STORIES OF RUSSIAN SOLDIERS.
Russian soldiers have long been famous for the contempt with which they
regard wounds and death. The few stories which have been told of their
exploits in the battles described in Chapter VIII. prove clearly that
they have lost none of their old virtues of daring and devotion.
Our first story is that of a Cossack who attacked twenty-seven Uhlans
single-handed, and managed to kill eleven of them. In this fight he
received nine wounds in the chest and the back, and lost a finger.
"These are not wounds," he said. "The Germans thought I was cornered. I
gave them no time to attack me. An officer tried to cut me down, but he
was too slow. I hit him over the head, but his helmet protected him.
Then I got angry, and killed him. The soldiers were charging me with
lances, so I seized one of the lances, and drove it into them, one after
another. I was too angry to feel the blows and thrusts which they gave
me. Then five friends came up and gave me assistance, and the Germans
fled."
* * * * *
Let me tell you how Colonel Alexieff fought for the flag in East
Prussia. When the standard-bearer of his regiment was killed he seized
the flag and cried, "On, friends, after me!" and though wounded in the
neck by shrapnel, still pushed ahead of his men. Bullets rained round
him, but his courage so inspired his comrades that with loud cries of
"For the Tsar! for our leader!" they rushed forward and routed the
Germans opposed to them.
* * * * *
I have already mentioned that the Kaiser has an estate in East Prussia,
which he visits every autumn for shooting elk and other big game. This
estate comprises a model stud farm and an enormous garden. After the
Russians had captured Tilsit and were pushing on to Insterburg, they
occupied the Kaiser's shooting-box, and the exhausted soldiers lay down
to sleep, muddy as they were, on the royal carpets. When they left this
fine billet the next day they said, "Thank you, William; we slept well,
but nevertheless we shall fight you." A Russian officer wrote home as
follows: "After a series of terrible battles we are reposing on
William's magnificent estate. Undreamt-of beauty is all round us. The
place is splendidly equipped, so that we have at our disposal everything
we could wish for, and we are riding his celebrated horses, and enjoying
delicious dinners prepared by his man cook. Especially beautiful is the
park, with its glorious shady avenues. It swarms with rare animals, and
birds are flying free everywhere. By the way, our soldiers have caught a
parrot belonging to William. It speaks excellent German, and our men are
teaching it to say very uncomplimentary things about its imperial
master."
* * * * *
Amongst the Russian officers was a well-known opera-singer, who was in
charge of a battery. To encourage his men, he sang many military songs
about Peter the Great,[44] and the soldiers joined in the choruses. On
one occasion, when his guns were attacked by a strong German force, the
guns were ordered to retreat. One battery was unable to do so, because
the horses had all been killed or wounded. Seeing this, the singing
officer shouted, "We can't leave any guns behind, boys!" He sprang upon
a horse, and some of his men followed his example; then they dashed
towards the stranded guns and moved them into safety.
* * * * *
You will be interested in the following stories, which give you some
idea of the Cossack's methods of fighting. An Austrian officer says:
"Our cavalry advanced to the battle with ardour, but the Cossacks fell
on us like a whirlwind. Hardly were we in touch before a Cossack gave me
three rapid blows--one with his lance, the other with his sabre, and the
third with his fist. How he did it I do not know, but he did not even
give me time to fall. He seized me by the collar, lifted me on to his
horse and carried me off. His comrades acted similarly, and a good
number of our hussars were thus taken prisoners."
[Illustration: A Russian Bayonet Charge in East Prussia.
This picture represents an incident which took place on the evening of
August 26, 1914, and was witnessed by an Englishman who was managing a
great German estate in East Prussia when the war broke out. The
Russians, as shown above, charged the German centre with the bayonet and
put it to flight. The artist made this drawing under the guidance of the
Englishman who actually saw the fight.
_(From the picture by F. Matania. By permission of The Sphere.)_]
* * * * *
How a Cossack put a German patrol to flight is told in the following
story: "The Cossack was on the lookout, when he was surprised by a party
of Germans. They saw that he was alone, and they swooped on him from a
neighbouring wood, headed by an officer waving his sword. Instead of
making a race for his life, the Cossack spurred his horse and dashed off
right across the path of the Germans. He skilfully calculated the
distance, and just as the German officer got ready to sabre him at full
gallop he whispered, '_Kshi_, _kshi_,' which every Cossack horse
understands. The horse stopped dead still. The German could not stop his
horse at such a speed, and just as he galloped past the Cossack
'removed' him with a deadly lunge of his lance. Seeing their leader thus
overthrown, the Germans turned tail and fled." This story will remind
you of the way in which Robert the Bruce slew De Bohun at the battle of
Bannockburn.
* * * * *
There seems to be no end to the ingenuity of the Cossack when he is in a
tight place. Listen to the following story: "A Cossack was captured near
Lodz,[45] and, with his horse, was taken to the German camp, where man
and beast were objects of curiosity. A Uhlan officer tried to put the
Cossack horse through its paces, but it declined to budge. 'Let me get
on with you,' suggested the Cossack. There were too many German soldiers
about for escape to be dreamt of, so the officer laughingly agreed. As
soon as the Cossack was in the saddle he uttered a couple of words, and
the horse dashed off through the astonished Germans at full gallop. No
one dared to shoot for fear of killing the officer. That night the
Cossack joined his company with the Uhlan officer as his prisoner."
[Footnote 44: The greatest of all the Russian Tsars; born 1672, died
1725. He travelled abroad for two years, during which he learned
shipbuilding in Holland and England. It was he who built St. Petersburg
in order to have "a window looking out on Europe."]
[Footnote 45: Great industrial town of Russian Poland, about 75 miles
south-west of Warsaw.]