WORK IN THE ARMY 195 
get his revolver ready and keep an eye on the engineer. Assembling the 
orderlies, I impressed on them the need of loading the train as quickly, 
yet as quietly as possible. In spite of the darkness which had now fallen, 
we managed to place the wounded on board our train in twenty minutes. 
The entire staff was working with extraordinary speed and admirable 
coolness in spite of the very dangerous situation. The wounded men 
were carried to the train on stretchers and loaded into the cars by the 
orderlies, who were cheerfully assisted by the nurses, the latter not hesi- 
tating to lift even the heaviest loads. After the loading of the wounded 
had been finished, refugees were also taken aboard, women and children 
coming first. By order of the station master, all the railroad officials 
were taken on board the train, all arms at the station were collected, 
the telegraph apparatus was taken along, and lastly the troops who 
had guarded the station were placed on the train. After extinguishing 
the lights of the locomotive, as well as in carriages, we started back 
without sending any signals ahead. At a distance of several miles from 
Augustovo, as we emerged from the forest, we found an abandoned 
wagon blocking our path. The tender pushed the wagon off the track 
(as our locomotive was travelling backwards), but at this moment rifle 
fire was opened on the train from the edge of the forest a few score 
yards away. The flashes of the rifles showed us plainly that the firing 
was aimed at us, but fortunately no one was hurt and the train was 
able to make its way back to the station of N ovokamennaya.® 
Not always, however, did such Journeys end quite so successfully. 
Thus, on January 80, 1915, zemstvo Train No. 189 was captured 
by the Germans while taking on wounded at Verzbolovo.® 
Scope of Work. 
In June, 1915, fifty zemstvo trains were distributed as follows: 
on the northwestern front, twenty trains; on the southwestern, ten 
trains; on the Caucasian front, five trains: in Galicia. five trains: 
and ten trains in the interior. 
This distribution was frequently altered, as the armies moved to 
and fro. Trains for evacuations to the interior would be increased 
or reduced in number accordingly. During the first year the number 
of wounded and sick men transported may be expressed in the fol- 
lowing figures: the northwestern and southwestern front, 62.4 per 
cent; the Galician front, 7.5 per cent; the Caucasian front, 3 per 
? Izvestia (Bulletin), No. 10, pp. 40-42. 
® A new train was equipped to replace the captured one.