Wednesday 22 April 2015

Poem ~ The Torture of Panasuk - Thursday, 22 April 1915


Impression Sketch of Russian Scout, Panasuk and his nurse - By Jamie Mann. An original images can be seen at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Russian-Scout-German-Torture-Panasuk/dp/B000S8DL5A

With Russian determination along the Eastern
Front, they fought the enemy armies
About Styri - While the enemy took a foothold
At Arawzik - Russia counter attacked,
To recapture the position and taking prisoners.

Another capture of guns and the enemy forces
Happened about Rozankrane - with use
Of bayonet charge and a mined German trench.
About Memel, Russians retook Andrejeov,
To find many of their own Cossack men tortured.

Four Russian men had been bayoneted to death
One had been hacked about from
The head to foot while 34 other wounded Russians
Suffered various tortures - among
The rescued told of a young Russian at Ilasoga.

A Russian air Scout by the name of Panasuk,
Had been among those captured by
Germans - ten Germans had said to be involved,
Who thought the Russian, in his role
Of scout, would prove useful as a spy for them.

About the Russian Scout they gathered soon
To start to attempt to persuade
Panasuk to become a German agent  - to gain
Information from his Russian
Army - indignant Panasuk completely refused.

One of the German Officers grabbed a pair
Of wire cutting shears, to cut
Of part of Panasuk's earlobe -then said to him
'Will that make you speak?'
The young Russian Scout gave no reply.

Another Officer threw a fist at Panasuk's
Nose to break the cartilage -
The other officer made another cut to his ear -
In this operation of torture
They threw blows to his mouth to gain silence.

With increasing agonising pain Panasuk
Suffered as they cut more
From his ears  - after numbers of hours,
When they could not gain
Any speech, they sent him to confinement.

Waiting until darkness, Panasuk found
A lapse in his German
Jailers and in the darkness he escaped.
In safety of recovery,
Panasuk was to find himself interviewed.

Various papers told his story of torture,
To include a Petrograd
Correspondent of London Evening News.
His nurse sat with him
To show the vicious wounds to Panasuk.

The story came to some conclusion
To tell how Panasuk,
Was to meet the Grand Duke Nicholas,
Who decorated him,
For his bravery in stand against an enemy.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. A Russian Hero - Victim of German Officers Torture. The Sun, [online] 22 Apr. P.7. Col.4. Available at: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CHP19150422.2.44.2 [Accessed: 1 April 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 22 April 2015).



#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary #worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1Russia

No comments:

Post a Comment