War and Peace

Chapter 10

[fourteen]
On November 15, Kotusov received reports from scouts confirming that his army was in a desperate situation.The mighty French army is crossing the Austrian bridge and advancing here.If Kotusov decides to stay in Krems, the French army of 100 will surround Kotusov's [-] troops, cut off all his supply lines, and Kotusov will have to retreat into the In the Malia Mountains, at the same time, it was impossible to join the reinforcements.If Kotusov decides to take the road from Krems to Ormiz, hoping to join the Russian reinforcements on this road, then he will run the risk that the French army will occupy this road in advance, and In this way, he will also be forced to carry all his weight on the march and fight to the death against enemies that are several times his own.Kotusov finally chose the latter option.The French army has crossed the Vienna Bridge and is rushing towards Dotum, more than [-] kilometers ahead of Kotusov's retreat, at a rapid march. If Dotum is seized before the French army arrives, the Russian army may be rescued, otherwise the consequences will be impossible. estimate.However, it is unrealistic to lead troops to reach Dotum before the French army, because the road from Austria to Dotum for the French army is not only shorter than the road for the Russian army from Krems to Dotum. , and the road should be flatter.

On the night of receiving the news, Kotusov sent [-] vanguards of Bogorageo's troops across the mountains from the right side of the road from Krems to Dotum to the Austrian road to Dotum .Borgoladgio had to cover the distance without stopping, then camp with his back to Austria and his face to Dotum.If he can arrive before the French army, he must do his best to prevent the French army from advancing.And Kotusov himself marched to Dotum with a large army with all its heavy equipment.

On a stormy night, Borgolagio led the hungry and exhausted barefoot soldiers to walk 45 versts in the mountains without roads. When one-third of the troops were left behind, they were several times ahead of the French army. Arrived in Hollabrun on Dortmund Avenue in Austria in an hour.Kotusov's corps with all its supplies was still a day and a night away from Dotum, so Bogorageo had to spend a day and a night in Hollabrun with the French in order to save the whole corps. .This is obviously unlikely, but strange fate favored the Russian army.The successful experience of the French defrauding the Austrian bridge without a fight made Murat want to deceive Kotusov again in the same way.On his way to Dortum, Murat encountered a weak force of Bogorageo's forces, which he believed to be Kotusov's entire force.In order to smash this force with certainty, he needed to wait for those who had fallen behind along the way from Austria, so he proposed a three-day truce, on condition that both armies stay put.Believing that he had no right to decide whether to accept the proposal for a truce, Baugolagio sent an adjutant to Kotusov with the proposal.

For Kotusov, the truce was the only chance to buy time. It would allow the exhausted soldiers to take a rest, and it would be good if the baggage and large troops could push one more step towards Dotum.The proposal of an armistice created a unique and unexpected opportunity to save the Russian army.Upon receiving this news, Kotusov immediately sent his aide-de-camp Wenzengerode to the French camp, not only expressing his acceptance of the armistice agreement, but also proposing the terms of surrender.At the same time, Kotusov sent several adjutants to urge the Russian troops on the Krems-Dortem road to accelerate their advance.Only the hungry and tired Bogorageo troops stayed put, confronting the enemy several times their own, covering the steady advance of the baggage train and the whole army.

Sure enough, Kotusov expected: on the one hand, this proposal of surrender without any binding force bought precious time for the advance of the large army, on the other hand, Murat's mistake would soon be discovered.Napoleon, who was stationed at Schönbrunn, twenty-five versts from Hollabrunn, when he received Murat's report of the armistice, saw at once that there must be a fraud in it, and wrote Murat the following letter:

Prince Murat:

I can't find the right words to express my dissatisfaction with you.What you are commanding now is only my vanguard. Without my order, how can you make a decision to cease fighting.You will cost me all my victories.Immediately revoke the armistice agreement and launch a fierce attack on the enemy.You declare to the other party that the general who signed this surrender has no such power, and that no one else has such power except the Russian Emperor.

However, if the Emperor of Russia approves of this agreement, I can agree, but this is only a small trick.You cannot stop the advance and destroy the Russian troops... You can capture the Russian trains and artillery.

The Chief Attaché to the Emperor of Russia is a great liar... An officer is useless without being granted plenipotentiaries, and he is not qualified to do so... The Austrians have already suffered when they crossed the Austrian Bridge Lied to you, and now you have fallen for their tricks.

Napoleon

1805 Brumaire 25 at 8:[-]

Uschenbrunn

Napoleon's aide-de-camp rushed to the Murat camp with this letter, and Napoleon himself advanced with the whole army.While the 4000 Russian troops happily set up campfires, dried their uniforms, and cooked their first porridge in days, none of them knew or thought about the dangers they would face.

[fifteen]
After some firm entreaties, the Duke of Andrele finally obtained Kotusov's permission to arrive at Bogorageo's troops at four o'clock in the afternoon.Knowing that Duke Andrele was a very favored confidant, Borgolagio received him very politely and warmly.The Duc de Andrele asked permission to inspect the position and find out the exact disposition of the troops, so that he would know where to go in case of an emergency, and the officer on duty of the detachment volunteered to guide him.

They came to the tent of a merchant accompanying the army, and saw several officers sitting at a table drinking.

"Oh, what's the matter, gentlemen?" said the officer of the watch accompanying the Duke d'André, who seemed to have said the same thing several times. "How can you leave your post like this. Oh, it's you, Captain. ’ he said to a very thin man without boots (which he gave to the army merchant to be baked).

"Oh, Captain Tosh, how shameless you are," continued the officer on duty, "as an artillery officer, you should lead by example, but you don't even have boots on."

The officers came out.The Duke Andryl looked again at the small figure of the artillery officer.There was something very special about him, not at all military, but absurd and attractive.The Duke André and the officer on duty rode up to the opposite mountain pass, from which they could already look down on the French troops.Duke Andrele stopped to observe carefully.

"That's our battery over there," said the officer of the watch, pointing to the highest vantage point. "That's the battery commanded by the officer without boots. We'll get a better view from there. Let's go there, Duke." .”

"Thank you very much, now I want to go around alone," said Duke Andrele, wanting to get rid of the officer, "you are welcome, please do as you please."

The officer of the watch fell behind, and the Duke Andrei went forward.The further you go, the closer you are to the enemy, the more orderly the lineup of the Russian army, and the more enthusiastic the atmosphere.The most disorganized and demoralized was the main force heading towards Dorttum, and signs of panic could be seen in Grund as well.But at the forefront position of the Russian army that Andrele went to, the Russian army seemed very confident.Soldiers in gray military overcoats stood in line, and the chief of staff and the company commander were counting the number of people.Soldiers everywhere dragged branches and built huts, and they talked and laughed happily.

The Duke of Andrele came to the center of the forward position. The sentries of the two armies were so close that they could see each other's faces and talk to each other.The soldiers were listening curiously to a conversation between a Russian soldier and a French soldier.Duke Andrele recognized the Russian soldier as Reuckout, and therefore he stopped and listened to their conversation.

Reucault was engaged in a heated argument with the French soldiers.The French confused the Russians with the Austrians, thinking that it was the Russians who fled from Ulm.Rucourt proved that the Russian army was not defeated, on the contrary, they defeated the French army.

"We've got orders from our superiors to get you out of here, and we're going to get you out of here," Reuckout said.

"You have to be very careful, don't be captured alive by us." The French said, and the French who were watching laughed.

"We're going to teach you how to dance, just as Tolloff taught you when he was alive," Reuckout said.

"What nonsense is he talking about?" asked a Frenchman. "Probably ancient history," guessed another Frenchman. "Bonaparte..." Rucourt was about to speak, but the Frenchman interrupted him immediately.

"It's not Bonaparte, it's our Emperor! Damn it..." he exclaimed angrily.

"Go to hell with your emperor!" Rukot cursed a soldier in Russian.

"Ho, ho, ho! Ha, ha, ha! Yoho! Yoho!" The soldiers laughed loudly and happily.This laughter naturally crossed the skirmisher line and spread to the French soldiers. After such a big laugh, it seemed that there should be no need to fight, and then everyone went home.

But the guns were still full of ammunition, the emplacements of the houses and trenches still stared majestically, and the cannon unloaded from the trailers were still aiming at each other.

[sixteen]
After walking the entire front from right to left, the Duke Andryl went up the hill to the artillery battery, which, according to the officer on duty, overlooked the entire battlefield.

Sure enough, looking down from the artillery position, you can fully see the entire combat deployment of the Russian army and most of the enemy troops.Directly opposite the artillery position, on the hillside in the distance, you can clearly see the village of Schen Graben, a little to the left and a little to the right, and through the light of the campfire, you can see that there are a large number of French troops in three places. Part of the French army was stationed in the village and behind the hillside.Our right wing is deployed on a very steep hillside, its main force is our infantry, and the dragoons can be seen on the edge of the right wing.In the middle is Toche's artillery position, where the Duke d'Andrew is now, and there is a straight, very gentle mountain road leading from here to the creek that separates us from the French positions.The troops on our left flank were deployed at the edge of the forest, and the bonfires lit by our soldiers there were puffs of smoke.The French line was wider and longer than ours, and it was obvious that they could easily encircle our army.Behind our position is a deep and steep gully, which is very difficult for artillery and cavalry to retreat.Duke Andrele took out his notebook and pen, leaned on the cannon, and drew a sketch of the deployment of the troops.He marked important places on the sketch with a pencil and planned to report to Bogo Ladjo.Duke André always followed the commander-in-chief, always paid attention to the actions and general plans of the corps, and often read the historical materials of the war. Therefore, for the current battle in front of him, he could secretly draw a rough outline of the future battle in his mind.While Duke Andrele was observing the terrain, he could always hear loud conversations coming from the thatched hut on the position.He heard a very familiar voice among them, and that familiar voice was Tosh speaking.

At this moment, a hissing sound suddenly came from the air, the sound was getting closer and clearer, and in an instant, a shell crashed down.It exploded near the shed, and with such force it toppled the ground, which seemed to groan from the terrible bombardment.

At the same time, the thin Tosh was the first to rush out of the shed, holding his pipe sideways, and his kind face seemed a little pale.

[seventeen]
The war has begun.Duke Andrele stayed at the front of the position for a while, then turned his horse and went back to the village of Grunt to find Bogorageo.The gunfire behind him grew denser and louder.Obviously, our army has begun to fight back.

After receiving Napoleon's letter, the regretful Murat wanted to make up for his mistake, so he immediately mobilized his troops to attack the Russian army, and planned to completely wipe out all this unworthy troops before dusk and before Napoleon's arrival.

"It's started!" Duke André felt his whole body's blood surging upwards, "but where is my Toulon? How can I make it stand out?" he thought in his heart.

Before he had gone far, he saw many people on horseback galloping towards him in the dim autumn twilight.The one in the front is wearing a cloak and a pointed sheepskin hat, riding a white horse.This is Borgolagio.Duke Andrele reported to him everything here.Borgoladgeo nodded, eyes half-closed and seemingly sleepy in his resolute brown face.

Borgolajo rode his horse and ran towards Tosh's artillery position, followed by his followers.

Tosh was directing his men to shoot, did not see the general coming, and was watching with a pair of small hands over his eyes.

"Two more points, and that'll fit," he cried in a shrill voice, trying to call out a heroic voice so disproportionate to his features, "Target Two," he shrieked, "Hit hard, Medvedev!"

Borgolagio had the officer called over.Tosh saluted very timidly and awkwardly, and came to the general.Although the task of Tosh's artillery battery was to shoot the valley, he decided to use incendiary bombs to shoot the village of Shen Graben, where the enemy was stationed, because a large number of French troops were moving in front of the village.

No one gave Tosh any orders on where to shoot and how to shoot. He only consulted with his most respected chief of staff, Li Yake, and decided that it would be best to set the village on fire. "Okay!" Borgolagio agreed after listening to the officer's report.He seemed to be thinking about something, and began to observe the battlefield in front of him.The French on the right flank were pressing very hard, and there was a frightening burst of gunfire from the position defended by the logistics troops. The aide-de-camp pointed out to the Duke that, farther on the right flank, behind the dragoons, a French column was approaching. Our flanks outflank.The horizon on the left flank is obscured by nearby trees.Bogorageo ordered two battalions to be drawn from the center to support the right flank, and an aide-de-camp boldly advised the Duke that if these two battalions were withdrawn, the artillery position would be left without cover.Borgolagio turned around and cast a silent sideways glance at the aide-de-camp with his eyes.At this time, Duke Andrele also felt that the opinion of the aide-de-camp was justified.At this time, an adjutant ran over from the regiment commander who was guarding the valley. He reported that a large number of enemy troops rushed from the front, and our troops became confused and retreated to the position of the logistics troops.Borgolageo nodded in understanding.He rode slowly to the right flank, and sent an adjutant to the dragoons with orders to begin an attack on the French.Three or ten minutes later, the adjutant who was dispatched turned back. The commander of the dragoons had retreated through the flush ditch.

"Good!" said Borgoladgeo.Duke Andrele listened patiently to Duke Borgoladgeo's conversation with the officers and the orders he gave. He was surprised to find that the general did not give any orders directly. However, Duke Andrele also observed that , although the incident happened by accident and has nothing to do with the commander's consciousness, but the presence of Borgoladgeo on the scene played a very important role.Some of the officers rode up to him with restless faces, and soon became refreshed; the soldiers saluted him cheerfully, and were very lively before him, evidently wanting to show their bravery in the presence of their leaders.

[eighteen]
After riding his horse to the commanding height of our army's right wing, Borgolajo began to walk towards the foot of the mountain.The closer they were to the valley, the clearer the sound of the guns and guns could be heard, and the closer they felt to the real battlefield.The wounded have begun to withdraw one after another, and they also encountered Russian soldiers who began to retreat.

(End of this chapter)