At the Twilight of the Empire. About the Experiences in the Early 20th Century: Days of Wars, Revolutions, and Peace

The memoirs of General V.N. von Dreyer "At the Twilight of the Empire" were written after World War II and published in 1965, when the general was approaching his ninetieth birthday. However, he brought the narrative only to the beginning of the Civil War in Russia – a fateful line that divided the destinies of many Russian people into "before" and "after". Vladimir von Dreyer was a Russian man, although with German roots, Orthodox, from a family of hereditary military. And he could not conceive of any fate for himself other than military service. He served in Turkestan, at garrisons on the western border, studied at the General Staff Academy in St. Petersburg, and fought in World War I… Von Dreyer fought heroically, finding himself in the hottest spots on the front, for example, he was one of the few officers who fought their way out of the terrible encirclement in the infamous August Woods.
His life was filled not only with various adventures but also with unusual encounters. Many famous historical figures were for him simply friends, acquaintances, and comrades-in-arms… He served with Brusilov, Kornilov, Wrangel, and knew well most of the famous generals of the first quarter of the 20th century. The future Soviet Marshal Shaposhnikov, as a young officer nicknamed "Boy Borya", ended up under the command of von Dreyer… He remembered and told many interesting things, and he told them with passion, in a wonderful, rich Russian language, with humor, with unusual details, as they say, "with soul"…