Poles in Kaisers Army On the Front of the First World War. Ryszard Kaczmarek
gathered at every station offered beverages to the soldiers. Upper Silesians treated alcohol prohibition of soldiers as an excessive precaution. After all, the former used to drink beer every day, so they could not understand why they were not allowed to make use of the well-equipped Bavarian station buffets. The extraordinary enthusiasm of civilians in 1914 only partially compensated for the prohibition. The civilians zealously provided the soldiers with food, small gifts, and flowers. Welcoming committees hastily started to form at individual localities, which were to exclusively care for military transports. After four days, the 62nd Infantry Regiment arrived at Mettlach near Saarbrücken, from which it marched through the Saar Basin and Luxembourg to reach the Belgian border on August 19.174
On the other hand, the 22nd Infantry Regiment departed toward the west a few days later, between August 11 and 12. Before that, the soldiers attended masses at garrisons and the listened to speeches by battalion commanders, who delivered them in front of soldier ranks already with weapons, satchels, and full military kits on their backs. Afterward, columns of soldiers marched through city streets, packed with people, to the railway station. There was a huge enthusiasm at every Upper Silesian station where the train stopped, but also at German stations. ←64 | 65→Boisterous propaganda and anticipation of imminent victory drowned out the initial anxiety of the Germans. The power of military transports created an illusory sense of grandiose strength and superiority of Kaiser’s troops.175 The train traveled through Wrocław, Legnica, Zgorzelec, Bautzen, Dresden, Bamberg, and Worms. It unloaded in Saarbrücken, beyond the Rhine, on August 13.176 Later, the 22nd Infantry Regiment marched for four days, to the Belgian border near French Lorraine, to the concentration place. In Luxembourg and Walloon Belgium, the marching soldiers already encountered hostile reactions from the locals, particularly after crossing the Meuse, where they quartered near Esch. The same situation occurred by the Belgian border, when the division turned towards the huge fortress of Longwy.177
The transport route of the Infantry Regiment No. 157 was different. Eighty-five officers, 3292 soldiers and non-commissioned officers, and 236 horses set out from the garrison.178 From Dresden, the train headed south to Heilbronn, but it eventually arrived at Saarland. The sense of anticipation for imminent victory dominated the German railway stations. No one doubted the scenario of a darting success and the return of soldiers at the very latest for Christmas. People chorally sang patriotic songs on platforms. Frequently, enemy caricatures decorated train cars. There appeared a writing on one car that bellicosely declared: “Here you can declare even more wars!” After all, during the Regiment’s journey south, Japan declared war on Germany.179 However, the most frequent were the incredibly popular sayings and rhymes, such as “Every shot a Russian,/Every bayonet stab a Frenchman,/Every kick a Briton,/Every slap a Jap.” Or, “Your Lordship journey directly to Paris” (Herrentour direkt auf Paris). Beside the common saying, “God punish England!” (Gott strafe England!), there frequently appeared and addition, “He will punish it” (Er strafe es!).180 Later, when the situation required the use of cattle wagons in trains, the soldiers themselves self-mockingly replaced these writings with other, like “Nine horses or forty-six soldiers” (9 Pferde oder 46 Mann).181
←65 | 66→
Like the Upper Silesians, the soldiers from Greater Poland also traveled west. However, the dominance of the Polish element played a significant role here. Some of the transports were more Polish than German, and only after supplementation in German lands, the ethnic ratio evened:
The entire journey [to the Western Front] lasted five days and four night. It was the best opportunity to get to know our bedfellows. Shared plight made us all into devoted brothers. There was Stachu Mikołajczak, Wojtek Magnuszewski, Szyszka, Cwojdziński, Bartkowiak, Szczepaniak, Kostański, Łazanowski, Skrzycki, Tomczak from the Bińkow neighbourhood, Roźmiarek from Ludwikowo, Dubert from the Kórnik area, Górczak and Kolendowicz from Mchy, the postman Konarkowski from Chwałkowo, and many, many others. We fraternized similarly with folks from Pleszew: Ulichnowski, Sikorski, Antczak, Nowak, and others. There was not a more ideal community around the world than ours. Polish language was the omnipotent ruler in our transport, while the thought or judgment of one applied to the whole group…. Those few Germans who came with us felt a bit uneasy, but a transport of Germans form Westphalia joined us already at the first lodging in Beckingen. Now that our regiment is complete, our non-commissioned officers and officers are exclusively German.182
However, the carefree atmosphere quickly disappeared, even before the first fights, when they faced the weather conditions. The necessity of organizing additional training for the reserve soldiers before departure foretold the coming difficulties. The first long march of the Infantry Regiment No. 157 from Saarland through Luxembourg to the Belgian border turned out to be a nightmare for many soldiers. Not only the heat but also the undulating terrain caused many difficulties. The soldiers were unprepared for such an extreme effort. The satchels turned out to be overpacked as full equipment became a burden. They began to fall beside the road on the first day. To make things worse, the confiscated horses also proved too weak to drag carts packed with ammunition and equipment. The soldiers managed to keep a wagon in a column only thanks to an additional horse team. Moreover, the provisions were lacking. There was a constant lack of drinking water. Already in Luxembourg, supply officers faced difficulties with obtaining food due to their lack of experience. There was no shortage of food but, rather, the Luxembourgians treated the Germans “reluctantly,” to put it mildly. Only over time, they decided to use a carrot-and-stick approach toward them, but also toward the Belgians and the Frenchs: “However, a little pressure and cash worked wonders.”183 When the Infantry Regiment No. 157 finally reached the concentration place after the two-day-long march, it had to ←66 | 67→remain there until August 18, just in order to allow the exhausted soldiers and animals to rest, but also to conduct additional training that aimed at developing the organization of marches in columns. Only then was the regiment ready to move to the frontline.184
The soldiers of Poznań regiments faced similar difficulties. One of them recalled the march in August 1914 as a torture, especially because they once walked seventy kilometers in a single day (!), which was twice the quota predicted for an infantryman in the German pre-war plans:
We already walked about fifty kilometers today. The sun burns, our faces and eyes are deluged with sweat that eats into our dried larynxes. Further and further without rest. One after another collapses and, after a short break, continues to slog onward so as not to lose his regiment in the ocean of people. Finally halt. The kitchens arrive and hastily serve food. Other columns march next to us, not only on the road or besides, but across the country, through the grains, potatoes, broken fences, and rails. Constantly onward and onward in some kind of a crazy rush. They banned us from drinking water because the wells are supposedly poisoned. We cannot overcome our thirst. The thirsty mob over a stream that flows along a burned village. They scoop water with hands, some fill hip flasks and vessels, some drink directly from the stream. Suddenly a command: “Prepare yourselves for departure.” We haven’t finished eating. Some pour away the rest, some pour it into hip flasks. There was no time for rest. The stragglers barely managed to catch up, and now – keep walking – there is no time for eating…. We march forward again. Our legs refuse to walk, refuse to flex, they are like trees, but after a hundred meters they get used to it once again and our boots steadily but stiffly hit the ground, stirring clouds of dust. We already marched more than sixty kilometers today – nearly seventy. We should rest. We have been marching since 2 am and now it is 5 pm.185
The 63rd Infantry Regiment faced similar difficulties during their march. After