DEAD GERMAN OFFICER'S DIARY

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 16 April 1915, Page 1

DEAD GERMAN OFFICER'S DIARY

ONLY BREAD AND BEANS TO EAT WITH TWO CUPS OF COFFEE This diary was found on a S;:xon in fantry officer, killed on January 18 in front of Givenchy, near La Bassee. It relates wholly to the operations on thf

p.astern front; Golina, November 26.—Marching m "goose-step" and singing * Deutsehland über alles!' we crossed the frontier at noon to-day, and we now stand on the soil of the Little Father's Holy Russia Bit ! how filthy and poverty-stricken it all is! But fortunately we have not to suffer much from the cold. We have marched about 20 kilometres to-day, and met a transport of 3,500 Russian prison ers. lam quartered in an inn with some other officers from my town (Eilenburg) Konin, November 27.—We have just arrived in'Konin after a short march, and are sitting drinking tea in a Jewish tea shop. There is not much v sign of war, so far, though this place is alive with soldiers, motors, and transport.

1 Koio, November 28.—Our advance has ' led us through several villages where inj Tantry skirmishes have taken place. Kolo I is full of military. An unceasing proces- ; si on of motor cars is bringing in our : wounded from the battlefield. 1 am bil--1 leted in the school, and have my sleeping ; place Tigged up in the next room on some r straw. We made tea on the kitchen range ; and roasted some meat. The cheapness of 3 food here is truly wonderful! Pork only •.' costs 36 pfennigs (about 4d) per pound, • and the price of an egg varies from 3 to 5 • pfennigs {.about I wonder whether ■ that- will last. Lentschiza, November 30.—One can hear 1 the guns growling in the distance. lam ' quartered here also in a schoolhouee. • Think of it : a Polish school, with central 5 heating and electric light! The viler kind • of insects have not assailed me yet, but • fleas are here in battalions. x , Nakurki, December I.—Tihe nearer we > draw to the firing line the more evident s become the horrors of war. The villages j- are all completely destroyed. The Polish I peasants are behaving quite well; but that does not prevent us exercising cau- > tion. I —Guests of a Jew.— Strykow, December 2.—We have reached ; our destination, Strykow, between Lodz J and Lowitsoh. To-morrow we go into , the trenches. The regiments we are to be distributed among have taken up defensive I positions in the vicinity of the village. . Guns are booming ceaselessly. We are just going to bed. A wreitohed Jew is our ( nosfc. It is stifling in this hole. December 6.—On the 3rd inst., towards . dark, we edged up into the trenches. I ; received my baptism of fire yesterday.

About 8 p.m. news spread that the Russians were going to attack. We immediately let star-shells out and swept the whole countryside with rifle, .and maohme gune fire. The Russians answered promptly. Bullets were whistling like mad around our heads. Then shrapnel and bombs started bursting in our trench. As a souvenir of my baptism of fire, I; received a glancing wound on the knfee, which tore my breeches and cut up the skin a bit. Muller, a n.c.o. who was formerly in the Eilenburg Battalion, was rather badly wounded in the head, but is still with us. This nocturnal bombardment went on till 10 p.m.; our losses vvere slight—two killed, three wounded, and one missing out'of my own company. About midnight we were relieved and left the trenches; to-day we are at rest. It is pouring. This rain makes you realise what Russian roads are like! December 7.—We are back in the trenches —the same line, but in another part, about three kilometres to the left. We are nearer the enemy here—about 400 or 600 yards. The Russians do not atr tack by day. But as soon as they catch sight of one of our helmets they let drive at it. Just for fun I put up mine on the parapet, and in a moment the whole band of them was firing at it. I was digging a cookhole to-day and pitching the earth out of the trench. One f the Russians must have noticed this, :: .r he started sniping continuously. At l?.st three of us gave him a salvo, since when the tireless sniper has been quite still. My men shot a calf yesterday that '"-ad wandered between the enemy's line ind ours. I chose a pound of fiesli from it—as tender as could" be—from the neck <v'd the headquarters. It does taste fine. —Bayoneted a Dead Man.—

Last niglit I led out a reconnaissance party. As we were crossing the field I saw a Russian lying on the ground. I planted my bayonet through him. On looking closer I found it was a dead Russian I had tried to kill! Oh, the terror of these nights. December 9.—We have now Been three days and three nights in these trenches. The last day the Russians made no attack. Our artillery is banging away at them just now with terrific energy—bang after bang. One gets so used to the roar of the guns that one sleeps through it all. We have to watch sharp all night, and we rest during the day. I have got a little fire all to myself, and use it to keep warm and t° dry my handkerchiefs.

December 10.—To-day we are several kilometres behind the lines, in a Polish farmhouse. The enemy's shells are bursting quite close to us but so far without effect. I slept in a. loft last night. I smoked my first? cigar for a long time. T bought it from one of my men, but it cost me 40 pfennigs (4^d). On leaving the trenches last night we were subjected to a murderous riffe fire, but we rail away and took shelter behind some haystacks, while the relieving troops, took up the fight. It is really much more dangerous- here in support than in the trenches, for the Russian heavy artillery JS shelling us heavily. Every day several of the houses our men are quartered in get knocked to pieces. •The straw we have for bedding is anthreshed, and gets burned down. Nearly all the peasants have cleared out. We had our "iron ration" served out to us today— half a loaf and five biscuits. This is a sign that we will soon be sent to storm the enemy's' position The sun makes it quite warm by day, but the nights are terribly cold' —Battle in a Fog.— December 13.—0n the 12th we were at it again—quite an interesting fight. Our detachment had orders to advance/ about 600 yards to take a wood. I had to lead the way with my platoon. Ae there was a thick fog, we reached the wood unn6ticed, but just as wg were preparing to take to earth like field mice we received terrific point-blank volleys. We were soon out of reach, and were ■ lucky to have only three dead and a number of wounded. During the night we were once more relieved. Early , this morning the Russians stormed' 6ur new positions. Our weakened forces were pushed back into the old line, with very heavy losses, i n ° w rest, several kilometres behind the front. I have just been buying in stores. Everything is horribly dear—80pfenn (about 9d) for a pound of sugar, 20pfenn or 25pfenn (about 2£d) for a wretchedly thin candle. You cannot net a cigarette under 6pfenn ■ (§d), nor a cigar under lapfenn (lJjd). Coffee and tea, are rare luxuries. Chocolate is non-exietenfc; so axe- soap and combs. The Polish- Jews are begging bread from us in the streets. They .exist merely on potatoes now. It is lucky we manage to slaughter a cow now and then. We" have eaough to eat, but only bread and beans-/with two cups of coffee a dav. If we are still here to-morrow I will get mv men to kill off a pig I have discovered. Then at last we will have some pork.

—Christmas. Eve Wish.— We all wish the Russians may leave us in - peace on Christmas Kve. There are plenty of Christmas trees hare, and if w«: only get letters froin home, we will be the luckiest soldiers out. To-day it is raining fast. I wish we could take the offensive and finish off this pitiful affair. All my brother officers are nere, and we are quite gay—music and song, with the basso of Uk; guns outside aud the clatter of rifles' 'at night. December 14.—Our troops took some Russian positions yesterday, and captured several prisoners. We are to have an advance all along the.line. Everyone is verv bucked up about it- We have just been singing the hymn 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Got-t.' On Sunday we had a religious service. Christmas is in. the air, and the men are singing our wonderful Christmas carols. Where shall I spend my Christmas? In the trenches, perhaps. And many a one of my comrades will be missing at .the call that day. . . . No one. can have the slightest idea of the filth in the streets here. We seize all the Jews we can find and force them to work, clearing it up. I wonder how it is all going; to end? The diary stops 'abruptly here. The writer was evidently transferred to the western front about this time, and it was there that he lost his life.