1916-December-13-28
''There you go'' I said after lighting a cigarette in the mouth of the Polish soldier who was tied up beside several other Polish soldiers in similar conditions, some praying and others simply closing their eyes.
We had captured nearly a hundred Polish soldiers from a group of more than two hundred whom we had ambushed and eliminated. For the moment they were to be executed under OHL orders stating that every Polish soldier who had abandoned his duty was to be sentenced to death by firing squad.
''Blindfolds ready'' Ernst said after placing the cloths over the deserters' eyes.
''Good… ready… aim… fire'' I shouted.
The crack of several rifles reached my ears as I watched the Polish bodies jerk and fill with bloody holes.
I began checking the prisoners one by one to confirm whether any still had signs of life, but they were all dead. It did not take long for us to remove the bodies from the ropes and posts and throw them onto a growing pile of corpses, since everyone we captured was being executed.
A massive hunt had been organized to ensure every deserter faced German justice, which in practice was simply a rifle and a post.
This had continued relentlessly over the past several days, giving the Poles no rest at all, since mounted patrols had been deployed everywhere searching forests. Taking advantage of the cold season and the frozen terrain, many deserters built fires in the woods, creating enormous columns of smoke.
Catching Polish deserters during this season was easy, so operations intensified. According to the records, around one hundred eighty thousand men had deserted their formations and we had to hunt them down. We had been combing through the areas where Polish soldiers had camped and the routes they had used while moving toward the western front, since those were the most common places where we found Poles hiding and trying to avoid their fate.
''That makes more than five hundred these past few days'' Ferdinand said while looking at the small pile of executed soldiers.
''And that is not counting the ones executed elsewhere. It is a shame we have reached this point. We are executing men who fought beside us and helped defend us from the Russians, and now we punish them like this… quite the way to repay the loyalty they gave us'' I said while shaking my head.
''But they are rebelling because they did not receive the rewards they imagined for themselves. Polish politicians filled the soldiers' heads with promises that every disputed territory would be handed over to the Kingdom of Poland, which was never officially promised or stated, and now they rebel because their fantasies were not fulfilled'' Ernst replied while staring at the next group of prisoners.
''Even so, we are killing soldiers who served well on the eastern front. Practically an entire army vanished from our sight and who knows what may happen with so many trained soldiers now wandering everywhere trying to return home'' I said irritably.
''So I suppose I will not be getting those vacations after all, right?'' Ferdinand asked.
''No, unfortunately not, but I did pay you what was owed, same as the others. They are already carrying out the mission I assigned them, so they will get their rest and leave while we continue working now that we have been given more responsibilities'' I answered while approaching the Polish prisoners.
''Wonderful… now I am no longer responsible for a single city but an entire sector. How the hell am I supposed to guard the Baltic Governorate with sixty thousand men? That seems like too much for my rank and salary'' Ferdinand muttered with a grimace.
''Things happen. For now we continue with this. They refuse to promote us, yet we keep doing the work of generals or worse. That is a political problem, but at the moment we have to use the Tenth Army forces under our command as eastern garrisons until the region stabilizes, so somehow we need to organize four hundred twenty thousand men currently under our authority to guard the east'' I said while tilting my head.
New prisoners were lined up and the process repeated itself. Cigarettes were offered to calm their nerves, blindfolds were tied over their eyes, and the firing line ended their lives.
That kept us occupied for nearly an hour until every Polish prisoner we had captured and received from the local garrisons was dead.
Even though several days had already passed since the orders were issued, the scale of the problem was beginning to show. We had not managed to capture even half the Polish deserters despite the entire system we had established to search the region and gather information from locals, because the monetary rewards offered for information were losing effectiveness as we continued failing to meet the required numbers to eliminate the problem.
So we simply increased cooperation with Abteilung IIIb in order to identify where the Polish soldiers had hidden themselves.
The real problem would be if they had returned to Poland, because that fell under the jurisdiction of the officer responsible for that area. Poland did not fall within my sphere of influence, so we combed through every region under our authority, but beyond that we accomplished little aside from capturing roughly one hundred thousand Polish deserters during the month of December.
But my work was far from over, because there were regions where I needed to begin organizing the Tenth Army, since nearly all the generals in the area had traveled to the western front, maintaining pressure in Italy and sending forces to aid the Ottomans now that Russia had left the war.
That was the next crucial theater of operations, because closing the Suez Canal would dramatically increase transport times for British colonial troops and greatly raise transportation and deployment costs.
So while Ferdinand and I traveled north to organize the Tenth Army and determine how to secure the Baltics and White Ruthenia, I left Hans in charge of Ukraine to replace me.
He had performed quite well administering Odessa and crushing the revolts that erupted in the city. Although they were nowhere near as severe as those in Kiev, they had still served as a test for the security forces.
While the hunt for Poles continued throughout Ukraine and Ruthenia, we arrived in Riga and began organizing ourselves with the troops of the Tenth Army.
Upon arriving in Riga, I observed a situation that did not seem as bad as one might expect. It was similar to Ukraine, where the Baltic German minority governed the region and numerous German nobles controlled the area.
There were some minor protests that were being contained by the forces of the Tenth Army, which maintained control of the situation, along with several troops raised by the local German nobility to assist with security, though of course… I did not like that assistance at all.
Because those troops were not loyal to the state but to noble and partisan interests that might or might not align with ours, which meant those forces would have to be disbanded, since they held no real value for us.
As I stepped off the train, several Baltic German nobles were waiting to receive me.
''It seems they are finally taking the situation seriously if they brought the Butcher of Kiev'' one German noble remarked while observing me carefully.
''The butcher of what?'' I asked, raising an eyebrow as I stepped down from the train.
''You know, the way you crushed the Kiev revolts by putting peasants who forgot their place back in line, things like that'' another noble answered, trying to stand out among the elegantly dressed aristocrats.
''Do not call me that again. From what I understand there are problems with the local nationalists, correct? Estonian, Livonian, and Russian unrest, yes?'' I said while removing my gloves as snow slowly began falling over my coat.
''Indeed, Major Karl von Posen'' the noble who stood out from the group answered. ''There have been several attempts by local peasants unhappy about no longer being ruled by the Tsar and wanting freedom from German control, ignoring that the governorates are now in personal union with the German Kaiser'' the elderly noble explained.
''Good. Then it is not much different from what we saw in Ukraine. We will begin with the basics. A thorough house-to-house search will begin in order to confiscate every weapon we can find. I understand there are around ninety thousand men of the Tenth Army around Riga, so with my men, who should arrive to cover some of the security shortcomings, that mission should begin immediately'' I said while walking toward the governor's palace in Riga.
''Regarding that… who will represent German interests within the United Baltic Duchy? The Kaiser has still not indicated who will govern, so we are hoping for a prompt answer'' one of the younger nobles asked while trying to remain at my side at all costs.
''I have no information about who will govern this mess, but it will most likely be some member of the higher German nobility, so do not get your hopes up if you are wondering whether it will be one of you. I want every weapon belonging to your guards and every firearm stored in your estates surrendered within three days'' I said without slowing my pace.
''Eh… but… Major Karl… that would be extremely dangerous for us. These peasants are out of control. Handing over our weapons would leave the door open for them to attack us'' the eldest noble protested while struggling to keep up with me.
''That is what my men are for. I do not want anyone armed except the security forces directly under my command. Noble guards and the local militias formed by Baltic Germans must be disbanded and surrender their weapons, just like every other civilian. The confiscations begin today'' I said while checking my watch.
The group of nobles quickly began to scatter. Many simply frowned and walked away with their guards following behind, while only a smaller group remained, mostly the younger men, since the older and more experienced political players had already realized I had not come to negotiate concessions but to establish order by whatever means necessary.
So on the very same day of my arrival, I began coordinating with numerous Tenth Army officers, assigning them how the operation to search every house across such a vast territory would be divided. Fortunately, the experience from Ukraine proved useful, since we arrived with a phased plan designed to greatly reduce the locals' ability to hide their weapons during the searches and confiscations.
''You have your orders. I need the city searched before the day ends. The blockade on all entrances and exits of the city will only last for today, so it is important that you carry out your mission as efficiently as possible'' I said while looking at a group of mid-ranking Tenth Army officers nodding at my words.
As the officers left to fulfill their orders, one of my men entered.
''Major, a German noble says he wants to speak with you about the occupation'' my soldier said.
''His name?'' I asked, lifting my eyes for a moment from the multiple maps of the largest cities in the region.
''Adolf Konstantin Pilar von Pilchau, part of the Baltic German nobility'' my subordinate replied.
''Let him in. We will hear what this man has to say'' I answered with interest.
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