Summary

Chapter one describes the way in which the movement of new troops to the front is often disastrously mismanaged, resulting in chaos and unnecessary losses. The narrator foreshadows that things will be different for the arrival of Novikov’s tank corps. In chapter two, Novikov arrives in Kuibyshev. He is ordered to meet with Lieutenant-Colonel Ryutin, however Ryutin is summoned to Moscow and has not time to speak with Novikov, so Novikov heads off to find Yevgenia. In chapter three Novikov visits Yevgenia. Yevgenia is hesitant towards Novikov. She admits to herself that he has become a stranger to her. She wants to tell him about her life, but does not. Novikov asks her to marry him, but Yevgenia does not give him a definite answer.

In chapter four, Novikov returns to his compartment where he meets Nyeudobnov and Getmanov. Getmanov...