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''Shit… finally. Fahnenjunker Karl von Poznan, 41st Division, XX Corps'' I said, signaling the others to come out.
''Why are you carrying a Russian rifle?'' the Unteroffizier asked, pointing at my weapon.
''We've been stuck in the Masurian swamps for almost two weeks. The Russians kept hunting us and we had a sick man'' I said, pointing at the others as they came out carrying Ernst ''so we had to use Russian equipment we took from the soldiers we killed. We ran out of ammunition almost on the second day in the swamp'' I added, calming my breathing.
''I see… help them… word of honor… Fahnenjunker, did you desert?'' the Unteroffizier said, staring at me while his men helped Ernst.
''No?'' I raised an eyebrow ''I've probably killed more Russians in those swamps than you'll manage in months. We just couldn't fall back with the rest of the army because the Russian advance cut us off.''
''Fine… I'll report this to my superior. Let's get back to camp, you missed an important battle'' the Unteroffizier said.
''What did we miss?'' I asked as we started moving.
''Tannenberg… we managed to encircle a Russian army. We're chasing the remnants now… you might be questioned for your absence, but if what you say is true you shouldn't have any problems.''
''Sorry to ask, but do you have anything to eat that isn't hard biscuits or black bread? That's all we've had, it's all the Russians carry'' I said, bringing my hands together.
''Well…'' the Unteroffizier sighed ''you'll pay me back when you can. I have a piece of chocolate I bought, take it.''
He handed over the bar and I immediately broke it apart, sharing it with the others.
''I owe you, I'll pay you back as soon as I can'' I said, lowering my head.
''I'll hold you to that'' he replied.
As we walked and his men helped carry Ernst, Hans punched me in the shoulder.
''Ah… what's wrong with you, idiot?'' I said, rubbing my arm.
''We survived… I thought I wasn't coming back… I thought the Russians would get us'' Hans said, his eyes wet.
''Yeah, your brilliant idea of going on reconnaissance almost got us killed'' I said, staring at him.
''Yeah… it was stupid… we almost died… but we sure killed a lot of Russians, huh'' Hans said, starting to smile.
''And how many of those barbarians did you kill? Would be good to know, they've been looting everything in the area'' the Unteroffizier asked.
''I didn't keep count, but I did collect a lot of personal belongings from the Russian officers I killed'' I said, bringing my pack forward and pulling out some notebooks.
''Good God… how many did you kill?'' the Unteroffizier said, looking inside ''damn… good thing you're on our side…''
I gave a faint smile and we kept walking.
After a few hours we reached a German camp where we left Ernst, still burning with fever. We were immediately ordered to report to XX Corps headquarters, apparently to be questioned for possible desertion.
They loaded us onto a horse-drawn wagon and transported us to headquarters.
We arrived after a few hours. We all fell asleep almost instantly after days of broken rest, even with the movement of the wagon.
Eventually someone knocked on the cart and woke us up.
''Wake up, we need to talk'' our Leutnant said, looking at us seriously.
I stepped down without hesitation.
''What the hell did you do to your uniform?'' the Leutnant said, looking at us with disgust.
''What was necessary to avoid Russian patrols, my Leutnant'' I said, saluting.
He grunted in disapproval and we were quickly taken to a set of cells where a Feldgendarmerie officer was waiting.
''Your pack'' he said, extending his hand.
Without a word I handed it over. He began searching it immediately.
''What is this?'' he asked, pulling out the Russian officers' notebooks.
''I assume they're journals from the officers I killed in the swamps. I thought they might be valuable… I can't read Russian, but they could contain useful information.''
''Twenty-four notebooks… are you saying you killed twenty-four Russian officers?'' he asked, staring at me.
''We killed more, but it wasn't always possible to recover their belongings'' I said.
''And why did you kill so many if you were hiding?'' the military policeman asked.
''We had food for three days… it ran out in one and a half, so we had no choice but to take food from the Russians while they were hunting us'' I replied.
''Give me a minute'' the military policeman said.
He returned with another man and they began reading through the notebooks.
''Orders, personal notes, daily logs… and some plans'' one of them said ''they're Russian… definitely officers. Some of them were probably nobles, judging by the way they write.''
''Alright… Fahnenjunker Karl, apologies for the inconvenience. We had you listed as missing, which could have been considered desertion… but your men showed courage in combat'' the military policeman said.
''They're not my men… I'm a Fahnenjunker. But they all fought like lions'' I replied with a slight smile.
''Good service… I'll file my report. For now, wait here'' the military policeman said.
They left me there for almost an hour.
''Fahnenjunker Karl, follow us'' an officer said as he appeared at the entrance.
I followed without asking questions as they led me to one of the largest buildings in the XX Corps camp.
I passed several officers taking inventory and other Fahnenjunkers handling administrative work. They stared at me as I walked past, probably because of my smell and the state of my uniform, covered in branches and filth, until they brought me to an office.
''Enter, the General der Artillerie is waiting for you'' the officer said.
''The what?'' I asked, surprised.
''General der Artillerie Boje Friedrich Nikolaus von Scholtz'' the officer replied.
''Yes… but why?'' I asked, clearly caught off guard.
''Find out for yourself'' he said, pointing at the door.
I stepped inside and found an older man who frowned the moment he saw my uniform.
''It seems no one informed me that you didn't even bother to wash'' the general said, covering his nose.
''My apologies, we only just returned from the Masurian swamps'' I replied, looking straight at him.
''Yes, I was informed of that… but what surprised me most is that you claim to have killed twenty-four Russian officers. I also have testimonies from five other soldiers who say you looked possessed in combat, killing over a hundred men, and that your group may have killed more than five hundred Russians'' the general said as he stood up and began walking slowly.
''That's what I was able to recover from the dead, my general'' I said without breaking eye contact.
''I see…'' he muttered, thinking, as he tilted his chin slightly ''tell me how you did it. Does it have something to do with what you did to your uniform?'' he added, pointing at my gear.
''Yes. It's what I managed to put together with what I had on hand: things we took from the Russians, thread, cloth, branches, and foliage. It made it much harder for them to detect us and allowed me to fire from relatively safe positions at around seven to eight hundred meters'' I said, pointing at parts of my improvised ghillie suit.
The general slowly brought a hand to his chin.
''I would think you're lying… no one can shoot at that distance, especially someone who wasn't known for marksmanship at the academy… but this…'' he said, pointing at a set of papers.
''We intercepted Russian transmissions and listened to what they were saying. At first it made no sense, but they were talking about a demon in the swamps killing everyone who entered. I assume that was your gruppe'' the general said, showing me several intelligence reports.
''I suppose so, my general… considering they called in an artillery strike on my position not long ago. After killing six or seven Russians while searching for food, they dropped a barrage right on top of me'' I replied, nodding.
''Yes… that matches an artillery request we intercepted yesterday'' he said, shuffling through documents and showing me the Russian request ''how did you do it? Many reports say the shot was barely heard and men simply dropped dead.''
''Using my binoculars braced against the rifle and taking the shot. I couldn't hit every time, but I could fire from long distances, and the Russians usually broke once they saw their comrades dropping'' I said, showing him the binoculars.
''Good… I understand… Karl von Poznan… I will recommend your promotion to Leutnant to high command to replace my officer losses from the last battle… and I will request that you be awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. I don't care whether you personally killed a hundred Russians or what the others claim… what matters is that you led those men and killed a large number of the enemy. That is what matters… that is what must be repeated'' the general said, pointing at me.
''Thank you'' I said, lowering my head.
''I also need you to train men in what you did: harassing Russian lines. I will have my officers select the best marksmen from each division and place them under your command… and… well… will they all need something like this?'' he asked, gesturing toward my ghillie suit.
''Ideally… a trained and calm soldier could be just a few meters away from a Russian wearing this and remain undetected. That's how I escaped from the patrol of nearly a hundred men that hunted me after the artillery strike'' I said, pointing at my clothing.
''Ha… ha…'' he laughed, baring his teeth ''oh… that interests me… if it kills Russians, even better. We must repay what they've done to the Empire's civilians… do you need anything else? I don't think they'll deny your promotion to Leutnant, Karl von Poznan'' the general said.
''A telescopic sight… with a proper scope I could put a bullet between a man's eyes from over eight hundred meters'' I said without hesitation.
''Very well. I'll send a request to high command to modify rifles for telescopic sights, but until then you'll proceed with training as usual… you will not be taking part in the next operations. I need those men trained and equipped for operations against the Russians'' the general said, nodding as he began writing ''anything else?''
''Yes… if possible, I'd like the survivors assigned to my unit. They already know what to do, it would make training others easier'' I said with a slight smile.
''Makes sense… I'll reassign that Unteroffizier to another group and give you men with the best shooting records'' the general said, adjusting names in his ledger ''you may leave if you have nothing else to add.''
I saluted and left. The first thing I did was take a proper bath and check my body. I wouldn't have been surprised if I had picked up some disease in the swamps, but luck seemed to be on my side. I was fine.
After that, I slept until dawn.
I didn't have clear orders, but I was woken up for a rather unusual reason.
I had been ordered to attend an interview. A group of journalists had taken an interest in the story of the "Demon of the Masurian Marshes."
Apparently the story had spread quickly, especially after the Battle of Tannenberg, and they were eager for details.
And somehow, I ended up right in the middle of it.
I was interviewed over and over again, repeating the same story until they were satisfied, carefully leaving out certain details. I had no intention of revealing everything I had done or the methods I used.
After hours of interviews and photographs, I received confirmation: my promotion had been approved. I was now a Leutnant, and I was expected to begin organizing my men.
They also assigned me a modest budget to improve the ghillie suits using local tailors.
So I didn't waste the opportunity. I stayed in secondary lines, working and training… instead of being sent back to the front.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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