HARD MARCHING AND DESULTORY FIGHTING
We had no rest for thirty hours. During this time we marched and fought
incessantly, falling back about sixty versts to Novogeorgevsk, where we
were joined by the 233rd Reserve Regiment from Warsaw, where they had
arrived from Novgorod only a few hours previously. Other divisions also
received strong reinforcements, which were of great value to us, not
only by reason of their physical aid, but also because they greatly
revived the spirits of our worn-out fighting-men, many of whom dropped
from exhaustion the moment we were out of reach of the enemy and a halt
was called. I did myself; and believe I should have died had not a
soldier given me half a bottle of rum, and a loaf of rye bread. Where he
obtained them I do not know; but many of the men got food at
Novogeorgevsk which was not served out by the commissariat.
It was seldom that any spirits were obtainable other than vodka, which
is frightful stuff and has more than once fetched the skin off my gums
and lips. Rum, therefore, was simply nectar. Touching this subject: the
Russian soldier, and the Russian peasant, are often represented as great
drunkards. It is simply a libel on an abstemious and frugal people. The
whole of the time I was in Russia I did not see more than fifty drunken
people; and they were German officers and soldiers, who, occasionally,
when captured, were as drunk as lords.
During the retreat of thirty hours most of the men fired about 500
cartridges. These were brought to the firing-line by light carts, which
galloped along, and threw the packets on the ground for the men to pick
up.
The Germans sometimes pressed us pretty closely; but a bear robbed of
her whelps is an awkward customer to deal with; and notwithstanding
their superior numbers, they soon learned a great respect for us. Our
losses were heavy; theirs were not light. A pretty good sprinkling of
bodies was left on the road Novogeorgevsk; and when the artillery got a
chance they added heaps to the sprinkling.
Captain Sawmine was badly, but not dangerously, wounded. Red Cross men,
doctors and officers tried to induce him to get into a cart, and go to
the rear; but he would not. "I mean to die with my men," was all he
would say; and, indeed, I thought it was coming to that. He fainted
twice; and sometimes we were compelled to carry him a verst or two; but
as soon as he gained a little strength he insisted on marching like the
rest of us. We all carried rifles; and he shot off nearly as many rounds
as the men, and shot them well, too. It was not until we reached
Novogeorgevsk that his hurts were properly dressed.
We went back to our old lodgings, where we enjoyed the refreshment of a
good meal and a long sleep. Large bodies of troops were massed along
the Vistula, and away towards Pultusk, on the River Narew, a great part
of the garrison of Warsaw having come out to meet the danger. The
Germans were effectually checked by these fresh troops, which gave the
exhausted men a chance to recoup.
Also thousands of men were hourly arriving by train from Vilna and other
northern garrisons. Everybody knew that the enemy must be beaten back
immediately, or they would be in Warsaw in a few hours, although the
defences of the city were being daily strengthened.
At first a good deal of the fighting was skirmishing along the banks of
the rivers and streams, of which there are many small ones in this
region which are fringed with willows, and in summer half-hidden in beds
of thick rushes. Of course the rushes were now dead, or lying low, a
mass of withered vegetation; but the willows and bushes afforded
sufficient concealment to the marksmen to enable them to keep up a
continual skirmish. I am not sure that this kind of fighting is of much
use. It costs a number of lives on both sides, but really effects
nothing, unless it is used as a screen to more important movements.
Though some of the streams were fordable, and all the smaller ones
frozen over, the enemy made no attempt to cross any of them. They
appeared to fear a turning movement from the direction of Pultusk, and
retired in a way that was inexplicable to us at the time. We soon
learned, however, that they had been forced back from the line of the
Narew with great loss; and were in full and disorderly retreat. The
pressure must have been great: for the large forces in front of
Novogeorgevsk suddenly began to retire; and our artillery cut them up
cruelly. They had not a sufficient number of guns to make an effectual
reply, which seems to show that they had sent the bulk of their
batteries to the Narew. It is a common movement of the Germans when they
are hard pressed at any point, and also when they are gaining an
advantage, to bring up every gun they can move from other corps. This
sometimes gives them the victory; but occasionally brings disaster upon
them. The Germans are the gamblers of war. They seem ready to throw away
men and guns on the bare chance of winning--and losing, care not, but
hope for "better luck next time." Their officers certainly do not care
twopence for the lives of their men.
About this time, too, I noticed some deterioration in the quality of the
German troops. In the first part of the campaign they never sustained a
rout, as I have several times stated; but as the winter wore on their
retreats were often disorderly, as I have mentioned above.
Our division took no part in this fighting. Probably those in supreme
command thought we had had enough of it recently; and they were about
right. If ever a division deserved the name of "fighting division," it
was ours: and yet, strange as it may seem, I do not know precisely what
we were. At one time we were known as the Seventh Division of the Ninth
Army; and after a time on detached duty, as the Thirteenth of the Eighth
Army. Then again we were unattached. There is little doubt that the
division was made up of odd battalions and regiments, the remnants of
corps which had been practically wiped out. There was always a
disinclination to give me much information on the subject; and I thought
it unwise to be too persistent in my inquiries. It is certain that we
were made up, afterwards, of reservists, and were used to temporarily
strengthen other corps. Of the Vladimirs not a dozen of the original men
remained; and two of these were officers; and the battalion, though
still retaining its designation, was numbered the 3rd of the second
regiment. From time to time we received recruits, generally the remnants
of corps which had become "wiped out," a very frequent occurrence in
this war, when whole regiments were often destroyed, perhaps a company,
or a part of one, escaping. While we were at Novogeorgevsk a number of
cavalrymen who had lost their horses were sent to us, bringing the
battalion up to about 500 men. The whole division was under 3,000. Such
are the losses of war.
When the enemy showed signs of wavering, the fresh troops in our
neighbourhood made a vigorous attack upon them, with the result that
they gave way almost at once. Evidently their reverses further north had
demoralized them.
On the 26th, at night, we heard that the enemy had been crushed at
Przasnysz. The enemy must have heard it too: for they drew back their
right wing towards the north-west; and when our men pressed them hard,
retreated with more precipitation than I had ever seen them do on any
previous occasion.
Our division was following in support, and we had little or no fighting.
The ground over which we marched was chiefly fields and frozen marshes.
The artillery used the roads where they could discern them; but this was
no easy task, the country being one flat sheet of snow, with few trees,
and only ruins of houses: in fact, the country had been rendered
desolate, and the people had fled to the towns.
We passed by thousands of dead and wounded, scattered in all directions;
for there had been no defence of positions here, but a retiring fight in
the open. The Red Cross men picked up the hurt: the dead were left where
they lay; the usual custom in this campaign. Every now and then we met
parties of Cossacks and infantry, escorting prisoners to the rear. The
total losses of the enemy appeared to be at least three to one of ours.
There was no halt at night; and cavalry of all kinds--dragoons, hussars,
lancers, chasseurs, and the ubiquitous Cossacks--were constantly
overtaking us, and pressing to the front in pursuit of the flying enemy:
for flying they were. These German boys, who had fought so well in their
first onset, when tired out and exhausted by continuous exertion, broke
down completely: and there were some pitiful scenes: as, for instance,
when some twenty or thirty of them were discovered hidden in the cellars
of a wrecked house. One of them had the courage to fire his rifle up the
stairs and kill a Cossack as he sat eating his ration. This was
considered to be a murder by the Cossack's comrades, and
notwithstanding that the Germans immediately surrendered, the whole
party was hanged to the fruit-trees in the garden of the house--the only
ones in the neighbourhood.
I do not think any of these boys were more than twenty years old; half
of them certainly were not more than sixteen or seventeen; and they made
a terrible fuss over their fate, screaming and crying like small
children; and one or two grovelling in the snow, and begging for mercy
in the most piteous way. In vain. They were all strung up; and as no
drop was given to break their necks, some were a long time dying. I saw
one still struggling after he had been suspended twenty minutes; and
others were apparently not quite dead until a bystander put an end to
their suffering with revolver-shots. It is probable that these lads
would not have been discovered had not one of them shot the Cossack.
The hiding in cellars of small parties of the enemy was a frequent
occurrence. They would probably have often escaped detection had it not
been for their own folly. They did not seem to be able to resist the
temptation to fire on any of our men who chanced to enter the houses
where they lay concealed, probably thinking they were isolated squads,
and unsupported by stronger bodies.
Amongst other strange incidents was that of a motor-car which was taken
past us on the 28th. It was a closed carriage, and contained three
ladies, and a large quantity of articles of dress, jewellery, and plate.
The women were said to be officers' wives; and the goods, plunder: and
there were many stories prevailing amongst our troops of robberies of
houses by Prussian women of considerable social rank. It was quite a
common incident for us to recover cars and carts full of spoil which had
been taken from the houses of the Polish nobility of the district. What
became of the thieves I do not know; but in the case of women I believe
they escaped unpunished.
Other things we captured were carts, waggons, and conveyances laden with
provisions and clothing materials, which had been stolen from Polish
towns, villages and private houses. It was commonly reported that the
Germans were in great straits for food; and whether this was so or not,
they stripped those tracts of country which were overrun by them of
everything eatable. They even dug up the potatoes and turnips (in the
autumn, of course); and when they got the chance, reaped the cornfields,
sending this produce to Germany, unless we were fortunate enough to
intercept it. This action may have been dictated by want, but was more
likely to have been the outcome of economical provision for the future,
combined with their acknowledged policy of making war as frightful as
possible to the civil population of their foe's country. It entailed
terrible misery on the poor people, and was the cause of the towns and
villages of whole regions being abandoned by the inhabitants, many of
whom were said to have died of starvation. Others had to apply to relief
committees.
I have read descriptions of the state of Germany after the Thirty
Years' War. I should think it could not have been worse than many parts
of Poland now are. The enemy has turned whole districts into a desert,
destitute of everything that is necessary to the existence of man. They
have even wantonly cut down the fruit-trees, and filled the wells with
filth. Barns and storehouses have been burnt, as well as dwellings, in
many cases whole villages having been given to the flames. As a rule,
however, the towns have been spared, though I passed through a few that
had suffered severely, if they were not quite ruined. The enemy had
frequently emulated the "crop-ears" of our Cromwellian period, and
stabled their horses in the churches. Still more frequently they had
desecrated and wrecked the sacred edifices--one of the most unwise
things they could do: for to provoke a people through their religion is
equal to losing a battle, and a big battle too, to say nothing of what
the Most High may possibly think of it. This does not count with the
Germans; but it may possibly count in favour of their enemies, when the
day of reckoning comes!
The peasantry, rendered homeless and desperate, and enraged at the
violation of things they held to be in the highest degree sacred, were a
thorn in the side of Russia's foes. Living in the wood, prowling about
their burnt homes in the dead of night, they often came upon the enemy's
videttes and pickets, and made them prisoners. I do not think they
imitated the Cossacks, and often took the lives of the men they
surprised; but they did so occasionally. They made splendid scouts, and
helped the Russian Army immensely in this way, supplying information
which it would have been difficult, or rather impossible, for organized
parties of armed men to have obtained. The women, especially, were
useful in this way: for with that cunning and subterfuge which nobody
condemns in the female character, they often ingratiated themselves with
the German officers and soldiers, and so obtained access to knowledge of
their movements and circumstances which no amount of duplicity or skill
would have enabled a man to acquire. And a day or two afterwards the
hussies, perhaps, would be stabbing their "friends" with pitchforks,
their favourite weapons, next to their tongues, which they often used
with great effect; for it was quite a usual circumstance for women to
join in any fighting that took place in their neighbourhood. The men,
also, joined the soldiers on the battlefield, and used any weapon they
could obtain, but chiefly the instruments with which, in normal times,
they tilled the ground.
To take up again the thread of this narrative. A great deal of fighting
went on in our front, but the weakness of our division kept us out of
it. We were still further reduced in numbers by being called on to
furnish many detachments to guard prisoners to the rear. Under these
circumstances I had to amuse myself with such rumours, and small items
of news, as came in my way. From these I gathered that the onward
movements of the enemy were completely checked; and it was even asserted
that the Russian troops were again on German soil. This rumour was
not satisfactorily confirmed; but I cannot doubt that the enemy was
forced back to the frontier line in the neighbourhood of Mlawa and
Chorzellen. The latter place is a small Russian town actually on the
frontier, and more than thirty versts from a railway-station. Mlawa is
also a Russian town five versts from the border, with a station on the
Praga (suburb of Warsaw) German railway, which was held by the enemy.
The two places are about thirty versts distant from each other: so it
was evident the foe had fallen back on a pretty wide front.
[Illustration: PERSONAL BLESSING BY A PRIEST IS CONSIDERED A GREATER
HONOR BY A RUSSIAN SOLDIER THAN A WAR DECORATION]
One of the most striking episodes of this period was my first sight of
the Russian Commander-in-Chief, the Grand Duke Nicholas. I had, of
course, heard frequent mention of him; but it was never very clear to me
where he was--I mean at what particular spot. Though not such a galloper
(to use a military term) as the Kaiser, he still seemed to be here,
there and everywhere. One week he was asserted to be in direct personal
command of our corps: the next he was reported to be in Galicia. But the
Duke is anything but a limelight gentleman; the German is nothing unless
he is one. The Duke is a great commander, and no mean soldier: the
Kaiser is also a great commander, but no soldier at all. The first can
say what he wants, and can do it: the second can say what he wants, but
cannot do it; he has to rely on his subordinates.
The Grand Duke Nicholas is a big man, yet not stout. He appears to stand
considerably more than six feet high--I should think about six feet six
inches. He is very straight and upright in carriage, but scarcely with
the bearing of a soldier. He looks more like an athletic priest than a
military man, especially as he has a grave countenance, and seldom, or
never, smiles. He is an affable man, though; and seemingly quite devoid
of pride. He wears a plain uniform, devoid of ornament, and carries a
stick in place of a sword. Apparently he does not look about him; but
nothing escapes his eye; and, like all great men, he is not above
dealing with details even minute ones.
He does very little writing, however, but likes to sit on a chair and
explain his wishes to an audience of officers. Those whom they concern
make notes of his orders, which he afterwards looks over, but, I am
told, does not sign. If I were one of his subordinates I should think
this method had its drawbacks. What if a misunderstanding occurred?
Everything would favour the commander, and all would necessarily go
against the commanded. But perhaps this would not matter in a country
like Russia.
One thing is certain: that if the Grand Duke is not one of the greatest
commanders this war has produced, the Germans, at any rate, have not
been able to catch him napping. His fault seems to be precisely similar
to those which afflict the other Generals of the War: they do not get
effectively driven back; but they cannot get forward. The trench
business is one too many for them; and the art of outflanking has
clearly not been sufficiently studied; while the art of effectual
retaliation seems to be utterly unknown.