1916-June-18-July-21
''One, two, three'' I said, looking at Ernst, who held a battering ram in his hands and began striking the door in front of us with force.
Four blows were enough to break it, and I immediately kicked it open while ordering my men to enter.
I heard a woman's scream echo at full force as several of ours stormed inside and overwhelmed the house we were raiding.
With my pistol in hand, I entered the house while hearing dishes shatter and windows break, the screams mixing with the cries of children calling for their mother and the wailing of a baby.
''There you are, you piece of shit'' I heard Ernst shout, as someone groaned in pain and a woman began pleading.
''What is happening? What is going on? What is this?'' the woman cried, tears in her eyes, trying to shield her children while Ernst grabbed the man we were looking for by the leg. He had been hiding in a hole in his house, trying to escape.
''Move aside, you communist bitch'' one of my men said, shoving her with his rifle while others helped pull the man out of the hole.
After a moment, as my men dragged him out and grabbed him by his clothes, they forced him to his feet, and Ernst immediately struck him with a punch that split his lips and sent blood pouring from both nostrils.
''Why are you hitting him… what happened?'' the woman said from the floor, clutching her children, who were trembling.
''This scum… the one you call husband, and that your children have the misfortune to call father… organized the burning of several food fields. He failed, but his collaborators identified him'' I said, looking at the woman. ''He is the worst kind of person… he wanted to take advantage of people's hunger by provoking it'' I added, snapping my fingers.
Immediately, one of my men struck him in the stomach with the rifle, and when he bent forward, another blow hit his back. He fell to the ground as my men released his arms.
I placed my boot on his head, applying pressure, and stared down at him. A Ukrainian communist leader who was trying to seize power. Given the special circumstances of the Kingdom of Ukraine and the lack of a native army beyond German forces, they could not attempt a direct coup, so chaos was their only option.
To create total famine, and that was what they had tried. They attempted to burn the plantations. In fact, they tried to burn several wheat fields before we could react, but the guards protecting the most important asset of the kingdom, its future harvest, killed those who tried to set fire the moment they saw them carrying torches in the fields.
That had alerted us, and we remained vigilant, managing to stop several attempts. Only one succeeded, burning around three hectares before we were able to control the fire.
That led me to escalate this to Abteilung IIIb, where they had been interrogating all those captured, identifying several leaders who had to be raided simultaneously.
''I hope you like the feeling of a rope around your neck, because that will be your fate, subversive… we will hang you in the city square while the daily food is distributed, so everyone can see what you tried to do'' I said, pressing down with my boot before removing it.
My men grabbed him again by the arms and dragged him away, leaving behind a thin trail of blood dripping from his nose.
''Your husband is dead… so your ration for tomorrow will be delivered to your house, so your children do not have to see his fate… let us hope they become better people than that rat'' I said, holstering my pistol and walking away, placing my hands behind my back as I listened to the sobbing behind me.
It did not take long for us to leave, with the bastard fully bound, as we climbed onto the truck and moved through the city, stopping in several nearby streets where we found more members of this communist network trying to seize control of the government.
We loaded a large number of prisoners, filling nearly four trucks with them, all beaten, their eyes swollen from repeated blows, their lips torn apart. After basic interrogation by Abteilung IIIb, they were simply waiting to be hanged the next day, just like the Czechs had been, but with signs placed on them stating the crimes they had committed. The goal was to focus public anger on the communists, not on us.
Finally, after gathering around two hundred individuals from their homes and beginning the hunt for another group of around thirty who had managed to hide before we caught them, we arrived at the Kiev fortress.
''From what I see and what I have heard, the raid was a success'' said the Abteilung IIIb officer.
''Yes, although I doubt it can be called a success to have to deal with this kind of rebel… people who burn the food meant for themselves… these men are completely deranged if they think they can take power like this, in such a grotesque way'' I said, removing my hat and throwing it onto my desk before sitting down and placing my feet on the table.
''You must remain vigilant, we cannot allow grain shipments to fail to reach Germany… especially now, with preparations for an offensive meant to distract from the Battle of Verdun, which is proving extremely costly'' said the Abteilung IIIb officer.
''Yes, although more limited offensives on the Eastern Front should be enough to finish Russia now that they are retreating without much resistance, but who knows how long we can keep advancing. If there is any stable defense in the major Russian cities, that will be a problem'' I said, rubbing my face with both hands.
''Perhaps Alexander Kerensky will finally understand that the war is lost, and as long as they continue with those ideas of democratizing the army, they do not stand the slightest chance of winning'' said the intelligence officer with a faint smile.
''Yes, if the war ends, we could focus on a western front, or help the Ottomans, cut British trade through Suez, or strike the Italians and force them out of the war… since they are doing almost worse than the Austro-Hungarians, and that says a lot for an army made up of soldiers from all over the Balkans'' I said after sighing audibly.
''Tell me, the Kaiser and the Chancellor are expecting results from the harvests. Do you think they will meet expectations'' the intelligence officer said, staring at me when I remained silent.
''Is that question serious or a joke… they have denied every budget I requested. Aside from a few million to buy food and prevent this from turning into a cannibal festival, I have had to use my own funds to make this work. If the Kaiser and the Chancellor expect their goals to be met with ten percent of what I asked for… they will need new plans'' I said, shaking my head.
''There are people to feed in Germany… things are getting worse. With the food shortage, if this year's harvest is not good, only God knows what we will have to do'' the intelligence officer said, turning slightly pale.
''And I am not joking… if they had given me the budget I requested, we would be talking about how much we exceeded German expectations. Now we are uncertain whether I can even meet them. Many fields had to be used to plant oats, barley, corn, and rice instead of potatoes and wheat, which is what Germany demanded. So honestly, this is all that can be done for now'' I replied, shrugging.
''Damn…'' the intelligence officer said, quickly leaving the room.
''Heh… I probably scared him… we should be fine… if nothing gets burned, we should barely manage… so far all my projections have been met, so the black soil of Ukraine has done its part, just as I have done mine'' I said, rubbing my temples.
I remained seated alone as I began preparing the execution documents to be carried out the next day.
The following day, without delay, I began inspecting the fields to see how the crops had developed, in order to give the order to start harvesting. Given the circumstances, I could not afford to wait for ideal growth, and it was now vital to harvest even if the quality was not the best.
After confirming that the executions would be carried out in public, in front of large groups of Ukrainians who came daily to collect their rations, with the message loudly announced that they were being hanged for attempting to burn food to seize power, I got into the vehicle and began moving through the fields, inspecting each one.
There was great variation among the areas I inspected. In some sectors the crops were well developed. There was no way to conduct detailed studies on grain quality or internal moisture levels, but it had not rained recently, so conditions were acceptable, and I gave the order to begin harvesting the first fields.
That only increased security around the fields, with new Austrian recruits who had recently arrived, since obtaining German recruits had become very difficult.
At the same time, many threshing machines were brought in to process the grain, and the large Ukrainian workforce began to show more enthusiasm than ever at the idea that the famine might finally come to an end.
The following days were marked by hard work in the harvests, and I had to move personally from field to field, giving approval, observing the work of tractors and laborers alike, ensuring the best possible results, while preparing the land for a final sowing of turnips and legumes again, since there was no time to let the soil rest and we would depend much more on natural fertilizers.
Day after day, the work continued, while our reserves slowly began to fill, to the point that all the preparations we had made started to fill the granaries of Kiev with barley and oats.
And although this raised the morale of the workers, it was still too early to celebrate by increasing rations, since we still needed the full tonnage to determine how to organize distribution and decide whether rationing would be lifted or maintained for another year.
So even though we still had to fight against communist and socialist cells trying to sabotage the harvest, as well as Cossacks attempting to steal it, that kept me fully occupied.
Until the time came to harvest what Germany had demanded, wheat and potatoes, ensuring that their quality was as high as possible, extracting hundreds of thousands of tons day after day, which was what mattered most to Germany.
Multiple granaries at train stations were filled as everything was weighed and calculated.
''Six million tons of wheat… twenty-two million of potatoes… we did it… we met the quota… but just barely'' I said, covering my face while all my officers celebrated the results.
''And what about Ukraine'' one of the King's envoys asked me.
''There are around thirteen million tons of various grains… seven million of potatoes… four million of rice, and eight million of legumes… enough food to avoid maintaining rationing, but still under control to prevent excessive exports… we did it'' I said, sitting down and feeling my body finally relax.
''These are excellent news'' said the envoy of the King of Ukraine, who quickly left to report.
''Ferdinand… send the message to the OHL… the quota has been met…'' I said, covering my eyes as I continued to relax.
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