17. Christmas in the trenches.
Erich
Kroner, Oberst
The new order soon after
Christmas.
The 1st Guard was
to be disbanded and some of us will report to the Eastern Front. The others
will be absorbed into the other Divisions there at the Western Front and
continued the battle. For those of us going to the east, we were to reinforce the
8th Army there in the battle against the Russians. I was one of the
unlucky ones to be posted east. I dreaded that posting for I knew from the
archives, war with the Russians were never pleasant and the weather than at the
beginning of the year was hard winter.
I send the order to the
officers on the disbandment.
Peter Weiner, Hauptmann
It was a shock that we were moving east but I knew my
role as the soldier was to fight where I was sent. The euphoria of the
festivities was over and we were to face a new enemy. I gathered my men and
told the next task. It was met with sighs and mutterings.
“I signed to fight the French.” I looked at the
veteran.
“Why much I go? I want to stay.” I heard the moaning
and mutterings and then told then to pack up.
“We will fight wherever we are needed.”
“Tell that to Napoleon. He regretted invading the
Russians.” Trust Kaiser to bring up the historical facts. He was one of them
selected to go east. “He got bumped off more than he could take.”
“Napoleon is French. We are Germans.” I heard the
Sergeant spoke. “Maybe you could sneak in and change the roster for yourself.”
Everyone laughed at that even myself. If that was
possible then only Kaiser could do it.
“What don’t you return to Berlin and be the real
Kaiser?” The veteran who spoke that then stood up and saluted Dietrich as if he
was the Kaiser.
Dieter Luther, Gefreiter/Sergeant
The idea of being a soldier then dampened with the
last few months of conflict. I did not like to move on without my men but they
were going to the east. For me then, it was the western trenches.
I looked at Peter. He was a good cousin and above all,
an officer. I made the rank and showed the Army how we had shaped up. I
wondered how he will do in the east. I was told that those going east will have
a week off in Berlin before they moved on. It was good for them in terms of
their morale. I also knew a few who said that they will desert then but it was
not of my concern.
Mine then was another member of the family was in the
Army.
Ernest Luther, the rear gunner on the airplane. He
had turned eighteen and decided to join despite the objection by Uncle Pieter
Luther. I was given the letter that he was coming to the Western Front but
where I was unsure.
I have not told Peter about this. It does not matter for
Peter was not close to Uncle Luther. He need not know for it will affect his
concern for the two of us.
“Au revoir, men.” I borrowed from the French and
saluted the men leaving for the east.
“Auf Wiedersehen, Sergeant.” They replied in German
towards me.
Abel Langer
I got my transfer order. I
was going east. I felt relieved then. It may give me new pastures and outlook
to my role in the Army, I joined the others in the farewell feast.
“Like here, it stretched
from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. It involved most of Eastern Europe.” I
listened to another doctor who had some reading on it. “The Russians invaded
eastern Prussia in the northwestern but we pushed them back. That did not stop
the Russians. They came in from the south in Galicia. They defeated the
Austro-Hungarian forces while we went for Warsaw but failed.”
“I was told that this year,
we will retake Galicia.”
So it was another offensive
in the war and not be entrenched in the dugouts. I was not against the
entrenchment but it was delaying the war and more to it, we were losing
soldiers from the snipers and the random bombings. I felt that war should be
penetrative and getting it done. Like what we do as Surgeons. We do not
hesitate to operate and remove.
“Abel, all the best to you
in the Eastern Front.” I smiled at the other who wished me luck. I was keen to
go and leave all of it there behind.
Including Stella.
Facts Listing
1914 – 1917
On the Eastern Front, it was
estimated to reach over fifteen million with the Germans side at nearly six million.
The losses on the Western Front was lower at below four million casualties. The
German lost about two million.
In total the war caused a
loss of nearly twenty million lives.
1940 -1945
The total loss at the
Western Front was about five million in the militaries but the civilian’s death
was about one point six million.
The total loss in the
Eastern Front was over fifteen million with the civilian casualties at about
twenty-four million.
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