The Death of Dolgushov by Isaac Babel Summary

The narrator is a mounted soldier in a communist regiment composed of Third International soldiers. Korochaev, the divisional commander, has lost the faith of the men and seeks death at the front lines. The narrator watches the front-line brigades deploy on an open field but remains with elements behind the line, including nurses and seriously wounded men receiving treatment. Vytyagaichenko, the regimental commander, sleeps. Then, Polish forces set up machine guns and begin firing into the area causing much confusion. Bugles blow alarms and the able-bodied men ready themselves to move away. The nurses ride horses but the seriously wounded are abandoned. The regiment moves away at a walk to conserve strength.

Later in the day the forces enter Brody but are driven back out by a counterattack. The narrator is...