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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Four Weeks in the Trenches, by Fritz Kreisler
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Four Weeks in the Trenches
+       The War Story of a Violinist
+
+Author: Fritz Kreisler
+
+Release Date: February 6, 2004 [EBook #10967]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOUR WEEKS IN THE TRENCHES ***
+
+
+
+
+
+
+FOUR WEEKS IN THE TRENCHES
+
+by Fritz Kreisler
+
+
+
+To My Dear Wife Harriet
+
+The Best Friend And Stanchest Comrade In All Circumstances Of
+Life I Dedicate This Little Book
+
+In Humble Token Of Everlasting Gratitude And Devotion
+
+
+
+
+Preface
+
+This brief record of the fighting on the Eastern front in the great war
+is the outcome of a fortunate meeting.
+
+The writer chanced to be dining with Mr. Kreisler soon after his
+arrival in this country, after his dismissal from the hospital where he
+recovered from his wound.  For nearly two hours he listened, thrilled
+and moved, to the great violinist's modest, vivid narrative of his
+experiences and adventures.  It seemed in the highest degree
+desirable that the American public should have an opportunity of
+reading this narrative from the pen of one in whose art so many of
+us take a profound interest.  It also was apparent that since so little
+of an authentic nature had been heard from the Russo-Austrian field
+of warfare, this story would prove an important contribution to the
+contemporary history of the war.
+
+After much persuasion, Mr.  Kreisler reluctantly acceded to the
+suggestion that he write out his personal memories of the war for
+publication.  He has completed his narrative in the midst of grave
+difficulties, writing it piecemeal in hotels and railway trains in the
+course of a concert tour through the country.  It is offered by the
+publishers to the public with confidence that it will be found one of
+the most absorbing and informing narratives of the war that has yet
+appeared.
+
+F.  G.
+
+
+
+
+
+Four Weeks In The Trenches
+
+
+
+I
+
+
+
+In trying to recall my impressions during my short war duty as an
+officer in the Austrian Army, I find that my recollections of this period
+are very uneven and confused.  Some of the experiences stand out
+with absolute clearness; others, however, are blurred.  Two or three
+events which took place in different localities seem merged into one,
+while in other instances recollection of the chronological order of
+things is missing.  This curious indifference of the memory to values
+of time and space may be due to the extraordinary physical and
+mental stress under which the impressions I am trying to chronicle
+were received.  The same state of mind I find is rather characteristic
+of most people I have met who were in the war.  It should not be
+forgotten, too, that the gigantic upheaval which changed the
+fundamental condition of life overnight and threatened the very
+existence of nations naturally dwarfed the individual into
+nothingness, and the existing interest in the common welfare left
+practically no room for personal considerations.  Then again, at the
+front, the extreme uncertainty of the morrow tended to lessen the
+interest in the details of to-day; consequently I may have missed a
+great many interesting happenings alongside of me which I would
+have wanted to note under other circumstances.  One gets into a
+strange psychological, almost hypnotic, state of mind while on the
+firing line which probably prevents the mind's eye from observing
+and noticing things in a normal way.  This accounts, perhaps, for
+some blank spaces in my memory.  Besides, I went out completely
+resigned to my fate, without much thought for the future.  It never
+occurred to me that I might ever want to write my experiences, and
+consequently I failed to take notes or to establish certain
+mnemo-technical landmarks by the aid of which I might now be able to
+reconstruct all details.  I am, therefore, reduced to present an
+incoherent and rather piecemeal narrative of such episodes as
+forcibly impressed themselves upon my mind and left an
+ineradicable mark upon my memory.
+
+The outbreak of the war found my wife and me in Switzerland,
+where we were taking a cure.  On the 31st of July, on opening the
+paper, I read that the Third Army Corps, to which my regiment
+(which is stationed in Graz) belonged, had received an order for
+mobilization.
+
+Although I had resigned my commission as an officer two years
+before, I immediately left Switzerland, accompanied by my wife, in
+order to report for duty.  As it happened, a wire reached me a day
+later calling me to the colors.
+
+We went by way of Munich.  It was the first day of the declaration of
+the state of war in Germany.  Intense excitement prevailed.  In
+Munich all traffic was stopped; no trains were running except for
+military purposes.  It was only due to the fact that I revealed my
+intention of rejoining my regiment in Austria that I was able to pass
+through at all, but by both the civil and military authorities in Bavaria
+I was shown the greatest possible consideration and passed
+through as soon as possible.
+
+We reached Vienna on August first.  A startling change had come
+over the city since I had left it only a few weeks before.  Feverish
+activity everywhere prevailed.  Reservists streamed in by thousands
+from all parts of the country to report at headquarters.  Autos filled
+with officers whizzed past.  Dense crowds surged up and down the
+streets.  Bulletins and extra editions of newspapers passed from
+hand to hand.  Immediately it was evident what a great leveler war
+is.  Differences in rank and social distinctions had practically
+ceased.  All barriers seemed to have fallen; everybody addressed
+everybody else.
+
+I saw the crowds stop officers of high rank and well-known members
+of the aristocracy and clergy, also state officials and court
+functionaries of high rank, in quest of information, which was
+imparted cheerfully and patiently.  The imperial princes could
+frequently be seen on the Ring Strasse surrounded by cheering
+crowds or mingling with the public unceremoniously at the cafes,
+talking to everybody.  Of course, the army was idolized.  Wherever
+the troops marched the public broke into cheers and every uniform
+was the center of an ovation.
+
+While coming from the station I saw two young reservists, to all
+appearances brothers, as they hurried to the barracks, carrying their
+small belongings in a valise.  Along with them walked a little old lady
+crying, presumably their mother.  They passed a general in full
+uniform.  Up went their hands to their caps in military salute,
+whereupon the old general threw his arms wide open and embraced
+them both, saying: "Go on, my boys, do your duty bravely and stand
+firm for your emperor and your country.  God willing, you will come
+back to your old mother." The old lady smiled through her tears.  A
+shout went up, and the crowds surrounding the general cheered
+him.  Long after I had left I could hear them shouting.
+
+A few streets farther on I saw in an open cafe a young couple, a
+reservist in field uniform and a young girl, his bride or sweetheart.
+They sat there, hands linked, utterly oblivious of their surroundings
+and of the world at large.  When somebody in the crowd espied
+them, a great shout went up, the public rushing to the table and
+surrounding them, then breaking into applause and waving hats and
+handkerchiefs.  At first the young couple seemed to be utterly taken
+aback and only slowly did they realize that the ovation was meant
+for them.  They seemed confused, the young girl blushing and
+hiding her face in her hands, the young man rising to his feet,
+saluting and bowing.  More cheers and applause.  He opened his
+mouth as if wanting to speak.  There was a sudden silence.  He was
+vainly struggling for expression, but then his face lit up as if by
+inspiration.  Standing erect, hand at his cap, in a pose of military
+salute, he intoned the Austrian national hymn.  In a second every
+head in that throng was bared.  All traffic suddenly stopped,
+everybody, passengers as well as conductors of the cars, joining in
+the anthem.  The neighboring windows soon filled with people, and
+soon it was a chorus of thousands of voices.  The volume of tone
+and the intensity of feeling seemed to raise the inspiring anthem to
+the uttermost heights of sublime majesty.  We were then on our way
+to the station, and long afterwards we could hear the singing,
+swelling like a human organ.
+
+What impressed me particularly in Vienna was the strict order
+everywhere.  No mob disturbances of any kind, in spite of the
+greatly increased liberty and relaxation of police regulations.
+Nor was there any runaway chauvinism noticeable, aside from the
+occasional singing of patriotic songs and demonstrations like the
+one I just described.  The keynote of popular feeling was quiet
+dignity, joined to determination, with an undercurrent of solemn
+gravity and responsibility.
+
+I had stopped in Vienna only long enough to bid good-bye to my
+father, and left for the headquarters of my regiment in Graz.  I
+reported there for duty and then went to join the Fourth Battalion,
+which was stationed at Leoben, one hour away from Graz, my
+orders being to take command of the first platoon in the sixteenth
+company.  My platoon consisted of fifty-five men, two buglers, and
+an ambulance patrol of four.
+
+In Leoben my wife and I remained a week, which was spent in
+organizing, equipping, requisitioning, recruiting, and preliminary
+drilling.  These were happy days, as we officers met for the first
+time, friendships and bonds being sealed which subsequently were
+tested in common danger and amidst privation and stress.  Many of
+the officers had brought their wives and soon delightful intercourse,
+utterly free from formality, developed, without any regard or
+reference to rank, wealth, or station in private life.  Among the
+reserve officers of my battalion were a famous sculptor, a
+well-known philologist, two university professors (one of mathematics,
+the other of natural science), a prince, and a civil engineer at the
+head of one of the largest Austrian steel corporations.  The surgeon
+of our battalion was the head of a great medical institution and a
+man of international fame.  Among my men in the platoon were a
+painter, two college professors, a singer of repute, a banker, and a
+post official of high rank.  But nobody cared and in fact I myself did
+not know until much later what distinguished men were in my
+platoon.  A great cloak of brotherhood seemed to have enveloped
+everybody and everything, even differences in military rank not
+being so obvious at this time, for the officers made friends of their
+men, and in turn were worshipped by them.
+
+My wife volunteered her services as Red Cross nurse, insisting
+upon being sent to the front, in order to be as near me as could be,
+but it developed later that no nurse was allowed to go farther than
+the large troop hospitals far in the rear of the actual operations.
+Upon my urgent appeal she desisted and remained in Vienna after I
+had left, nursing in the barracks, which are now used for hospital
+work.  In fact, almost every third or fourth house, both private and
+public, as well as schools, were given to the use of the government
+and converted into Red Cross stations.
+
+The happy days in Leoben came to an abrupt end, my regiment
+receiving orders to start immediately for the front.
+
+We proceeded to Graz, where we joined the other three battalions
+and were entrained for an unknown destination.  We traveled via
+Budapest to Galicia, and left the train at Strij, a very important
+railroad center south of Lemberg.  It must be understood that the
+only reports reaching us from the fighting line at that time were to
+the effect that the Russians had been driven back from our border,
+and that the Austrian armies actually stood on the enemy's soil.  Strij
+being hundreds of miles away from the Russian frontier, we could
+not but surmise that we were going to be stationed there some time
+for the purpose of training and maneuvering.  This belief was
+strengthened by the fact that our regiment belonged to the
+Landsturm, or second line of reserves, originally intended for home
+service.  We were, however, alarmed that very same night and
+marched out of Strij for a distance of about twenty miles, in
+conjunction with the entire Third Army Corps.  After a short pause
+for the purpose of eating and feeding the horses, we marched
+another twenty-two miles.  This first day's march constituted a very
+strong test of endurance in consequence of our comparative
+softness and lack of training, especially as, in addition to his heavy
+rifle, bayonet, ammunition, and spade, each soldier was burdened
+with a knapsack containing emergency provisions in the form of
+tinned meats, coffee extract, sugar, salt, rice, and biscuits, together
+with various tin cooking and eating utensils; furthermore a second
+pair of shoes, extra blouse, changes of underwear, etc.  On top of
+this heavy pack a winter overcoat and part of a tent were strapped,
+the entire weight of the equipment being in the neighborhood of fifty
+pounds.  The day wore on.  Signs of fatigue soon manifested
+themselves more and more strongly, and slowly the men dropped
+out one by one, from sheer exhaustion.  No murmur of complaint,
+however, would be heard.  Most of those who fell out of line, after
+taking a breathing space for a few minutes, staggered on again.
+The few that remained behind joined the regiment later on when
+camp was established.  We wondered then at the necessity of such
+a forced march, being unable to see a reason for it, unless it was to
+put us in training.
+
+Night had fallen when we reached a small monastery in the midst of
+a forest, where the peaceful surroundings and the monastic life,
+entirely untouched by the war fever, seemed strange indeed.  Camp
+was established, tents erected, fires were lighted, and coffee made.
+Soon a life of bustling activity sprang up in the wilderness, in the
+midst of the forest which only a few hours before had been
+deserted.
+
+It made a weird and impressive picture in the wonderful starlight
+night, these soldiers sitting around the camp fires softly singing in
+chorus; the fantastic outlines of the monastery half hidden in the
+woods; the dark figures of the monks moving silently back and forth
+amongst the shadows of the trees as they brought refreshments to
+the troops; the red glow of the camp fires illuminating the eager and
+enthusiastic faces of the young officers grouped around the colonel;
+the snorting and stamping of the horses nearby; an occasional
+melodic outcry of a sentinel out in the night; all these things merging
+into an unforgettable scene of great romanticism and beauty.  That
+night I lay for a long while stretched near the smoldering ashes of
+the camp fire, with my cape as a blanket, in a state of lassitude and
+somnolence, my soul filled with exaltation and happiness over the
+beauty around me.
+
+The rest, however, was of very short duration, for at six o'clock in
+the morning we were aroused, camp was broken up and soon
+afterwards we started on a forced march of twenty-two miles without
+a halt, during which we twice had to wade knee-deep through rivers.
+By midday most of the men were so exhausted that they could
+hardly crawl along.  It was remarkable that the comparatively
+weaker and more refined city-bred people who had done little
+physical work in their lives, most of them being professional men,
+withstood hardships better than the sturdy and, to all appearances,
+stronger peasants; the only explanation for it being perhaps that the.
+city-bred people, in consequence of their better surroundings and by
+reason of their education, had more will power and nervous strength
+than the peasants.
+
+At half-past two we reached a clearing in the midst of a wood
+through which a river flowed.  Here camp was again established and
+a half hour later all the hardships of the march were once more
+forgotten in the bustle of camp life.  This time we had a full rest until
+the next morning at four o'clock, when suddenly orders for marching
+were given.  After we had been under way for about three hours we
+heard far-away, repeated rumbling which sounded like distant
+thunder.  Not for a moment did we associate it with cannonading,
+being, as we supposed, hundreds of miles away from the nearest
+place where Russians could possibly be.  Suddenly a mounted
+ordnance officer came rushing with a message to our colonel.  We
+came to a halt and all officers were summoned to the colonel who,
+addressing us in his usual quiet, almost businesslike way, said:
+"Gentlemen, accept my congratulations, I have good news for you,
+we may meet the enemy to-day and I sincerely hope to lead you to
+the fight before evening." We were thunderstruck at the sudden
+realization that the Russians had penetrated so deeply into Galicia.
+The despondency which followed this startling revelation, however,
+was quickly replaced by the intense excitement of meeting the
+enemy so soon.  We hurried back to our companies, imparting the
+news to the men, who broke forth into shouts of enthusiasm.  All the
+fatigue so plainly noticeable only a few minutes before, suddenly
+vanished as if by magic, and every one seemed alert, springy, and
+full of spirit.  We energetically resumed the march in the direction of
+the distant rumbling, which indicated that the artillery of our advance
+guard had engaged the enemy.  My regiment then was part of the
+main body of a division.  A second division advanced on the road
+parallel to ours, about a mile and a quarter to our left.  Both columns
+belonged to the Third Army Corps and kept up constant communication
+with each other through mounted dispatch bearers and motor cycles.
+
+The cannonading had meanwhile come perceptibly nearer, and in
+the midst of the dense forest we again came to a short halt.  Orders
+were given to load rifles, and upon emerging from the woods we fell
+into open formation, the men marching abreast, the companies at a
+distance of three hundred yards, with the battalions at a distance of
+about a thousand yards.  We were slowly entering the range of the
+Russian artillery.  About a mile ahead we could see numbers of
+harmless looking round clouds, looking like ringlets of smoke from a
+huge cigar, indicating the places where shrapnel had exploded in
+mid-air.  Our men, not being familiar with the spectacle, took no
+notice of it, but we officers knew its significance, and I daresay many
+a heart beat as wildly as mine did.
+
+We marched on until the command was given for us to deploy, and
+soon afterwards the first shrapnel whizzed over our heads.  It did no
+harm, nor did the second and third, but the fourth hit three men in
+the battalion in the rear of us.  Our forward movement, however,
+was not interrupted, and we did not see or hear anything beyond
+two or three startled cries.  The next shell burst right ahead of us,
+sending a shower of bullets and steel fragments around.  A man
+about twenty yards to the right of my company, but not of my
+platoon, leaped into the air with an agonizing cry and fell in a heap,
+mortally wounded.  As we were advancing very swiftly, I only saw it
+as in a dream, while running by.  Then came in rapid succession
+four or five terrific explosions right over our heads, and I felt a
+sudden gust of cold wind strike my cheek as a big shell fragment
+came howling through the air, ploughing the ground viciously as it
+struck and sending a spray of sand around.
+
+We ran on perhaps a quarter of a mile, when from the rear came
+the sharp command, "Down," and the next second we lay on the
+ground, panting and exhausted, my heart almost bursting with the
+exertion.  Simultaneously the whizzing of a motor above our heads
+could be heard and we knew why the enemy's shrapnel had so
+suddenly found us.  It was a Russian aeroplane which presumably
+had signaled our approach, together with the range, to the Russian
+gunners, and now was probably directing their fire and closely
+watching its effect, for a chain of hills was hiding us from the view of
+the enemy, who consequently had to fire indirectly.  The air craft
+hovered above our heads, but we were forbidden to fire at it, the
+extremely difficult, almost vertical aim promising little success, aside
+from the danger of our bullets falling back among us.  Our reserves
+in the rear had apparently sighted the air craft too, for soon we
+heard a volley of rifle fire from that direction and simultaneously the
+aeroplane arose and disappeared in the clouds.
+
+Just then our own artillery came thundering up, occupied a little hill
+in the rear and opened fire on the enemy.  The moral effect of the
+thundering of one's own artillery is most extraordinary, and many of
+us thought that we had never heard any more welcome sound than
+the deep roaring and crashing that started in at our rear.  It quickly
+helped to disperse the nervousness caused by the first entering into
+battle and to restore self control and confidence.  Besides, by
+getting into action, our artillery was now focusing the attention and
+drawing the fire of the Russian guns, for most of the latter's shells
+whined harmlessly above us, being aimed at the batteries in our
+rear.  Considerably relieved by this diversion, we resumed our
+forward movement after about fifteen minutes of further rest, our
+goal being the little chain of hills which our advance guard had
+previously occupied pending our arrival.  Here we were ordered to
+take up positions and dig trenches, any further advance being out of
+the question, as the Russian artillery overlooked and commanded
+the entire plain stretching in front of us.
+
+We started at once to dig our trenches, half of my platoon stepping
+forward abreast, the men being placed an arm's length apart.  After
+laying their rifles down, barrels pointing to the enemy, a line was
+drawn behind the row of rifles and parallel to it.  Then each man
+would dig up the ground, starting from his part of the line backwards,
+throwing forward the earth removed, until it formed a sort of
+breastwork.  The second half of the platoon was meanwhile resting
+in the rear, rifle in hand and ready for action.  After a half hour they
+took the place of the first division at work, and vice versa.  Within an
+hour work on the trenches was so far advanced that they could be
+deepened while standing in them.  Such an open trench affords
+sufficient shelter against rifle bullets striking from the front and can
+be made in a measure shell proof by being covered with boards, if
+at hand, and with sod.
+
+In the western area of the theater of war, in France and Flanders,
+where whole armies were deadlocked, facing each other for weeks
+without shifting their position an inch, such trenches become an
+elaborate affair, with extensive underground working and wing
+connections of lines which almost constitute little fortresses and
+afford a certain measure of comfort.  But where we were in Galicia
+at the beginning of the war, with conditions utterly unsteady and
+positions shifting daily and hourly, only the most superficial trenches
+were used.  In fact, we thought ourselves fortunate if we could
+requisition enough straw to cover the bottom.  That afternoon we
+had about half finished our work when our friend the aeroplane
+appeared on the horizon again.  This time we immediately opened
+fire.  It disappeared, but apparently had seen enough, for very soon
+our position was shelled.  By this time, however, shrapnel had
+almost ceased to be a source of concern to us and we scarcely paid
+any attention to it.  Human nerves quickly get accustomed to the
+most unusual conditions and circumstances and I noticed that quite
+a number of men actually fell asleep from sheer exhaustion in the
+trenches, in spite of the roaring of the cannon about us and the
+whizzing of shrapnel over our heads.
+
+I, too, soon got accustomed to the deadly missiles,--in fact, I had
+already started to make observations of their peculiarities.  My ear,
+accustomed to differentiate sounds of all kinds, had some time ago,
+while we still advanced, noted a remarkable discrepancy in the
+peculiar whine produced by the different shells in their rapid flight
+through the air as they passed over our heads, some sounding
+shrill, with a rising tendency, and the others rather dull, with a falling
+cadence.  A short observation revealed the fact that the passing of
+a dull-sounding shell was invariably preceded by a flash from one of
+our own cannon in the rear on the hill, which conclusively proved it
+to be an Austrian shell.  It must be understood that as we were
+advancing between the positions of the Austrian and Russian
+artillery, both kinds of shells were passing over our heads.  As we
+advanced the difference between shrill and dull shell grew less and
+less perceptible, until I could hardly tell them apart.  Upon nearing
+the hill the difference increased again more and more until on the hill
+itself it was very marked.  After our trench was finished I crawled to
+the top of the hill until I could make out the flash of the Russian guns
+on the opposite heights and by timing flash and actual passing of
+the shell, found to my astonishment that now the Russian missiles
+had become dull, while on the other hand, the shrill shell was
+invariably heralded by a flash from one of our guns, now far in the
+rear.  What had happened was this: Every shell describes in its
+course a parabolic line, with the first half of the curve ascending and
+the second one descending.  Apparently in the first half of its curve,
+that is, its course while ascending, the shell produced a dull whine
+accompanied by a falling cadence, which changes to a rising shrill
+as soon as the acme has been reached and the curve points
+downward again.  The acme for both kinds of shells naturally was
+exactly the half distance between the Russian and Austrian artillery
+and this was the point where I had noticed that the difference was
+the least marked.  A few days later, in talking over my observation
+with an artillery officer, I was told the fact was known that the shells
+sounded different going up than when coming down, but this
+knowledge was not used for practical purposes.  When I told him
+that I could actually determine by the sound the exact place where a
+shell coming from the opposing batteries was reaching its acme, he
+thought that this would be of great value in a case where the
+position of the opposing battery was hidden and thus could be
+located.  He apparently spoke to his commander about me, for a
+few days later I was sent on a reconnoitering tour, with the object of
+marking on the map the exact spot where I thought the hostile shells
+were reaching their acme, and it was later on reported to me that I
+had succeeded in giving to our batteries the almost exact range of
+the Russian guns.  I have gone into this matter at some length,
+because it is the only instance where my musical ear was of value
+during my service.
+
+To return to my narrative, the losses which my battalion suffered
+that day seemed extraordinarily small when compared with the
+accuracy of the Russian artillery's aim and the number of missiles
+they fired.  I counted seventy-four shrapnel that burst in a circle of
+half a mile around us in about two hours, and yet we had no more
+than about eighteen casualties.  The most difficult part was to lie still
+and motionless while death was being dealt all about us and it was
+then and there that I had my first experience of seeing death next to
+me.  A soldier of my platoon, while digging in the trench, suddenly
+leaned back, began to cough like an old man, a little blood broke
+from his lips, and he crumpled together in a heap and lay quite still.
+I could not realize that this was the end, for his eyes were wide open
+and his face wore the stamp of complete serenity.  Apparently he
+had not suffered at all.  The man had been a favorite with all his
+fellows by reason of his good humor, and that he was now stretched
+out dead seemed unbelievable.  I saw a great many men die
+afterwards, some suffering horribly, but I do not recall any death that
+affected me quite so much as that of this first victim in my platoon.
+
+
+
+II
+
+
+
+The artillery duel died out with the coming of darkness and we
+settled down to rest, half of the men taking watch while the others
+slept.  At five o'clock in the morning our regiment suddenly received
+the order to fall in, and, together with two other regiments, was
+drawn out of the fighting line.  Our commanding general had
+received news that an isolated detachment on the extreme right
+wing of our army, about fifteen miles east of us, had been entirely
+surrounded by a strong Russian body, and we were ordered to
+relieve them.  It must not be forgotten that our men had been under
+a most incredible strain for the last three days with barely any rest
+during the nights and not more than one meal a day.  They had
+actually welcomed entering the firing line, as a relief from the
+fatigues of marching with their heavy burdens.  It is curious how
+indifferent one becomes to danger if one's organism is worn down
+and brain and faculty of perception numbed by physical exertion.  It
+was, therefore, with badly broken-down strength that we started on
+this relief expedition, and it was good to see how unflinchingly the
+soldiers undertook their unexpected new task.  All we had to say to
+our men was: "Boys, your brothers are needing you.  They are cut
+off from all possible relief unless you bring it.  Their lives are at
+stake, and as they are defending one of the most strategically
+important points--the right wing of our army--you can turn the tide of
+the whole battle in our favor; so go on." And on they went,
+staggering and stumbling, and at the end of a few hours almost
+crawling, but ever forward.
+
+Suddenly we came up with another regiment which had been called
+to the same task, and the colonel of the new regiment, being older
+in rank than our colonel, took command of the newly formed brigade
+of two regiments.  My company happened to march at the head of
+the regiment and the new brigadier rode for some time alongside of
+me.  I was deeply impressed by his firm military and yet unassuming
+bearing and his deep glowing enthusiasm for his army and his men.
+He told me with pride that two of his sons were serving in the army,
+too, one as an artillery officer and the other one as an officer with
+the sappers.  We were then approaching the point where we could
+hear distinctly the fire of our own batteries and the answer from the
+Russians, and here and there a volley of rifle fire.  Our colonel urged
+us on to renewed energy, and knowledge that we were nearing our
+goal, seemed to give new strength to our men.  Already we were
+witnessing evidences of the first fight that had passed here, for
+wounded men constantly passed us on stretchers.  Suddenly I saw
+the face of the colonel riding next to me, light up with excitement as
+a wounded man was borne past.  He addressed a few words to the
+stretcher-bearers and then turned to me, saying: "The regiment of
+my son is fighting on the hill.  It is one of their men they have
+brought by." He urged us on again, and it seemed to me as if I
+noticed--or was it my imagination--a new note of appeal in his face.
+Suddenly another stretcher was brought past.  The colonel at my
+side jumped from his horse, crying out, "My boy," and a feeble voice
+answered, "Father." We all stopped as if a command had been
+given, to look at the young officer who lay on the stretcher, his eyes
+all aglow with enthusiasm and joy, unmindful of his own wound as
+he cried out, "Father, how splendid that the relief should just come
+from you! Go on.  We held out splendidly.  All we need is ammunition
+and a little moral support.  Go on, don't stop for me, I am all right."
+The old colonel stood like a statue of bronze.  His face had become
+suddenly ashen gray.  He looked at the doctor and tried to catch his
+expression.  The doctor seemed grave.  But the young man urged
+us on, saying, "Go on, go on, I'll be all right to-morrow." The whole
+incident had not lasted more than five minutes, barely longer than it
+takes to write it.  The colonel mounted his horse, sternly
+commanding us to march forward, but the light had died out of his
+eyes.
+
+Within the next ten minutes a hail of shrapnel was greeting us, but
+hardly any one of us was conscious of it, so terribly and deeply were
+we affected by the scene of tragedy that had just been enacted
+before us.  I remember foolishly mumbling something to the silent
+man riding next to me, something about the power of recuperation
+of youth, about the comparative harmlessness of the pointed,
+steelmantled rifle bullets which on account of their terrific percussion
+make small clean wounds and rarely cause splintering of the bone
+or blood poisoning.  I remember saying that I had quite a medical
+knowledge and that it seemed to me that his son was not mortally
+wounded.  But he knew better.  He never said a word, only, a few
+minutes later, "He was my only hope"; and I can't express how
+ominous that word "was" sounded to me.  But just then the
+command to deploy was given and the excitement that followed
+drowned for the time being all melancholy thoughts.  We quickly
+ascended the hill where the isolated detachment of Austrians had
+kept the Russians at bay for fully twenty-four hours and opened fire
+on the enemy, while the second regiment tried to turn his left flank.
+The Russians slowly fell back but we followed them, and a sort of
+running fight ensued, during which my regiment lost about fifty--
+dead and wounded.  The Russians temporarily resisted again, but
+soon the pressure from our other regiment on their flank began to
+be felt and they fled rather disorderly, leaving two machine guns,
+some ammunition, and four carriages full of provisions in our hands,
+while the regiment which had executed the flanking movement took
+two hundred and forty prisoners.
+
+Around eight o'clock at night the fight was stopped for want of light,
+and we took up our newly acquired positions, entrenched them well,
+and began to make ready for the night.  Orders for outpost duty
+were given and the officers were again called to the brigadier-
+colonel, who in a few words outlined the situation to us, thanking us
+for the pertinacity and bravery shown by the troops, and adding that
+the success of the expedition lay in the fact that we had arrived in
+time to save the situation.
+
+Then the question of transporting prisoners to the rear came up,
+and while the brigadier's eyes were searching us I felt that he was
+going to entrust me with that mission.  He looked at me, gave me
+the order in a short, measured way, but his eyes gazed searchingly
+and deeply into mine, and I thought I understood the unspoken
+message.  So, tired as I was, I immediately set out with a guard of
+twenty men to transport the two hundred and forty Russian
+prisoners, among whom were two officers, back behind the fighting
+line.  They seemed not unhappy over their lot--in fact, were smoking
+and chatting freely while we marched back.  One of the Russian
+officers had a wound in his leg and was carried on a stretcher, but
+he, too, seemed quite at ease, conversing with me in French and
+congratulating me upon the bravery our isolated detachment had
+shown against the terrific onslaught.  As soon as I had delivered
+them safely into the hands of the commander of our reserves, I
+inquired the way to the nearest field hospital in search of the young
+officer, the son of our brigadier-colonel.  It was then about nine
+o'clock at night, and on entering the peasant's hut where the field
+hospital was established, I saw at a glance that I had come too late.
+He lay there still, hands folded over his breast with as serene and
+happy an expression as if asleep.  His faithful orderly sat weeping
+next to him, and some kind hand had laid a small bunch of field
+flowers on his breast.
+
+From the doctor I got the full information.  He had received a shot in
+the abdomen and a rifle bullet had grazed his cheek.  His last words
+had been a fervent expression of joy over the relief brought by his
+father and the knowledge that the position would not be taken by the
+Russians.  He had died as simply as a child, without regret, and
+utterly happy.  I took the orderly with me, asking him to carry all the
+belongings of the young officer with him in order to transmit them to
+his father.
+
+When I returned with the orderly, the brigadier was issuing orders to
+his officers and conferring with them about the military situation.  He
+saw me come, yet not a muscle moved in his face, nor did he
+interrupt his conversation.  I was overwhelmed by the power this
+man showed at that minute, and admit I had not the courage to
+break the news to him, but it was unnecessary, for he understood.
+The faithful orderly stepped forward, as I had bidden him, presenting
+to the old man the pocketbook and small articles that belonged to
+his son.  While he did so he broke forth into sobs, lamenting aloud
+the loss of his beloved lieutenant, yet not a muscle moved in the
+face of the father.  He took my report, nodded curtly, dismissed me
+without a word, and turned back to his ordnance officers, resuming
+the conversation.
+
+I assumed the command of my platoon which in the mean time had
+been assigned to do some outpost duty under the command of the
+sergeant.  I inquired about their position and went out to join them.
+About midnight we were relieved, and when marching back, passed
+the place where the tent of the brigadier had been erected.  I saw a
+dark figure lying on the floor, seemingly in deep sleep, and ordering
+my men to march on I crept silently forward.  Then I saw that his
+shoulders were convulsively shaking and I knew that the mask of
+iron had fallen at last.  The night was chilly so I entered his tent in
+search of his overcoat and laid it around his shoulders.  He never
+noticed it.  The next morning when I saw him his face was as
+immovable as it had been the night before, but he seemed to have
+aged by many years.
+
+The next day was a comparatively restful one.  We fortified the
+entrenchments which we had taken, and as our battle lines were
+extended to the right, from being the extreme right we became
+almost the center of the new position which extended for perhaps
+ten miles from northwest to southeast about eighteen miles south of
+Lemberg.
+
+The next few days were given to repairs, provisioning, and resting,
+with occasional small skirmishes and shifting of positions.  Then one
+night a scouting aeroplane brought news of a forward movement of
+about five Russian army corps, which seemed to push in the
+direction of our center.  Against this force we could muster only
+about two army corps, but our strategical position seemed a very
+good one, both the extreme flanks of our army being protected by
+large and impassable swamps.  Evidently the Russians had realized
+the impossibility of turning our flanks and were endeavoring to
+pierce our center by means of a vigorous frontal attack, relying upon
+their great superiority in numbers.  Every preparation had been
+made to meet the onslaught during the night.  Our trenches had
+been strengthened, the artillery had been brought into position,
+cleverly masked by means of transplanted bushes, the field in front
+of us had been cleared of objects obstructing the view, and the
+sappers had been feverishly busy constructing formidable
+barbed-wire entanglements and carefully measuring the shooting
+distances, marking the different ranges by bundles of hay or other
+innocent-looking objects, which were placed here and there in the
+field.
+
+At nine o'clock in the morning everything was ready to receive the
+enemy, the men taking a short and well-deserved rest in their
+trenches, while we officers were called to the colonel, who
+acquainted us with the general situation, and, giving his orders,
+addressed us in a short, business-like way, appealing to our sense
+of duty and expressing his firm belief in our victory.  We all knew that
+his martial attitude and abrupt manner were a mask to hide his inner
+self, full of throbbing emotion and tender solicitude for his
+subordinates, and we returned to our trenches deeply moved.
+
+The camp was absolutely quiet, the only movements noticeable
+being around the field kitchens in the rear, which were being
+removed from the battle line.  A half hour later any casual observer,
+glancing over the deserted fields might have laughed at the
+intimation that the earth around him was harboring thousands of
+men armed to their teeth, and that pandemonium of hell would
+break loose within an hour.  Barely a sound was audible, and a hush
+of expectancy descended upon us.  I looked around at my men in
+the trench; some were quietly asleep, some writing letters, others
+conversed in subdued and hushed tones.  Every face I saw bore
+the unmistakable stamp of the feeling so characteristic of the last
+hour before a battle,--that curious mixture of solemn dignity, grave
+responsibility, and suppressed emotion, with an undercurrent of sad
+resignation.  They were pondering over their possible fate, or
+perhaps dreaming of their dear ones at home.
+
+By and by even the little conversation ceased, and they sat quite
+silent, waiting and waiting, perhaps awed by their own silence.
+Sometimes one would bravely try to crack a joke, and they laughed,
+but it sounded strained.  They were plainly nervous, these brave
+men that fought like lions in the open when led to an attack,
+heedless of danger and destruction.  They felt under a cloud in the
+security of the trenches, and they were conscious of it and
+ashamed.  Sometimes my faithful orderly would turn his eye on me,
+mute, as if in quest of an explanation of his own feeling.  Poor dear
+unsophisticated boy! I was as nervous as they all were, although
+trying my best to look unconcerned; but I knew that the hush that
+hovered around us like a dark cloud would give way like magic to
+wild enthusiasm as soon as the first shot broke the spell and the
+exultation of the battle took hold of us all.
+
+Suddenly, at about ten o'clock, a dull thud sounded somewhere far
+away from us, and simultaneously we saw a small white round cloud
+about half a mile ahead of us where the shrapnel had exploded.
+The battle had begun.  Other shots followed shortly, exploding here
+and there, but doing no harm.  The Russian gunners evidently were
+trying to locate and draw an answer from our batteries.  These,
+however, remained mute, not caring to reveal their position.  For a
+long time the Russians fired at random, mostly at too short a range
+to do any harm, but slowly the harmless-looking white clouds came
+nearer, until a shell, whining as it whizzed past us, burst about a
+hundred yards behind our trench.  A second shell followed,
+exploding almost at the same place.  At the same time, we noticed a
+faint spinning noise above us.  Soaring high above our position,
+looking like a speck in the firmament, flew a Russian aeroplane,
+watching the effect of the shells and presumably directing the fire of
+the Russian artillery.  This explained its sudden accuracy.  One of
+our aeroplanes rose, giving chase to the enemy, and simultaneously our
+batteries got into action.  The Russians kept up a sharply
+concentrated, well-directed fire against our center, our gunners
+responding gallantly, and the spirited artillery duel which ensued
+grew in intensity until the entrails of the earth seemed fairly to
+shake with the thunder.
+
+By one o'clock the incessant roaring, crashing, and splintering of
+bursting shells had become almost unendurable to our nerves,
+which were already strained to the snapping-point by the lack of
+action and the expectancy.  Suddenly there appeared a thin dark
+line on the horizon which moved rapidly towards us, looking not
+unlike a huge running bird with immense outstretched wings.  We
+looked through our field glasses; there could be no doubt,--it was
+Russian cavalry, swooping down upon us with incredible impetus
+and swiftness.  I quickly glanced at our colonel.  He stared
+open-mouthed.  This was, indeed, good fortune for us,--too good to
+believe.  No cavalry attack could stand before well-disciplined
+infantry, providing the latter keep cool and well composed, calmly
+waiting until the riders come sufficiently close to take sure aim.
+
+There was action for us at last.  At a sharp word of command, our
+men scrambled out of the trenches for better view and aim, shouting
+with joy as they did so.  What a change had come over us all! My
+heart beat with wild exultation.  I glanced at my men.  They were all
+eagerness and determination, hand at the trigger, eyes on the
+approaching enemy, every muscle strained, yet calm, their bronzed
+faces hardened into immobility, waiting for the command to fire.
+Every subaltern officer's eye hung on our colonel, who stood about
+thirty yards ahead of us on a little hill, his figure well defined in the
+sunlight, motionless, the very picture of calm assurance and proud
+bearing.  He scanned the horizon with his glasses.  Shrapnel was
+hailing around him, but he seemed utterly unaware of it; for that
+matter we had all forgotten it, though it kept up its terrible uproar,
+spitting here and there destruction into our midst.
+
+By this time the avalanche of tramping horses had come perceptibly
+nearer.  Soon they would sweep by the bundle of hay which marked
+the carefully measured range within which our fire was terribly
+effective.  Suddenly the mad stampede came to an abrupt standstill,
+and then the Cossacks scattered precipitately to the right and left,
+only to disclose in their rear the advancing Russian infantry, the
+movements of which it had been their endeavor to veil.
+
+The infantry moved forward in loose lines, endlessly rolling on like
+shallow waves overtaking each other, one line running forward, then
+suddenly disappearing by throwing itself down and opening fire on
+us to cover the advance of the other line, and so on, while their
+artillery kept up a hellish uproar spreading destruction through our
+lines.  Simultaneously a Russian aeroplane swept down upon us
+with a noise like an angered bird of prey and pelted us with bombs,
+the effects of which, however, were more moral than actual, for we
+had regained the security of the trenches and opened fire on the
+approaching enemy, who in spite of heavy losses advanced steadily
+until he reached our wire entanglements.  There he was greeted by
+a deadly fire from our machine guns.  The first Russian lines were
+mowed down as if by a gigantic scythe, and so were the reserves as
+they tried to advance.  The first attack had collapsed.  After a short
+time, however, they came on again, this time more cautiously,
+armed with nippers to cut the barbed wire and using the bodies of
+their own fallen comrades as a rampart.  Again they were repulsed.
+Once more their cavalry executed a feigned attack under cover of
+which the Russian infantry rallied, strongly reinforced by reserves,
+and more determined than ever.
+
+Supported by heavy artillery fire their lines rolled endlessly on and
+hurled themselves against the barbed-wire fences.  For a short time
+it almost seemed, as if they would break through by sheer weight of
+numbers.  At that critical moment, however, our reserves
+succeeded in executing a flanking movement.  Surprised and
+caught in a deadly cross-fire, the Russian line wavered and finally
+they fled in disorder.
+
+All these combined artillery, infantry, cavalry, and aeroplane attacks
+had utterly failed in their object of dislodging our center or shaking
+its position, each one being frustrated by the resourceful, cool
+alertness of our commanding general and the splendid heroism and
+stoicism of our troops.  But the strain of the continuous fighting for
+nearly the whole day without respite of any kind, or chance for food
+or rest, in the end told on the power of endurance of our men, and
+when the last attack had been successfully repulsed they lay mostly
+prostrated on the ground, panting and exhausted.  Our losses had
+been very considerable too, stretcher-bearers being busy
+administering first aid and carrying the wounded back to the nearest
+field hospital, while many a brave man lay stark and still.
+
+By eight o'clock it had grown perceptibly cooler.  We now had time
+to collect our impressions and look about us.  The Russians had left
+many dead on the field, and at the barbed-wire entanglements
+which our sappers had constructed as an obstacle to their advance,
+their bodies lay heaped upon each other, looking not unlike the
+more innocent bundles of hay lying in the field.  We could see the
+small Red Cross parties in the field climbing over the horribly
+grotesque tumuli of bodies, trying to disentangle the wounded from
+the dead and administer first aid to them.
+
+Enthusiasm seemed suddenly to disappear before this terrible
+spectacle.  Life that only a few hours before had glowed with
+enthusiasm and exultation, suddenly paled and sickened.  The
+silence of the night was interrupted only by the low moaning of the
+wounded that came regularly to us.  It was hideous in its terrible
+monotony.  The moon had risen, throwing fantastic lights and
+shadows over the desolate landscape and the heaped-up dead.
+These grotesque piles of human bodies seemed like a monstrous
+sacrificial offering immolated on the altar of some fiendishly cruel,
+antique deity.  I felt faint and sick at heart and near swooning away.
+I lay on the floor for some time unconscious of what was going on
+around me, in a sort of stupor, utterly crushed over the horrors
+about me.  I do not know how long I had lain there, perhaps ten
+minutes, perhaps half an hour, when suddenly I heard a gruff, deep
+voice behind me--the brigadier, who had come around to inspect
+and to give orders about the outposts.  His calm, quiet voice
+brought me to my senses and I reported to him.  His self-assurance,
+kindness, and determination dominated the situation.  Within five
+minutes he had restored confidence, giving definite orders for the
+welfare of every one, man and beast alike, showing his solicitude for
+the wounded, for the sick and weak ones, and mingling praise and
+admonition in just measure.  As by magic I felt fortified.  Here was a
+real man undaunted by nervous qualms or by over-sensitiveness.
+The horrors of the war were distasteful to him, but he bore them with
+equanimity.  It was, perhaps, the first time in my life that I regretted
+that my artistic education had over-sharpened and overstrung my
+nervous system, when I saw how manfully and bravely that man
+bore what seemed to me almost unbearable.  His whole machinery
+of thinking was not complicated and not for a moment did qualms of
+"Weltschmerz" or exaggerated altruism burden his conscience and
+interfere with his straight line of conduct which was wholly
+determined by duty and code of honor.  In his private life he was an
+unusually kind man.  His solicitude for his subordinates, for
+prisoners, and for the wounded was touching, yet he saw the
+horrors of the war unflinchingly and without weakening, for were
+they not the consequences of the devotion of men to their cause?
+The whole thing seemed quite natural to him.  The man was clearly
+in his element and dominated it.
+
+After having inspected the outposts, I went back, bedded myself in a
+soft sand-heap, covered myself up, and was soon fast and
+peacefully asleep.  During the night the dew moistened the sand,
+and when I awoke in the morning I found myself encased in a
+plastering which could not be removed for days.
+
+
+
+III
+
+
+
+Our hopes of getting a little rest and respite from the fighting were
+soon shattered, for a scouting aeroplane brought news that the
+Russians were again advancing in overwhelming strength.  Our
+commanding general, coming to the conclusion that with the
+reduced and weakened forces at his command he could not
+possibly offer any effective resistance to a renewed onslaught, had
+determined to fall back slowly before their pressure.  The
+consequence was a series of retreating battles for us, which lasted
+about ten days and which constituted what is now called the battle
+of Lemberg.
+
+We were then terribly outnumbered by the Russians, and in order to
+extricate our army and prevent it from being surrounded and cut off,
+we constantly had to retreat, one detachment taking up positions to
+resist the advancing Russians, trying to hold them at all costs in
+order to give the rest of the army sufficient time to retire to safety.
+This maneuvering could not, of course, be carried out without the
+forces guarding the rear and covering the retreat suffering
+sometimes terrible losses.
+
+These were depressing days, with rain and storm adding to the
+gloom.  The men tramped wearily, hanging their heads, ashamed
+and humiliated by the retreat, the necessity of which they could not
+grasp, having, as they thought, successfully repulsed the enemy.  It
+was difficult to make them understand that our regiment was only a
+cog in the huge wheel of the Austrian fighting machine and that, with
+a battle line extending over many miles, it was quite natural that
+partial successes could take place and yet the consideration of
+general strategy necessitate a retreat.  Our arguing made little
+impression on the men; for they only shook their heads and said,
+"We were victorious, we should have gone on."
+
+The spirit of retreating troops is vastly different from that shown
+by  an advancing army, and it was probably in recognition of this
+well-known psychological state that our general staff had in the
+beginning attacked the Russians wherever they could, in spite of the
+overwhelming superiority of the foe, but the reinforcements the
+Russians were able to draw upon had swelled their ranks so
+enormously that any attack would have been little short of madness.
+
+The real hardships and privations for us began only now.  The few
+roads of Galicia, which at best are in bad condition, through the
+constant passing of heavy artillery and wagons of all kinds following
+each other in endless procession through constant rains, had
+become well-nigh impassable, the heavy mud constituting an
+additional impediment to the marching of troops.  In order to get all
+of the train carrying provisions out of the possible reach of a sudden
+raid by the Russian cavalry, it had to be sent miles back of us, so as
+not to interfere with the movement of the troops.  This caused
+somewhat of an interruption in the organization of the commissary
+department and very little food reached the troops, and that only at
+very long intervals.
+
+The distribution of food to an army, even in peace and under the
+best conditions, is a very complicated and difficult undertaking.
+Provisions are shipped from the interior to the important railway
+centers, which serve as huge army depots and form the basis from
+which the different army corps draw their provisions and from which
+they are constantly replenished.  They in turn supply the divisions
+and brigades wherefrom the regiments and battalions draw their
+provisions.  So it is seen that the great aorta which leads from the
+interior to the big depots slowly subdivides itself into smaller arteries
+and feeders until they reach the ultimate destination, the extreme
+front.
+
+This distribution of food had now become a formidable task, in
+consequence of the unforeseen movements and diversions which
+were forced upon us by the unexpected developments of the battle;
+and it often happened that food supplies intended for a certain
+detachment would reach their destination only after the departure of
+that detachment.
+
+My platoon had by this time shrunk from fifty-five men to about
+thirty-four, but those remaining had become very hardened,
+efficient, and fit.  It is astonishing how quickly the human organism
+adjusts itself, if need be, to the most difficult circumstances.  So far
+as I was concerned, for instance, I adapted myself to the new life
+without any trouble at all, responding to the unusual demands upon
+me automatically, as it were.  My rather impaired eyesight improved
+in the open, with only wide distances to look at.  I found that my
+muscles served me better than ever before.  I leaped and ran and
+supported fatigue that would have appalled me under other
+circumstances.  In the field all neurotic symptoms seem to
+disappear as by magic, and one's whole system is charged with
+energy and vitality.  Perhaps this is due to the open-air life with its
+simplified standards, freed from all the complex exigencies of
+society's laws, and unhampered by conventionalities, as well as to
+the constant throb of excitement, caused by the activity, the
+adventure, and the uncertainty of fate.
+
+The very massing together of so many individuals, with every will
+merged into one that strives with gigantic effort toward a common
+end, and the consequent simplicity and directness of all purpose,
+seem to release and unhinge all the primitive, aboriginal forces
+stored in the human soul, and tend to create the indescribable
+atmosphere of exultation which envelopes everything and
+everybody as with a magic cloak.
+
+It is extraordinary how quickly suggestions of luxury, culture,
+refinement, in fact all the gentler aspects of life, which one had
+considered to be an integral part of one's life are quickly forgotten,
+and, more than that, not even missed.  Centuries drop from one,
+and one becomes a primeval man, nearing the cave-dweller in an
+incredibly short time.  For twenty-one days I went without taking off
+my clothes, sleeping on wet grass or in mud, or in the swamps,
+wherever need be, and with nothing but my cape to cover me.
+Nothing disturbs one.  One night, while sleeping, we were drenched
+to the skin by torrential rains.  We never stirred, but waited for the
+sun to dry us out again.  Many things considered necessities of
+civilization simply drop out of existence.  A toothbrush was not
+imaginable.  We ate instinctively, when we had food, with our hands.
+If we had stopped to think of it at all, we should have thought it
+ludicrous to use knife and fork.
+
+We were all looking like shaggy, lean wolves, from the necessity of
+subsisting on next to nothing.  I remember having gone for more
+than three days at a time without any food whatsoever, and many a
+time we had to lick the dew from the grass for want of water.  A
+certain fierceness arises in you, an absolute indifference to anything
+the world holds except your duty of fighting.  You are eating a crust
+of bread, and a man is shot dead in the trench next to you.  You
+look calmly at him for a moment, and then go on eating your bread.
+Why not? There is nothing to be done.  In the end you talk of your
+own death with as little excitement as you would of a luncheon
+engagement.  There is nothing left in your mind but the fact that
+hordes of men to whom you belong are fighting against other
+hordes, and your side must win.
+
+My memory of these days is very much blurred, every day being
+pretty nearly the same as the preceding one,--fatiguing marches,
+little rest and comparatively little fighting.
+
+It is quite possible that our commander tried to divide the work of the
+troops in a just manner, and that in consequence of my regiment
+having borne the brunt of two terrible attacks, and having suffered
+considerable loss, we were now temporarily withdrawn from the
+fighting line, and not once during these days were assigned to the
+duty of a rear guard.  Consequently we had only few and
+unimportant skirmishes in these days, twice while guarding the flank
+through having to repulse attacks of Cossacks, and once being
+harassed by an armored automobile.  But the movements of an
+automobile being confined to the road, we had no difficulty in
+avoiding its fire, and as for the Cossacks with their eternal feigned
+attacks, we had reached the point where we almost ignored them.
+
+We were in the first days of September, and upon reaching the
+swamps near Grodeck, south of Lemberg, a determined stand was
+decided upon by our commanding general.  It seemed the most
+propitious place for a formidable defense, there being only few
+roads through otherwise impassable swamps.  On September sixth
+my battalion was ordered to take up a position commanding a defile
+which formed one of the possible approaches for the enemy.  Here
+we awaited the Russians, and they were not long in coming.  First
+they violently shelled our position and silenced one of our batteries.
+Finding their artillery fire did not draw any answer from our side, they
+attempted to storm our position by means of frontal infantry attacks,
+combined with occasional raids of Cossacks, which were always
+repulsed.  Finally the Russian infantry succeeded in establishing a
+number of trenches, the one opposite us not more than five
+hundred yards away.  It was the first time we had come in close
+touch with the Russians, almost within hailing distance, and with the
+aid of our field glasses we could occasionally even get a glimpse of
+their faces and recognize their features.  We stayed four days
+opposite each other, neither side gaining a foot of ground.
+
+It was there and then that I made a curious observation.  After the
+second day we had almost grown to know each other.  The Russians would
+laughingly call over to us, and the Austrians would answer.  The
+salient feature of these three days' fighting was the extraordinary
+lack of hatred.  In fact, it is astonishing how little actual hatred
+exists between fighting men.  One fights fiercely and passionately,
+mass against mass, but as soon as the mass crystallizes itself into
+human individuals whose features one actually can recognize, hatred
+almost ceases.  Of course, fighting continues, but somehow it loses
+its fierceness and takes more the form of a sport, each side being
+eager to get the best of the other.  One still shoots at his opponent,
+but almost regrets when he sees him drop.
+
+By the morning of the third day we knew nearly every member of the
+opposing trench, the favorite of my men being a giant red-bearded
+Russian whose constant pastime consisted in jumping like a
+Jack-in-the-box from the trench, crying over to us as he did so.  He
+was frequently shot at, but never hit.  Then he grew bolder, showing
+himself longer and longer, until finally he jumped out of the trench
+altogether, shouting to us wildly and waving his cap.  His
+good-humored jollity and bravado appealed to our boys and none of them
+attempted to shoot at him while he presented such a splendid target.
+Finally one of our men, who did not want to be second in bravery,
+jumped out of the trench and presented himself in the full sunlight.
+Not one attempt was made to shoot at him either, and these two men
+began to gesticulate at each other, inviting each other to come
+nearer.  All fighting had suddenly ceased, and both opposing parties
+were looking on, laughing like boys at play.  Finally the Russian
+would draw a step nearer, and our man boldly advanced too.  Then the
+Russians urged on their man with shouts and laughter, and he made a
+big leap forward, standing still, whereupon the Austrian also jumped
+forward, and so, step by step, they approached until they nearly
+touched each other.  They had left their rifles behind, and we thought
+that they were going to indulge in a fist fight, all of us being sorry
+for our champion, for he was a small and insignificant-looking man who
+looked as if he could be crushed with one blow by his gigantic
+opponent.  But lo, and behold! The big Russian held out his hand which
+held a package of tobacco and our Austrian, seizing the tobacco,
+grasped the hand of the Russian, and then reaching in his pocket
+produced a long Austrian cigar, which he ceremoniously presented to
+the Russian.  It was indeed a funny sight to see the small, wiry, lean
+Austrian talking in exaggerated terms of politeness to the blond
+Russian giant, who listened gravely and attentively, as if he
+understood every word.
+
+By this time all precautions and even ideas of fighting had been
+forgotten, and we were surprised to find ourselves out of the shelter
+of our trenches and fully exposed to the Russians, who, in turn,
+leaned out of their own trenches and showed their heads in full.
+This unofficial truce had lasted about twenty minutes, and
+succeeded more in restoring good humor and joy of life among our
+soldiers than a trainload of provisions would have done.  It was one
+of the incidents that helped to relieve the monotony of trench life
+and was heartily welcomed by all of us.  The fighting, however, soon
+was resumed with all its earnestness and fierceness, but from this
+moment on a certain camaraderie was established between the two
+opposing trenches.  Between skirmishes an unofficial truce would
+frequently be called for the purpose of removing the wounded.
+During these times when the stretcher-bearers were busy, no shot
+would be fired on either side.
+
+Nor was this an isolated case, for similar intermittent truces,
+sometimes accompanied by actual intercourse between the
+opposing forces, were quite common all along the battle line.  That
+very night I was hurriedly summoned to the trenches of the 13th
+Company, about half a mile east of us, in order to act as an
+interpreter between the major commanding that battalion and two
+singular guests he had just received, a Russian officer and his
+orderly.  The pair, carrying a white flag, had hailed one of the
+numerous Austrian outposts placed during the night, in front of the
+trenches, and had been sent blindfolded back to the major.  The
+Russian officer spoke only broken French.  He commanded one of
+the opposing trenches, and from his narrative it appeared that his
+men had not received any food supplies for some days and were
+actually on the point of starvation.  Not being able to stand their
+misery any longer, he had taken the bull by the horns and, with the
+utter confidence and straightforwardness of a fearless nature, had
+simply come over to us, the enemy, for help, offering a little barrel of
+water which his companion carried on his head and a little tobacco,
+in exchange for some provisions.  The major seemed at first,
+perhaps, a little perplexed and undecided about this singular
+request, but his generous nature and chivalry soon asserted itself.
+One single look at the emaciated and worn faces of our guests
+sufficiently substantiated the truth of their story, for both men were
+utterly exhausted and on the verge of collapse.  The next minute
+messengers were flying to the different trenches of the battalion to
+solicit and collect contributions, and the officers scrambled over
+each other in their noble contest to deplete their own last and
+cherished reserves for the supper of the guests.  Soon the latter
+were seated as comfortably as circumstances permitted before a
+feast of canned beef, cheese, biscuits, and a slice of salami, my
+own proud contribution consisting of two tablets of chocolate, part of
+a precious reserve for extreme cases.  It was a strange sight to see
+these two Russians in an Austrian trench, surrounded by cordiality
+and tender solicitude.  The big brotherhood of humanity had for the
+time enveloped friend and foe, stamping out all hatred and racial
+differences.  It is wonderful how the most tender flowers of
+civilization can go hand in hand with the most brutal atrocities of
+grim modern warfare.
+
+In the mean while the messengers had returned almost staggering
+under the weight of a sack filled with the gifts of our soldiers to the
+enemy,--pieces of bread and biscuits with here and there a slice of
+bacon or a lump of cheese, all thrown pele-mele together.  Many a
+man must have parted with his last piece of bread in order not to be
+outdone by the others in generosity, for our own provisions were
+running very low.  It is true that the bread and biscuits were
+mildewed, the cheese stale, and the bacon as hard as stone, but
+the boys gave the best they could, the very poverty and
+humbleness of the gifts attesting their own desperate plight, and
+bearing proud witness to the extent of their sacrifice.  With tears in
+their eyes and reiterated protestations of thanks, our guests
+staggered back through the night to their lines, undoubtedly carrying
+with them tender memories of Austrian generosity and hospitality.
+
+On the morning of the next day a Russian detachment succeeded in
+storming a hill on our flank, commanding the strip of space between
+ourselves and our reserves in the rear, thus cutting us off from our
+main body.  They established there a machine-gun battery, and,
+although we were under cover in our trench, we were now in a very
+precarious position, for no more provisions or ammunition could
+reach us, all attempts to do so breaking down under a terrific
+machine-gun fire, but we had orders to hold our position at all cost
+and to the last man.  Unfortunately our ammunition was giving out,
+in spite of our husbanding it as much as possible and shooting only
+when we had a sure target.  The Russians soon found that each
+shot meant a victim and took no chances on showing even the tips
+of their caps.  Neither could we move the least bit without being the
+target for a volley from their side.  Up to this day I cannot
+understand why they did not try to rush us, but apparently they were
+unaware of our comparative weakness.
+
+Also for another reason our position had become more and more
+untenable.  We were on swampy ground and the water was
+constantly oozing in from the bottom of the trench, so that we
+sometimes had to stand nearly knee-deep and were forced to bail
+the water out with our caps.  It is difficult to imagine a more
+deplorable situation than to have to stay for four days in a foul
+trench, half filled with swamp water, constantly exposed to the
+destructive fire of the enemy, utterly isolated and hopeless.
+
+Soon we were completely without any food or water and our
+ammunition was almost exhausted.  During the night, here and
+there daring men would rush through the space swept by the
+Russian gun fire, which was kept up constantly, trying to bring us
+what scanty supplies they could procure from neighboring trenches
+better provided than we were, but the little they brought was nothing
+compared to our needs.
+
+On the evening of that third day, knowing that our ammunition was
+giving out, we felt that the next day would bring the end, and all our
+thoughts turned homewards and to the dear ones.  We all wrote
+what we considered our parting and last farewell, each one pledging
+himself to deliver and take care of the letters of the others if he
+survived.  It was a grave, sad, deeply touching moment, when we
+resigned ourselves to the inevitable, and yet somehow we all felt
+relieved and satisfied that the end might come and grimly resolved
+to sell our lives dearly.
+
+Never before had I as much reason to admire the wonderful power
+of endurance and stoicism of our soldiers as on that night.  Once
+resigned to the worst, all the old-time spirit returned, as if by magic.
+They sat together playing cards in as much moonlight as would fall
+into the deep trench, relating jokes and bolstering up one another's
+courage.
+
+The fourth day broke gloomy, with a drizzling rain.  At ten o'clock
+one of our men became suddenly insane, jumped out of the trench,
+danced wildly and divested himself of every stitch of clothing while
+doing so.  Strange to say, the Russians must have realized that the
+man was insane, for they never fired at him, neither did they at the
+two men who jumped out to draw him back.  We succeeded in
+comforting and subduing him, and he soon fell into a stupor and
+remained motionless for some time.  As soon as darkness fell we
+succeeded in conveying him back to the reserves and I understand
+that he got quite well again in a few days.
+
+At five o'clock that afternoon we suddenly received orders through a
+running messenger, who was braving the incessant machine-gun
+fire, that our positions were about to be abandoned and that we
+were to evacuate our trench under the cover of darkness, at eleven
+o'clock.  I cannot but confess that we all breathed more freely on the
+receipt of that information, but unfortunately the purpose could not
+be carried out.  The Russians by this time evidently had realized our
+comparatively defenseless condition and utter lack of ammunition,
+for that same night we heard two shots ring out, being a signal from
+our sentinels that they were surprised and that danger was near.  I
+hardly had time to draw my sword, to grasp my revolver with my left
+hand and issue a command to my men to hold their bayonets in
+readiness, when we heard a tramping of horses and saw dark
+figures swooping down upon us.  For once the Cossacks actually
+carried out their attack, undoubtedly owing to their intimate
+knowledge of our lack of ammunition.  My next sensation was a
+crushing pain in my shoulder, struck by the hoof of a horse, and a
+sharp knife pain in my right thigh.  I fired with my revolver at the
+hazy figure above me, saw it topple over and then lost
+consciousness.
+
+This happened, to the best of my recollection, at about half past ten
+at night.  Upon coming to my senses I found my faithful orderly,
+kneeling in the trench by my side.  He fairly shouted with delight as I
+opened my eyes.  According to his story the Austrians, falling back
+under the cavalry charge, had evacuated the trench without
+noticing, in the darkness, that I was missing.  But soon discovering
+my absence he started back to the trench in search of me.  It was a
+perilous undertaking for him, for the Cossacks were still riding about,
+and he showed me with pride the place where a stray bullet had
+perforated his knapsack during the search.  He revived me, gave
+me first aid, and succeeded with great difficulty in helping me out of
+the trench.  For more than three hours we stumbled on in the night,
+trying to find our lines again.  Twice we encountered a small troop of
+Cossacks, but upon hearing the tramping we quietly lay down on the
+wayside without a motion until they had passed.  Happily we were
+not noticed by them, and from then we stumbled on without any
+further incident until we were hailed by an Austrian outpost and in
+safety.
+
+By this time I was utterly exhausted and again lost consciousness.
+When I opened my eyes, I was in a little hut where our ambulance
+gave first aid.  Therefrom I was transported to the nearest field
+hospital.  This, however, had to be broken up and the wounded
+removed because of the Russian advance.  We were hastily put on
+big ambulance wagons without springs, the jolting of which over the
+bad road caused us such suffering that we should have almost
+preferred to walk or crawl.  We tried to reach the railway station at
+Komarno but found a Russian detachment had intercepted us.  In
+the streets of the village a shell burst almost in front of our wagons,
+making the horses shy and causing a great deal of confusion.  We
+had to turn back and after a long and wearisome detour reached
+our destination, the troop hospital in Sambor, in a state of great
+exhaustion.  There I remained but a day.  The less seriously
+wounded had to make place for the graver cases, and being among
+the former, I was transferred by hospital train to Miscolcy in
+Hungary.  The same crowded conditions prevailed here as in
+Sambor, and after a night's rest I again was put on board a Red
+Cross train en route to Vienna.  We were met at the station by a
+number of Red Cross nurses and assistant doctors.
+
+To my great joy my wife was among the former, having been
+assigned to that particular duty.  A short official telegram to the
+effect that I was being sent home wounded on hospital train Number
+16 was the first news she had received about me for fully four
+weeks.  None of my field postcards had arrived and she was
+suffering extreme nervous strain from the long anxiety and
+suspense, which she had tried in vain to numb by feverish work in
+her hospital.  I remained two weeks in Vienna and then was
+transferred to the sulphur bath of Baden near-by, where large
+hospitals had been established to relieve the overcrowding of
+Vienna.  There I remained until the first of November when I was
+ordered to appear before a mixed commission of army surgeons
+and senior officers, for a medical examination.  Two weeks later I
+received formal intimation that I had been pronounced invalid and
+physically unfit for army duty at the front or at home, and
+consequently was exempted from further service.  My military
+experience ended there, and with deep regret I bade good-bye to
+my loyal brother officers, comrades, and faithful orderly, and
+discarded my well-beloved uniform for the nondescript garb of the
+civilian, grateful that I had been permitted to be of any, if ever so
+little, service to my Fatherland.
+
+
+The End
+
+
+
+
+
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