From an officer who was with Prince Joachim when he was wounded the
following description of the incident has been obtained:
“It was during the hottest part of the battle, just before the Russian
resistance was broken, that the Prince, who was with the staff as
information officer, was despatched to the firing line to learn how the
situation stood. He rode off with Adjutant-Captain von Tahlzahn and had
to traverse the distance, almost a mile, under a heavy hail of shell and
occasional volleys.
“As the Russian artillery was well served and knew all the ranges from
previous measurements, the ride was not a particularly pleasant one, but
he came through safely and stood talking with the officers when a
shrapnel burst in their vicinity. The Prince and the Adjutant were both
hit, the latter receiving contusions on the leg, but the shot not
penetrating.
“To stop and whip out an emergency bandage, which the Prince, like every
officer and private, carries sewed inside the blouse, and bind it around
the thigh to check the bleeding was the work of only a moment. It was a
long and dangerous task, however, to get him back to the first bandaging
station, about a mile to the rear, under fire, and from there he was
transported to the advanced hospital at Allenstein, where he remained
until he was able to travel.”