While he was in Erzurum, Pietschmann was witness to the Armenian Genocide carried out by the local government authorities. When the Germans and Austrians withdrew their forces from the front, Pietschmann was forced to leave Erzurum on 18 June 1915 by the German consul of Erzurum, Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter. Pietschmann was accompanied by Carl Schlimme, an assistant of Scheubner-Richter. They were told by the consul to take an Armenian family along and help them find refuge. In Bayburt, they were stopped by Turkish soldiers and ordered to surrender the Armenian family. When they refused, the caravan drivers were apprehended. Consequently, Pietschmann and Schlimme were forced to drive the caravans themselves. When Turkish soldiers demanded the Armenian family once more, Pietschmann and Schlimme confronted them with guns and thus secured a passage for themselves out of Bayburt, headed towards Erzincan. Upon arrival in Erzincan, the Armenian family was apprehended and stationed in a local prison under the pretext of concealing weapons in their belongings. According to Schlimme, this was a false accusation since he had searched their belongings for any sort of weapon himself.