7-March-1916
I had no idea what the hell had happened, but ever since the Tsar abdicated everything had been going remarkably well for me. Recently the Ukrainian security forces had continued their steady expansion, reaching 150000 men. Normally that would have put enormous pressure on me to control and train such numbers, but the government had sent several Fahnenjunkers, hundreds of young Junker nobles who were exactly what I needed to manage everything. Austria-Hungary had done the same.
The only problem was that Paul von Hindenburg had effectively taken control of the German government, reducing the Kaiser authority in favor of the military rule of the OHL led by Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, sidelining the chancellor and bypassing the Reichstag, governing with full powers.
Almost at the same time, the Hindenburg Program of total mobilization was implemented, cutting off my flow of recruits from Germany entirely, as it was decreed that everyone from 17 years onward had to serve in key industries for the Empire. That stripped me of my main source of manpower, leaving only Austria-Hungary, which was hardly reliable, as they could demand the return of their trained men at any moment.
Still, there was the possibility that they would prefer to leave them here, avoiding the need to deploy hundreds of thousands to perform work we were already handling efficiently.
Even so, I had gathered nearly 150.000 men who would remain in the Kingdom of Ukraine to defend its sovereignty. The Russian threat had diminished significantly, and Abteilung IIIb now operated with ease, securing agents who fed us information about the Russian Provisional Government. We knew more about them than ever.
That allowed us to relax many security measures, focusing instead on maintaining stability and calming tensions. Several revolts had begun due to rationing, but for now they remained under control because the population was completely disarmed. Still, the Tsar's abdication had emboldened them, making them believe they could replicate something similar here.
There is a difference between a soldier firing on his own people and a German shooting a rebel. The latter could turn him into a symbol instead of a problem. That was why, in many cases, a few warning shots into the air were enough to disperse crowds, avoiding the need to open real fire. It was something Berlin had ordered, to prevent the growth of uprisings as much as possible, but without making it a habitual practice.
Distributing the men across villages and logistical nodes in my control zones, we began organizing all of Ukraine, preparing everything for planting, delegating to officers in each city and settlement the plans they had to execute.
These were plans prepared during the winter, designed to adapt to terrain and local conditions.
Even so, there were regions where Ukrainian nobles still held strong influence and control was not complete.
''Good… press the throttle and just move straight, keep a steady direction'' I said, pointing to the German farmer sitting on the tractor, who looked confused.
''Which one is the throttle'' he asked nervously, glancing around without knowing what to do.
''Were you paying attention to what I said, to the right man… yes… that one, press it with your foot'' I said, pointing at the accelerator.
The farmer finally pressed it, gripping the handles firmly as the tractor moved forward in a straight line, the plow discs cutting through the top layer of soil, followed by a second section of blades and a third that fully turned the earth over.
''That is perfect… keep it like that'' I said, walking alongside, watching how stable it was and how it left behind dark soil ready for sowing.
''Come on, come on… you too'' Friedrich shouted, signaling the others, who began accelerating as well.
''Good… everything seems to be going well…'' I said, watching as five tractors worked in unison, rapidly turning the soil and preparing the perfect depth for oats.
''Do we send the seeders already'' Friedrich asked beside me, arms crossed.
''Yes… there are barely any stones, this is ideal terrain, send the seeders immediately, while the others keep working, have the two tractors with seeders start planting oats right now'' I said without taking my eyes off the field.
''At your orders sir'' Friedrich said. ''You heard him, load the seeders with seeds and begin immediately'' he shouted to a group of German farmers.
They ran to the truck, carried several heavy sacks, opened them, and loaded the seeders.
The tractors started, and once the engines roared to life, they moved forward as the internal mechanism scattered oat seeds widely, which were then covered by the chains dragged behind, burying them into the soil.
I stood there watching, satisfied, as a group of twenty men did the work that would normally take hundreds, finishing in just a few hours.
At that moment there were already more than 400 tractors distributed across German communities in Ukraine, a significant number but still far from the thousands we needed, though in other areas there was abundant Ukrainian labor.
Leaving that zone, dominated by German settlers, I moved on horseback to another, where the work remained manual, although we had purchased Romanian and Bulgarian horses with part of the funds received.
They were used as draft animals, as there was a shortage, many Ukrainian horses had been requisitioned under the general mobilization decreed by the regent, which gave me authority to mobilize men from 17 and women from 20 for manual labor.
Seeds had been distributed, betting on multiple crops to maximize the use of the land.
The problem was food.
Even though rationing had prevented collapse, many were starving, working on the brink, some in better condition than others, but most could not endure long working days.
''This is going to be a serious problem'' I said, watching the Ukrainians working the fields with the help of horses.
''They are… very thin… they eat the bare minimum to avoid dying… damn it, one of them collapsed'' said Friedrich as he walked toward a man who had fallen.
I approached, placed my fingers on his neck to check his pulse while feeling his breathing with the other hand.
''Just a fainting… they are not in condition for intensive manual labor'' I said, shaking my head.
''So what do we do, request a tractor or what'' Friedrich asked.
''Nothing… let him rest, move him aside and have the others continue working… we do not have the resources to increase rations, we barely have enough until the end of April'' I said, clenching my jaw.
I did not like it, but it was the only option.
The only way to meet German quotas was to mobilize the entire civilian population, and that meant working with people who were hungry, exhausted, and at their limit.
The result was obvious.
Work progressed, but far below what it should have been.
''Friedrich… take some men, go to the nearby forest, try to hunt something… if you find anything bring it immediately… this must be happening across the entire region, but we cannot strip the forests either'' I said, lowering my head.
''At your orders'' he replied, taking his rifle and heading into the woods.
We had managed to reach March with food, but now the problem was different… no one was in condition for hard labor… and it was not as if I could put my own men to work either. The Russian prisoners were already mobilized doing the same, but they required heavy supervision, and the Ukrainians even more so, as they would not hesitate to eat the seeds if left unwatched.
It had become common to see someone collapse in the fields, and all that could be done was move them aside to avoid accidents and let them rest as much as possible.
It took nearly the entire day for thousands of Ukrainians to do the work that several tractors could have completed, but in the end entire fields had been planted with potatoes, and in others legumes had been sown for a quick harvest before planting something else once nitrogen had been fixed in the soil.
By sunset, as most returned to the kitchens to receive their second ration of the day, fortunately Friedrich had returned after killing a male boar and hunting several birds with his men.
The meat was quickly processed to make the meal more substantial, saving some for the next day, and I watched the expressions of hungry Ukrainians as they received food.
While that was happening, I noticed a group of men watching us from a distance on horseback.
When people began eating, that group approached, and we went on alert, hands moving toward our weapons.
''When you finish, get out of here, these lands are ours'' one of the riders said.
''Would you like a piece of meat as well'' I replied sarcastically, looking at the rider with a saber at his belt.
''None of your concern, German, these lands belong to us'' another Ukrainian said, showing a document.
When I extended my hand to take it, he pulled it away and raised it above his head.
''The lands were expropriated by order of His Majesty's government, the previous owner was a Russian noble who had everything seized'' I said firmly without taking my eyes off them.
''The Russian noble sold us his lands before leaving, so the expropriation never took place since the condition set by the government was not met… therefore these lands are ours, as they have not been legitimately taken by the German government'' the Ukrainian leader replied.
''Let me guess… and the only witness to that sale is the Russian noble who is now in Russia'' I said, tilting my head.
''Think whatever you want, German… it does not change that this is ours'' another one said.
''And you waited until we plowed and planted… what a coincidence'' I said, shaking my head.
''It is not our problem that you did not verify what you were working on'' the leader replied, showing the document again.
''Listen… I do not have time for games… any document issued by the government would not be in Cyrillic, it would be in German or at least in Latinized Ukrainian… so it is obvious that is not official… now leave before I drag you away and put you to work'' I said, turning my back to them and focusing on the food distribution.
''We are not joking, German… these lands were ours when the Russian noble ruled, they were given to us to ensure the peasants did not get out of control'' one of them said.
''That might work on any idiot who does not know what happened here… but I was the one who expropriated these lands and ensured they passed under our control… so arrest these swindlers'' I said, looking at my men.
My soldiers raised their weapons and aimed at the riders when they heard my order in German. The Ukrainians were more numerous, but we had firearms, not just sabers.
I only caught an insult before the riders spurred their horses and tried to flee.
Immediately the sound of submachine guns echoed as they opened fire on the group.
I watched as several fell from their horses while the animals scattered in all directions.
''Damn scum…'' I muttered while ordering the bodies to be recovered and the survivors to be hanged.
They appeared to be Cossacks… and the bastards had presented a document claiming ownership of those lands.
I did not know if it was truly false or had been issued under the Russian administration, though I doubted a noble would grant land simply for security services.
But that no longer mattered.
We were not going to allow anyone to take a field that had already been planted, even if they tried to back it with papers.
I soon returned to my office, where I was informed that the same situation was repeating in other areas.
Cossacks claiming land… always waiting until it had already been worked and sown before appearing.
It was clearly a maneuver to seize land ready for harvest.
I had personally inspected those lands to prevent exactly this, so their intentions were obvious.
Without wasting time I issued clear orders.
Anyone claiming ownership over cultivated land was to be arrested and hanged for document forgery.
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