"Hell but is this one heavy." "He has always crammed himself full." -- were the two voices I heard as I awoke. I felt as if I existed merely out of pieces and fragments which someone had thrown together onto a stretcher. It took awhile before I could force my badly confused brain to perceive that I was still alive and laying on a stretcher being lugged by two Sanitätlern." I ventured hardly a breath and kept myself from saying anything or from otherwise stirring, and again soon sank into a stupor that lasted the entire night. It was equal to a condition somewhere between being awake and asleep. I am merely able to remember a room with fine shavings of wood spread out on the floor whose furniture and accommodations had been built from a few boards and crates. There was always a steady stream of new and freshly wounded soldiers flowing in. The Assistant Doktor was presently nearing completion of his third night and day of work and had to drink hot black coffee in order to keep himself awake. The "Sanitätlern" were also fatigued from lack of sleep, had black-blue rings around their eyes, and went for that reason with bent backs.

Towards morning our Divisional Commander, Prince Schönburg, drove by in his automobile. He stopped at the Aid Station and asked various wounded how it stood. One gave him the answer: "Your grace, I beg to report that you can now stick your Jägerbigade on your hat. The Jäger are gone." As the Prince saw me, he said: "You too!"--He was acquainted with me here through my guitar playing when we were on the Djnestr. He had often wanted to hear it along with our singing.

The freshly arriving wounded related how our last reserves of all, namely the Pioniere and the Telegraphisten, had also already been inserted into the line. The Kompagnie of "Sanitätsmannschaften" had also been so drained ad exhausted that some of them may have dropped to the ground. I was then loaded onto a wagon and lead to Volce-Traga, where we were loaded into a train, and proceeded to the Hospital. - - -

Those were three days during the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo? He who believes that I have written exaggerations should ask for himself of the survivors who took part in this turmoil. I would gladly be prepared to give him numerous addresses of such men.--Once, while I contemplated my head in the mirror during my spare time in the hospital, I found numerous white hairs, which I believe I obtained on that one last day "down below." *

POSTSCRIPT: Dr. Pölzer survived the war to become a successful singer and appeared many times at the Bavarian State Opera. [[no, alas it turns out he was killed later -- the Dr. Pölzer mentioned as a singer was the author's brother]]