The Italians, with the Pasubio Division in the vanguard, participated in the pursuit of the retreating Russians between the Dniestr and the Bug on the southern front. The first serious contact between the CSIR and the Red Army took place on 11 August, near the town of Pokrovskoje. The motorized Bersaglieri fell upon he Russian rear guard but barely escaped disaster. Return fire from the Russian machine guns and artillery forced them to abandon their motorcycles and withdraw to await reinforcement.
