Page:Albert Beaumont - Heroic Story of the Czecho-Slovak Legions - 1919.djvu/16

 I am sorry to say it was a victory for the Austrians. I commanded a company of Ruthenians. I had imagined they were friends of the Russians. But I was wrong. They fought like demons against them, better than the Austrians. The engagement lasted from early morning till five p. m.

We had orders to attack at once, and we did. The Russians had trenches: we had none. My men attacked with the bayonet. The Russians fell back and we followed them up. It was a case of fighting from position to position. Towards evening both sides were pretty well tired. They rested by a sort of mutual consent. The engagements formed part of the first big battle that extended as far as Lublin. The Austrian Field-Marshal Dankl commanded our troops. The Russians were under General Ivanoff, who commanded the armies of the south-west. We had the advantage for a few days. We fought hard for three days till we got to the village of Travniki.

Then the sudden, crushing, reverse came. The Russians had only been playing with us. On the third day they made a mass attack, which simply overwhelmed us. It was the last I saw of fourfifths of my company of Ruthenian devils. It served them right. I had no pity for them, I had none for myself. Our broken army fell back. There were no longer any sections or companies. All was in wild confusion an disorder. We left huge quantities of rifles, machine guns, ammunition, and artillery. It was a helter-skelter flight for the next ten days. It did not stop till we got to the safe side of the River San.

My company was partly replenished. Reserves had been sent to the River San. I got orders to hold the head of the bridge. Sappers had prepared trenches for us. They were wretched little burrows, only 2ft deep. Such as they were we were told that we had strong positions. We should be able to hold them for three months. When the Russians came we did not hold them for three hours. Once their guns began to play on us it was all over. Nothing could stand that game! We crossed the bridge to the village of Kreszow. There we were supposed to make a big resistance. But the Russians were on our heels. Our last men had not yet left the bridge when the first Russians were already on it. They crowded over it, heedless of the danger. The bridge was well mined, and then I saw one of the most fearful sights of war-a whole bridge flying up in the air with countless human beings on it! I shut my eyes in the midst of the confusion. An electric spark sent off a dozen mines at a time. The ground shook and the sky was glaring red by daylight. Austrians and Russians, horses and guns, all went into the air.