CHAPTER 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.