He was a cavalry officer back in 1915 and found himself with his unit on a reconnaissance mission in the buildup to the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive in Eastern Europe.

His mentally unstable commanding officer, Rittmeister Semler, orders an attack on a bridge held by Imperial Russian Army.

Even though cavalry normally wouldn't stand a chance against machine-guns, the charge miraculously succeeds with minimal casualties.

Afterwards, the reconnaissance unit advances further into what nominally must be enemy-held territory, but finds only peace and a welcoming civilian population.

At the Ukrainian town of Nagy-Mihaly (nowadays called Michalovce), Bagge meets Charlotte Szent-Kiraly, the daughter of a friend of his late mother's, and immediately falls in love with her.

Widely regarded as Lernet-Holenias finest work, Baron Bagge has a narrative structure similar to the Civil War story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, even sharing the symbol of the bridge as border between life and death.

[1] Phyllis Rose described the setting as "a world not quite real, unfamiliar yet believable" and complimented the "mesmerizing storytelling".