Note
from the Editor:
Bill
recalled in 1985 "during January 1945 the Russians made
a big push Westwards and there
was a likelihood of our camp being overrun so, in order to hold
Allied officers as hostages the Germans marched us out before
the Russians could reach us. At
the time I kept a record of our experiences on the march and
of what happened after the arrival of the Russians. This account
was
scribbled in difficult circumstances and I must emphasise that
this copy is exactly as I wrote it."
January
1945, "The Great March"
Excitement
began on Sunday,
January 21
with news of the Russian push which had started a few days previously
outside Warsaw and which we had not expected to gain momentum
so quickly; although the news was so good it alone would not
have raised our spirits to the extent which was caused by the
unending trek of weary civilians passing our camp from Sunday
onwards. Almost without exception they had their worldly goods
piled high on farm waggons drawn by tired horses through the
snowy roads and in the bitter cold of that week.
Throughout that week the refugee trail went on and life within
the wire took its accustomed course except that on Monday each
man received a full Red Cross parcel having been on half rations
since August. To offset this our bread ration from the Germans
was first halved and then on Thursday it ceased due, said our
captors, to the heavy demands made on local bakers by the huge
influx of refugees. Meanwhile of course there was great speculation
as to whether or not we would be moved, until on Thursday the
SBO [Senior British Officer] obtained an interview with the Camp
Commandant - he then stated that it was most unlikely that we
would have to evacuate. On the other hand the SBO instructed
us to make preliminary arrangements for a march, particularly
as to what food and equipment we should carry with us, he also
advised us to limit our packs to 20lbs per man.
Tension grew rapidly as the week progressed and on Saturday afternoon,
January
27,
it was known that the Russians had crossed the River Oder to
the South and were on the East bank not many miles from us. Opinion
was still that we would be left behind by the Germans but about
7.30pm a Fiesler Storch communications aircraft circled the camp,
dropped some coloured flares and landed in a field just across
the main road. Whether or not this had any significance we did
not know but at 9.45 the order was given to be ready to move
off within 20 mins, subsequently we learned that this order came
from High Command and was not the responsibility of the local
Commandant.
Naturally this caused a tremendous amount of activity, not panic,
among the 1100 or so inmates of the camp as, although some preparations
had been made, we were by no means in a fit state to undertake
a long march. In my room we were just about to play Bridge and
within five minutes the place was a shambles with gear of all
description littering the floor and tables on which it was
discarded as being of no further use. Our greatest problem was
food which formed the bulk of every Officer's pack and I think
my load was fairly representative - 2 blankets, shaving gear,
one change of socks and underwear with food consisting of dried
barley, raisins, a tin of meat, half a loaf, biscuits, cheese,
chocolate, tea and coffee. For actual wear I had my greatcoat,
RAF issue boots, uniform, pullover, golf jacket, woollen scarf
and a pair of long grey stockings into which I tucked my trousers.
We realised that the half hour notice was bluff and, after the
11 of us were more or less organised, we prepared a huge meal
from the food which we were unable to carry and sat down to enjoy
it. |