1: to day. Consequently, I may have missed a great many
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  Speaker 1: interesting happenings alongside of me, which I would have wanted
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  Speaker 1: to note. Under other circumstances, one gets into a strange, psychological,
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  Speaker 1: almost hypnotic state of mind while on the firing line,
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  Speaker 1: which probably prevents the mind's eye from observing and noticing
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  Speaker 1: things in a normal way. This accounts, perhaps for some
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  Speaker 1: blank spaces in my memory. Besides, I went out completely
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  Speaker 1: resigned to my fate without much thought for the future.
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  Speaker 1: It never occurred to me that I might ever want
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  Speaker 1: to write my experiences, and consequently I failed to take
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  Speaker 1: notes or to establish certain memo technical landmarks, by the
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  Speaker 1: aid of which I might now be able to reconstruct
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  Speaker 1: all details. I am therefore reduced to present an incoherent
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  Speaker 1: and rather a piecemeal narrative of such episodes as forcibly
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  Speaker 1: impressed themselves upon my mind and left an ineradicable mark
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  Speaker 1: upon my mend. The outbreak of the war found my
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  Speaker 1: wife and me in Switzerland, where we were taken a
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  Speaker 1: cure on the thirty first of July. On opening the paper,
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  Speaker 1: I read that the Third Army Corps, to which my regiment,
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  Speaker 1: which is stationed in Graz, belonged, had received an order
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  Speaker 1: for mobilization. Although I had resigned my commission as an
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  Speaker 1: officer two years before, I immediately left Switzerland accompanied by
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  Speaker 1: my wife, in order to report for duty. As it happened,
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  Speaker 1: a wire reached me a day later, calling me to
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  Speaker 1: the colors. We went by way of Munich. It was
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  Speaker 1: the first day of the declaration of the state of
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  Speaker 1: war in Germany. Intense excitement prevailed in munich Or. Traffic
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  Speaker 1: was stopped, no trains were running except for military purposes.
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  Speaker 1: It was only due to the fact that I revealed
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  Speaker 1: my intention of rejoining my regiment in Austria that I
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  Speaker 1: was able to pass through at all. But by both
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  Speaker 1: the civil and military authorities in Bavaria, I was shown
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  Speaker 1: the greatest possible consideration and passed through as soon as possible.
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  Speaker 1: We reached Vienna on August first. A startling change had
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  Speaker 1: come over the city, since I had left it only
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  Speaker 1: a few weeks before. Feverish activity everywhere prevailed. Reserve is
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  Speaker 1: streamed in by thousands from all parts of the country
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  Speaker 1: to report at headquarters. Autos filled with officers whizzed past.
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  Speaker 1: Dense crowds surged up and down the streets. Bulletins and
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  Speaker 1: extra editions of newspapers passed from hand to hand. Immediately,
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  Speaker 1: it was evident what a great level of war is.
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  Speaker 1: Differences in rank and social distinctions had practically ceased. All
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  Speaker 1: barriers seemed to have fallen. Everybody addressed everybody else. I
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  Speaker 1: saw the crowd stop officers of high rank and well
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  Speaker 1: known members of the aristocracy and clergy, also state officials
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  Speaker 1: and court functionaries of high rank, in quest for information,
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  Speaker 1: which was imparted cheerfully and patiently. The imperial princes could
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  Speaker 1: frequently be seen on the ring strassa surrounded by cheering crowds,
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  Speaker 1: or mingling with the public unceremoniously at the cafes, talking
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  Speaker 1: to everybody. Of course, the army was idolized. Wherever the
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  Speaker 1: troops marched, the public broke into cheers, and every uniform
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  Speaker 1: was the center of an ovation. While coming from the station,
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  Speaker 1: I saw two young reservists, to all appearances, brothers, as
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  Speaker 1: they hurried to the barracks, carrying their small belongings in
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  Speaker 1: a valise. Along with them walked a little old lady crying,
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  Speaker 1: presumably their mother. They passed a general in full uniform.
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  Speaker 1: Up went their hands and the caps in military salute,
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  Speaker 1: whereupon the old general threw his arms wide open and
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  Speaker 1: embraced them both, saying, go on, my boys, do your
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  Speaker 1: duty bravely and stand firm for your emperor and your country.
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  Speaker 1: God willing you will come back to your old mother.
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  Speaker 1: The old lady smiled through her tears. A shout went up,
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  Speaker 1: and the crowd surrounding the general cheered him. Long after
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  Speaker 1: I had left, I could hear them shouting. A few
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  Speaker 1: streets further on, I saw in an open cafe a
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  Speaker 1: young couple, a reservist in field uniform and a young
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  Speaker 1: girl his bride or sweetheart. They sat there, hands linked,
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  Speaker 1: utterly oblivious of their surroundings and of the world at large.
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  Speaker 1: When somebody in the crowd despired them, a great shout
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  Speaker 1: went up, the public rushing to the table and surrounding them,
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  Speaker 1: then breaking into applause and waving hats and handkerchiefs. At first,
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  Speaker 1: the young couple seemed to be utterly taken aback, and
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  Speaker 1: only slowly did they realize that the ovation was meant
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  Speaker 1: for them. They seemed confused, the young girl blushing and
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  Speaker 1: hiding her face in her hands, the young man rising
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  Speaker 1: to his feet, saluting and bowing more cheers and applause.
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  Speaker 1: He opened his mouth as if wanting to speak. There
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  Speaker 1: was a sudden silence. He was vainly struggling for expression,
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  Speaker 1: but then his face lit up, as if by inspiration.
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  Speaker 1: Standing erect hand at his cap in a pose of
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  Speaker 1: military salute, he intoned the Austrian national hymn. In a second,
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  Speaker 1: every head in the throng was bared. All traffic suddenly
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  Speaker 1: stopped everybody, passengers as well as conductors of the cars,
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  Speaker 1: joining in the anthem. The neighboring windows soon filled with people,
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  Speaker 1: and soon it was a chorus of thousands of voices.
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  Speaker 1: The volume of tone and the intensity of feeling seemed
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  Speaker 1: to raise the inspiring anthem to the uttermost heights of
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  Speaker 1: sublime majesty. We were then on our way to the station,
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  Speaker 1: and long afterwards we could hear the singing swelling like
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  Speaker 1: a human organ. What impressed me particularly in Vienna was
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  Speaker 1: the strict order everywhere, no mob disturbances of any kind,
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  Speaker 1: in spite of the greatly increased liberty and relaxation of
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  Speaker 1: police regulations. Nor was there any runaway chauvinism noticeable. Aside
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  Speaker 1: from the occasional singing of patriotic songs and demonstrations like
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  Speaker 1: the one I just described. The keynote of popular feeling
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  Speaker 1: was quiet dignity joined to determination, with an undercurrent of
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  Speaker 1: solemn gravity and responsibility. I had stopped in Vienna only
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  Speaker 1: long enough to bid good bye to my father, and
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  Speaker 1: left for the headquarters of my regiment in Gratz. I
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  Speaker 1: reported there for duty and then to join the fourth Battalion,
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  Speaker 1: which was stationed at Leo Ben, one hour away from Graz,
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  Speaker 1: my orders being to take command at the first platoon
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  Speaker 1: of the sixteenth Company. My platoon consisted of fifty five men,
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  Speaker 1: two buglers, and an ambulance patrol of four in Leoben.
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  Speaker 1: My wife and I remained a week which were spent
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  Speaker 1: in organizing, equipping, requisitioning, recruiting and preliminary drilling. These were
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  Speaker 1: happy days as we officers met for the first time,
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  Speaker 1: friendships and bonds being sealed, which subsequently were tested in
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  Speaker 1: common danger and amidst privation and stress. Many of the
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  Speaker 1: officers had brought their wives, and soon delightful intercourse, utterly
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  Speaker 1: free from formality, developed without any regard or reference to rank, wealth,
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  Speaker 1: or station in private life. Among the reserve officers of
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  Speaker 1: my battalion were a famous sculptor, a well known philologist,
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  Speaker 1: two university professors, one of mathematics and the other of
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  Speaker 1: natural science, a prince and a civil engineer at the
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  Speaker 1: head of one of the largest Austrian steel corporations. The
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  Speaker 1: surgeon of our battalion was the head of a great
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  Speaker 1: medical institution and a man of international fame. Among my
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  Speaker 1: men in the platoon were a painter, two college professors,
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  Speaker 1: a singer of repute, a banker, and a Post Office
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  Speaker 1: official of high rank. But nobody cared, and in fact
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  Speaker 1: I myself did not know until much later what distinguished
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  Speaker 1: men were in my platoon. A great cloak of brotherhood
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  Speaker 1: seemed to have enveloped everybody in everything, even differences in
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  Speaker 1: military rank not being so obvious at this time, For
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  Speaker 1: the officers made friends of their men, and in turn
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  Speaker 1: were worshiped by them. My wife volunteered her services as
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  Speaker 1: Red Cross nurse, insisting upon being sent to the front
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  Speaker 1: in order to be as near me as could be,
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  Speaker 1: But it developed later that no nurse was allowed to
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  Speaker 1: go farther than the large troop hospitals, far in the
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  Speaker 1: rear of the actual operations. Upon my urgent appeal, she
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  Speaker 1: desisted and remained in Vienna after I had left, nursing
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  Speaker 1: in the barracks which are now used for hospital work.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, almost every third or fourth house, both private
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  Speaker 1: and public, as well as schools, were given to the
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  Speaker 1: use of the government and converted into Red Cross stations.
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  Speaker 1: The happy days in Liebon came to an abrupt end,
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  Speaker 1: my regiment receiving orders to start immediately for the front.
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  Speaker 1: We proceeded to Graz, where we joined the other three
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  Speaker 1: battalions and were in trained for an unknown destination. We
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  Speaker 1: traveled via Budapest to Galacia and left the train as Stridge,
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  Speaker 1: a very important railroad center south of Lemberg. It must
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  Speaker 1: be understood that the only reports reaching us from the
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  Speaker 1: fighting line at the time were to the effect that
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  Speaker 1: the Russians had been driven back from our border, and
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  Speaker 1: that the Austrian armies actually stood on the enemy's soil. Stridge,
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  Speaker 1: being hundreds of miles away from the Russian frontier, we
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  Speaker 1: could not but surmise that we were going to be
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  Speaker 1: stationed there some time for the purpose of training and maneuvering.
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  Speaker 1: This belief was strengthened by the fact that our regiment
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  Speaker 1: belonged to the Landstrom or second Lane line of reserves,
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  Speaker 1: originally intended for home service. We were, however, alarm that
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  Speaker 1: very same night and marched out of Stridge for a
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  Speaker 1: distance of about twenty miles in conjunction with the entire
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  Speaker 1: Third Army Corps. After a short pause for the purpose
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  Speaker 1: of eating and feeding the horses, we marched another twenty
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  Speaker 1: two miles. The first day's march constituted a very strong
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  Speaker 1: test of endurance in consequence of our comparative softness and
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  Speaker 1: lack of training, especially as in addition to his heavy rifle, bayonet, ammunition,
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  Speaker 1: and spade, each soldier was burdened with a knapsack containing
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  Speaker 1: emergency provisions in the form of tinned meats, coffee, extract sugar, salt, rice,
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  Speaker 1: and biscuits, together with various tin cooking and eating utensils. Furthermore,
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  Speaker 1: a second pair of shoes, extra blouse, changes of underwear,
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  Speaker 1: et cetera. On top of this heavy pack, a winter
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  Speaker 1: overcoat and part of a tent were strapped. The entire
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  Speaker 1: weight of the equipment being in the neighborhood of fifty pounds.
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  Speaker 1: The day wore on. Signs of fatigues soon manifested themselves
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  Speaker 1: more and more strongly and slowly. The men dropped out
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  Speaker 1: one by one from sheer exhaustion. No murmur of complaint, however,
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  Speaker 1: would be heard. Most of those who fell out of
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  Speaker 1: the line, after taking a breathing space for a few minutes,
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  Speaker 1: staggered on again. The few that remained behind joined the
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  Speaker 1: regiment later on, when camp was established. We wondered then
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  Speaker 1: at the necessity of such a forced march. Being unable
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  Speaker 1: to see a reason for it, unless it was to
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  Speaker 1: put us in training. Night had fallen when we reached
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  Speaker 1: a small monastery in the midst of a forest, where
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  Speaker 1: the peaceful surroundings and the monastic life entirely untouched by
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  Speaker 1: the war fever seemed strange. Indeed, camp was established, tense
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  Speaker 1: erected fires were lighted and coffee made. Soon a life
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  Speaker 1: of bustling activity sprang up in the wilderness, in the
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  Speaker 1: midst of the forest which only a few hours before
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  Speaker 1: had been deserted. It made a weird and impressive picture
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  Speaker 1: in the wonderful starlight night. These soldiers sitting around the
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  Speaker 1: camp fires, softly singing in chorus, The fantastic outlines of
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  Speaker 1: the monastery half hidden in the woods, The dark figures
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  Speaker 1: of the monks moving silently back and forth amongst the
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  Speaker 1: shadows of the trees as they brought refreshments to the troops.
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  Speaker 1: The red glow of the camp fires illuminating the eager
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  Speaker 1: and enthusiastic faces of the young officers grouped around the colonel.
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  Speaker 1: The snorting and stamping of the horses near by, an
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  Speaker 1: occasional melodic outcry of a sentinel out in the night,
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  Speaker 1: All these things merging into an unforgettable scene of great
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  Speaker 1: romanticism and beauty. That night I lay for a long
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: while stretched near the smoldering ashes of the camp fire,
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  Speaker 1: with my capers a blanket, in a state of lassitude
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  Speaker 1: and somnolence, my soul filled with exultation and happiness over
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  Speaker 1: the beauty around me. The rest, however, was of very
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  Speaker 1: short duration, for at six o'clock in the morning we
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  Speaker 1: were aroused. Camp was broken up, and soon afterwards we
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  Speaker 1: started on a forced march of twenty two miles without
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  Speaker 1: a halt, during which we twice had to wade knee
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  Speaker 1: deep through rivers. By midday, most of the men were
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  Speaker 1: so exhausted that they could hardly crawl along. It was
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  Speaker 1: remarkable that the comparatively weaker and more refined city bred people,
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  Speaker 1: who had done little physical work in their lives, most
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  Speaker 1: of them being professional men, we stood hardships better than
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  Speaker 1: that of sturdy, and to all appearances stronger peasants, the
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  Speaker 1: only explanation for it being perhaps that the city bred people,
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  Speaker 1: in consequence of their better surroundings and by reason of
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  Speaker 1: their education, had more will power and nervous strength than
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  Speaker 1: the peasants. At half past two we reached a clearing
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  Speaker 1: in the midst of a wood through which a river flowed.
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  Speaker 1: Here camp was again established, and a half hour later
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  Speaker 1: all the hardships of the march were once more forgotten
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  Speaker 1: in the bustle of camp life. This time we had
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  Speaker 1: a full rest until the next morning at four o'clock,
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  Speaker 1: when suddenly the orders for marching were given. After we
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  Speaker 1: had been under way for about three hours, we heard
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  Speaker 1: far away repeated rumbling which sounded like distant thunder. Not
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  Speaker 1: for a moment did we associate it with cannonading, being,
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  Speaker 1: as we supposed, hundreds of miles away from the nearest
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  Speaker 1: place where Russians could possibly be. Suddenly, a mounted ordnance
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  Speaker 1: officer came rushing with a message to our colonel. We
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  Speaker 1: came to a halt, and all officers were summoned to
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  Speaker 1: the colonel, who were dressing us. In his usual quiet,
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  Speaker 1: almost business like way, said, gentlemen, accept my congratulations. I
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  Speaker 1: have good news for you. We may meet the enemy
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  Speaker 1: to day, and I sincerely hope to lead you to
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: the fight. Before evening, we were thunder struck at the
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  Speaker 1: sudden realization that the Russians had penetrated so deeply into Galacia.
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  Speaker 1: The despondency which followed this startling revelation, however, was quickly
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  Speaker 1: replaced by the intense excitement of meeting the enemy. So
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: soon we hurried back to our companies, imparting the news
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  Speaker 1: to the men, who broke forth into shouts of enthusiasm.
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  Speaker 1: All the fatigue, so plainly noticeable only a few minutes before,
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  Speaker 1: suddenly vanished, as if by magic, and every one seemed alert, springy,
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  Speaker 1: and full of spirit. We energetic resumed the march in
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  Speaker 1: the direction of the distant rumbling, which indicated that the
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: artillery of our advance guard had engaged the enemy. My
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: regiment was then part of the main body of a division.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: A second division advanced on the road parallel to ours,
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: about a mile and a quarter to our left. Both
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: columns belonged to the Third Army Corps, and kept up
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: constant communication with each other through mounted despatch bearers and motorcycles.
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  Speaker 1: The cannonading and meanwhile become perceptibly nearer, and in the
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: midst of the dense forest, we again came to a
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  Speaker 1: short halt. Orders were given to load rifles, and upon
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: emerging from the woods, we fell into open formation, the
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  Speaker 1: men marching abreast the companies at a distance of three
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  Speaker 1: hundred yards, with the battalions at a distance of about
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  Speaker 1: a thousand yards, We were slowly entering the range of
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  Speaker 1: the Russian artillery. About a mile ahead, we could see
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  Speaker 1: numbers of harmless looking round clouds, looking like ringlets of
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  Speaker 1: smoke from a huge cigar, indicating the places where shrapnel
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  Speaker 1: had excre bloded in mid air. Our men, not being
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  Speaker 1: familiar with the spectacle, took no notice of it, but
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  Speaker 1: we officers knew its significance, and I dare say many
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  Speaker 1: a heart beat as wildly as mind did. We marched
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  Speaker 1: on until the command was given for us to deploy,
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  Speaker 1: and soon afterwards the first shrapnel whizzed over our heads.
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  Speaker 1: It did no harm, nor did the second and third,
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  Speaker 1: but the fourth hit three men in the battalion in
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  Speaker 1: the rear of us. Our forward movement, however, was not interrupted,
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  Speaker 1: and we did not see or hear anything beyond two
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  Speaker 1: or three startled cries. The next shell burst right ahead
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  Speaker 1: of us, sending a shower of bullets and still fragments around.
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  Speaker 1: A man about twenty yards to the right of my company,
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  Speaker 1: but not of my platoon, leapt into the air with
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  Speaker 1: an agonized cry, and fell in a heap, mortally wounded.
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  Speaker 1: As we were advancing very swiftly, I only saw it
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  Speaker 1: as in a dream while running. By. Then came in
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: rapid succession four or five terrific explosions right over our heads,
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: and I felt a sudden gust of cold winds strike
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: my cheek as a big shell fragment came howling through
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: the air, plowing up the ground viciously as it struck,
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: and sending a spray of sand around. We ran on
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: perhaps a quarter of a mile when from the rear
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: came the sharp command down, and the next second we
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: lay on the ground, panting and exhausted, my heart almost
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: bursting with the exertion. Simultaneously, the whizzing of a motor
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: above our heads could be heard, and we knew why
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: the enemy shrapnel had so suddenly found us. It was
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: a Russian aeroplane, which presumably had signaled our approach together
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: with the range, to the Russian gunners, and now was
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: probably directing their fire and closely watching its effect. For
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: a chain of hills was hiding us from the view
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: of the enemy, who consequently had to fire indirectly. The
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: aircraft hovered above our heads, but we were forbidden to
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: fire at it, the extremely difficult, almost vertical aim, promising
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: little success aside from the danger of our bullets falling
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: back among us. Our reserves in the rear had apparently
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: sighted the aircraft, too, for soon we heard a volley
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: of rifle fire from that direction, and simultaneously the airplane
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: arose and disappeared in the clouds. Just then our own
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: artillery came thundering up, occupied a little hill in the rear,
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: and opened fire on the enemy. The moral effect of
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: the thundering of one's own artillery is most extraordinary, and
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: many of us thought that we had never heard any
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: more welcome sound than the deep roaring and crashing that
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: started in at our rear. It quickly helped to disperse
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: the nervousness caused by the first entering into battle, and
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: to restore self control and confidence. Besides, by getting into action,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: our artillery was now focusing the attention and drawing the
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: fire of the Russian guns. For most of the latter
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: shells whined harmlessly above us, being aimed at the batteries
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: in our rear. Considerably Relieved by this diversion, we resumed
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: our forward movement, and after about fifteen minutes of further
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: rest our, goal being the little chain of hills which
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: our advanced guard are previously occupied, pending our arrise. Here,
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: we were ordered to take up positions and dig trenches,
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: any further advance being out of the question. As the
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: Russian artillery overlooked and commanded the entire plane stretching in
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: front of us, we started at once to dig our trenches,
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: half of my platoons stepping forward abreast, the men being
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: placed on arm's length apart. After laying their rifles down
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: barrels pointing towards the enemy, a line was drawn behind
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: the row of rifles and parallel to it. Then each
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: man would dig up the ground, starting from his part
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: of the line backwards, throwing forward the earth removed until
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: it formed a sort of breastwork. The second half of
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: the platoon was meanwhile resting in the rear, rifle in
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: hand and ready for action. After a half hour they
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: took the place of the first division at work, and
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: vice versa. Within an hour, work on the trenches was
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: so far advanced that they could be deepened whilst standing
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: in them. Such an open trench affords sufficient shelter against
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: rifle bullets striking from the front, and can be made
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: in a measure shell proof by being covered with boards,
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: if hand and with sod. In the Western area, a
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: theater of war in France and Flanders, where whole armies
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: were deadlocked facing each other for weeks without shifting their
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: position an inch, such trenches became an elaborate affair, with
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: extensive underground working and wing connections of lines which almost
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: constitute little fortresses and afford a certain measure of comfort.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: But where we were in Galacia at the beginning of
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: the war, with conditions utterly unsteady and positions shifting daily
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: and hourly, only the most superficial trenches were used. In fact,
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: we thought ourselves fortunate if we could requisition enough straw
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: to cover the bottom. That afternoon, we had about half
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: finished our work when our friend the aeroplane appeared on
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: the horizon again. This time we immediately opened fire. It disappeared,
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: but apparently had seen enough for very soon our position
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: was shelled. By this time, however, Shwapnoor had almost cease
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: to be a source of concern to us, and we
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: scarcely paid any attention to it. Human nerves quickly get
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: a customed to the most unusual conditions and circumstances, and
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: I noticed that quite a number of the men actually
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: fell asleep from sheer exhaustion in the trenches in spite
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: of the roaring of the cannon about us and the
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: whizzing of shrapnel over our heads. I too soon got
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: accustomed to the deadly missiles. In fact, I had already
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: started to make observations of their peculiarities. My ear, accustomed
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: to differentiate sounds of all kinds, had, some time ago,
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: while we still advanced, noted a remarkable discrepancy in the
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: peculiar wine produced by the different shells in their rapid
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: flight through the air. As they passed over our heads,
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: some sounding shrill with a rising tendency, and others rather dull,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: with a falling cadence. A short observation revealed the fact
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: that the passing of a dull sounding shell was invariably
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: preceded by a flash from one of our own cannon
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: in the rear on the hill, which conclusively proved it
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: to be an Austrian shell. It must be understood that
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: as we were advancing between the positions of the Austrian
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: and Russian artillery, both kinds of shells were over our heads.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: As we advanced, the difference between shrill and dull shell
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: grew less and less perceptible, until I could hardly tell
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: them apart. Upon nearing the hill the difference increased again
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: more and more, until on the hill itself it was
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: very marked. After our trench was finished, I crawled to
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: the top of the hill until I could make out
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: the flash of the Russian guns on the opposite heights,
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: and by timing the flash and actual passing of the shell,
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: found my astonishment that now the Russian missiles had become dull,
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: while on the other hand, the shrill shell was invariably
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: heralded by a flash from one of our guns, now
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: far in the rear. What had happened was this. Every
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: shell describes in its course a parabolic line, with the
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: first half of the curve ascending and the second one descending,
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: apparently in the first half of its curve, that is,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: its course. While ascending, the shell produced a dull wine
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: accompanied by a falling cadence, which changes to a rising
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: shrill as soon as the acme has been reached and
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: the curve points downward again. The acme for both kinds
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: of shells naturally was exactly half distance between the Russian
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: and Austrian artillery, and this was the point where I
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: had noticed that the difference was the least marked. A
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: few days later, in talking over my observation with an
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: artillery officer, I was told the fact was known that
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: the shells sounded different going up than when coming down,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: but this knowledge was not used for practical purposes. When
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: I told him that I could actually determine by the
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: sound the exact place where a shell coming from the
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: opposing batteries was reaching its acme, he thought that this
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: would be of great value in a case where the
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: position of the opposing battery was hidden and thus could
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: be located. He apparently spoke to his commander about me.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: For a few days later I was sent on a
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: reconnoitering tour with the object of marking on the map
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: the exact spot where I thought the hostile shells were
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: reaching their acme, and it was later on reported to
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: me that I had succeeded in giving to our batteries
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: the most exact range of the Russian guns. I have
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: gone into this matter at some length because it is
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: the only instance where my musical ear was of value
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: during my service. To return to my narrative, the losses
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: which my battalion suffered that day seemed extraordinarily small when
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: compared with the accuracy of the Russian artillery's aim and
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: the number of missiles they fired. I counted seventy four
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: shrapnel that burst in a circle of half a mile
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: around us in about two hours, and yet we had
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: no more than about eighteen casualties. The most difficult part
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: was to lie still and motionless while death was being
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: dealt all about us. And it was then and there
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: that I had my first experience of seeing death. Next me,
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: a soldier of my platoon, while digging in the trench,
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: suddenly leaned back, began to cough like an old man.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: A little blood broke from his lips, and he crumpled
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: together in a heap and lay quite still. I could
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: not realize that this was the end, for his eyes
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: were wide open and his face WoT the stamp of
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: complete serenity. Apparently he had not suffered at all. The
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: man had been a favorite with all of his fellow
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: by reason of his good humor, and that he was
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: now stretched out dead seemed unbelievable. I saw a great
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: many men die afterwards, some suffering horribly. But I do
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: not recall any death that affected me quite so much
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: as that of this first victim in my platoon. End
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: of part one of four Weeks in the Trenches The
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: War Story of a Violinist by Fritz Kreisler. Recording by
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: f n H. Please visit www dot book Ranger dot
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: co dot UK. Part two of four Weeks in the Trenches.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by f n H. Four
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: Weeks in the Trenches by Fritz Kreisler, Part two. The
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: artillery duel had died out with the coming of darkness,
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: and we settled down to rest, half of the men
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: taking watch while the others slept. At five o'clock in
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: the morning, our regiment suddenly received the order to fall in, and,
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: together with two other regiments, was drawn out of the
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: fighting line. Our commanding general had received news that an
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: isolated detachment on the extreme right wing of our army,
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: about fifteen miles east of us, had been entirely surrounded
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: by a strong Russian body, and we were ordered to
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: relieve them. It must not be forgotten that our men
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: had been under a most incredible strain for the last
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: three days, with barely any rest during the nights, and
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: not more than one meal a day. They had actually
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: welcomed entering the firing line as a relief from the
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: fatigues of marching with their heavy burdens. It is curious
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: how indifferent one becomes to danger if one's organism is
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: worn down and brain and faculty of perception numbed by
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: physical exertion. It was therefore, with badly broken down strength
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: that we stole guarded on this relief expedition, and it
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: was good to see how unflinchingly the soldiers undertook their
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: unexpected new task. All we had to say to our
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: men was, boys, your brothers are needing you. They are
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: cut off from all possible relief unless you bring it.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: Their lives are at stake, and as they are defending
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: one of the most strategically important points the right wing
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: of our army, you can turn the tide of the
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: whole battle in our favor. So go on and on
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: they went, staggering and stumbling and at the end of
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: a few hours, almost crawling, but ever four Suddenly we
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: came up with another regiment which had been called at
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: the same task, and the colonel of the new regiment,
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: being older in rank than our colonel, took command of
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: the newly formed brigade of two regiments. My company happened
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: to march at the head of the regiment, and the
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: new brigadier rode for some time alongside me. I was
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: deeply impressed by his firm, military and yet unassuming bearing,
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: and his deep glowing enthusiasm for his army and his men.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: He told me with pride that two of his sons
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: were serving in the army too, one as an artillery
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: officer and the other as an officer with the Sappers.
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: We were then approaching the point where we could hear
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: distinctly the fire of our own batteries and the answer
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: from the Russians, and here and there a volley of
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: rifle fire. Our colonel urged us on to renewed energy,
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: and knowledge that we were nearing our goal seemed to
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: give new strength to our men. Already we were witnessing
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: evidences of the first fight that had passed here, for
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: wounded men constantly passed us on stretchers. Suddenly I saw
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: the face of the colonel riding next to me light
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: up with excitement as a wounded man was born past.
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: He addressed a few words to the stretcher bearers, and
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: then turned to me, saying, the regiment, my son is
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: fighting on the hill. It is one of their men
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: they have brought by. He urged us on again, and
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: it seemed to me as if I noticed, or was
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: it my imagination, a new note of appeal in his face.
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: Suddenly another stretcher was brought past. The colonel at my
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: side jumped from his horse, crying out, my boy, and
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: a feeble voice answered. We all stopped as if a
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: command had been given to look at the young officer
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: who lay on the stretcher, his eyes all aglow with
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: enthusiasm and joy, are mindful of his own wound, as
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: he cried out, father, how splendid that the relief should
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: just come from you. Go on, we held out splendidly.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: All we need is ammunition and a little moral support.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: Go on, don't stop for me. I am all right.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: The old colonel stood like a statue of bronze. His
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: face had become suddenly ashen gray. He looked at the
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: doctor and tried to catch his expression. The doctor seemed grave,
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: but the young man urged us on, saying, go on,
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: go on, I'll be all right to morrow. The whole
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: incident had not lasted more than five minutes, barely longer
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: than it takes to write it. The colonel mounted his horse, sternly,
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: commanding us to march forward, but the light had died
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: out of his eyes. Within the next ten minutes, a
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: hail of shrapnel was greeting us, but hardly any one
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: of us was conscious of it, so terrible and deeply
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: were we affected by the scene of tragedy that had
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: just been enacted before us. I remember foolishly mumbling something
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: to the silent man riding next to me, something about
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: the power of recuperation of youth, about the comparative harmlessness
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: of the pointed, steel mantled rifle bullets, which, on account
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: of their terrific percussion, make small cling wounds and barely
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: cause splintering of the bone or blood poisoning. I remember
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: saying that I had quite a medical knowledge, and that
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: it seemed to me that his son was not mortally wounded.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: But he knew better. He never said a word. Only
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: a few minutes later he was my only hope, and
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: I can't express how ominous that word was sounded to me.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: But just then the command to deploy was given, and
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: the excitement that followed drowned, for the time being all
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: melancholy thoughts. We quickly ascended the hill where the isolated
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: detachment of Austrians had kept the Russians at bay for
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: fully twenty four hours, and opened fire on the enemy
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: while the second regiment tried to turn the left flank.
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: The Russians slowly fell back, but we followed them, and
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: a sort of running fight ensued, during which my regiment
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: lost about fifty dead and wounded. The Russians temporarily resisted again,
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: but soon the pressure from our other regiment on their
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: flank began to be felt, and they fled rather disorderly,
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: leaving two machine guns and ammunition and four carriages full
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: of provisions in our hands, while the regiment which had
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: executed the flanking movement took two hundred and forty prisoners.
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: Around eight o'clock at night, the fight was stopped for
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: want of light, and we took up our newly acquired positions,
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: intrenched them well, and began to make ready for the night.
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: Orders for outpost duty were given, and the officers were
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: again called by the Brigadier colonel, who in a few
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: words outlined the situation to us, thanking us for the
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: pertinacity and bravery shown by the troops, and adding that
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: the success of the expedition lay in the fact that
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: we had arrived in time to save the situation. Then
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: the question of transporting prisoners to the rear came up,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: and while the Brigadier's eyes were searching us, I felt
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: that he was going to entry met with a mission.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: He looked at me gave me the order in a short,
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: measured way, but his eyes gazed searchingly and deeply into mine,
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: and I thought I understood the unspoken message. So tired
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: as I was, I immediately set out with a guard
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: of twenty men to transport the two hundred forty Russian prisoners,
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: among whom were two officers back behind the fighting line.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: They seemed not unhappy over their lot, in fact, were
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: smoking and chatting freely while we marched back. One of
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: the Russian officers had a wound in his leg and
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: was carried on a stretcher, but he too seemed quite
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: at ease, conversing with me in French and congratulating me
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: upon the bravery our isolated detachment had shown against the
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: terrific onslaught. As soon as I had delivered them safely
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: into the hands of the commander of our reserves, I
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: inquired the way to the nearest field hospital in search
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: of the young officer, the son of a brigadier colonel.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: It was then about nine o'clock at night, and on
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: entering the peasant's hut where the field hospital was established,
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: I saw at a glance that I had come too late.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: He lay there still, hands folded over his breast, with
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: as serene and happy an expression, as if asleep. His
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: faithful orderly sat weeping next to him, and some kind
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: hand had laid a small bunch of field flowers on
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: his breast. From the doctor I got the full information
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: he had received a shot in the abdomen and a
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: rifle bullet had grazed his cheek. His last words had
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: been a fervent expression of joy over the relief brought
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: by his father and the knowledge that the position would
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: not be taken by the Russians. He had died as
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: simply as a child, without regret, and utterly happy. I
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: took the orderly with me, asking him to carry all
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: the belongings of the young officer with him in order
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: to transmit them to his father. When I returned with
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: the Orderly, the brigadier was issuing orders to his officers
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: and conferring with them about the military situation. He saw
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: me come, yet not a muscle moved in his face,
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: nor did he interrupt his conversation. I was overwhelmed by
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: the power this man showed at that minute, and admit
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: I had not the courage to break the news to him.
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: But it was unnecessary, for he understood. The faithful Orderly
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: stepped forward as I had bidden him, presenting to the
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: old man the pocket book and small articles that belonged
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: to his son. While he did so, he broke forth
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: into sobs, lamenting aloud the loss of his beloved lieutenant.
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: Yet not a muscle moved in the face of the father.
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: He took my report, nodded curtly, dismissed me without a word,
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: and turned back to his ordnance officers, resuming the conversation.
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: I assumed the command of my platoon, which in the
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: meantime had been assigned to do some outpost duty under
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: the command of the sergeant. I inquired about their position
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: and went out to join them. About midnight, we were relieved,
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: and when marching back past the place where the tent
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: of the brigadier had been erected, I saw a dark
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: figure lying on the floor, seemingly in deep sleep, and
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: ordering my men to march on, I crept silently forward.
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: Then I saw that his shoulders were convulsively shaking, and
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: I knew that the mask of iron had fallen at last.
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: The night was chilly, so I entered his tent in
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: search of his overcoat and laid it around his shoulders.
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: He never noticed it. The next morning, when I saw him,
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: his face was as immovable as it had been the
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: night before, but he seemed to have aged many years.
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: The next day was a comparatively RESTful one. We fortified
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: the entrenchments which we had taken, and as our battle
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: lines were extended to the right from being on the
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: extreme right, we became almost the center of the new position,
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: which extended for perhaps ten miles from northwest to southeast,
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: about eighteen miles south of Lemberg. The next few days
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: were given to repairs, provisioning, and resting, with occasional small
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: skirmishes and shifting of positions. Then one night, a scouting
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: aeroplane brought news of a forward movement of about five
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: Russian army corps, which seemed to push in the direction
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: of our center. Against this force, we could muster only
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: about two army corps, but our strategical position seemed a
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: very good one, both the extreme flanks of our army
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: being protected by large and impassable swamps. Evidently, the Russians
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: had realized the impossibility of turning our flanks and were
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: endeavoring to pierce our center by means of a vigorous
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: frontal attack, relying upon their great superiority in numbers. Every
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: preparation had been made to meet the onslaught during the night.
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: Our trenches had been strengthened, the artillery had been brought
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: into position cleverly masked by means of transplanted bushes. The
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: field in front of us had been cleared of objects
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: obstructing the view, and the sappers had been feverishly busy
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: constructing formidable barbed wire entanglements and carefully measuring the shooting
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: distances marking the different ranges by bundles of hay or
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: other innocent looking objects, which were placed here and there
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: in the field. At nine o'clock in the morning, everything
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: was ready to receive the enemy, the men taking a
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: short and well deserved rest in their trenches, while we
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: officers were called to the kerb, who acquainted us with
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: the general situation, and giving his orders, addressed us in
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: a short, businesslike way, appealing to our sense of duty
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: and expressing his firm belief in our victory. We all
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: knew that his martial attitude and abrupt manner were amassed
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: to hide his inner self, full of throbbing emotion and
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: tender solicitude for his subordinates. And we returned to our trenches,
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: deeply moved. The camp was absolutely quiet, the only movements
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: noticeable being around the field kitchens in the rear, which
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: were being removed from the battle line. A half hour later,
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: any casual observer glancing over the deserted fields might have
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: laughed at the intimation that the earth around him was
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: harboring thousands of men armed to the teeth, and that
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: pandemonium of hell would break loose within an hour. Bellly
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: as sound was audible, and a hush of expectancy descended
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: upon us. I looked around at my men in the trench.
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: Some were quietly asleep, some were writing letters, others conversed
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: in subdued and hushed tones. Every face I saw bore
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: the unmistakable stamp of the feeling so characteristic of the
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: last hour before a battle, that curious mixture of solemn dignity,
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: grave responsibility, and suppressed emotion with an undercurrent of sad resignation.
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: They were pondering over their possible fate, or perhaps dreaming
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: of their dear ones at home. By and by, even
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: the little conversation ceased, and they sat quiet, silent, waiting
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: and waiting, perhaps awed by their own silence. Sometimes one
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: would bravely try to crack a joke, and they laughed,
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: but it sounded strained. They were plainly nervous, these brave
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: men that fought like lions in the open, when led
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: to an attack, heedless of danger and destruction. They felt
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: under a cloud in the security of the trenches, and
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: they were conscious of it and ashamed. Sometimes my faith
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: forwardly would turn his eye on me mute, as if
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: in quest of an explanation of his own feelings. Poor
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: dear unsafe, phisticated boy, I was as nervous as they
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: all were, although trying my best to look unconcerned. But
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: I knew that the hush that hovered around us like
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: a dark cloud would give way, like magic to wild
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: enthusiasm as soon as the first shot broke the spell
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: and the exultation of the battle took hold of us all. Suddenly,
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: at about ten o'clock, a dull thud sounded somewhere far
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: away from us, and simultaneously we saw a small white,
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: round cloud about half a mile ahead of us, where
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: the shrapnel had exploded. The battle had begun. Other shots
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: followed shortly, exploding here and there, but doing no harm.
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: The Russian gunners evidently were trying to locate and draw
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: an answer from AM batteries. These, however, remained mute, not
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: caring to reveal their position. For a long time, the
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: Russians fired at random, mostly at too short a range
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: to do any harm. But slowly the harmless looking white
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: clouds came nearer, until a shell, whining as it whizzed
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: past us, burst about a hundred yard behind our trench.
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: A second shell followed, exploding almost at the same place.
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: At the same time, we noticed a faint spinning noise
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: above us. Soaring high above our position, looking like a
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: speck in the firmament, flew a Russian aeroplane, watching the
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: effect of the shells, and presumably directing the fire of
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: the Russian artillery. This explained its sudden accuracy. One of
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: our aeroplanes rose, giving chase to the enemy, and simultaneously
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: our batteries got into action. The Russians kept up a
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: sharply concentrated, well directed fire against our center, our gunners
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: responding gallantly, and the spirited artillery jewel which ensued, grew
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: in intensity until the entrails of the earth seemed fairly
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: to shake with the thunder. By one o'clock, the incessant roaring, crashing,
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: and splintering of bursting shells had become almost unendurable to
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: our nerves, which were already strained to the snapping point
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: by the lack of action and the expectancy. Suddenly there
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: appeared a thin dark line on the horizon which move
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: moved rapidly towards us, looking not unlike a huge running
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: bird with immense outstretched wings. We looked through our field
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: glasses there could be no doubt. He was Russian cavalry,
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: swooping down upon us with incredible impetus and swiftness. I
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: quickly glanced at our colonel. He stared, open mouth. This
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: was indeed good fortune for us, too good to believe.
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: No cavalry attack could stand before well disciplined infantry, providing
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: The latter kept cool and well composed, calmly waiting until
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: the riders came sufficiently close to take sure aim. There
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: was action for us at last, a sharp word of command,
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: and men scrambled out of the trenches for better view
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: and name, shouting with joy as they did. So what
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: a change came over us? All My heart beat with
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: wild exultation. I glanced at my men. They were all
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: eagerness and determination, hand at the trigger, eyes on the
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: approaching enemy, every muscle strained yet calm, Their bronzed faces
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: hardened into immobility, waiting for the command to fire. Every
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: subaltern's officer's eye hung on their colonel, who stood about
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: thirty yards ahead of us on a little hill, his
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: figure well defined in the sunlight, motionless, the very picture
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: of calm, assurance and proud bearing. He scanned the horizon
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: with his glasses. Shrapnel was hailing about him, but he
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: seemed utterly unaware of it. For that matter, we had
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: all forgotten it, though it kept up its terrible uproar,
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: spitting here and there destruction into our midst. By this
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: time the avalanche of tramping horses had come perceptibly nearer.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: Soon they would sweep up by the bundle of hay,
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: which marked the careful, measured range within which our fire
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: was terribly effective. Suddenly the mad stampede came to an
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: abrupt standstill. Then the Cossacks scattered precipitously to the right
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: and left, only to disclose in their rear the advancing
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: Russian infantry, the movements of which it had been their
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: endeavor to veil. The infantry moved forward in loose lines,
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: endlessly rolling on like shallow waves, overtaking each other, one
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: line running forward, then suddenly disappearing by throwing itself down
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: an opening fire on us to cover the advance of
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: the other line, and so on, while their artillery kept
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: up a hellish uproar, spreading destruction through our lines. Simultaneously,
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: a Russian aeroplane swept down on us with a noise
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: like an angered bird of prey and pelted us with bombs,
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: the effects of which, however, were more moral than actual,
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: for we had regained the security of the trenches and
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: opened fire on the approaching enemy, who, in spite of
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: heavy losses, advanced steadily until they reached our wire entanglements.
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: There he was greeted by a deadly fire from our
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: machine guns. The first Russian lines were mowed down as
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: if by a gigantic scythe, and so were the reserves
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: as they tried to advance. The first attack had collapsed.
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: After a short time, however, they came on again, this
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: time more cautiously, armed with nippers to cut the barbed wire,
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: and using the bodies of their own fallen comrades as
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: a rampart. Again they were repulsed. Once more. The Caverriat
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: executed a feigned attack under cover of which the Russian
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: infantry rallied strongly. Reinforced by reserves, are more determined than ever.
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: Supported by heavy artillery fire, their lines rolled endlessly on
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: and hurled themselves against the barbed wire fences. For a
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: short time it almost seemed as if they would break
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: through by sheer weight of numbers. At that critical moment, however,
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: our reserves succeeded in executing a flanking movement. Surprised and
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: caught in a deadly cross fire, the Russian line wavered,
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: and finally they fled in disorder. All these combined artillery, infantry,
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: cavalry and airplane attacks had utterly failed in their object
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: of dislodging our center or shaking its position, each one
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: being frustrated by the resourceful, cool alertness of our commanding
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: General and the splendid heroism and stoicism of our troops.
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: But the strain of the continuous fighting for nearly the
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: whole day, without spite of any kind or chance for
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: food or rest, in the end told on the power
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: of endurance of our men. And when the last attack
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: had been success repulsed, they lay mostly prostrated on the ground,
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: panting and exhausted. Our losses had been very considerable, too,
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: stretcher bearers being busy at ministering first aid and carrying
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: the wounded back to the nearest field hospital, while many
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: a brave man lay stark and still. By eight o'clock
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: it had grown perceptibly cooler. We now had time to
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: collect our impressions and look about us The Russians had
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: left many dead on the field and at the barbed
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: wire entanglements which our sappers had constructed as an obstacle
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: to their advance. Their bodies lay heaped upon each other,
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: looking not unlike the more innocent bundles of hay lying
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: in the field. We could see the small Red Cross
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: parties in the field, climbing over the horribly grotesque tumuli
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: of bodies, trying to disentangle the wounded from the dead,
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: and a minister first aid to them. Enthusiasm seemed suddenly
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: to disappear before this terrible spectacle. Life that only a
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: few hours before had glowed with enthusiasm and exultation, paled
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: and sickened. The silence of the night was interrupted only
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: by the low moaning of the wounded that came regularly
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: to us. He was hideous in its terrible monotony. The
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: moon had risen, throwing fantastic lights and shadows over the
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: desolate landscape and the heaped up dead. These grotesque piles
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: of human bodies seemed like a monstrous sacrificial offering, immolated
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: on the altar of some fiendishly cruel antique deity. I
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: felt faint and sick at heart, and near swooning away.
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: I lay on the floor for some time, unconscious of
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: what was going on around me, in a sort of stupor,
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: utterly crushed over the horrors about me. I do not
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: know how long I had lain there, perhaps ten minutes,
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: perhaps half an hour, when suddenly I heard a gruff,
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: deep voice behind me, the brigadier who had come around
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: to inspect and to give orders about the outposts. His calm,
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: quiet voice brought me to my senses, and I reported
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: to him his self. Assurance, kindness, and determination dominated the situation.
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: Within five minutes, he had restored confidence, giving definite orders
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: for the welfare of every one man and beast alike,
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: showing his solicitude for the wounded, for the sick and
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: weak ones, and mingling praise and admonition in just measure
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: as by magic. I felt fortified. He was a real man,
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: undaunted by nervous qualms or by over sensitiveness. The horrors
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: of the war were distasteful to him, but he bore
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: them with equanimity. It was perhaps the first time in
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: my life that I regretted that my artistic education had
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: oversharpened and overstrung my nervous system when I saw how
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: manfully and bravely that man bore what seemed to me
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: almost unbearable. His whole machinery of thinking was not complicated,
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: and not for a moment did his qualms of Velschmertz
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: or exaggerated altruism burden his conscience and interfere with his
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: straight line of conduct, which was wholly determined by duty
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: and code of honor. In his private life, he was
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: an unusually kind man. His solicitutory subordinates for prisoners and
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: for the wounded was touching. Yet he saw the horrors
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: of war unflinchingly and without weakening, For were they not
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: the consequences of the devotion of men to their cause.
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: The whole thing seemed quite natural to him. The man
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: was clearly in his element and dominated it. After having
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: inspected the outposts, I went back, bedded myself in a
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: soft sand heap, covered myself up, and was soon fast
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: peacefully asleep. During the night, the dew moistened the sand,
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: and when I woke in the morning, I found myself
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: encased in a plastering which could not be removed for days.
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: End of Part two recording by F. N. H. Please
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: visit w w W dot book Ranger dot co dot UK.
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: Part three of four Weeks in the Trenches. This is
• 51:14
  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: Recording by f n H. Four Weeks in the Trenches
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: by Fritz Kreisler. Our hopes of getting a little rest
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: and respite from the fighting were soon shattered, for a
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: scouting aeroplane brought news that the Russians were again advancing
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: in overwhelming strength. Our commanding general, coming to the conclusion
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: that with reduced and weakened forces at his command, he
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: could not possibly offer any effective resistance to a renewed onslaught,
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: had determined to fall back slowly before their pressure. The
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: consequence was a series of retreating battles for us, which
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: lasted about ten days and which constituted what is now
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: called the Battle of Lemburg. We were terribly outnumbered by
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: the Russians, and in order to extricate our army and
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: prevent it from being surrounded and cut off, we constantly
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: had to retreat. One detachment taken up positions to resist
• 52:12
  Speaker 1: the advancing Russians, trying to hold them at all costs
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: in order to give the rest of the army sufficient
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: time to retire to safety. This maneuvering could not, of course,
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: be carried out without forces guarding the rear and covering
• 52:23
  Speaker 1: the retreat, suffering sometimes terrible losses. These were depressing days,
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: with rain and storm adding to the gloom. The men
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: tramped wearily, hanging their heads, ashamed and humiliated by the retreat,
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: the necessity of which they could not grasp, having, as
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: they thought, successfully repulsed the enemy. It was difficult to
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: make them understand that our regiment was only a cog
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: in a huge wheel of the Austrian fighting machine, and
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: that with a battle line extending over many miles, it
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: was quite natural that the partial successes could take place,
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: and yet the consideration of general strategy necessitate a retreat. Our.
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: Arguing made little impression on the men, for they only
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: shook their heads and said, we were victorious. We should
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: have gone on. The spirit of retreating troops is vastly
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: different from that shown by an advancing army, and it
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: was probably in recognition of this well known psychological state
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: that our general staff had in the beginning attacked the
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: Russians wherever they could, in spite of the overwhelming superiority
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: of the foe. But the reinforcements the Russians were able
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: to draw upon had swelled their ranks so enormously that
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: any attack would have been little short of madness. The
• 53:34
  Speaker 1: real hardships and privations for us began only now. The
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: few roads of Galacia, which at best are in bad condition,
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: through the constant passing of heavy artillery and wagons of
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: all kinds following each other in endless procession through constant rains,
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: had become well nigh impassable, the heavy mud constituting an
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: additional impediment to the marching troops. In order to get
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: all of the train carrying provisions out of the post
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: possible reach of a sudden raid by Russian cavalry, it
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: had to be sent miles back of us, so as
• 54:05
  Speaker 1: not to interfere with the movement of the troops. This
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: caused somewhat of an interruption in the organization of the
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: Commissary department, and very little food reached the troops, and
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: that only at very long intervals. The distribution of food
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: to an army, even in peace and under the best
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: conditions is very complicated and a difficult undertaking. Provisions a
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: ship from the interior to the important railway centers, which
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: serve as huge army depots and form the bases from
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: which the different army corps draw their provisions and from
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: which they are constantly replenished. They in turn supply the
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: divisions and brigades, wherefrom the regiments and battalions draw their provisions.
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: So it is seen that the great aorta, which leads
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: from the interior to the big depots, slowly subdivides itself
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: into smaller arteries and feeders until they reach the ultimate destination,
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: the extreme front. This distribution of food had now become
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: a formidable task in consequence of the unforeseen movements and
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: diversions which forced upon us by the unexpected developments of
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: the battle, and it often happened that food supplies intended
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: for a certain detachment would reach their destination only after
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: the departure of that detachment. My platoon had by this
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: time shrunk from fifty five men to about thirty four,
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: and those remaining have become very hardened, efficient and fit.
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: It is astonishing how quickly the human organism adjusts itself
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: if need be, to the most difficult circumstances. So far
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: as I was concerned, For instance, I adapted myself to
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: the new life without any trouble at all, responding to
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: the unusual demands upon me automatically, as it were, my
• 55:39
  Speaker 1: rather impaired eyesight improved. In the open with only wide
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: distances to look at, I found that my muscles served
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: me better than ever before. I leaped and ran and
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: supported fatigue that would have appalled me under other circumstances.
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: In the field, all neurotic symptoms seemed to disappear, as
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: by magic, and one's whole system is charged with energy
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: and vitality. Perhaps this is due to the open air life,
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: with its simplified standards, freed from all the complex exigences
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: of society's laws and unhampered by conventionalities, as well to
• 56:12
  Speaker 1: the constant throb of excitement caused by the activity, the
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: adventure and the uncertainty of fate. The very massing together
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: of so many individuals, with every will merged into one
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: that strives with gigantic effort towards a common end, and
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: the consequent simplicity and directness of all purpose seem to
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: release and unhinge all of the primitive aboriginal forces stored
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: in the human soul and tend to create the indescribable
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: atmosphere of exaltation which envelops everything and everybody, as with
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: a magic cloak. It is extraordinary how quickly suggestions of
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: luxury culture refinement. In fact, all of the gentle aspects
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: of life, which one had considered to be an integral
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: part of one's life, are quickly forgotten, and more than
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: that not even missed. Centuries dropped from one, and one
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: becomes a primeval man nearing the cave dweller in an
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: incredible short time. For twenty one days, I went without
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: taking off my clothes, sleeping on wet grass or in
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: mug or in the swamps wherever neat be, and with
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: nothing but my cape to cover me. Nothing disturbs One.
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: One night, while sleeping, we were drenched to the skin
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: by torrential rains. We never stirred, but waited for the
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: sun to dry us out again. Many things considered necessities
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: of civilization simply drop out of existence. A tooth brush
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: was not imaginable. We ate instinctively when we had food
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: with our hands, If we had stopped to think of
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: it all. We should have thought it ludicrous to use
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: knife and fork. We were all looking like shaggy lean
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: wolves from the necessity of subsisting on next to nothing.
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: I remember having gone for more than three days at
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: a time without any food whatsoever, and many a time
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: we had to lick the new dew from the grass
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: for want of water. A certain fierceness arises in you,
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: an absolute indifference to anything the world holts except your
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: duty of fighting. You are eating a crust of bread
• 58:07
  Speaker 1: and a man is shot dead in the trench next
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: to you. You look calmly at him for a moment,
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: and then you go on eating your bread. Why not,
• 58:15
  Speaker 1: there's nothing to be done. In the end. You talk
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: of your own death with as little excitement as you
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: would of a luncheon engagement. There's nothing left in your
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: mind but the fact that hordes of men to whom
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: you belong are fighting against other Hartes, and your side
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: must win. My memory of these days is very much blurred,
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: every day being pretty nearly the same as the preceding one,
• 58:38
  Speaker 1: fatiguing marches, little rest and comparatively little fighting. It is
• 58:43
  Speaker 1: quite possible that our commander tried to divide the work
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: of the troops in a just manner, and that in
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: consequence of my regiment having borne the brunt of two
• 58:50
  Speaker 1: terrible attacks and having suffered considerable loss, we were now
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: temporarily withdrawn from the fighting line, and not once during
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: these days were assigned to the duty of a rear guard. Consequently,
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: we had only a few unimportant skirmishes in these days,
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: twice while guarding the flank, through having to repulse attacks
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: of Cossacks, and once being harassed by an armored automobile.
• 59:13
  Speaker 1: But the movements of an automobile being confined to the road,
• 59:16
  Speaker 1: we had no difficulty in avoiding its fire. And as
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: for the Cossacks, with their eternal feigned attacks, we had
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: reached the point where we almost ignored them. We were
• 59:25
  Speaker 1: in the first days of September, and upon reaching the
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: swamps near Grideck, south of Lemberg, a determined stand was
• 59:32
  Speaker 1: decided upon by our commanding general. It seemed the most
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: precipitous place for a formidable defense, there being only a
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: few roads through otherwise impassable swamps. On September sixth, my
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: battalion was ordered to take up our position, commanding a defile,
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: which formed one of the possible approaches for the enemy.
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: Here we awaited the Russians, and they were not long
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: in coming. First, they violently shelled our position and silenced
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: one of our batteries. Ding their artillery fire did not
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 1: draw any answer from our side. They attempted to storm
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: our position by means of frontal infantry attacks, combined with
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: occasional raids of Cossacks, which were always repulsed. Finally, the
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: Russian infantory succeeded in establishing a number of trenches, the
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: one opposite us not more than five hundred yards away.
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: It was the first time we had come in close
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: touch with the Russians, almost withinhaling distance, and with the
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 1: aid of our field glasses, we could occasionally even get
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 1: a glimpse of their faces and recognize their features. We
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 1: stayed four days opposite each other, neither side gaining a
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: foot at ground. It was there and then that I
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 1: made a curious observation. After the second day we had
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: almost grown to know each other. The Russians would laughingly
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: call over to us, and the Austrians would answer. The
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: salient feature of these three days fighting was the extraordinary
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: lack of hatred In fact, it is astonishing how little
• 1:00:55
  Speaker 1: actual hatred exists between fighting men. One fights fiercely and
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 1: passionately mass against mass, but as soon as the mass
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: crystallizes itself into human individuals whose features one can actually recognize,
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: hatred almost ceases. Of course, fighting continues, but somehow it
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: loses its fierceness and takes more the form of a sport,
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: each side being eager to get to the best of
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: the other. One still shoots at his opponent, but always
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: regrets when he sees him drop. By the morning of
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 1: the third day, he knew nearly every member of the
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 1: opposing trench, the favorite of my men being a giant,
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 1: red bearded Russian, whose constant pastime consisted in jumping like
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 1: a jack in the box from the trench, crying over
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: to us as he did so. He was frequently shot at,
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: but never hid. Then he grew bolder, showing himself longer
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: and longer, until finally he jumped out of the trench altogether,
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 1: shouting to us wildly and waving his cap. His good
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: humored jollity and bravado appealed to our boys, and none
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: of them attempted to shoot at him. While he presented
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 1: such a splendid target. Finally, one of our men, who
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: did not want to be second in bravery, jumped out
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 1: of the trench and presented himself in the full sunlight.
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 1: Not one attempt was made to shoot at him either,
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: and these two men began to gesticulate at each other,
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: inviting each other to come nearer. All fighting had suddenly ceased,
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: and both opposing parties were looking on, laughing like boys
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: at play. Finally the Russian would draw a step nearer,
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 1: and our man boldly advanced too. Then the Russians urged
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 1: on their man with shouts and laughter, and he made
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: a big leap forward, standing still, whereupon the Austrian also
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 1: jumped forward, and so step by step they approached until
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: they nearly touched each other. They had left their rifles behind,
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: and we thought that they were going to indulge in
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 1: a fist fight, all of us being sorry for our champion,
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: for he was a small and insignificant looking man, who
• 1:02:49
  Speaker 1: looked as if he could be crushed with one blow
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: by his gigantic opponent. But lo and behold, the big
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: Russian held out his hand, which held a package of tobacco,
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 1: and our Austrian seizing the tobacco, grasped the hand of
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 1: the Russian, and then, reaching in his pocket, produced a
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 1: long Austrian cigar, which he ceremoniously presented to the Russian.
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: It was indeed a funny sight to see the small, wiry,
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: lean Austrian talking in exaggerated terms of politeness to the
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: blond Russian giant, who listened gravely and attentively, as if
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: he understood every word. By this time, all precautions and
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 1: even ideas of fighting had been forgotten, and we were
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 1: surprised to find ourselves out of the shelter of our
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: trenches and fully exposed to the Russians, who in turn
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 1: leaned out of their own trenches and showed their heads
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: in full. This unofficial truce had lasted about twenty minutes
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: and succeeded more in restoring good humor and joy of
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: life among our soldiers than a trainload of provisions would
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 1: have done. It was one of the incidents that helped
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: to relieve the monotony of trench life, and was hardly
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 1: welcomed by all of us. The fighting, however, soon was
• 1:03:54
  Speaker 1: resumed with all his earnestness and fierceness. But from this
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 1: moment on a certain common race ardi was established between
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: the two opposing trenches. Between skirmishes, an unofficial truce would
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: frequently be called for the purpose of removing the wounded.
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: During these times, when the stretcher bearers were busy, no
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 1: shot would be fired on either side. Nor was this
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: an isolated case, for similar intermittent truces, sometimes accompanied by
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 1: actual intercourse between the opposing forces, were quite common all
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 1: along the battle line. That very night, I was hurriedly
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: summoned to the trenches of the thirteenth Company, about half
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: a mile east of us, in order to act as
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 1: an interpreter between the major commanding that battalion and two
• 1:04:35
  Speaker 1: singular guests. He had just received, a Russian officer and
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 1: his orderly. The pair, carrying a white flag, had hailed
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 1: one of the numerous Austrian outposts placed during the night
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 1: in front of the trenches, and had been sent blindfolded
• 1:04:48
  Speaker 1: back to the major. The Russian officer spoke only broken French.
• 1:04:53
  Speaker 1: He commanded one of the opposing trenches, and from his
• 1:04:56
  Speaker 1: narrative it appeared that his men had not received any
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 1: food supplies for some days and were actually on the
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: point of starvation, not being able to stand their misery
• 1:05:05
  Speaker 1: any longer. He had taken the bull by the horns,
• 1:05:08
  Speaker 1: and with utter confidence and straightforwardness of a fearless nature,
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 1: had simply come over to us the enemy for help,
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 1: offering a little barrel of water, which his companion carried
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 1: on his head, and a little tobacco in exchange for
• 1:05:19
  Speaker 1: some provisions. The major seemed at first perhaps a little
• 1:05:23
  Speaker 1: perplexed and undecided about this singular request, but his generous
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: nature and chivalry soon asserted itself. One single look at
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 1: the emaciated and worn faces of our guests sufficiently substantiated
• 1:05:35
  Speaker 1: the truth of their story, for both men were utterly
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 1: exhausted and on the verge of collapse. The next minute,
• 1:05:42
  Speaker 1: messengers were flying to the different trenches at the battalion
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: to solicit and collect contributions, and the officers scrambled over
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: each other in a noble contest to deplete their own
• 1:05:51
  Speaker 1: last and cherish reserves for the supper of their guests.
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 1: Soon the latter was seated, as comfortably as circumstances permitted,
• 1:05:59
  Speaker 1: before a feast of canned beef, cheese, biscuits, and a
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 1: slice of salami. My own proud contribution consisting of two
• 1:06:06
  Speaker 1: tablets of chocolate, part of a precious reserve for extreme cases.
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 1: It was a strange sight to see these two Russians
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: in an Austrian trench, surrounded by caudality and tender solicitude.
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: The big brotherhood of humanity had for the time enveloped
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 1: friend and foe, stamping out all hatred and racial differences.
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 1: It is wonderful how the most tender flowers of civilization
• 1:06:28
  Speaker 1: can go hand in hand with the most brutal atrocities
• 1:06:31
  Speaker 1: of grim modern warfare. In the meanwhile, the messengers had returned,
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 1: almost staggering under the weight of a sack filled with
• 1:06:38
  Speaker 1: the gifts of our soldiers to the enemy, pieces of
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 1: bread and biscuits, with here and there a slice of
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 1: bacon or a lump of cheese, all thrown pelly melly together.
• 1:06:49
  Speaker 1: Many a man must have parted with his last piece
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 1: of bread in order not to be outdone by the
• 1:06:53
  Speaker 1: others in generosity, for our own provisions were running very low.
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 1: It is true that the bread and biscuits were mildewed,
• 1:07:00
  Speaker 1: the cheese stale, and the bacon as hard as stone.
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 1: But the boys gave the best they could. The very
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 1: poverty and humbleness of the gifts, attesting their own desperate plight,
• 1:07:10
  Speaker 1: and bearing proud witness to the extent of their sacrifice.
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 1: With tears in their eyes and reiterated protestations of thanks,
• 1:07:19
  Speaker 1: our guests staggered back through the night to their lines,
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 1: undoubtedly carrying with them tender memories of Austrian generosity and hospitality.
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 1: On the morning of the next day, a Russian detachment
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 1: succeeded in storming a hill on our flank, commanding the
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 1: strift of space between ourselves and our reserves in the rear,
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 1: thus cutting us off from our main body. They established
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 1: their a machine gun butttery, and although we were under
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 1: cover in our trench, we were now in a very
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 1: precarious position, for no more provisions or ammunition could reach us,
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: all attempts to do so breaking down under a terrific
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 1: machine gun fire, but we had orders to hold our
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: position at all costs to the last man. Unfortunately, our
• 1:07:59
  Speaker 1: ammunition was giving out in spite of our husbanding it
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 1: as much as possible and shooting only when we had
• 1:08:04
  Speaker 1: a sure target. The Russians soon found that each shot
• 1:08:08
  Speaker 1: meant a victim, and took no chances on showing even
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 1: the tips of their caps. Neither could we move the
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 1: least bit without being the target for a volley from
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 1: their side. Up to this day I cannot understand why
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 1: they did not try to rush us, but apparently they
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: were unaware of our comparative weakness. Also, for another reason,
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 1: our position had become more and more untenable. We were
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 1: on swampy ground, and the water was constantly oozing in
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 1: from the bottom of the trench, so that we sometimes
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 1: had to stand nearly knee deep and were forced to
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 1: bail the water out with our caps. It is difficult
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 1: to imagine a more deplorable situation than to have to
• 1:08:46
  Speaker 1: stay for four days in a foul trench, half filled
• 1:08:49
  Speaker 1: with swamp water, constantly exposed to destructive fire in the enemy,
• 1:08:53
  Speaker 1: utterly isolated and hopeless. Soon we were completely without food
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 1: or water, and our am initition was almost exhausted. During
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 1: the night, here and there, daring men would rush through
• 1:09:05
  Speaker 1: the space, swept by the Russian gunfire, which was kept
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 1: up constantly, trying to bring us what scanty supplies they
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: could procure from neighboring trenches better provided than we were.
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 1: But the little they brought was nothing compared to our needs.
• 1:09:18
  Speaker 1: On the evening of that third day, knowing that our
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 1: ammunition was giving out, we felt that the next day
• 1:09:24
  Speaker 1: would bring the end, and all our thoughts turned homewards
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 1: and to the dear ones. We all wrote what we
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 1: considered our parting and last farewell, each one pledging himself
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 1: to deliver and take care of the letters of the
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 1: others if he survived. It was a grave, sad, deeply
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 1: touching moment when we resigned ourselves to the inevitable, and
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 1: yet somehow we felt relieved and satisfied that the end
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 1: might come, and grimly resolved to sell our lives dearly.
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 1: Never before had I as much reason to admire the
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 1: wonderful power of endurance and stoicism of our soldiers as
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 1: on that night, Once resigned to the worst, all the
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 1: old time spirit returned, as if by magic. They sat
• 1:10:04
  Speaker 1: together playing cards in as much moonlight as would fall
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: into the deep trench, relating jokes and bolstering up one
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 1: another's courage. The fourth day broke gloomy with a drizzling rain.
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 1: At ten o'clock, one of our men became suddenly insane,
• 1:10:19
  Speaker 1: jumped out of the trench, danced wildly, and divested himself
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 1: of every stitch of clothing while doing so. Strange to say,
• 1:10:26
  Speaker 1: the Russians must have realized that the man was insane,
• 1:10:29
  Speaker 1: for they never fired at him, neither did they at
• 1:10:32
  Speaker 1: the two men who jumped out to draw him back.
• 1:10:35
  Speaker 1: We succeeded in comforting and subduing him, and he soon
• 1:10:38
  Speaker 1: fell into a stupor and remained motionless for some time.
• 1:10:42
  Speaker 1: As soon as darkness fell, we succeeded in conveying him
• 1:10:45
  Speaker 1: back to the reserves, and I understand that he got
• 1:10:48
  Speaker 1: quite well again in a few days. At five o'clock
• 1:10:51
  Speaker 1: that afternoon, we suddenly received orders through a running messenger
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 1: who was braving the incessant machine gun fire, that our
• 1:10:58
  Speaker 1: positions were about to be a and that we were
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: to evacuate our trench under the cover of darkness at
• 1:11:04
  Speaker 1: eleven o'clock. I cannot but confess that we all breathed
• 1:11:08
  Speaker 1: more freely on the receipt of that information, but unfortunately
• 1:11:12
  Speaker 1: the purpose could not be carried out. The Russians by
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: this time evidently had realized our comparatively defenseless condition and
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 1: utter lack of ammunition, for that same night we heard
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 1: two shots ring out, being the signal from our sentinels
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 1: that they were surprised and that danger was near. I
• 1:11:30
  Speaker 1: hardly had time to draw my sword, to grasp my
• 1:11:33
  Speaker 1: revolver with my left hand, and issue a command to
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 1: my men to hold their bannets in readiness, when we
• 1:11:38
  Speaker 1: heard a tramping of horses and saw dark figures swooping
• 1:11:41
  Speaker 1: down upon us. For once, the Cossacks had actually carried
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: out their attack, undoubtedly owing to their intimate knowledge of
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 1: our lack of ammunition. My next sensation was a crushing
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: pain in my shoulder struck by the hoof of a horse,
• 1:11:54
  Speaker 1: and a sharp knife pain in my right thigh. I
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: fired with my revolver at the hazy figure above me,
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 1: saw it tople over, and then lost consciousness. This happened,
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 1: to the best of my recollection, at about half past
• 1:12:06
  Speaker 1: ten at night. Upon coming to my senses, I found
• 1:12:10
  Speaker 1: my faith forwardly kneeling in the trench by my side.
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: He fairly shouted with delight as I opened my eyes.
• 1:12:17
  Speaker 1: According to his story, the Austrians, falling back under the
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: cavalry charge, had evacuated the trench without noticing in the
• 1:12:23
  Speaker 1: darkness that I was missing, but soon discovering my absence
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 1: he started back to the trench in search of me.
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 1: It was a perilous undertaking for him, for the Cossacks
• 1:12:33
  Speaker 1: were still riding about, and he showed me with pride
• 1:12:36
  Speaker 1: the place where a stray bullet had perforated his knapsack
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: during the search. He revived me, gave me first aid,
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: and succeeded with great difficulty in helping me out of
• 1:12:46
  Speaker 1: the trench. For more than three hours we stumbled on
• 1:12:49
  Speaker 1: in the night, trying to find our own lines. Again
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 1: twice we encountered a small troop of Cossacks, but upon
• 1:12:55
  Speaker 1: hearing the trampling, we quietly lay down on the wayside
• 1:12:59
  Speaker 1: without emotion, till they passed. Happily, we were not noticed
• 1:13:03
  Speaker 1: by them, and from then on we stumbled on without
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: any further incident, until we were hailed by an Austrian
• 1:13:08
  Speaker 1: outpost and in safety. By this time I was utterly
• 1:13:12
  Speaker 1: exhausted and again lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes,
• 1:13:16
  Speaker 1: I was in a little hut where our ambulance gave
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 1: first aid. Therefrom I was transported to the nearest field hospital. This, however,
• 1:13:24
  Speaker 1: had to be broken up and the wounded removed. Because
• 1:13:27
  Speaker 1: of the Russian advance. We were hastily put on the
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: big ambulance wagons without springs, the jolting of which over
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 1: the bad road caused us such suffering that we should
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: almost have preferred to walk or crawl. We tried to
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 1: reach the railway station at Carmano, but found a Russian
• 1:13:44
  Speaker 1: detachment had intercepted us in the streets of the village.
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: A shell burst almost in front of our wagons, making
• 1:13:50
  Speaker 1: the horses shy and causing a great deal of confusion.
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: We had to turn back, and after a long and
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 1: wearisome detour, reached and destination the troop hospital in Sambor,
• 1:14:00
  Speaker 1: in a state of great exhaustion. There I remained but
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 1: a day. The less seriously wounded had to make a
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: place for the graver cases, and being among the former,
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 1: I was transferred by hospital train to Miss Colsi in Hungary.
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 1: The same crowded conditions prevailed here as in Sambor, and
• 1:14:19
  Speaker 1: after a night's rest, I again was put on board
• 1:14:21
  Speaker 1: a Red Cross train en route to Vienna. We were
• 1:14:25
  Speaker 1: met at the station by a number of Red Cross
• 1:14:27
  Speaker 1: nurses and assistant doctors. To my great joy, my wife
• 1:14:31
  Speaker 1: was among the former, having been assigned to that particular duty.
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 1: A short official telegram to the effect that I was
• 1:14:38
  Speaker 1: being sent home wounded on hospital train number sixteen. Was
• 1:14:42
  Speaker 1: the first news she had received about me for fully
• 1:14:44
  Speaker 1: four weeks. None of my field postcards had derived and
• 1:14:48
  Speaker 1: she was suffering extreme nervous strain from the long anxiety
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 1: and suspense, which she had tried in vain to numb
• 1:14:54
  Speaker 1: by feverish work in her hospital. I remained two weeks
• 1:14:58
  Speaker 1: in Vienna and then was trans inferred to the sulfur
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: bath of Baden, near by, where large hospitals had been
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: established to relieve the overcrowding of Vienna. There I remained
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: until the first of November, when I was ordered to
• 1:15:11
  Speaker 1: appear before a mixed commission of army surgeons and senior
• 1:15:13
  Speaker 1: officers for a medical examination. Two weeks later, I received
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 1: formal intimation that I had been pronounced invalid and physically
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 1: unfit for army duty at the front or at home,
• 1:15:25
  Speaker 1: and consequently was exempted from further service. My military experience
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 1: ended there, and with deep regret, I bade good bye
• 1:15:33
  Speaker 1: to my loyal brother officers, comrades and faithful orderly and
• 1:15:37
  Speaker 1: discarded my well beloved uniform for the non to script
• 1:15:40
  Speaker 1: garb of the civilian, grateful that I had been permitted
• 1:15:43
  Speaker 1: to be of any, if ever so little service to
• 1:15:46
  Speaker 1: my fatherland. The end of four weeks in the trenches
• 1:15:51
  Speaker 1: The War Story of a Violinist by Fritz Chrysler, recording
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 1: by f n H. Please visit w w W dot book,
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 1: Ranger dot co dot uk