Tie up

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In the trench warfare of the First World War, tying up was a form of punishment that was imposed by the battalion commander for offenses such as disobedience to orders or “cowardice before the enemy”. The punishment provided for the convict to be tied up in a section of the trench for several hours and thus exposed to indirect weapons (ricochets from firearms, hand grenades, grenade launchers, etc.). This procedure was repeated up to five days in a row, especially at lunchtime near the food counter, which was often disturbed by enemy fire (e.g. four grenades between 12:00 and 14:00 in the same section of the food counter).

This form of punishment often ended fatally and was therefore mainly used as a means of psychological pressure to counter mutinies and similar manifestations of open refusal to give orders.

See also
A conflict-ridden get-together

In an entry in the diary of the officer’s deputy Hartinger on January 30, 1917, it reads as follows: “Today was great court day. A patrol consisting of 1 corporal and 2 men (listening post) refused to go in front of the obstacles at night and the corporal declared that he was the father of 7 children and that he was not risking his life recklessly because of a fad of the commandant. The man is tied up in the trench for two hours. It's boiling inside of me. The man is expected to have to get out of his secure shelter under all circumstances, while many officers, feeling their irreplaceability, cannot be moved around a castle to take a look at the position of their people. "

Corporal punishments, so-called “corporal punishments” , were still common in the kuk army during the First World War - they could be imposed “in the case of minor disciplinary offenses ” such as unclean dishes or the consumption of a spare portion. The physical punishment for such 'offenses' ranged from “tying up” to so-called “clasping in clasps” .

In February 1915 the Kaiserjäger Franz Huter noted in his diary the catastrophic effects that “tying up” could have for the soldiers in winter when the temperature was below zero and in the snow: “We always had to compete (...). Two Viennese who had eaten their reserve portions were tied up for two hours. As they were released, both fell to the ground. Their feet were frozen to death. A fortnight later I got the message from the field hospital that they had to remove their feet from both of them. "

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hugo Schmid: Handbook for NCOs . Ed .: Self-published by Hugo Schmid, Vienna, XVIII / 1, Kutschkergasse No. 4, 1916. Commission publisher LW Seidel & Sohn, Imperial and Royal Court Booksellers 1916, 1916, p. 283 ( svejkmuseum.cz [PDF]).