Carnage and Care on the Eastern Front: The War Diaries of Bernhard Bardach, 1914-1918

CHAPTER 1

1914

Poland, Russia, Carpathians

On the fateful date 28 June 1914, the heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand d’Este and his wife Duchess Sophie Hohenburg were murdered in Sarajevo. This earthshaking event instantly clarified the political situation in which our Monarchy and its ally Germany found themselves. By this deed, Serbia faithfully fulfilled its deadly mission by organizing the assassination, together with its preceding scandalous propaganda. Russia immediately delivered its preplanned declaration, that it wants nothing untoward to happen to Serbia, and ordered official mobilization that, in fact, had been in process for quite a long time. France, believing that the moment for la revanche had arrived, followed the call of its Entente partners as well as perfidious Albion, and opened hostilities by indiscriminate bombing—forbidden by international law—of open German cities.

England, who carefully instigated Russia and France and dragged Belgium into the war, now openly joined the Entente against the Central Powers—something that in fact they had already done in secret—and entered the war, to destroy German commerce, and oust this dangerous rival from the world scene. On 25 July 1914, after the Serbian rejection of our ultimatum, declaration of war followed, by proclamation of general mobilization on 31 July 1914.

4 AUGUST. Day 1 of general mobilization. Preparation of my regimental battalion in Trieste is already far along, with our men already fully clothed and equipped, so that they can begin the journey to Karlstadt¹ on 6 August at 1:36 a.m. (for supplemental equipment to put the battalion on full war footing).

Despite the very late hour, the whole of Trieste is awake and humming: columns echo with continuous cheering of eviva! and alla guerra! The platform is crowded with people, and there is no end of leave taking by waving scarves and handkerchiefs, until finally the train leaves the station. There are many tears, especially from women and children, and I am happy that I spared my family the pain of accompanying me to the station.

8 AUGUST. Arrival in Karlstadt at 2:00 a.m. after a boring and uncomfortable journey. Four of us share a first-class coupé (Lieutenant Colonel Tuschner, Captain Alexandrovitsch, First Lieutenant Quartermaster Steiner, and myself). Weather cool and partly overcast, with rain. My quarters in Karlstadt are simple, but clean and private. Very hot, with plenty of work to do. My primary mission the first day is acquiring a horse, because the two horses given to me by the regiment here are absolutely impossible to ride. They have not yet been broken in, and resemble Galician farmers’ horses (koniki). After a great deal of searching in the horse market, with assistance from Lieutenant Colonel Tuschner, Captain von Martini, and the regimental horn player, I buy an iron-gray horse for 850 crowns. The horse looks good, young (four and a half years old), large enough, without blemish, and, as the seller assured me, very good natured and well behaved, despite having thrown its previous rider twice while galloping. The rider was to blame for this, for riding without saddle and stirrup, and thus not being able to stop the horse. He may be correct. We will see!

The main occurrence today is the sudden order from command that all Serbian soldiers are unreliable and must be removed from service as soon as possible. This measure proves to be totally uncalled for. As a group, they would certainly have done their duty, and there were many courageous, intelligent men among them.

In this way, an entire battalion is eliminated, including Major Lesic; Captains Kobelnic, Diappa, Deischl, and Kukla; First Lieutenants Buchta, David, Kartner, Maiuran, and Siemetsberger. What a blot on the regiment’s escutcheon! The companies are now, because of removal of the Serbs, fully occupied with reorganization. I am naturally less involved, having already almost completed the outfitting of my stretcher-bearers and dressing carriers.

Weather favorable, with some afternoon rain, only lasting about two hours and clearing later. Music at the square: I meet the widow of my former chief physician, Mrs. Aschkenasy. The poor woman has gone very old: she was always small, but has become very fat and bloated in the face—she is now as hideous as she was once pretty! Regimental Physician Aschkenasy fell in love with her casually during a long-ago summer concert, but his love disappeared as quickly as it appeared, almost immediately after the honeymoon. The poor man committed suicide a few years ago—he never was completely normal. Their daughter, to whom the woman introduced me, is a seventeen-year-old, sweet, small, pale, badly developed young lady—face and nature just like her father. Overeffusive, daydreams only over music and theater—otherwise very modest. Whether—with her looks—she will be able to succeed in her passion is another question.

9 AUGUST. Sunday morning. I am occupied determining irregularities in bread production, and, in the afternoon, with further issuance of emergency medical services material. Weather very nice!

10–11 AUGUST. Nothing special.

12 AUGUST. The regiment is sworn in and photographed. I am extremely upset to find that my horse has never been ridden and is therefore absolutely useless as a cavalry horse. I am saved from last-minute embarrassment by the willingness of Lieutenant Colonel Tuschner and Captain Diappa to exchange my horse for one of theirs.

13 AUGUST. At 8:40 a.m. the regiment departs into the unknown, general direction Russia. The first day is very hot, but it gets progressively cooler. Provisions are good, but the mood is miserable. No wonder! The situation is getting worse and worse: even if we are victorious, if it goes on like this, there will be mass murder and destruction of untold numbers of lives.

We travel through Agram,² Budapest (not the main railway station), Kaschau, Chynow, Jaroslau,³ and Przeworsk: there we decamp and reach Glogowiecz⁴—fourteen kilometers from the Russian border—on foot, the following afternoon.

17 AUGUST. Great enthusiasm for us at all larger rest stops by civilian population, consisting mainly of women, girls, half-grown lads, and cripples (on state pension). Beautiful maidens crowd around our coupés, throw flowers at us, give the soldiers cigarettes, sing, and rejoice, like going to at a dance. This mood becomes more serious, the nearer we reach the enemy. News brought to us in Przeworsk by Captain von Martini—who had been sent on ahead as billeting officer—is shattering: the Russians have lured the colonel of the Deutschmeister Division, with three hundred men, into an ambush, and killed them. The colonel’s body has been completely plundered, and left lying in his undershirt. The body is sent back to Vienna.

19 AUGUST. Inspection by Commander of the Infantry Lipošćak

20 AUGUST. 5:00 a.m. departure from Glogowiecz. Lieutenant Colonel Schenk is ordered back to Agram, where he takes over command of the Serbian front. Beautiful summer weather, which doesn’t help our mood at all. The order for travel march is given, but, in reality, without disturbance by the enemy, we move forward rapidly. In several places, huge numbers of troops jam the roads. A picture of badly organized maneuvers.

At 10:30 a.m. we cross the border and enter the notoriously sandy Tanew⁵ region. A peculiar feeling creeps into each of us; joy, clouded by thought of the fighting that lies ahead: it’s clear to everyone that coming battles will be very fierce.

Almost at the border, we see the first signs of war destruction; the Austrian and Russian customs buildings have been completely burned down.

We cross the border with cries of hurrah, and to our victory, waving our caps in the air, decorating them with Russian oak leaves. We travel for an hour through a thick forest of firs, whose only road is almost impassable because of huge amounts of sand. Our valiant pioneers and sappers have long since been at work, building a wide log path for the baggage train on one side of the road. Russian women and farmers work hard to help us.

After marching for hours, we quarter temporarily on Russian soil in Wola Rozaniecka⁶ south of Tarnogrod,⁷ at 3:00 p.m.

During the late afternoon, we can already see signs of introduction of Austrian administration on Russian soil. A special political administrator calls the village farmers together: they immediately choose a community representative (wójt),⁸ after having declared the previous one deposed. They take the oath on our constitution, sealing the procedure by removal of the Russian emblem from the town hall, and replacement with an Austrian one. The regiment takes the Russian emblem as a war souvenir.

21 AUGUST. Advance! We fall in at 5:00 a.m. and travel north without stopping. A beautiful region—many forests. We hear the thunder of cannons for the first time around 12:30 p.m.—still about fifteen to twenty kilometers from here. Nevertheless, it has an effect on every one of us: we become very serious very quickly. It is difficult to guess, let alone describe, the feelings of others. Each man thinks and experiences things in a different way. My feelings are peculiar: neither anxiety nor fear. Maybe something in between. We hear the thunder of artillery of varying intensity, for a few hours.

Around 2:00 p.m., we are able to see the scheduled eclipse of the sun very clearly. We were in the forest when the sun—which had shone down fiercely all day—gradually began to darken: the entire forest glowed with a peculiar color—a magnificent picture. But all the while it remained bright enough for many not to notice what was happening, unless they were paying attention. We had a short rest and, when this spectacle ended half an hour later, continued our march, arriving in Stary Bidaczow⁹ at 4:00 p.m.

22 AUGUST. Our preliminary encampment is changed to Wola.¹⁰

23 AUGUST. Advance: the enemy have announced themselves, and fighting has been going on for two days. We reckon on an encounter probably today, certainly tomorrow.

Last night I finally slept well, after three nearly sleepless nights. The plague of fleas that first night on the Russian lakes was so bad that I asked to sleep in the mayor’s bed. After this experience, I have decided never to sleep in a bed of such doubtful quality again, and have tried to sleep in a barn the past two nights. The trouble with this is that one cannot undress in a barn because of the cold nights.

My sleeping equipment is very poor; I miss a sleeping bag greatly, and a rubber washbasin seems superfluous, and useless into the bargain.

We march away at 5:00 a.m., despite the fact that it is Sunday. One doesn’t know what day it is at all, unless reminded of it daily.

After a forced march of thirty-eight kilometers, we arrive at 6:30 p.m. in our place of encampment in Krzemien.¹¹

24 AUGUST. First day of fighting: our regiment receives its baptism of fire. Today was supposed to be a day of rest: the troops are so exhausted that at first no further marching is ordered. We install ourselves comfortably, with much washing, shaving, etc. Our batman is busy washing our clothes, when at 11:00 a.m. we suddenly hear loud cannon thunder—immediate alarm, and we march off. Hardly have we reached the edge of the village, when shrapnel and shells whizz past our heads, falling to our left and right. It seems impossible for my medical staff and myself to leave the town. Lieutenant Colonel Bisenius, who whizzes by me on his horse, warns me about the fighting. (I did not think that I had seen this splendid man for the last time.) We stay behind for a while until the sound of fighting disappears, and continue our march in the direction of the regiment.

Figure 1.1. Toilette out in the open. Photograph courtesy of the Leo Baeck Institute.

At 3:00 p.m., an infantry battle begins: soon wounded soldiers and officers begin arriving for treatment. Because I lack anything resembling a building like a farmhouse, I install my first aid station in a hollow. The first wounded officer is First Lieutenant Suk, who tells me the sad news that Lieutenant Colonel Bisenius has already been killed, together with Captains Katušic and Ditz, Machine Gun Commander First Lieutenant Schatzmann, and many others. I wait here until dark, and then march with my walking wounded to the estate Godziszow,¹² where the first aid station of another regiment is already fully active, with already over five hundred wounded (two-thirds of them Russians). We work all night. Transfer of the division medical unit is in full swing, and evacuation to the nearest first aid unit is complete by next morning at 9:00 a.m.

25 AUGUST. I search for my own regiment and find it in Branewka¹³ around 1:00 p.m. The regiment lies there completely exhausted; the neighboring unit is just as tired out, so it’s a very good thing that they had no other duties that day. Yesterday’s fighting led to six officers killed, six wounded; thirty-four men killed, sixty-six wounded; a total of forty killed, seventy-two wounded. Apart from those listed above, also Lieutenants Steurer and Koreis, killed; wounded: First Lieutenant Suk, Lieutenants Zgaga and Henschel, Cadet Trtnik, Lieutenant Kraus, Cadet Jenaw.

26 AUGUST. We break camp at 6:00 a.m. and march, without encountering the enemy, until 3:00 p.m, resting in the forest near Turobin.¹⁴ As it turns out, we must spend the night here as well. I sleep under a tree—not so bad. No provisions at all today.

27 AUGUST. We pass through the forest. Today there is fighting in for crossing of the Por River: the twenty-fourth infantry division is fighting there.

28 AUGUST. Battle of Turobin: a great victory for our side. Crossing of the Por is greatly impeded by Russian resistance: if they would have succeeded in throwing us back, it would have made all our successes thus far illusory—for that reason the many dead and wounded on our side. The night of 27 to 28 August is very restless. Because we believe that the Russians have set fire to Turobin, or bombarded our baggage train early, our troops remain dug in. I am located in a roadside ditch with the regimental staff. No question of sleep, of course: very cold and wet. Life begins anew at 2:00 a.m., and at 4:00 a.m. we march off in a northeasterly direction. The Russians retreat during the night. We march until noon without encountering them, and finally make a rest stop in Zolkiew.¹⁵ The regimental staff are directed to a Jewish house. Only old people, half-grown young boys, and girls can be seen. They make a very good impression, are intelligent, and are interested in the fighting, because they read only of Russian victories in their newspapers. They give us tea and white bread; we would have surely received provisions here, had we not been alarmed at 6:00 p.m., and marched off at once. We march for three full hours without seeing a soul; by the time we return to our quarters, it’s already 10:00 p.m.

29 AUGUST. Today should also have been a rest day, earmarked for thorough washing and cleaning. But we are again disappointed: it is already 11:00 a.m., and rations are about to be distributed, but we receive the alarm again and march off immediately. We march without stopping until 8:00 p.m., without finding the enemy, and halt in Sobieska Wola.¹⁶ We are quartered in a barn, together with the entire regimental staff. I am completely exhausted, with severe stomach cramps for the first time in this campaign. Lunch and dinner are revolting: I cannot eat the food, despite being very hungry, and satisfy my hunger with dry bread and cheese: I go to sleep at 8:00 p.m. and sleep beautifully until 4:00 a.m.: the first good sleep in three days.

30 AUGUST. We break camp at 5:00 a.m., and march in circles, without advancing a single kilometer. It’s already 10:00 a.m. by the time the regiment adopts a defensive position at Radomirka,¹⁷ and the men start to dig in. I encamp, together with the entire medical staff of 150 behind the regimental reserves in a deep hollow. We install ourselves comfortably and enjoy an opulent second breakfast¹⁸ with sardines, wine, etc. We have just started to brew tea when, at 1:00 p.m., enemy artillery starts to shoot into our hollow. We all scatter quickly, leaving everything behind. The stableman from D Camp is slightly wounded in the head by a piece of shrapnel. After a while, the fire stops: we hurry into the hollow again and try to dig ourselves in, because we have to hold out here until dark.

In the evening, we go to regimental command, where we obtain hot food and really hot tea, always the best provision of all. We lie under a tree and rest. The night is horrible: the wind blows, rustling the leaves ceaselessly. Because I have no covering, my entire body is frozen. Apart from that, my neighbors on both sides snore atrociously, so I do not close an eye until morning.

31 AUGUST. Early, at 4:00 a.m., we search our hollow out again and remain there, dug in, until 3:00 p.m. Then, advance! We march uninterruptedly until 11:00 p.m. and are surprised by rain on the way for the first time since our departure from Karlstadt. We eventually arrive in Izdebno,¹⁹ where the entire staff spend the night in a barn: I sleep very well.

1 SEPTEMBER. We should, according to orders, have marched off at 9:00 a.m. but are surprised, and almost overrun, by the Russians at 6:00 a.m. Apparently we have been betrayed by the civilian population. Heavy enemy artillery fire: a small panic ensues but does not last for long. Our valiant artillery take up position and open up a murderous fire on the Russians, who appear to retreat, because their artillery fire ceases, and our infantry pursues them. Soon heavy defensive fire is heard.

On the same morning, we receive the news that the Germans have captured seventy thousand men from the Russian 2nd army.²⁰ The news is received with a loud hurrah. At 9:30 a.m. I establish my first aid station in an estate (Xanerówka):²¹ very soon, masses of our wounded start to stream in. The division commandant rides by: he requests from the chief medical officer of the fifth division, through me, that as many wounded as possible be evacuated. By evening I have evacuated 150 of the mostly seriously wounded to the divisional medical unit, among them Captain Redel. Because the regiment takes up position in front of us around evening, we remain where we are overnight.

2 SEPTEMBER. Departure 5:00 a.m. After marching a short distance, we encounter enemy artillery: heavy fighting on both sides—it’s obvious that we are heavily outnumbered and outgunned. We come under cross fire and must retreat, under uninterrupted enemy artillery fire. We retreat, and arrive in Siedliska Wielkic (Suchodoly),²² where I take charge of a first aid station already established by the eighty-ninth infantry regiment: 110 wounded are already gathered there. When everyone finally streams back, I have to leave the wounded who cannot be evacuated—together with ensigns Krešic and Kušec, one-year medical volunteers Sošic and Mazukrek, and half my medical patrol—behind; I march back to Izdebno with the regiment. In Izdebno, the regiment adopts a defensive position, while I establish a first aid station at the southern end of the town. The medical personnel whom I left behind are all taken prisoner by the Russians; after this, I will not leave medical personnel with the wounded again if something similar recurs.

Today is a terrible one for the regiment. We lose Captains Nemenz, Naic, and Rosam, the first killed the other two wounded and taken prisoner. Captain Schwarz is evacuated with bladder catarrh,²³ a not unwelcome occurrence for him. We doctors only come through unharmed by lucky chance; our danger there was very great. The mood in the regiment is very dejected.

3 SEPTEMBER. We are hot on the enemy’s heels: firing opens up on both sides at 6:00 a.m. Our regiment is ordered to hold this position at all costs. Our troops have already been decimated; battalions have been formed out of regiments, and companies out of battalions: this depresses us even more. Nevertheless, we hold our position for the