Page:The Czechoslovak Review, vol3, 1919.djvu/361

 life, only the artillery was placing one shell next to the other on the railroad track. Now I saw a light: the Russians to the left of us broke through, debouching to the left to cut us off, and their artillery was putting up a barrage so that we could not retreat. In the meantime the telephone rang and as I picked up the instrument, I received orders to retreat toward the village of N. and leave in the trenches only a few sentinels. As I was listening to this order, I realized that my chance had at last come. I made no answer, dropped the instrument, cut the wire and wrote a report stating that the telephone wires were broken and that I would hold my position to the last breath. I sent a man with this message to the regimental headquarters and told everybody that an attack was about to be launched by the Russians and that everyone should watch carefully the opposite lines.



A half hour passed thus, the boys expecting the worst, and then sudenly from the left a soldier comes running and reports in a scared voice that the sector to the left of us is empty and that there are Russians in the woods. I heaved a long sigh and ordered my men to pick up their effects and follow me. Bombardment of the railroad track had almost ceased, as we passed through the young trees back of us and entered the high forest. And then suddenly we saw ahead of us two lines of Russian soldiers with rifles held in position, standing motionless like a wall. My men threw away their guns, gathered around me, fell on the ground and then looked up to me to get them out of this with their lives safe. I must have loked like a hen surrounded by a flock of chicks. I signaled that I surrendered and a Russian officer approached; I gave him my sword, my men got up and we started our march into Russia accompanied by four soldiers who could not hide their pleasure that they were given the easy assignment of watching the prisoners. On the road we had to pick up a number of wounded Russians and carry them toward the rear of the Russian position. We crossed the river San, ascended the high right bank and sat down for a little rest.

We looked back toward the west, where our home was and where our mothers no doubt were thinking of us; they would have been glad to know that we were safe in captivity. At least my Germans and Italians had no intention of fighting any more. But as for myself, my first thought was to get back into the war, this time on the right side. And in about six months I was back.