By mid-July, the entire Russian Southwestern Front had completely collapsed, and the Germans, Austrians, Magyars, and even the Romagunya, Poles, and Ukrainians, who had been enslaved by the Russians, were advancing along the road towards the heart of Ukraine and the center of Russia without any hindrance. On the northern front, the Germans had already captured Minsk and turned their forces to Peterg, while the German-Austrian forces in the center also set out from Kiev and advanced towards Moscow.

There was nothing to stop them, except for the terrible roads and railways in Russia, which had been slowing down the advance of the German-Austrian army. They had to stop from time to time and wait for supplies from the rear to arrive before they could start moving.

On the southern front, the Austro-Hungarian army was marching towards the Dnieper. On the road, Austro-Hungarian tanks, armoured vehicles, cars, and even heavily armed bicycles poured into the Yekaterinslav and Dnieper river valleys, targeting the Donets region, an important industrial and mineral center of Russia.

On both sides of the road were groups of Russian prisoners, guarded by few German or Austrian soldiers, in columns, winding in the opposite direction to their homeland. On both sides of the road, the Ukrainian and Chinese Legions, carrying out auxiliary and logistical tasks, are sorting through mountains of loot: Russian artillery, horses, vehicles, machine guns, rifles and boxes of ammunition.

A truck carrying prisoners was loaded with 12 Russian generals, who sat on a bench with nonchalant expressions, not glancing at the soldiers they had been under their command on the side of the road.

No one cares about the fate of the Russians anymore.

Several small cars stopped in front of the truck, and an Austrian general got out of the car, he was very tall, and his eyes glanced sharply at the situation on the truck, and his already long face was stretched longer.

"Bastard, how can you do this to a general...... Oh, and 12 of them! The commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian Army on the Eastern Front, Admiral Eli Moore, looked angry, "How can you let the generals get in trucks, we have enough cars for the gentlemen." ”

The admiral drove his officers out of the cars and ordered them to give them up to the Russian generals first. The Russian generals, rubbing their aching legs, got out of the truck with a look of shame and gratitude on their faces, and got into the Austrians' cars.

They were sent to Avery Moore's headquarters.

Russian prisoners of war were driven into makeshift camps surrounded by barbed wire along the highways, where they awaited screening. As soon as they entered the prisoner of war camp, the tired Russian soldiers dispersed, either lying on the spot or sitting on the ground with their heads bowed. Their expressions were glazed, some of them were wounded, and they looked helplessly through the barbed wire.

At the Austro-Hungarian Front Command in Yekaterinoslav, General Eli-Moll received several captured Russian generals.

"Anton. Ivanovich. Lieutenant General Denikin, commander of the 8th Army ?! The admiral said to a tall, bald-headed Russian lieutenant general who looked tough on the outside.

"You don't need to humiliate me anymore, 8th Army...... There are no more. Denikin glared and said, "Russia is what it is because of the hateful Social Workers, and we have too many traitors!" ”

"But this war was started because of you, General." General Ellie-Moore turned and stood in front of the large map, "The Tsar is responsible for this, and of course, you will be punished accordingly. ”

"Why us?" Denikin said reluctantly.

"Nothing, because you're defeated." Avery Moore said lightly, his hand gesturing on the map, "If we are defeated, we will lose Galicia, Bohemia, Bukovina, Celmia, Transylvania, South Tyrol, Istria, Croatia, Slovenia, Dalmatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and so on, this is the agreement of the Entente, I am right, General!" ”

"What do you want to do?" Denikin shouted.

"What are you not doing? Our Emperor was not interested in the territory of the Russians, but the Turks had a strong desire to restore their former domination. ”

"What? You think, give Russia to the infidels! "The faces of the Russian generals are a little white, and the Orthodox people are about to be enslaved by the Ottomans again.

"Although there was a rift between the Holy See and the Orthodox Church, the Pope and the Grand Patriarch announced the expulsion of each other. However, the two Holy Sees have already been reconciled, and we all believe in the same God and the same Bible. Isn't it? "God, why can he watch his followers kill each other?" So, our benevolent majesty decided to spare the Russians. ”

Several Russian generals were visibly relieved, and from the tone of General Ellie-Moore, they could tell that the Austrians were not prepared to exterminate the Russians, but to leave room for them.

That's easy to do.

"What do you want us to do?" Denikin looked like a man with developed limbs, but he was by no means simple-minded, and he was keenly aware that the Austrians wanted to use them for things.

"I don't want you to do anything." General Avery Moore said, "We cannot watch God's believers be enslaved by heresy and forced to convert themselves. He took two steps in front of the map and placed his left hand on the Caucasus, "We can't deny the Ottomans access to this place now, there is no savior now, everything is on your own." ”

"Please be clear." General Kornovich said from the sidelines.

"Well, gentlemen, we are ready to put you back and release your soldiers and officers and return their equipment." General Avery Moore said slowly, and the Russian generals were so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths. "We are also ready to transport you to Rostov-on-Don, the Orthodox people of the Caucasus need your protection."

The Russians looked at each other, not believing that such a good thing falling from the sky must contain some conspiracy.

"If you have any conditions, just say it first, we can't betray the motherland." Denikin said.

"Oh, of course, you need to swear that you will never fight again with the German-Austrian army." General Avery Moore said, "I vouch with my honor that you will not oppose us again." There are no other conditions, and as believers of God, we support you in defending the just cause of the Caucasus. Of course, only in this area. ”

Several Russian generals discussed for a while, this matter was indeed unusual, there seemed to be some conspiracy in it, but it really did not see anything bad for the Russians, especially prisoners of war like them.

So, they agreed.

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