Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-10-30

At the close Of the great operations
of the summer of 1915 the circum-
stances under which the eastern arm
les were living were makeshift and
unsatisfactory in every respect; fur
Their conditions in the territory we
had occupied in the course of events
had to be recognized.
In order to get a better grasp of
affairs and be in closer touch with
the troops, We went TO Kovno at the
end Of October.
The field marshal, the officers Of
the general staff and / We're chartered
in two villas belonging to Herr Till
mann, a German whose family name
was in good repute among the Ger
mans in Russia. He himself had been
in Germany from the beginning Of
the war. The field marshal. Colonel
Hoffman, and myself lived together
in one of the villas. Here also was
the staff mess. | have spent many
hours in this house and it is indelibly
engraved on my memory.
The officers of the general staff
were in the barracks The sixpenny
portraits of the Tsar. the Tsarina and
the TsarevitsCh were typical Of the
rooms were large and suitable for our
purpose, and could be well heated for
the coming winter.
Kovno is a typical Russian town,
with low, mean. wooden houses and
comparatively wide streets. From the
hills which closely encircle the town
there is an interesting view of the
town and the confluence of the Me
men and the villa. On the further
bank of the Niemen there stands the
tower Of an old German castle of the
Teutonic knights, a symbol of Ger
man civilization in the east, and not
far from ii there Is a memorial of
French schemes for the conquest of
the world; that hill upon which Ma
poleon stood in 1912 as he watched
the great army crossing the river.
Saw Happy Future For Germany,
Absorbing Conqncring Lands.
My mind was flooded with over
wheming historical memories. ] de-
termined to resume in the occupied
territory that work of civilization at
which the Germans had labored in
those lands for many centuries The
population, made up as it is of such q
mixture Of races, would never accom-
plish anything of its own accord. and
left to itself would succumb to Polish
I was proud to think that, over a
hundred Years ago, after a period of
great weakness and trbulation in
Germany, we had thrown off the for
eign yoke, Now that same Germany,
first beaten by Napoleon. because she
was decadent and subsequently united
by the efforts of a few great men,
stood victorious in this world war
against enemies who far outnumbered
her and added fresh glories to her
record.
l had faith in final victory. Moth
ing else was possible, The German
people had been through too much
already to expose themselves again
to such a terrible fate. The men
who were leading Germany only
needed to develop her latent powers
to add fuel to the holy fire burning
as I then thought-in every Ger
man heart.
A happy future of assured pros
perity seemed to be opening out for
the fatherland.
Admits LOOtin% of Houses.
Our work, of course, was not in
terrupted for a single day by the mi
grafton from DotZen to Kovno The
necessary telephone connections were
quickly made in the office. and the
bare necessities in the way of furni-
ture Were improved upon.
That this additional furniture was
taken from other houses which had
been deserted by the inhabitants,
could not be helped. IT was done in
as or derby a manner as possible, but
a certain amount of confusion was
inevitable
These are the regrettable condi-
tons imposed by the exigencies of
war. The belligerent or individual
soldiers are not to be blamed for
this Circumstances are too strong
for them. To tho individual civilian
who suffers it is matter of indif-
ference how he loses his property
He understands nothing of the ncces-
stiles Of war. and therefore is ready
enough to talk about the enemys
barbaric methods of warfare.
We found plenty of furniture at
Kovno,' but later, when we got to
Brest-Litovsk, we were confronted
by empty barracks.
We therefore had furniture sent on
to us from Kovno and requisitioned
some from other places as well. War
is n rough trade and there was no
help for it.
In this town I usually attended the
evangelical services which Pastor
Vessel held in the former Orthodox
church, a magnificent building, typi-
cal of the Russian despotic rule in
that country. There I heard for the
first time on foreign soil the beauti-
full old melody sung as a hymn:
l have given myself
With heart and with hand.
To thee, land of love and life,
My German Fatherland.
I was deeply moved. This hymn
ought to be sung every Sunday in all
the churches and should be engraved
on the hearts of all Germans.
Great Shifting of Army.
A number of arrangements on a
large scale We're necessary. Where
the main offensives had taken place
there was a congestion of troops. At
other points the line was too thin,
A proper balance had to be struck
Cavalry divisions had to be relieved
by infantry divisions.
1t was long time before these
movements were completed and the
troops arrived at positions where
they could be left for the time be-
ing. But there could not be any
question as yet of real test The line
had to be consolidated. and mean
while other troops had to hold long
stretches of front. Both these tasks
taxed the strength of the men. The
positions to be strengthened were
generally those where the fighting
had been fiercest. Points which it
was impossible to hold were to be
abandoned but both commanders
and troops resigned themselves to
this course with great reluctance.
The construction of trenches and