“Ah!” exclaimed the War Minister. “Two months ago I might have saved the situation myself, if I had only been here then!”
We then discussed the purpose of my journey. I asked for a transfer to a more active part of the front and for a certificate that the Battalion was to be run without committees. This certificate I obtained from the War Minister without delay, and I still have it in my possession. He also agreed to my first request and promised to look into the matter and issue orders for my transfer.
Kerensky was silent during the conversation. He stood like a ghost, the symbol of once mighty Russia. Four months before he was the idol of the nation. Now almost all had turned against him. As I looked at him I felt I was in the presence of that immense tragedy which was rending my country into fragments. Something seemed to clutch my throat and shake me. I wanted to cry, to sob. My heart dripped blood for Mother Russia. What would I not have done to avert that impending catastrophe? How many deaths would I not have died at that moment?
Here was my country drifting towards an abyss. I could see it sliding down, down, down. … And here were the heads of the Government powerless, helpless, clinging hopelessly to the doomed ship, despairing of salvation, abandoned, forlorn, stricken. …
“God only knows the future—shall we ever meet again?” I asked the two men in a stifled voice, as I bade them farewell.
Kerensky, livid, motionless, answered in a hoarse whisper:
“Hardly.”
Part IV
Terror
XVI
The Triumph of Bolshevism
I returned to the front. The trains were frightfully crowded, but fortunately I found accommodation in a first-class compartment. At Molodechno I reported to General Valuyev, Commander of the Tenth Army, and lunched with the staff. The General was painfully surprised to learn of the punishment I had received at the hands of the soldiers.
“Did they really strike you?” he asked incredulously, as if he found it hard to imagine the soldiers maltreating Yashka.
“Yes, General, they did,” I answered.
“But why?”
I told him of the German I had wounded as he came over with several comrades.
“God, what has become of my once glorious army!” he cried out.
As I related to him the remaining phases of the episode, he punctuated my story with exclamations of surprise.
At the end of the meal General Valuyev informed me that I had been promoted to the rank of Captain. He pinned an extra star on my epaulets and congratulated me.
I was provided with a car and driven to Corps Headquarters, where I reported to my Commanding General. He and the officers of the Corps Staff were anxious to know of the latest developments in the rear. I told them the impression made upon me by Kerensky and Verkhovsky two days before.
“Their appearance bears witness to the fact that all is lost,” I said.
“And how about the transfer?” the General asked. “The Battalion is waiting for you to come and take it to a more sympathetic sector.”
I answered that orders would soon arrive for the transfer, and showed the certificate authorizing me to command without a committee. The General was glad for my sake.
Meanwhile, my girls learned of my arrival. They formed ranks, desiring to give me a cheerful welcome. My presence seemed to put heart into them. After thanking them for their welcome, I went with them to mess. It was my custom to eat the same food as the girls. Only I seldom ate with them. Before eating, I usually supervised the mess, satisfying myself that there was plenty of food and that all was in good order. I knew from experience that there is nothing like food for keeping up a soldier’s heart.
Was it my promotion that was the cause of a happy mood, or my return to the girls, to whom I had grown deeply attached? I don’t know. But after dinner it occurred to me that it would be the right thing to let the girls have some fun. So I suggested a game, and my soldiers took up the idea with delight. As the game proceeded, many men gathered round the circle in which it was going on. They watched longingly, clearly desirous to play too, but not daring to join in for fear lest I should order the girls away. It gave me pleasure to observe how these grown-up children longed to take part in the sports. But I pretended not to notice it.
Finally they sent several delegates to express their desire to me.
“Captain,” the men said bashfully, “we want to speak to you.”
“All right, speak out,” I answered, “only don’t address me as an officer. Call me plain Yashka or Bochkareva.”
“May we be allowed to take part in the game?” they asked, encouraged by my words.
“Yes, but only on condition that you do not molest my girls and consider them as fellow-soldiers only,” I declared.
The men swore that they would behave, and the girls were not at all displeased at the new arrangement. They played for two or three hours, and the men kept their pledge. When the game ended they left with quite a different feeling towards me. It was a feeling of respect and even love, instead of their former one of hostility.
The Battalion remained in the reserve billets for several days. There developed, as a result of that game, a new attitude on the part of many soldiers toward us women. Companies of them would come over and join the Battalion in sports or singing and various entertainments.
The expected order for a transfer did not come promptly. Meanwhile, the time arrived to relieve the Corps in the trenches. I decided that we had had enough rest, and upon our arrival at the fighting line I put my Battalion on
