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KORNIL OFF

FAMOUS RUSSIAN GENERAL'S ESCAPE FROM CAPTIVITY <By Ivan Novikoft, in the "Wido World Magazine.") [Tho following story of how tho famous Russian general Korniloff, leador of the "Terriblo Division," was captured by the Austrians, and how lie escaped in an Austrian soldier's uniform, making his way tight across Hungary for a distanco of over throe hundred miles until he regained tho Russian lines, appears in the Juno number o£ die "Wide World Magazine." KoruiloJf is the hero of the Russian capture of. Stauislau and Halicz, and the ndvanco on the Iqmnica, involving the ' disorganisation of the enomy's armies in South-east-ern Galicia, and the capture of an .imnieuso number of prisoners and .guns, and other war material. Korni'Soli's ndvanco is at present checked . by flooded rivers, and a heavily reinforced enemy.] Tlie Forty-eightli Infantry Division- of tho Russian Army had long been dreaded by tho enemy. Their bravery and dash, their grim and almost desperate courage, had earned for them tho namo of tho "Terrible Division." Their leader was tho 'redoubtable General Korniloff, .■>; man of iron will and heroic courage. He was a worthy descendant of that other great Komiloff, whoso dying words, "Lord, bless Russia and ,tho Tsar, savo tho fleet and Sebastopol!" aro inscribed on his monument near tho Malakhoff Hill, where ho fell in the great assault of ISSS. A to his enemies wns KornilolT, but very gentlo where his own men were concerned, solicitous for their wants'and comforts. Though they wcro among tho bravest fighters in tho Kuseian Army, their leader never threw their lives away recklessly.. As for him. they believed him to bear a charmed life. ■ "Korniloff" was their war-cry, and they felt safe in his hands. Tho Russians wcro attacking in tho Carpathians in tho spring of 1915, and Korniloff's men, mowed down repeatedly by tho German and Austrian guns, which dofended tho ground yard by yard, came back to tho-charge again and again with a furious clan. The way of tho Russians was barred by a commanding emiuenco held by two divisions of tho enemy: From this height the fire had been devastating and unceasing, and f*o position seemed impregnable. l Formid- ■ able defences of barbed wire guarded all tho approaches, and mines and other murderous devices defied all their efforts to take tho stronghold. Kornilofi' deliberately set about breaking down the defences. Two regiments were assigned to tho task. Night by night they worked in as much secrecy as tho darkness afforded, pressing on under a withering fire, until at last the road was clear. Then they took tho height by a furious assault, and wero masters of the position that had galled them for so many months. Five thousand men had defeated twelto times their number. The Austrian general, with, hie staff, was taken prisoner, and when -he learned of tho numbers which had opposed his big army he broko down and wept with, rago and grief. "Korniloff is not a , ma.n," he said; "ho is an elemental force." The Russians were now masters of this- important strategical position. The town of Ivla lay in front of them, within reach of their guns, but it was strongly fortified; while in the neighbouring forests tho enemy was concentrating in great numbers. The fjjhting continued with unabated fury. ; Hard Pressed. In. April, 1915, the Austrians reinforced, and the Russian general and his division, in their new position, wero almost isolated, practically surrouadod by sixty thousand fresh enemy troops. Calm and self-pos-sessed. General Korniloff viewed the situation. "We are too feeble, to resist any longer," he. told his offiers: "we must attack." . T.his was Korniloff's method. Ho called his men together, and explained" how things stood. A small force must attack the Austrians and thus cover the retreat of the main body. Hβ called for volunteers, and from the serried ranks that presented themselves formed a small detachment pledged Ho mako the supreme dash. The manoeuvre surprised the enemy, as it was intended to do, but the advancing force was violently assailed by a triple , tire from artillery, rifles, and machine-guns. Steadily, they ploughed their way onwards till they were close, to the enemy's lin;e. Korniloff himself was wounded, and his strength was fast failing him. The Anstrians looked on with astonishment. Would these madmen never surrender? The ground was strewn with dead and wounded. At last a bullet brought down the indomitable general, and the onesided fight was over. When Korniloff came to himself again, ho found himself in an Austrian hospital, a prisoner of war. Subsequently he was interned at the chateau-of Esterhazy, at Eisenstadt in the Soprou Department, in Hungary. One Of tho Austrian guards was a Slovak and it is presumed (for- Korniloff didn't tell) that ho managed to secure for tho prisoner a private soldier's uniform, with forage cap and everything complete. Korniloff found that it fitted him fairly well. He dressed himself in it and shaved off his beard. For some time past he had practised to himself before a mirror his knowledge of the German language, which was fairly good, and its pronunciation with the soft Austrian accent. At nightfall, arrayed in hie disguise, he wont down into the courtyard and across into tho park, where, at a certain spot and hour, he had arranged to meet his Slovak friend. Hero lie. hung about near tlie gate- for eome'timc, talking to soldiers, emokiiig a cigar, and cursing in tho best military slang. Nobody suspected him, and at a moment when the sentinel's back was turned he slipped out. At first ho strolled along nonchalantly, hoping that if he had been observed tho others would think ho was only one of themsolves going off for a spree without leave. As sodn.Ofl he was out of sight, however, the general "put his best leg foremost" and mado the utmost ihasto he oould towards a figuro which he recognised to Iμ that of the 11111.11 who had Womif-ed to guide him towards Russia. They hnd provided themselves with a map and a compass, and had also accumulated a little store of money. Hut Russia was a long way off, and their plans for tho' future were somowhat vague. A Perilous Trail. All that night and most of the next day Korniloff and his unknown friend (tho gonoral confessed that he never knew ! the Dame of his benefactor), walked in au easterly direction. They slept for eoino hours in a lonely field, and then got on the move again. Here and there peasants helped them on their way; they were offered food and drink and a rest. Though they avoided small towns, they were making their way to Budapest, thinking that something might happen in that great' city to help them, anil that they could easily pass unchallenged where so many races intermingled. But before reaching tho great city on tho hanks of tho blue Danubo an unexpected and most unhappy incidont occurred. The plan of escape was almost entirely wrecked. "Wo had noticed that whereever wo went tho .gendarmes eyed us suspiciously," said the general. "In every village through which we. passed at every farm at which we culled for bito or sup, on every plain which wo cross&d, thore soemod to be eyes watching us. Soon our provisions becamo exhausted and wo began to suffer the Tilings of hunger. Ono day, after a {"iff,, hungry march, my Slovak guiderlic, faithful companion of the early nart of my sufferings-decided, since lie "was on the point of exhaustion, to ask for tood anri water at an isolated farm I warned him that it was dangerous, but hardly had tho words passed my lips than ho was gone. I saw him enter tho farm and waited anxiously for his return. But I waited in vain—waited for ton long hours! At last I comprehended what had happonod. I saw rho gendarmes 6nrround tho housa and heard the sound of gunshots. Flight, instant flight, was the only course open to me, and thus,' alone for tho remainder of my journey, I continued with all speed towards Budapest." On reaching tho Hungarian city, Goneral Korniloff found it, as he expected, lull of troops. Reinforcements yore

coining in to l>o dispatched to ti'o various fronts, while other men w-.to P" their way home on poriods of fiirloaahAmid all these soldiers nobody tjuk any notice of tbq disgnised Russian us his simple Austrian uniform. A Narrow Escape. One of his narrowest escapes happened in the little town of Klausonburg, a quiot place ordinarily, but now tho centro of great military activity, lio was walking through tho town, as it v-as tho best way of keeping to tho direct route. Suddenly, from behind him he heard a harsh voico cry in iurnian: "Hiilto!" . - - Looking round, he saw that it was ho himself who was being addressed. He halted; there was nothing else 10 c!o. "Why did you not stop and salute mo?" asked an offensive-looking jf.uns Austrian officer. KoruilofV clinked his heels together and saluted. "I did not see you, Berr Hauptmaun!" "Ah! you are blind, then? Who aro you, and where are you going?" "Johann Bach," said tho Russian,'affecting simplicity, "and I am going homo to my wife" "You will come with rao first, so that we can make a few inquiries about you." Disaster stared tho fugitive in tho face. His first impulse was to run, but he resisted it. To obey, however, would mean his immodiate discovery. "I beg vour pardon, gracious Horr Captain,"' ha eaid, as humbly as ho could, though inwardly cursing, "t beg you not to detain mo now, when I am so anxious to get to my dear wife." "An hour longer from your wifo won't hurt you," answered tho officer. "(Jomo with mo." 1 His tono was so utterly offensive that, almost instinctively, Korniloff made a gesture of defiance. Quickly tho officer called two men who wore passing. "Ta'ko this man to tho Kiraly barracks," ho ordered. "I will moot you there in, half an hour." The two soldiers saluted, placed themselves on cither side of Korniloff, and marched him off. Ho knew it was r.o good trying to escape, so ho thought ho would try friendliness. "Give mo at least a smok.e," ho said; and very willingly ono of the men stopped, gavo him a cigar,'and lighted it. 'They-asked him what ho had don?,- or not done, to bring on himself this disciplinary measure "Oil, it's only bocaueo 1 don't know tho way," said Korniloff. "Come and have a drink with me, comrades. Thero is no harm in that." One soldier looked at tho other, and they nodded—it was not far to fho barracks—and then turned into a small beer-garden, whero drinks wero ordered. They wero served by a comely young woman, who looked with interest at tho captive, for soldiers are not reticent in talking to tho opposite sex. Korniloff did not luiow how it came about, but presently his companions, who took a second glass of beer, began to feel tho effects in a way that ho would never have oxpocted. Korniloff left the table with'an, excuse to his comrades, .who paid little attention. Tho girl, who had been watching him, beckoned to him from tho side of the house, grasped, his arm, and led him to the yard. "Flee." she said, "across those fields. I will keep them in talk. I havo put something in their beer. Flee!" she repeated, and thrust a piece of bread and meat into his hand. Safe! Korniloff turned on his heel, and hastened away as quickly as he could. In a very short while tlie town of Klausenburg was miles behind him. He stopped two peasants and asked them where he was. They pointed out the directions of Russia and of Moldavia. "You're a Russian," said one of the peasants, epeaking in a dialect known in tho Bukowina. Korniloff nodded, waiting to see what the result might be, but his. confession evidently evoked sympathy. "See!" said tho man, taking him by the arm. "Follow yonder brook, cross the hill as straight as youi can, - and to-niffhf; you' , will find a shepherd's hut on tho right of the road at the bottom of the hill. Go there and ask for Mathias Melt'zer: ho will help you." He found Mathias, who covered tho Russian with a discoloured piece of sackcloth 'to make him look, like a shepherd, in case they met inquisitive strangers. They kept close to tho bed of a river' and a small forest, and, creeping forward stealthily, were by midday in sight of the Russian outposts—he was 6.ife. A few days later the general was able to send a trusty messenger to the shepherd, Mathias Meltzer, carrying a sum of money and a letter of thanks to tell him whom he had saved: * * * * The sequel to this stirrins story remains to bo told. The author read in the Hungarian ! pacers tho account, of a court-martial, held at Presburg, which hnd condemned to death by hanging "a Slovak soldier, named Francis Mornyak, proved to have been guilty of having assisted General Korniloff to esca.De from tho chateau of Esterhazy." The execution, of this obscure hero took' slaee immediately after the judgment.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19170724.2.25

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3144, 24 July 1917, Page 5

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,203

KORNIL OFF Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3144, 24 July 1917, Page 5

KORNIL OFF Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3144, 24 July 1917, Page 5

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