Were any of the Central Powers' POWs who were released by Russia in 1918 returned to combat elsewhere?

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Sid Guttridge
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Were any of the Central Powers' POWs who were released by Russia in 1918 returned to combat elsewhere?

#1

Post by Sid Guttridge » 15 Oct 2019, 12:21

Tens of thousands of Germans and some two million Austro-Hungarian POWs were theoretically released by the Russians in mid 1918.

Did any return to action elsewhere before the end of the war?

Cheers,

Sid.

The Ibis
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Re: Were any of the Central Powers' POWs who were released by Russia in 1918 returned to combat elsewhere?

#2

Post by The Ibis » 21 Oct 2019, 19:16

Hi Sid,

There were at least half a million AH prisoners returned from Russia, but my understanding is that the majority were used to replace Russian prisoners in labor roles. The AH treatment of the returning prisoners was poorly handled and created problems. It was believed that it would take months before the returned prisoners would be ready for combat duty. I'm not sure whether they were sent to combat in any significant numbers.

The best sources I'm aware of for this are Watson's Ring of Steel and the final volume of Austria-Hungary's Last War, 1914-1918. The latter, translated by Stan Hanna, is online.
"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided." - Casey Stengel


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