And now something different. War propaganda from the Austrian Hungarian Empire and a response by the good soldier Svejk.
Jaroslav Hasek the creator of Svejk was employed by the Russians as a propaganda writer.
Brave Driver Josef Bong
"The men of the Ambulance Corps transported the seriously wounded to carts prepared in a sheltered ravine. As soon as a cart was full they drove away with it to the first-aid post. When the Russians discovered these carts they began to shell them. The horse of driver Joseph Bong of the Imperial and Royal 3rd Army Service Squadron was killed by shrapnel. Bong moaned: 'My poor Dobbin, it's all over with you!' At that moment he was hit with a piece of shrapnel. In spite of this he unharnessed his horse and dragged the three-span cart back to the safe shelter. After that he returned for the harness of his slaughtered horse. The Russians went on shooting. 'Just go on shooting, you blasted devils! I'm not going to leave the harness here!', and he went on unfastening the harness from the horse muttering these words. At last he finished and dragged himself back to the cart with the harness. Here he had to listen to a thundering rebuke from the ambulance men for his long absence. The brave soldier excused himself: 'I did not want to abandon the harness. It's practically new. It would have been a pity, I thought. We don't have too many of these things.' He then went to the first-aid post and only then reported himself wounded. His captain later decorated his breast with the silver medal for bravery."
When Svejk had finished reading this and the sergeant-major had not yet returned he said to the Landwehr men in the guard-room: 'That's a very fine example of valor. If we go on doing that we shall have nothing but new harness in the army. But when I was in Prague I read in the Prague Official Gazette of an even finer example - a one-year volunteer, Dr. Josef Virona. He was in Galicia in the 7th battalion of the Field Rifles, and when it came to a bayonet charge he got a bullet in his head. When they took him away to the first-aid post he shouted at them that he didn't need to be bandaged for a slash like that. And he wanted to advance again immediately with his company, but a shell cut off his ankle. Again they were going to carry him away, but he began to hobble towards the battle line with a stick and defended himself with it against the enemy. But a new shell came flying at him and tore off the arm in which he held the stick. And so he transferred the stick to his other arm and shouted out that he'd never forgive them that. God knows what might have happened to him if, after a short time, a piece of shrapnel hadn't finally murdered him. Perhaps if they hadn't finished him off he too might have got the silver medal for bravery. When his head had been blown off and it was rolling down it still went on shouting: "Never mind if death is near! Do your job and never fear!"
'That's what they write in the newspapers,' said one of the men, 'but if the writer saw all this he'd be off his chump in an hour.'
The Good Soldier Svejk - 1922
Svejk's Misadventures in the Train |
