Part II:
Gunther spent the next ten years on the
frontiers of Poland and Croatia, Prinz Eugen's
army participating in a number of battles during
that time and excelling as both a non-commssioned
officer and "swordsman".
In 1721, a seasoned veteran at the age of 29,
Gunther led his troops during the Great Siege Of
Pressburg; his orders, to assault the walls of
the huge granite fortress and engage the enemy
on the ramparts.
The regiment tore over the open fields and
though somewhat attrited by musket and small
bore cannons atop the wall began climbing
the grapple-equipped ropes issued the day prior
to all line units.
With a single arm, Gunther was unable to make
the climb and soon found himself the only man
on terra firma. 'Twas no matter he thought,
once the fight had ended, the main gates would
be opened and he could rejoin with his fellow
comrades.
Unfortunately for Gunther, a regiment of Polish
Uhlan cavalry had broken out from the fort at a gate
on the Northern side which was not fronted by
the Austrians. Once again, poor Gunther found
himself alone on the field of battle. Undaunted,
Gunther raised his sabre and ran towards the Uhlans.
Bemused and with the entire Austrian army on the
other side of the walls, a Uhlan cavalryman
took up Gunther's challenge and attempted to
impale him when his horse bucked at the last second
and his aim off, his lance tore into Gunther's
left leg, taking it clean off. Gunther fell to the
ground seeming mortally wounded to the cavalryman
and the Uhlans reared about and went back into the fort to
meet their fate.
Later, awakening at a field hospital tent, Gunther
found himself now with only one arm and one leg left
to him. Again, after months of recuperation in Vienna,
and now the center of much adulation in the Austrian
Army, Gunther entreated his superiors and again was
granted the right to serve in the ranks, the loss
of two limbs notwithstanding.
As marching was now out of the question, it was
opined that perhaps Gunther could be strapped to the
saddle of a cavalry horse, thereby guaranteeing
his staying atop it during a charge; and with his
single arm, he could still wield a sword.
Thus, Gunther became a cavalryman of the 3rd Regimental
Horse later that year. Unpleased at the sight of a
mere wooden peg serving as his left leg, Gunther
chopped the barrel of a musket down and took the
now-shortened gun to the regimental armorer where
it was affixed in place of the peg, the bore facing
downward and plugged with cork so as to keep the
barrel from fouling in dirt and mud.
After months of practice, Gunther was able to
lift the "leg" and face the barrel forward, hitting
his target every so often and eliciting howls of
laughter from his comrades.
Prinz Eugen happened to witness this display one
day and noting the shortened musket bore an alarming
resemblence to a newly implemented "carabine",a very
short musket developed by the French, decided
then and there to establish a regiment of "carabiners"
with Gunther as its commanding officer.
Gunther took to his new role with elan and his
newly formed regiment was the envy of cavalrymen
everywhere.
In 1722, assigned to General Christoph Luther,
Gunther again found himself in combat against the
Poles. Luther's army had acquitted itself admirably
in the taking of Lwow a month earlier, and as the
regiment marched back to Warsaw for refitting and
the recruitment of soldiery to fill its thinned
ranks, it was attacked by a large force of Polish
line infantry, horse artillery and cavalry.
The Polish artillery was situated atop a hill
overlooking a small valley the Austrian troops
were marching through and was spotted unfortunately
enough, only when it was within "cannister shot"
range of the Austrian column.
Men, and shreds of men littered the ground. Gunther
had never seen such carnage to date, veteran campaigner
though he was. Knowing it was imperative that the
enemy batteries be taken out, he immediately called
for his men to wheel right and charge up the hill
directly at the cannons.
The Poles, having just fired, worked frantically
to reload the cannons, their heads on a swivel
as they watched the Austrian carabiners race
towards them. Swabbed, powdered and cannisters
jammed in the barrel, the cannons were lit
and ready. Gunther's carabiners a mere 70 yards
away.
A cone of musket balls spewed forth from the
flame and smoke. Fortunately for Gunther, the
gun facing him misfired due to a faulty length
of fuse. Gunther raised his left leg, and steady
as a rock fired it into the guts of a Polish
cannoneer, roaring with a maniacal glee as
he flew forward on his mare.
His hilarity was short-lived however, as it was
mere moments later that the earlier "misfired"
cannon, re-fused, erupted and sent a hail of
balls into Gunther, taking off his last arm,
his remaining leg and indeed, the musket leg
as well. All that remained of Gunther was a
torso and head when he was later found among
the bodies littering the field.
Gunther was at a loss now and in a bit of a
quandary as to how he could manage to continue
to serve his King. His mind, still bright, and
full of ideas, he approached his General with
the idea of commanding a field gun. "Why sir,
'twould be of no great challenge to hold the
torch 'twix my remaining teeth and thereby
set off the gun!".
The regimental recruiter acquiesced to this
plea and assigned him to number 1 battery of
the divisional artillery, where Gunther was
tasked with command of an 18 pound demi-cannon.
While Gunther longed to be assigned to a
horse-drawn 12 pounder which given its relative
lightness and mobility could be moved about a
battlefield, it was decided that given the fact
he was now limbless, a stationary cannon would
be a better choice.
Thus it was that in 1723, Gunther sealed his fate
and would soon become legend.
When King Leopold had decided that "The Polish
Situation" as he called it, must be dealt with,
he declared war and began his attempt to expand
the Austrian Empire Eastward. What he had not
expected was for the Russians to immediately
withdraw from a carefully brokered peace treaty
of some years previous and to side with the Poles.
This no doubt brought about by their fright of
the Austrian Empire becoming their new neighbors;
the Poles having been a buffer zone in the decades
immediately preceeding.
Moldova at the far Southeaster reaches of the
Austrian Empire became a staging area of sorts
for the Russian Army as they prepared to attack
Austria from its relatively soft underbelly.
Gunther was by now stationed in Transylvania
as part of a thin Austrian defensive belt
including Croatia and Serbia. Specifically,
he was crewing his 18 pound demi-cannon when
the first Russian infantry swarmed through the
thick fog of an April morning and formed a
three-sided wall of death and destruction around
the Austrian positions.
The veteran Austrian infantry and cannon wrought
great carnage upon the Russians, but fueled with
no doubt great quantities of vodka and the furious
exhortations of their officers, the Russians tore
into the Austrian ranks.
Gunther, adeptly lighting off shot after shot
with the torch firmly clenched between his teeth,
watched in fascination as the Russians continued
their assault. All about him, the world became a
bit quieter, as gun by gun, the Austrian cannons
ran out of ammunition. His was the last gun firing.
Then, horror of horrors he came to the realization
that his gun had finally run out of 18 pound iron
balls.
There was only one thing to do, he thought. He
quickly rallied the remainder of his crew about him,
insisting that they had only one recourse. His comrades,
horrified at what he proposed all shook their heads
as one and cried "No!". But, Gunther was adamant,
and as senior officer of the gun crew ordered them
to follow his instructions.
Years later, Meyer Grunhosser, the sole survivor
of the battery recalled:
"I picked Gunther's head and torso up and loaded him
into the gun, face outward per his orders. As he
bade us goodbye and wished us luck, his last words
were muffled as the loader stuffed him down the
barrel."
Moments later, Gunther was blown into the ranks
of the Russians, taking out four of them with the
mass of his weight and the shards of splintered
bone. A Russian, captured after the battle later
recounted seeing only a head laying on the battlefield
by his position saying "My fight has not yet ended!"
but this was given short shrift by those to whom he
told the tale. Still, others, knowing of Gunther and
his exploits were left to wonder....
And thus ends the tale of Gunther Schreck.
Regards, Oddball
