The Christmas Truce: A Day when Humanity Won

"We are all, we are all, we are all

We are all friends!

 

And today we are brothers, tonight we are friends

A moment of peace in a war that never ends

Today we are brothers, we drink and unite

Now Christmas has arrived, and the snow turns the ground white"

 

-"Christmas Truce" performed by Sabaton, 2021

 

            In this momentous time, two weeks away from Christmas as per time of writing, I am following up on the story about moments in world wars where humanity is deemed intact in the midst of hell created by the fighting and violence. In the previous instalment, I talked about two pilots from the opposite sides who ended up befriended each other after the war was over. This time around, I'm going to explore a bigger event, one that is still celebrated as part of the memorials to the lives lost during the first world war, and it actually happened during Christmas.

            By this point, we all know in what war this event took place in. The first world war erupted as a result of many diplomatic tensions after an assassination job that cost the Austro-Hungarian Empire their heir to the throne. After months of repeated diplomatic events to defuse the situation, war is eventually inevitable, and countries soon mobilize their forces across all fronts. The war itself was fought mainly at the Western Front and the Eastern Front.

            But towards the end of 1914, stalemates had occurred all because of the trench warfare, a fairly new system at the time. Soldiers would dig up pits that can stretch up to several kilometers, and that was their place to sleep and eat. Soldiers come and go, those who fought the initial battles over the summer were mostly dead, heavily, or moderately wounded, or imprisoned, and at this point, countries rely on conscripted men in order to keep up with ever changing condition. These young boys practically knew nothing about the situation that they signed up for, as they must deal with hostile condition, enemy fire, and diseases and pandemics (the Spanish flu pandemic took place around the time of the first world war). 

            Granted, the morale among the soldiers were at all-time low, as they realize the severity of the situation that they must deal with on a day-to-day basis. During this time, death doesn't even come in the form of an enemy barrage, but it can also come from cold temperatures, lice infestations, and other diseases. It was also noted that minor truces began to form all over no man's land. The so called "gentlemen's code" is basically a live and let live scenario, or nowadays called the "rules of engagement", which implicitly states that you must not engage unless you are being engaged upon. Such agreement was used by troops on either side to repair their equipment and bury their fallen comrade. This can also expand to codes that would alert the other side of an upcoming bombardment. Shots and grenades were deliberately fired off to the sides, and sometime, several troops would emerge out of the trenches unarmed with their hands above their head.

            The date was 24th of December 1914, it was a relatively busy day at the Western Front, where the German army, as part of the Central powers squared off against the allied forces, which consists of mostly French and British soldier. At the same time, Christmas presents started to arrive, mostly letters from home and some sweets, beverages, and cigars. But it was the event on Christmas Eve that would kickstart the truce itself. During the day, some troops were reportedly passing each other with no intention to harm, but instead involved in short conversations. Some high-ranking officers on either side even discussed a possible Christmas day ceasefire. The readers of the Christian faith must be familiar with some Christmas songs like O Holy Night or Silent Night. The latter was actually sung by the Germans in their native tongue, Stille Nacht (Side note, Stille Nacht is actually originated from Germany). This prompted the curious Allied Soldiers to inspect the other side of no man's land. Soon after, a friendly sing-off erupted between two sides, with each trench dressed to the occasion with small Christmas trees. 

            Then as dawn broke on the 25th of December, instead of barrage of bullets, it was silence, a deafening silence. Some brave souls eventually started to emerge from the trenches, some of them unarmed, some still carrying weapons. Furthermore, they were banned from activities that would insinuate a clear intention of harm, like erecting barbed wires, repair their trenches, or even worse, calling out a strike. At first, small talks were occurred, but it soon evolved to full blown Christmas parties and sing-offs, involving soldiers exchanging gifts, sweets, cigarettes, and even booze. And don't forget the Christmas masses and funeral processions for their fallen friends.

            You might be wondering, why this event is etched as the most memorable humane moments during the first world war, and the answer is the Christmas Truce Football Match. Some accounts detailed a football match of some sort breaking out along the lines, with most of them stated that the Brits initiated those games with a normal kickabout. Soon, stretchers normally used to carry wounded men were transformed into goalposts, and a football match began between England against Germany, played in No man's land Arena. One account stated that in that game, they lost to the Germans by 3 goals to 2.

            Of course, in the midst of the joy, there are some detractors that refused to take part in the truce and chose to remain inside their trenches. Some officers, like a certain future dictator reported this event to the higher-ups, claiming that fraternization between enemies is considered as an act of treason. And as the news traveled through the chain of command, Commanders on both sides quickly establish a new law that would discourage soldiers from forming future truces. And from then on, from gas warfare, America's eventual involvement in the war, all the way to the treaty of Versailles, there was only one Christmas Truce, and it was happened on the Western Front on 24 to 25 December 1914. And let me tell you, even as the news outlets at the time moved as fast as they could to censor the news, the story of the Christmas Truce remains as one of those moments in history, where humanity prevails, even just for one day in the midst of extreme inhumanity. 

            When I first wrote about Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler, this is the other story that I was referring when I said that I would keep the other story until the appropriate time arrived. I am not a Christian, but irrespective of religion, there must be unity and no division, peace instead of war, and harmony instead of chaos. We remember those who fought for their countries, especially those who participated in this truce.

            

"A Christmas on the frontline, we walk among our friends

We don't think about tomorrow, the battle will commence

When we celebrated Christmas, we thought about our friends

Those who never made it home when the battle had commenced"

 

-"Christmas Truce" performed by Sabaton, 2021

The Night Witches: Stealth Warfare at its Best

"From the depths of hell in silence

Cast their spells, explosive violence

Russian nighttime flight perfected

Flawless vision, undetected"

-"Night Witches", performed by Sabaton, 2014

 

            And you thought that Milunka Savic is going to be the only war time story focusing on female soldiers. As evidenced by this piece, there are many stories of women in warfare. One of which is the story of the Soviet Bombing Squadron made of exclusively women. They are known for their stealth missions dropping bombs to unsuspecting German army camps in Soviet Union. They gain infamy among the German ranks with the name Die Nachthexen, in English, it translates to "The Night Witches".

 

            The Night Witches was the name given to the Soviet's 588th Bombing Regiment, first established in October 1941 by Major Maria Raskova. Raskova herself, up to that point was heralded as "the Russian Amelia Earhart", due to her establishing several records for long-distance non-stop flights. During Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, many women joined the ranks at the army, either as nurses, signalers, and anti-aircraft gunners. The recruitments also included all the female pilots, but they mostly ended up as instructors and advisors for male pilots in training. They are also barred from flying the planes themselves, arguments being that there are many male pilots available at the time. Raskova, being the Hero of the Soviet Union, pleaded to, and subsequently granted permission by Josef Stalin to create three all-female flying unit. Those three being the 586th Fighter Regiment, the 587th Heavy Bomber Regiment, and the 588th Night Bomber Regiment. 

 

            Compared to the other two units, the 588th Regiment with the command chain comprised of regiment commander Yevdokiya Bershanskaya and her deputy Serafima Amosova, commissar Yevdokiya Rachkevich, and chief of staff Irina Rakobolskaya was arguably the youngest in age, being between 17 to 26 years of age and the most inexperienced. For one, due to the demographic of the soldier being mostly male, the girls were given out oversized clothes and boots, and constantly mocked by their male peers.  This is not limited to their appearances either. Equipment-wise, they are given one of the most outdated aircrafts in service, the Polikarpov U-2 biplanes, nicknamed (condescendingly) by the German Wehrmacht as "The Coffee Grinder", a two-crew plane produced in 1927 as a training plane, with wings made of wood and canvas, known for its notoriously slow airspeed, its susceptibility of being shot down by even a small arms fire, and only able to fly in lower altitudes. Hell, the planes could only carry up to 350 kg (770 pounds) of bombs for each mission, so eight or more missions a night is not uncommon. But the slow nature of the Polikarpov planes were compensated for its unbelievable maneuverability, making it the hardest target to hit by German fighter pilots, with all those Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf F190 planes. In comparison, the 587th Heavy Bombers were equipped with the SU2, nicknamed "The Bitch", due to the plane's extremely difficult to master. 

 

            The way these pilots carried out their missions is quite unique, even for the standard of modern warfare. For starters, they could only carry out their missions during the night. Sometimes, multiple missions could be carried out during that same night. Second, with each target hit, they have to immediately return to base and rearm and refuel immediately to be sent back out again. And the third, they have to use these Polikarpovs in the most effective ways as possible, without revealing too much of their locations to the Germans. So, they devised a unique way to attack, by flying low while cutting out the notoriously noisy engine and drop the load as they glide in the sky. Several German troops recounted hearing the sound of woman laughing and the gust of wind, along with silhouettes akin to a witch riding a broom before the heavy bombardment commenced. From all these accounts, the German army refer to these women as die nachthexen, translated to "the night witches"

 

            From 1942 to the conclusion of the second world war in 1945, The Night Witches partake in several offensives, with their baptism by fire took place on the Southern Front. Other operations included the Battle of the Caucasus, the Crimean Offensive, and the East Prussian offensive. During those missions, they accumulated approximately 23.672 sorties. In detail, they collectively accumulated 28,676 flight hours, dropped over 3,000 tons of bombs and over 26,000 incendiary shells, damaging or completely destroying 17 river crossings, nine railways, two railway stations, 26 warehouses, 12 fuel depots, 176 armored cars, 86 firing points, and 11 searchlights. In addition to bombings, the unit performed 155 supply drops of food and ammunition to Soviet forces. Casualties for the 588th included 32 dead and 28 aircrafts being written-off. There are also accolades given to the night witches, with the regiment itself was bestowed the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. Honored personnel included 23 members being named Hero of the Soviet Union, two personnel named Hero of the Russian Federation, and one personnel named Hero of Kazakhstan. The regiment disbanded on the 15 October 1945 following the conclusion of World War 2. Former commissar Yevdokiya Rachkevich then took it upon herself to search every single crash site of her fellow night witches, in order to provide the most accurate detail as possible. 

 

            It seems like in every conflict, there is bound to be a stealth aspect of some sort, and the night witches embodied the very definition of stealth warfare. Throughout their service they've been undetected, unexpected, and unpredictable, dropping bomb after bomb as they terrorize the invading armies of the third Reich and push them back to the brink of defeat, one stealth mission at a time. And to close this piece, I want to offer my salute in admiration to these brave women who survived the war, and also for the ones who never made it back home.

 

“I think that during the war, when the fate of our country was being decided, the bringing in of women into aviation was justified."

 

-Irina Rakobolskaya, in Miriam Mencej, "Styrian Witches in European Perspective", 2017

Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler: The Honor Code of Aerial Warfare

"Fly, fighting fair, it's the code of the air

Brothers, heroes, foes"

 

-"No Bullets Fly", performed by Sabaton, 2014

 

            As I sat down and write this piece, I often ponder to myself: is there any honor in warfare? From raining spears and arrows to the hail of bullets and mortar shells (hell, they even used poison gas at some point), war is often described with few words like "hell", "nightmare", or even worse, "torture." But there are also stories of humanity in the midst of inhumanity. I can easily mention two of them, but with the other story, I elected to keep it until the appropriate time has come. For now, I am going to tell you a story where two fighter pilots met in the aerial battlefield, and subsequently became friends after the war had ended.

 

            I'm going to split this piece into two perspectives. The first one started in the eyes of 2nd Lieutenant Charles L. "Charlie" Brown, who was a farmer's boy from West Virginia turned fighter pilot for the second world war, who was stationed with the 379th Bombardment Group of the US Air Force's 8th Air Force, piloting the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Ye Olde Pub". The date was 20 December 1943, and Lt. Brown, along with his 10-men crew onboard Ye Olde Pub was tasked with an air raid mission targeting the Focke-Wulf FW 190 aircraft production facility in Bremen. It was the first mission for the crew, and during the pre-mission briefing, the men of the 527th Bombardment Squadron had been informed of a possible encounter by the German fighters. The facility itself was guarded by more than 250 flak guns.  

 

            The mission commenced at the altitude of 8.300 m (27.300 ft) with the outside temperature of -60° C (-76° F). Before the bomb load could be released, a flak gun shattered the plexiglass nose, subsequently shutting down engine #2 and damaging engine #4, which was already in a questionable condition. When the command to drop the load came, The B-17 completed the assignment and was ready to head back home, but the damages sustained earlier further slowing the B-17 down, eventually taking it out of formation. With all those damages, the Flying Fortress became susceptible to the enemy attacks. The enemy fighter jets, comprising of combinations between Messerschmitt BF 109s and the aforementioned Focke-Wulf FW 190 further attacked the stricken bomber and Brown for 10 further minutes. 

 

            The attacks further crippled the B-17's flying capabilities, as engine #3 was toast, the internal oxygen, hydraulic and electrical systems were damaged, and most of the onboard guns frozen, likely because of the freezing cold temperature. Hell, one of the gunners, tail gunner Sgt. Hugh "Ecky" Eckenrode, was the only casualty onboard, having his head decapitated by a direct hit of a cannon shell, while most of the remaining men onboard are mostly critically wounded. The B-17 was about to hit the ground at one point, but Brown managed to take control of the aircraft and made it airborne again, but with only 40% of its total flight capabilities left. 

 

            During their flight back home, another Messerschmitt, this time the BF 109 G-6, trailed behind the bomber. But to the crew's surprise, there was no single shot fired, but instead, the pilot inside the Messerschmitt gestured them to land twice, but due to the fact that Brown didn't understand the gesture, they flew on. The mysterious pilot then brought his jet close to Ye Olde Pub's nose, in order to shield them from any German flak attacks, and escort them out of German airspace safely. Before leaving them, the Messerschmitt pilot saluted them and peel away. Brown managed to land safely at RAF Seething and proceed to inform his officers of a German fighter pilot escorting them out of harm’s way. He was cautioned to not tell this story to another pilot, lest another bomber being spotted by another German aircraft, and instead of being escorted out of danger, they would be turned into pulps of gory mess by the machine guns. The story was kept secret until 1984, where Brown decided to look for the mysterious pilot who saved his life on that fateful day. 

 

            The now retired Charlie Brown recalled writing a letter to find out who was the Messerschmitt pilot who escorted him to safety, and he received a letter from Canada, from someone by the name of Stigler. The person in question turned out to be Oberleutnant of the Luftwaffe Franz Stigler. On that day, he, along with several other German troops spotted the wounded B-17 while rearming and refueling at an airbase. He then quickly caught up with Ye Olde Pub, who at this state was only a flying vessel with less-than-optimal power. Stigler, prior to this incident, was an ace on the field, with 27 confirmed kill points, only needed 3 more to qualify for the Knight's Cross (Shooting a B-17 bomber down earns him 3, shooting a fighter plane earns him 1). He could have just ended the aircraft's misery and shot it down along with the crew right then and there, but he instead recalled the words of one of his commanding officers at the Jagdgeschwader 27, Gustav Rödel. During his accounts of that day, he remembered the words from Rödel being "If I ever see or hear of you shooting at a man in a parachute (referring to men who are already defeated in a dogfight and already ejected from their aircraft), I will shoot you myself". And Stigler's judgement of the situation deduced that the men inside the Flying Fortress, with all those damages and injuries, is akin of the man in a parachute. He then took it upon himself to ensure that no matter what, that airplane is not to be shot down. Stigler first motioned Brown to land his stricken plane to a nearby German air base and surrender, but Brown refused. He then signaled Ye Olde Pub to land in neutral Sweden for medical attention, but Brown refused again. He then brought his Messerschmitt close to the port side wing in close formation to shield it from a possible German bombardment. After making sure that they are out from German airspace, Stigler saluted Ye Olde Pub and peel away, never to be seen again. He never got the Knight's Cross, and kept the story to himself, fearing court martial or execution.

 

            After the war has ended, Stigler moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1953 and started a successful business, and Brown retired from government service in 1972, after serving in the air force from 1949 to 1965, and the US State Department Foreign Service. He then resided in Miami, Florida, where he became an inventor. When he got wind of the news about a World War 2 veteran pilot searching about that brave German pilot, he reached out to Charlie Brown and explained his side of the story, confirming everything that Brown needed to hear. The two then finally met in person in 1990, and subsequently became best friends and remained so until their deaths within several months of each other in 2008, with Stigler being the first on 22 March at the age of 92, followed by Brown on 24 November at the age of 86.

 

            It is stories like this that kept reminding us that no matter the conflict, no matter how bad or how terrorizing the war can be, at some point, someone might still have their sense of humanity intact, and not swayed easily to commit more atrocities than it already is. The story of Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler will be forever remembered as the story of one of those times in history, when humanity prevails in the midst of extreme inhumanity, and that there is such a thing as the gentleman's code, which is the principle of live and let live, the unwritten code of trust between two men. 

 

"I was the one."

-Franz Stigler to Charlie Brown over the phone, 1990

Milunka Savic: The First Lady of Warfare

"Raise your hand, for the lady of the dark

Soldier with no will to kill with a philanthropic heart

Forever break the norm, she's the girl in uniform

Fighting side by side with men, she will fight until the end!"

 

-"Lady of the Dark" performed by Sabaton, 2022

 

            Thanks to gender equality, there are more women currently serving their countries in the armed forces, some of them were war veterans. But back then during the events before and during the first world war, female soldiers were a thing unheard of, women in warfare are mostly served as field nurse, including one certain royal, that being Queen Elisabeth of Bavaria, the wife of King Albert I of Belgium (that is for another time). During that time, this seems to be the norm, until one Serbian woman broke the glass ceiling and went on to become the most decorated female soldier in history. But with all that being said, it seems that everybody outside of Serbia have never heard of this fearless girl, who apparently signed up in place of her brother to fight for her homeland.

 

            Let me introduce you to Milunka Savic (Serbian Cyrillic: Милунка Савић), born in 1888, in the village Koprivinica, Serbia. It is disputed on what date exactly did Milunka was born, some of them suggested it was 10 August, some even said that she was younger, being born on 28 June 1892. Her early live would be described as something of ordinary life, with her village being home to only about 20 people. She lived this ordinary live until 1913, where her brother, Milun Savic was called for conscription to fight at the Balkan War. Milunka saw the papers, and decided to enlist as Milun, effectively taking her brother's place in the military. In order to successfully disguise her true identity, she cut her hair short, bind her chest, and started wearing male clothes. During this time, she was deployed at the Battle of Bregalnica, as part of the Iron Squadron where she earned her first medal and a promotion to corporal. As she fought on the battlefield, she managed to evade injuries to the sensitive area, until a Bulgarian shrapnel buried itself to her chest, leading to the revelation of her true sex while recovering at the hospital. Her commander hated the idea of getting rid of her, as she had proven herself to be the best asset in battle, and a competent soldier. He decided to transfer her to the Nursing Division but was refused. Only after she stood in attention for one full hour, the high command relented and allowed Milunka back to the army. She continued her military career up to the first world war, where she further amassed many accolades along the way, including one story in 1916 where she single-handedly captured 23 Bulgarian soldiers alive, armed with a single grenade. She earned two Karadorde Stars (With Swords) from the campaign, each from different battlefields, one from the Battle of Kolubara, while the other from the battle of the Crna Bend. Her other accolades included the French Legion d'Honneur twice, the Russian Cross of St. George, the British medal of the most Distinguished Order of St Michael, the Serbian Milos Obilic medal, as well as being the only female recipient of the French Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 with the gold palm attribute for her service in World War I. She didn't have much role to play during the second world war, other than set up an infirmary for partisans fighting against the Nazi Germany. Her presence was further solidified when she refused to attend a banquet thrown by Milan Nedic, knowing that the same banquet would also be attended by German generals and officers. She was later arrested and taken to Banjica concentration camp, where she spent ten months of incarceration.

 

            Of course, with that many accolades, one must have been offered with luxuries after the war has ended and the army was demobilized, and that was also happened with Milunka, where she was offered by the French to move to the country, as she was eligible to collect the army pension, but she decided to remain in Serbia, living in Belgrade working as a postal worker. She was married once but divorced after the birth of her first daughter. She was given a state pension, and continue living in Belgrade, in a crumbling house while adopting three more children. In her final years, she was all alone, with no money under her name, and of course, living with neglect. And on 5 October 1973, at the age of 83 Milunka Savic died of a stroke. She was buried in a quiet little ceremony in Belgrade New Cemetery. 

 

            After reading through her heroic deeds during the wars, in comparison to her later days, it has been an anticlimactic story of a female soldier, with all her accolades, ended up living with neglect with zero money. She is also quite unknown for people outside Serbia, with little known source about her life, neither a biography nor a film. But let's not forget that it was the action of Milunka Savic, after being outed as a female, but remained in the army to fight her fights that would inspire countless other girls to take up arms and fight for their own country. And only in recent years, the recognition of her story is being brought to the masses, including various documentaries and songs depicting her bravery and fearlessness in the face of war. And with that in mind, she is truly a hero. 

 

"Don't fear the reaper, don't fear the war

She spared the life of brothers

She'll fight for honor, she'll fight for life

A lady goes to war!"

 

-"Lady of the Dark" performed by Sabaton, 2022

 

The Unkillable Soldier: The Story of Adrian Carton de Wiart

 

"Into the fire through trenches and mud,

Son of Belgium and Ireland with war in his blood,

Leading the charge into hostile barrage,

By design, he was made for the frontline!"

-"The Unkillable Soldier" performed by Sabaton, 2022

 

            Imagine being totally insane and war-hungry, even Death would not lay his hands on you until the ripe age of 83. This is what happened when you are a former law student which was also a 5-war veteran, who suffer various injuries from mild like grazed ear to wild like losing his own eye and hand. The latest war time story is centered around this one British soldier, who was actually born in Belgium, carrying Belgian and Irish blood. Some even said that he was the illegitimate son of a certain Belgian king.

 

            The name was Adrian Paul Ghislain Carton de Wiart. He was born in Brussels on the 5th of May 1880 into a Belgian aristocratic family who practices law, from lawyer Léon Constant Ghislain Carton de Wiart and Ernestine Wenzig, who was Irish. Despite this, some also suggests that young Adrian was the illegitimate son of King Leopold II of the Belgians. He was also had strong connections through his cousins. One was the Prime Minister of Belgium; the other was the Political Secretary to the King. Nevertheless, when his mother passed away sometime between 1886, Léon Carton de Wiart subsequently moved to Cairo, Egypt with young Adrian, so he could practice international law there. During this time, young Adrian had developed a fascination of warfare. Hell, he once stated in his Happy Odyssey autobiography that if the British didn't recruit him by the time of the Second Boer War in 1899, he would still go to South Africa to fight with the Boers instead. He did eventually enlist with the British army for that campaign, but had to do so with fake identity, as he was a foreigner and underage for that matter (he was 20 prior to enlistment, the army requires someone to be at least 25 years of age). 

 

            When he arrived in South Africa, he was immediately exposed to the chaos of warfare, and subsequently received his first wounds, being shot in the stomach and groin respectively. By his accounts, he described the Boers as a bunch who has "pretty good shots". His shenanigans in South Africa earned the wrath of his father for abandoning his law studies but allowed him to stay in the army. During his first 8 years serving in the army, he remained a Belgian citizen. In September 1907, he finally took his oath of allegiance to King Edward VII, officially making him a British citizen. When the First World War broke out, he was actually en route to British Somaliland for a campaign against Mohammad bin Abdullah, dubbed "Mad Mullah" by the British. During that battle, he was assigned to the Somaliland Camel Corps. During a battle at Shimber Berris, Carton de Wiart was shot in the face not once or twice, but three times. One bullet struck him in his left eye, one grazed his left ear, and another ricochet and buried itself in the same wounded eye. 

 

            When Carton de Wiart actually participated in the Great War itself, he had to sign an agreement to wear a glass eye to replace his destroyed left eye. But he immediately ditched that eye from his taxi, and replaced it with a black eyepatch, creating his well-known signature look. He then took part in the Western Front in 1915. During this campaign, he was wounded seven more times in different places, including losing his left hand in a freak accident when blast struck him. When doctors refuse to amputate his mangled mess of a left hand, he tore off two of his remaining fingers hanging by a skin with no pain at all, just to prove his point. During the battle of Somme, he was shot through his skull and ankle, in Passchendaele, he was shot through the hip, in Cambrai, another wound in his leg, and another shot to the ear in Arras. And during his adventures, he was promoted up to temporary brigadier general by the conclusion of the First World War. 

 

            The war might be over at this point, but not the adventures of Adrian Carton de Wiart. He was sent to Poland on a British-Poland Military Mission, and on this country as well he witnessed the start of the second world war in 1939. He was at the age of 61 when he re-enlisted to fight the conflict. He ended up on the frontline again, this time in Norway. In 1941, he boarded the aircraft bound to Yugoslavia as part of the British-Yugoslavian Military Mission, just in the nick of time as Hitler was prepared to invade the country. But the airplane crashed in Italian-controlled Libya for engine failure. He survived the crash along with many others, but ended up in a Prisoner of War camp, which he managed to escape. His final military mission was when he was appointed as a personal representative of Prime Minister Winston Churchill on his mission to China. It was on this assignment that he reportedly told Chairman Mao Zedong that he hated communism right in his face and was met with laughter by Chairman Mao. 

 

            His final injury didn't come as a result of an armed conflict, but rather a silly incident when he slipped through the stairs, broke several vertebrae, and knocked unconscious. He finally retired from the army at the ripe age of 66 in October 1947 with the honorary rank of lieutenant general. And on the 5th of June 1963, he finally greeted Death as an old friend at the age of 83. During his time in the armed forces, he fought through 5 wars, two of them were world wars, survived two plane crashes, escaped an Italian Prisoner of War Camp, sustained numerous injuries, lost an eye and a hand, and roasted a Communist Party leader right on his face. There are also stories of him being a frequent visitor to a hospital. It has been said that he was being admitted to this hospital so often, the facility actually kept a fresh pair of pajamas EXCLUSIVELY for General Carton de Wiart. Talk about dedication right there. 

 

            Many people talk about people who involved in wars as someone who only wants to serve their own country or someone with no disregard of his own life, but none of those men was like Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart. The man was described as a man too stubborn to die, and it's only fitting to immortalize this mad lad with the title of "The Unkillable Soldier". This man's entire story is that of a First-person shooter protagonist. Imagine yourself being shot multiple times, and suddenly you are back in top shape only by stepping out of harm's way for few minutes. And for that, I salute in admiration to the legend that is Adrian Carton de Wiart.

 

"Frankly, I had enjoyed the war"

-Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, Happy Odyssey: The Memoirs of Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart: 1950

The Attack of the Dead Men: When (literal) Zombies Fought in The Great War

 "Osowiec, then and again

Attack of the dead hundred men

Facing the led once again

Hundred men,

Charge again,

Die again"

 

-"The Attack of the Dead Men" performed by Sabaton, 2019

            

 

            Let's deviate from the chaos that is the 2022 Oscars, when Will Smith, allegedly out of anger slapped the living being out of Chris Rock for an alopecia joke directed at Jada Pinkett-Smith (who contracted the condition herself), and dive into some war time stories. Yes, the subjects of this story are taking the opposite side during this time of war in Ukraine, where Russia is the aggressor. But back then, during the events of the Great War (or the First World War as it's now known), Germany was allied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while the Russians were at the Allied side.

 

            It is important to stress that the Great War itself was triggered by the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, present day Bosnia-Herzegovina during the summer of 1914. The German Empire, specifically Kaiser Wilhelm II sided with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which at the time, had massive sphere of influence and respect in Europe. There is one counter history scenario where the Archduke was never assassinated, but that is for another time. During the crisis leading up to the war, many diplomatic measures were taken to calm the situation, one of which involving Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and the Kaiser trying to calm things down. Both sides eventually would find themselves on the opposite sides. With the Russians joining the Allies, and Germany forming the central powers with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Turkish Ottomans, and Bulgaria.

 

            The date was 6 August 1915, roughly one year on since the start of the war. The battle took place on the Osowiec Fortress, on present-day Poland. The fortress in question was held by the Russian troops, made of roughly 900 men, 400 of those were militias as their main defense line. The Germans on the other hand, made of 7.000 soldiers strong and heavy artillery tried their desperate efforts to take the fortress to no avail. Thanks to some technological innovations developed during this time, The German army, led by Paul von Hindenburg whipped up perhaps one of the most devastating weapons in modern history: A poisonous concoction made of chlorine and bromine spread in gas form. At this stage, The Germans' attempted advance to Osowiec had been going since July, often times met with heavy artillery bombardment by the Russians. On the morning of August 6, when the wind direction was on their favor, the German unleashed the green smog of gas to unsuspecting Russian troops. There were 30 gas balloon batteries used to carry out the attack. And the result was immediate and deadly in nature. To better explain the scale of damage these poor men have to suffer, the chlorine gas, along with the moisture of the lung created something called hydrochloric acid, in which, starts to dissolve their lung tissue. As a result, there are many Russian troops died coughing blood and bits of their lungs. The bromine itself acted as a respiratory irritant. But the chlorine effects are not restricted to respiratory damages either. Other soft tissues like the skin and eyes were also chemically burned from the gas attack. This, in turn gave the world one of the most horrific sights of death ever witnessed in human history. But for those who were further away have to resort to cover their nose and mouth with wet rags in order to at least minimize the gas effect, but to little result. The gas not only attack the soldiers, but also their entire surroundings. Leaves and flowers turned yellow and black to death, insects and other animals also died due to the inhalation of the deadly gas. food supplies deemed inedible due to contamination.

 

            When the gas finally dissipated, the German troops went to hopefully secure the fortress, expecting little to no resistance. Little did they know, from 900 troops, 100 of them actually survived the initial attack, although still pretty much badly wounded. The remaining 100 soldiers, with all their scarred appearance, heavy breathing with bits and pieces of their lung spitting out, with bloody rags covering their nose and mouth made the final push, along with heavy machine gun firing to dissipate the horrified German army, who started to retreat. This attack was led by sub-lieutenant Vladimir Kotlinksy, who later died from his wounds. The countercharge successfully broke the German line, causing heavy loss, and rendered the gas attack pretty much useless. From the German's perspective, it's like when the dead had risen with vengeance. From horror, panic sets in. As they retreat, they got caught by their own wire traps. It is reported that they suffered moderate to heavy casualties during the Russian counterattack. But the success of the countercharge was short-lived. After threats by the Germans by capturing Kaunas and Novogeorgievsk, the Russians finally evacuated from Osowiec, not before destroying the fortress to rubbles on 18 August. Eventually, the German army failed to seize the asset. This event, and with the reference of the appearance of scarred Russian soldiers, was remembered as "the Attack of the Dead Men".

 

            It is fascinating to think that despite different eras of human history, war seems to be present in all of these eras. From ancient warfare to two world wars (and we might knock the door for a third one), humans find themselves inside many conflicts motivated by race, religion, and ideology. This piece serves as a reminder that war, in any shape or form, cannot be justified. It will only bring struggle, crisis, and turmoil to those who involved. Let there be peace and may those brave souls who have died defending their homeland rest in peace. 

 

 

 

Let peace be upon this world, free of subjugation, prejudices, and discrimination.

-Unknown writer