KORNILOFF.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12085, 14 August 1917, Page 8

KORNILOFF.

RUSSIA'S gUCCESSFUL LEADER. ONCE IN FOE'S HANDS. Held a prisoner of war by fhc* Austrian, General Korniloff, the" famous Russian leader, made his escape in disguise and travelled 300 miles through enemy country. To-day he is in command of the army which, by its successful offensive in Galicia, is setting a noble example to Nsw Russia. Reading like a page from a romance, the fall story of his adventures is told for the first* timo by Ivan Novikoff in the June issue of the " Wide World Magazine." Known as the " Terrible Division," the Twenty-eighth had long been noted for their dash and grim courage. Korniloff, their commander, it is stated, was a tiger to his enemies and a father to his men. His name was the regiment's war cry, and they felt safe in. his hands. In tho spring of 1915, when the Russians were attacking. Korniloff's men were ever foremost. The way of the Russians was barred by an apparently impregnable height which was held by two divisions. Korniloff'& men seized the height after a fierce fight, defeating twelve times their number. They held the height for a time, but heavy Austrian reinforcements were called up. The Twenty-eighth were almost surrounded by 60,000 fresh troops. " WE MUST ATTACK." "We are too feeble to any longer; vre must attack," said Korniloff. Volunteers were called for, and with Korniloff at their head they enQBgerl the Ausfcrians, while the remainder of the division escaped. Tho men fought nobly and held the surprised enemy for long enough to serve their purpose. Practically every man was wounded when Korniloff himself was hit and the fight ended. The few survivors were taken prisoner. " Dreary months of illness followed, and when Korniloff recovered he was taken as a prisoner of mark to AJie chateau of the Esterhazy at Eisenstadt. in Hungary. Determined to escape, Korniloff made friends with his guards, and among them found > a Slovak. This man sympathised with ihe Slav General, and agreed to help him. What part he played in Korniloff's escape has not been revealed, but one. day the General passed the guardroom door and saw a complete private soldiers uniform lying on the tabic. There was nobody in the room, w, slipping in, Korniloff hid the kit under hi.'-; coat. Two evenings later, having experimented with the borrowed uniform and found it fitted him, and having shaved off his moustache, he decided to make his escape. Seizing his opportunity when the. sentinel'of the gate had turned his lack, lie- slipped out. Strolling nonchalantly for a time, he soon broke into ;i run, and met his Slovak friend. They had provided themselves with a map -vwl a compass, and had accumulated a imall store of money. HAZARDOUS JOURNEY FACED. "Russia was 300 miles away, but the general and his unknown friend (he never knew his name) set off with a good heart.' Making towards Budapest, they avoided the towns, but their plan of escape was almost wrecked. "Wherever we went'the gendarmes eyed us suspiciously," said Korniloff. " One day after a long, hungry march mv Slovak guide decided to risk for food and water at an isolated farm. We were on the point of exhaustion, and though I tried to dissuade him ho went. I waited in vam for ten long hours for his return. Then I saw gendarmes surround the house, and heard shots fired. Flight, alone, was the only course open to me." On reaching Budapest, Korniloff found the city full of troops. Amid all these soldiers the disguised Russian in his Austrian uniform was unnoticed. Sitting in a &mall eatinghcMse, he overheard the conversation of a couple at an adjoining table, and learned that a prioe had been put ion his head. Buying a newspaper, he found a large advertisement containing an announcement to a similar effect. It included an excellent portrait of himself. But the general in the private's uniform passed undetected. He even made friends with an artilleryman who was bivouacking in/ the street. "I am rejoining my regiment after convalescence," said Korniloff. Tho pair exchanged confidences, and tho Austrian confessed that he was sick of the war, as were all his comrades. That night the Russian general and the Austrian private slept side by side In tho streets of Budapest. PRIVATIONS ENDURED. In the morning Korniloff set out on his tramp across Hungary. With his map and compass ho hopetf to steer a straight-line and do the journey in about a month. Day after day he tramped. Occasionally peasant's would look him up and down aiyl ask, "Osztrak?" ("Austrian?"), and he would nod his head. He slept in tho ;pen aii- at night, but was compelled to pay for everything he wanted to pat so that his small store of money dwindled. A day came when he got nothing to eat but some wild strawberries. A woman from whom he asked a piece of bread chased him away from her door, calling him "Verdammten Osztrak." Things looked black, but Korniloff knew he would reach safety in a few days if he could hold out. Ho had been walking for twenty days. Disaster nearly overtook him at Klausenberg, a centre of great military activity. He wa-s walking down the main street when a harsh German voice called " Halte." Korniloff stopped and a young Austrian officer asked, "Why did you not stop and salute meP" Despite Korniloff's protestations that he had not seen the officer and that he was " Johann Bach," who was hurrying home to his wife, tho officer called two soldiers and ordered his removal to the barracks. The general's ready wit came to the rescue. He told his guard that they were only taking him to tho barracks because he did not know the way, and suggested an adjournment to a beer garden. A comely girl waited upon them and looked with interest at the captive. The soldiers felt the effects of a second glass of beer in a remarkable manner, and Korniloff left the table. The. girl thrust a piece of bread tind meat into his hand and said, 08 Flee across those fields. I will keep shem in talk. I have put something in their beer." Kissing her hand, the general took her advice, and walking practically all night, left Klausenberg miles behind. SAFETY REACHED AT LAST. There seemed a new sympathy in the air next day, for Korniloff knew he was in Transylvania, and his heart had been gladdened by tho news of Rumania's entry into the war. Meeting two peasants, he confessed that he was a Russian. They directed him to the house of Mathiaa Meltzer, a shepherd, who guided him to the Russian outposts. Safo among his own people again after his tramp across tho enemy Empire, where he had been an outcast with a price on his head, Korniloff was received with joy. He sent a sum of money and a letter to the old shepherd. The heroism of the noble Slovak soldier who helped Korniloff' to escape reaped a sorry reward. For three months even his name was unknown. A paragraph in the Hungarian papers L

giving an account of a court-martial held at Presburg solved the riddle and provided a tragic sequel to the remarkable adventure. The court condemned to death by hanging " a Slovak soldier named Francis Mornyak, proved to have been guilty, of having assisted General Korniloff to escape from tho Chateau of Esterhazy." The execution of the obscure hero took place immediately