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8-11November-1915
''Manstein I want you to deliver this to your superiors these are the positions of the remaining Russian artillery pieces'' I said handing the documents to the Hauptmann who was securing supplies for the battle.
''So this was your doing… well done with this we can carry out counter battery fire although… it may already be outdated now that we pulled back it is likely they moved their artillery closer perhaps to where we were positioned before'' the German officer replied after receiving the reports.
''They might move the artillery from that camp… that one is gone we blew it apart there is nothing left but a smoking crater after we detonated all the ammunition they had there'' I said noticing the cuts on my arms that I had not realized were there before collapsing from exhaustion last night.
''Seriously?...'' he said staring at me wide eyed ''you went behind enemy lines and destroyed Russian artillery?'' Manstein added his lip trembling slightly.
''Yes… heavy fighting tell me if I can help I will assist in organizing the defense but I do not think I can do something like that again I lost too many good men anything you need send messengers to the left flank I will be there organizing the defense'' I said as I began walking toward the defensive sector.
As soon as I delivered the most important information I began reorganizing everything since there had been many failures among my men while I was gone and I needed to correct them, even though we had reduced a considerable number of Russians and their artillery there was still an entire army's worth of artillery intact along with their numbers.
Only a few hours of rest passed before waves of Russian units began arriving again, deploying the full weight of their numbers, they quickly tried to overwhelm us with sheer mass, only machine gun fire allowed us to hold against such relentless waves of cavalry and infantry that kept coming, slowly pushing us back whenever logistics failed to deliver enough ammunition, we were spending it faster than it could be brought from the depots.
The lack of artillery was immediately noticeable, although bombardments still struck some sectors they no longer covered the entire front, which made it easier to stop the Russian advance with our own artillery while they crossed open ground.
Even though we put up fierce resistance it was not something that could be solved by will alone, the Russians had managed to break through the Tenth Army defenses in several areas purely through numbers, using their overwhelming numerical superiority to push past us.
As we repositioned to establish another defensive line using nearby villages and evacuating civilians, German and Polish reinforcements finally began to arrive.
A counteroffensive was quickly organized since the Ninth Army was within reach from the north and the Eighth Army together with the Polish army had reached Kiev and were preparing to launch counterattacks against the Russians.
In a short time the pressure from the Russians disappeared and we focused on holding defensive positions, remaining alert for incoming bombardments, beyond that things stabilized for us.
We later learned that in the following days German and Polish forces attempted encirclement maneuvers against the Russians but these were less effective than expected due to forests and ice making movement difficult, still several divisions of the Russian Eighth Army were captured and artillery from the Russian Seventh Army fell into our hands after they failed to withdraw it in time.
In less than three days the massive Russian offensive that nearly broke us was stopped with almost one hundred thousand prisoners taken.
Hundreds of artillery pieces were now under our control, making it a solid victory, we were informed that positions up to the Daugava River had been retaken, securing the entire area with relatively limited troop use due to the absence of the half million Russian troops that had been blocking the advance, along with the concentration of forces in the sector.
An additional German division was left in the region to guard against future offensives through the forests since reconnaissance had failed to detect movements there before.
All armies returned to their positions attempting to push the Russians out of the Donbass, as Austria Hungary pressed hard to secure the region and its resources for the satellite Kingdom of Ukraine, since for now we were nothing more than a burden consuming resources without contributing much.
The Tenth Army had suffered heavy losses losing a significant portion of its men, my own losses were smaller since we had not been facing the main assault but rather their flanking attempts, though we still killed many.
Fortunately my men did not break, the harsh training had paid off, even young recruits with no prior experience managed to hold their positions endure artillery fire without panic and fight back against Russian troops that vastly outnumbered us.
''Careful that could have been you'' I said scolding a group of Austrians who were carelessly tossing one of our dead.
The soldiers lowered their heads nodded and continued their work.
''This one is from Vienna… a shame he had to die like this'' Ferdinand said while helping fill out the documents for the dead so they could be sent home.
''That is how it is… the Russians caught us badly positioned they could have broken our lines we were too close to Kiev if they had broken the Tenth Army defenses or pushed through our blocks in large numbers they might have reached Kiev directly or at least close enough to bombard the rail stations and then we would have been finished'' I said analyzing what had happened.
''So the Russians still have the will to keep fighting'' Ferdinand said as he checked another body and wrote down the details.
''They have all of Ukraine's food and its livestock… that is food for two years, and Russia also has vast black soil lands, I highly doubt they will leave the war due to hunger until next year, we would have to take one of their major cities to force them to surrender'' I said, recalling that this war might have already ended if it were not for Hindenburg wanting Russia to cede a massive amount of territory.
''And what are the Kaiser's territorial ambitions? I cannot understand it, we already have so much to occupy but it seems he still has not achieved what he wants since we have the Kingdom of Poland and Ukraine and that should already represent his interests'' Hans said, his arm bandaged after shrapnel struck him, only tearing soft tissue, nothing too serious.
''To weaken Russia… beyond that I do not know, that is for the OHL, so I doubt we will ever know… let us just finish this and we might get some rest, we did not win it, and I doubt they will give us any credit for being vital, they will probably just say we did our duty and that is it'' I said, scratching my hair while watching more bodies being brought in.
''We lost several in the last Russian offensive…'' Friedrich said, staring at the pile of dead soldiers we had managed to recover after the general Russian withdrawal.
''Their objective was to strike Kiev and I doubt their army cared about losing men for that, the Russians still outnumber us, they have an enormous pool of manpower to recruit and plenty of supplies to sustain it, so I do not think this was their last attempt, I just hope it was their last attempt in Ukraine because it will take time to replace those losses'' I said, shaking my head.
''At the end how many were there'' Ernst said, wiping sweat after throwing a body onto the pile.
''1526 dead and 5641 wounded… we still do not know their condition so the number of dead may increase, some will not return to the battlefield… and those who survive and are discharged will have to be given land in Ukraine… and I will have to speak with the… king of Ukraine to decide where to settle them'' I said, stretching.
''Eh… and does that privilege extend to us?'' Ernst asked while changing his bandages.
''I think so… let us be honest… the pay is terrible if you are just a soldier without rank, so the only thing attracting these young men is the promise of land in the breadbasket of Europe… so I am going to speak with the king, because this will determine whether we get more recruits'' I said, walking toward the train station.
Without delay and since my forces were no longer needed for the defense of Kiev we began sending troops back to their respective zones to reorganize the guards, because the loss of more than 6000 men would be felt in the coming days, especially since I had lost a significant portion of my most veteran troops in this action.
In less than an hour by train we arrived in Kiev, some of my men remained inside to continue to their destinations while others disembarked to resume their positions within the largest city of the kingdom.
Without wasting a second I went to the palace where the regent was, entering past the guards of House Habsburg and pushing through as they attempted to stop me, though it was only an attempt.
I saw the regent surrounded by figures unfamiliar to me, not members of the cabinet under his command.
''Wilhelm… from what I see you have been busy while the Russians were attacking'' I said as I walked toward him.
''Ah… our minister… I hope the defense of Ukraine's interests has been satisfactory'' Wilhelm said in Ukrainian.
''Why are you speaking to me in Ukrainian? We both speak German'' I said raising an eyebrow.
''We both speak Ukrainian, I see no reason not to… this way our guests can understand what is being said here'' the regent replied with a slight smile.
''Fine, I do not know who they are but I came here for something very specific… I have dead… and wounded… around 6000… I want to grant land to their direct families and to the wounded, so we need to decide quickly which areas will be assigned to the Germans'' I said, crossing my arms and refusing to switch languages fully.
''This is Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Volodymyr Vinnichenko and Mykola Mikhnovskyi… they are a group of Ukrainian nationalists with whom we are discussing what is necessary for Ukraine to rise as a country again… and indeed much of the German support was tied to land concessions for Germans'' the regent said in Ukrainian while glancing at his companions.
''Good… I just need your authorization to grant 5 hectares of land per family and begin dividing plots and drafting property documents to be delivered as soon as possible… and why exactly are all these people here?'' I said now speaking in Ukrainian.
''We were discussing that very matter and lands will be distributed that will be largely empty after the joint advance of the German and Austro Hungarian armies… when Italy entered the war and the front stalled many families had to evacuate and those regions became sparsely populated, so I believe they are ideal for German settlers, and this has already been agreed with the Ukrainian leaders who understand the emergency situation the country is in, so they will accept this without resistance'' the regent said, nodding.
''Good… what did you give them in return?'' I asked, staring at him.
''We were discussing establishing the Rada… calling elections in Ukraine as soon as possible to gain legitimacy from the…'' the regent began, but I cut him off immediately.
''NO… that is your idea… how can you think of calling elections in the middle of this chaos and with the risk of famine? You are handing politicians stones to build populism with… that is forbidden for now'' I said pointing at him.
''BUT'' the regent said rising from his chair.
''NO BUTS'' I shouted back stepping toward him ''I know you want to help the Ukrainian people but this stupidity will make Germany demand your removal and replace you with some obedient fool who will lick the Kaiser's boots and hand over whatever quotas he is asked just to stay in power so calm yourself I know you want to be elected by the people as king but do not be foolish it is useless if the Rada ends up filled with anti German figures so let me do my job and we will consider elections in the winter of 1916 does that sound reasonable'' I said staring directly at him.
The regent nodded and sat back down, rubbing his nose.
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