Читать книгу Empire on fire. First year of war 1914 - Alexey Glazyrin - Страница 6

The first days of study seemed to Alexei vain and stupid.

The future junior commanders of the army were taught the basics of military science in accordance with the realities of modern warfare: small arms, tactics, trenches, machine guns, topography, and communications services.

They also studied military regulations, the foundations of army law and administrative law, and underwent combat training and field training.

The usual daily routine at the ensign school was as follows:

at 6 in the morning the rise, given by a trumpeter or a bugler;

from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. time for putting oneself in order, examination and morning prayer;

at 7 o’clock morning tea;

from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. scheduled classes;

at 12 o’clock breakfast;

from 12.30 to 16.30 drill on schedule;

at 16.30 lunch;

from 17 to 18.30 personal time;

from 6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. preparation of assignments and lectures given by the next day;

at 20.00 evening tea;

at 20.30 the evening summons and roll call;

at 21.00 evening dawn and lights out.

No classes were held on Sundays and during Orthodox holidays; these days, cadets from ensign schools could get fired in the city.

The school was located in the barracks of the 5th grenadier Kiev regiment. Nearby, in the barracks of the 6th Grenadier Tauride Regiment, stood the 56th and 55th reserve battalions, which replenished the Grenadier Corps.

The barracks were old, still Catherine’s times. But there was no tightness. There were bedrooms, separate classes for classes. On the basement floor there was a dining room, kitchen, warehouses and a restroom.

The heating was an “Amos stove”. In the basement were four huge stoves. From them, pipes were laid in the walls along which hot air came from these stoves. In each room there were one, and sometimes more, depending on the size of the room, the so-called “stranglers”, through which hot air penetrated into the room. These stoves devoured a lot of firewood, but in the barracks it was always very warm. The stoves were downstairs in the basement, in a long corridor. It was always dark there, day and night.

The officers were from military officers. Most of them were disabled. There were St. George cavaliers. But the disability of the officers was such that they did not prevent them from engaging in the formation in the rear. For example, Captain Sergeyev was wounded in the heel of his right foot and could not step on this heel. Staff captain Manchurov was wounded in the left hand, but could do anything with one right hand. Lieutenant Lviv. the left arm did not bend from being wounded in the elbow, etc., all in the same spirit.

Upon leaving the bedroom, as usual unexpectedly, Alexei was rather sensitively slapped on the back. – What are you thinking about, comrade Golovin? Did you remember Vera again? Look, I’ll report to my superiors that the gunker Golovin has a heart wound and you will be expelled from school to be injured and given disability.

Well, who could it be, of course, Sashka Boguslavsky, dunce and joker, Alexei’s friend at the University. Alexey encountered him on the first day of school. Their studies at the university connected, or rather, several studies, how many exams. Sasha also passed exams outside the plan, or rather, constantly, retook something, which Alexey constantly helped him with.

As it turned out, this restless adventurer, having knocked himself out of the school of ensigns, turned up at the university, and in the wake of universal patriotism, managed to pass all his debts and get a diploma in a few days, which was completely unlikely, but not for this junkie.

And now he was smiling pretty, slyly squinting, obviously plotting another adventure.

– But will not my kind friend on Sunday agree to keep company with me and two charming young ladies? So to speak, my young ladies are your finances. I guarantee we will pull out your heart splinter, and the future officer of the imperial army will be completely healed of heart wounds, which means that he is ready to defend the homeland.

Alexey did not have time to answer how the trumpet for the morning building sounded, bustle started in the school corridors, the cadets in a hurry put on their overcoats, belted their belts and ran out into the yard for construction, Alexei was seized by general movement, he only waved his hand and ran into the yard.

A new day of school began.

After the construction of the half-platoon, the cadet Golovin went to the topography class, where various scales and sizes of maps were hung on the walls, several dozen cadets at the tables, listened to the introductory course on topography, sketching and memorizing various topographic notations.

At noon after breakfast, when building on combat training, Sashka, again appearing like a devil from a snuff-box, once again slapping on the back, asked what would be the solution to his wonderful proposal. And again, the whistles of the fathers-commanders interrupted the conversation.