Stories of the Forgotten Heroes

Austria's Desperate Gamble: The 1916 Carpathian Defence

When Ernst first enlisted in the Austrian Army he was barely 18, a young student with nationalist aspirations, which thought that war was a game and life meant to be filled with glory in the service of the land which had nurtured him. Being an only child in his family, Ernst's father expected of him much and the son duly obliged. A testament to his change in opinion was quite evident after two years of long service, as he left boyhood and entered into maturity head-on, which in turn gave him a strange bearing.

When 1916 began everybody spoke relentlessly about the impending doom that the Entente was heading into. And then the Russian Bear showed its deadly grasp. Ernst was on leave, visiting his family in Vienna when news came that every man from his unit had to rejoin the battalion. The emergency muster had ended as fast as it began but for the soldiers' families, the most difficult period was only beginning. As he was heading towards Galicia by train, to defend once again the Empire, he wondered whether the situation at the Front was as bad as it had been described by some of the wounded men in Kosice. This feeling was not new to him since doubt had crept into Ernst's mind a long time ago thanks to the socialist newspapers he had been reading. By the time they arrived at the disembarking point, the night had settled in. Ernst was waiting patiently with the unit when a scout on a dark mare rushed in with the latest news. Hötzendorf recklessly decided that it was too late to continue the fight on the flat earth that the Galician countryside had. The orders were to simply march to the base of the Carpathian Mountains where defensive positions were to be taken and the Russian tide stopped. As Ernst's unit mounted, the commander of the unit, a fellow by the name of Schwarz, gave the order to start the march towards the positions as fast as possible. After a while, most of the soldiers felt the cold which bit hard and as the hours passed, soldiers began to be ever more disgruntled. Throughout the marching lines, constant mutterings about the horrendous conditions the regulars had to suffer began to be louder and more threatening in tone. Being a higher rank could have some benefits as Ernst was to find out during the stops. The upper echelons were quartered in inns and abandoned dwellings, with raging fires and meals. The soldier was not that fortunate. His meal would probably be some black bread and frozen meat in a reasonable quantity. The Russians were starving but they were not far from their positions now and if the campaign was to be disastrous, the Austrian Empire was not going to survive it.

It was 5 AM and the crippling Russian barrage woke up the Austrian units from their slumber. Nobody expected them to attack at such an hour but everybody rushed to the defence of the trenches. Ernst mounted his horse, took up a lance from the rack, and led the attack upon the Russian Hussar Regiment which was breaking the first line of defense. The initial engagement led to a horrendous bloodbath as the Austrian-Hungarian troops held the higher positions and wave after wave of Russians came crushing. For some hours the lines held, albeit precariously, but as time passed they were soon pushed towards the plateau overlooking the village of Kolomea. Ernst knew that it was critical to buy some time by defending the last line of trenches with his unit but he was only third in rank, therefore the choice of action was not in his hands. Schwarz on the other side was reluctant to go into the Lion's Den but if the 4-mile-long trenches could be held until reinforcements would be brought, this would lead to increased morale and probably a stalemate. By accident, Ernst took a short look towards his commander and it all became clear; in for a penny, in for a pound.

A sea of people charged, yelling simultaneously, as they ran towards the positions they were ordered to obtain by General Brusilov. The remaining Hungarian troops deployed the machine guns and started the grisly job of halting the enemy advance. At the same time, a unit of Bosnian soldiers began the deadly song of the artillery. Ernst was certain that for the moment the Russian troops will be kept at bay, but for how long, nobody knew, not even himself. A short call of the bugle was to be their call to martyrdom in the name of the Empire. The Hussars charged with renewed powers the flanks.  As he looked to his right, an old lieutenant had his head transformed into a mass of flesh and cartilage, with the horrible image imprinted upon his memory forever. Hate fuelled the defenders with new power until the reinforcements came and the Russians, beaten and demoralized retreated from the area.