War and Peace

Chapter 40

[25]

The officers wanted to take their leave, but the Duke d'Andrew seemed reluctant to be alone with his friend.He asked them to sit down and have some tea.

Prince Andrei was very appreciative of the appointment of Kotusov.Bin Air asked the soldiers what they thought of Barclay, and Duke Andrele told him: "If Russia is safe, then an outstanding minister, even a foreigner, can serve her. But when she meets Dangerous, you need your own bodyguards. You treat him as an enemy of the country in the club, or a later hero and genius, which is unacceptable. He is just an honest and smart German... ..."

Contrary to the previous prudent silence, Duke Andrele began to get excited.He obviously couldn't help telling everyone about the thoughts that came to him.He felt that what he was facing tomorrow was a momentary decision of a million chance events, and those who were patrolling the positions now would not help the progress of the overall campaign, but hindered it, because they were concerned with their own interests. safety.

After the officers left, Bin-Air and Duke Andrele overheard a conversation between two German officers about "the scope of the war must be expanded".After they left, he snorted angrily and said: "All these German gentlemen will do is destroy, and the theory that is not solid in their heads is of no value here. What they don't have in their hearts is what Timoxin and the others do." What they have. They have completely lost Europe and now they are here to teach us!"

The question that had been troubling Bin-Air was completely gone.Everything he saw explained what this war was all about.He saw the underlying patriotic enthusiasm in everyone, and he understood why they faced sacrifice calmly and optimistically.

Regarding the nature of war, Duke Andrele felt that all the rules of war are deceptive. He felt: "War is the ugliest thing in life, so we should admit its horror and not treat it as a child's play. Because war is war."

He said excitedly to Bin-Air in a shrill and piercing voice: "Ah, my good friend, lately I have found it a pain to live. I understand, I know too much. One does not try to know the fruit of good and evil..." He He added: "But well, it won't be long!"

Bin-Air looked at Duke Andrey with horror and sympathy. "Come on, let's go, you must get a good night's sleep before you fight," he repeated.

He walked up to Bin-Air quickly, hugged him, kissed him, and then shouted: "Goodbye, let's go, we will never meet again, no..." After finishing speaking, he turned back and walked into the warehouse Room.

Bin Air sighed deeply, and rode back to Gorky's headquarters.He went back to the barn and lay down on the blanket, but couldn't sleep.He closed his eyes tightly, and one picture after another flashed in his mind.He suddenly remembered that one night in Petersburg, Natess had happily and incoherently told him how she had lost her way in the big forest while picking mushrooms the previous summer.He recalled his love for her with a happy face, "Not only do I know her, but what I love is her inner motivation, her sincerity, frankness, and soul that is almost integrated with the body... "He suddenly thought of another him, this one he didn't understand and couldn't see these things, what he found was just a good-looking and charming little girl.Realizing this, Duke Andrele jumped up as if he had been burned, and began to pace the barn again.

[26]

On August 25, some time before the battle of Polagello, the prefects of the French palace, Debosser and Fabvier, all came from Paris and Madrid to Napoleon's headquarters to meet the emperor.

The Emperor Napoleon, dressed in the blue uniform of a guard, entered the reception room with firm and quick steps.

At this time, Debosser was busy arranging the meeting gift from the empress to the emperor. He didn't expect the emperor to come out so soon that he didn't have time to arrange a surprising place.

Napoleon saw at once what he was doing, and also that they were not done.He didn't seem to see Debosser, but he called Colonel Fabvier over and listened to his account of his troops fighting at Salamanca, on the other side of Europe.The outcome of that war was not optimistic. "I must be rewarded in Moscow." Napoleon said. Seeing the magnificent scene arranged by Debosser, Napoleon asked again: "Ah! What's the matter?" "A gift from the queen." This is Zhilar A brightly colored picture of a boy, the boy born to Napoleon and an Austrian princess, is known as the "King of Rome".

The Roman king in the painting is very handsome, his eyes are like the Christ in the icon, he is playing, and the other hand is holding a stick that symbolizes power. The ball may be a symbol of the earth.Although people don't understand what it means to hit the earth with a stick, everyone knows that Napoleon was very satisfied after watching it.

After breakfast, Napoleon dictated his instructions to the army in the presence of De Posse.The notice is as follows:
Soldiers, the moment you have long expected has arrived.We have to win and get everything we need to get back here soon.We have to fight like in the past, let our children and grandchildren be proud of us, proud!

[27]

On August 25, Napoleon spent the whole day on the horse. He inspected the positions, studied the combat arrangements, and continuously issued instructions to the generals.

The Russian defense line on the Kolocha River was wiped out, which was the left flank of the Russian army.

After the Svorjero fortress was lost on the 24th, the army retreated.The front here is undefended, and any soldier or non-soldier knows very well that the French will definitely attack this undefended front.

After observing the position of the Svorgero fortress, Napoleon dictated the instructions for the battle.

If we do not have a religious awe of Napoleon's genius, and then look at these battle orders, we can find that these battle arrangements are extremely vague and chaotic, and none of the four orders can be realized, and in fact they have not been realized. .

The first order was that Napoleon's batteries, a total of [-] guns, should fire at the Russian fortified positions. To the fortifications of the Russian army.The second aspect of the arrangement was that Poniatowski besiege the left flank of the Russian army through the woods. To achieve the purpose of outflanking the Russian army positions.The third item in the arrangement was that General Campan took the first fortress through the woods, and in fact the detachment had just passed through before being overwhelmed by shells that Napoleon did not expect.The fourth item of the deployment is that after the governor occupies Polagello, he must cross three bridges, assemble with the two divisions of Moran and Gérard, and command them to attack the multi-corner fort, but the order is vague, or the governor understands it. In the end, he attacked the fortress from the left through Polagello, while the divisions of Morand and Frion attacked from the front at the same time, but as a result of the battle, the governor was repulsed at Coloccia and the fortress was not destroyed. Captured by Morand and Frion, Napoleon could not issue orders at any time at that time, because he was not close to the battlefield.

[28]

Many historians say that the French lost the Battle of Polagello because Napoleon had a cold.However, a cold that apparently affected his will may have been the cause of Russia's salvation, and Russia's savior should be the servant who forgot to put waterproof boots on Napoleon on the 24th.Regarding the cause of this incident, there is another answer, that is, everything is arranged by God.All this depends on the accidental arbitrary behavior of the people who participated in the event, not on the influence of Napoleon, etc. on the event.As human beings, we are no worse than Napoleon, if not better.

In the Battle of Polagello, it was not he who made detailed actions and came out to kill people, but the officers and soldiers below.

They were hungry and weary, and they went to war in order to be fed and enjoyed here as victors, and they did so, apparently not at the behest of their masters.

Napoleon was not actually the leader of the battle, as his orders were not carried out.All this happened according to his own will, this paragraph is just his feeling.Therefore, his cold has no more special significance than that of an ordinary soldier.

The combat deployment plan recorded above is no worse than the deployment he made when he won the battle in the past, and even better.At the battle of Polagello he carried out his role as representative of power better than ever before, and with his very keen mind and experience of war he carried out with complete success what he seemed to be It is the task of the commander.

[29]

Napoleon, returning from his second careful observation of the front, said: "The chess set is set, and the battle will begin tomorrow." He ordered punch to be poured for him, summoned Debosser, and then talked with him about court affairs in Paris and elsewhere. .Having drank his second punch, Napoleon felt that something serious awaited him tomorrow, and retired to rest.

He was too preoccupied with what was before him to sleep, and the dampness of the night aggravated his condition.At three o'clock in the morning, knowing that the Russians had not retreated, he nodded with satisfaction.

At four o'clock, he didn't feel sleepy. After drinking, he put on his coat and went out of the tent.

At five o'clock Napoleon rode into the village of Svorgero.The sky is gradually getting brighter, and in the clear sky for thousands of miles, there are only a few dark clouds floating in the east.The campfire is running out.A burst of shelling came from the right, breaking the morning silence.Then, the second and third sounds followed, and then the shells roared, making a lot of noise.

He came to the Shvorjero Fortress, and the game began.

[thirty]
When Bin-Air got up the next morning, there was no one in the house.The small window was shaking, and the groom stood in front of the bed and pushed him vigorously.

Bin-Air quickly put on his clothes and ran out.It was bright and cool and cheerful outside, and the sun had just risen behind the clouds that hid it, but the sunlight, which was half blocked by the clouds, passed over the houses in the street across the way, and shone on the dewy avenue, and around the houses. , on the warehouse windows, and on Bin-Air's horse in front of the house.Outside, the sound of the cannon was clear enough.An adjutant and a Cossack ran across the street.

"It's almost time, count, it's time!" cried the adjutant.Kotusov was talking with a group of staff officers on the mound that he had watched yesterday, and Kotusov was using a telescope to look at the road ahead.As soon as Bin-Air climbed the hill, he was immediately intoxicated by the sight in front of him.And it is the place he saw yesterday, but now it is all shrouded in troops, guns and gunpowder smoke.The brilliant slant of the rising sun, through the fresh morning air, silently sprinkles on the field.

The Kolocha River and the village of Polajero are still surrounded by the dissipating morning mist, and a huge number of scenes show colorful outlines in the white mist that is light and sometimes thick.White churches, village houses, dense soldiers and various weapons are all floating in this world of fog and smoke.

Bin-Air longed for the noisy battlefield with gunpowder smoke and cannons.On the faces of Kotusov and others, he also saw the same longing as himself.On all the faces there was the extraordinary enthusiasm which he had fully understood yesterday after his conversation with the Duke Andréle.

[31]

Bin-Air followed a general on a mission, but saw no sign of the general.He rode into the ranks of infantry ahead of him.He wanted to get out of the infantry again, but it was very difficult, because there were soldiers everywhere.They all looked anxious, eager to do something they didn't understand but obviously important.When they saw him, a fat man in a white hat, their eyes radiated a dissatisfied and puzzled expression.

Ahead of him was a bridge and he could see what they were doing in the smoke on both sides of the bridge, between the pastures and the bales he had seen yesterday.Although there were continuous gunfire in this place, he did not expect that this place was a battlefield.Bin-Air looked around him with a wide smile.

"Why is this man riding a horse at the front?" someone said to him.Moving to the right, Bin-Air came across some of General Raevsky's men he knew.They went to Laevsky Tugang.After he settled him on the hill, he rode away.They never met, and Bin-Air learned much later that he had lost an arm that day.

The hill on which Bin-Air went up was a famous place, where many died, and the French considered it the most important place in the whole line.This fortress was a mound with trenches dug on three sides, and here were ten cannon, which protruded from the holes in the parapet and were firing continuously.Bin-Air saw this as one of the least important aspects of the campaign.

The presence of Bin-Air, a civilian in a white hat, at first made the artillerymen feel bad.But when people believe that he will not do any bad things, just sit quietly on the slope, or politely give way to others, and take a leisurely walk on the battlefield, all the guard and suspicion of these people about him disappear.They soon regarded him as family, joking with him enthusiastically, and even nicknamed him "Everyone's Lord".

Bin-Air saw that whenever a shell was dropped, and whenever a loss was suffered, everyone became more active.On the faces of the people, a look of defiance against the approaching storm was becoming more and more intense.Bin-Air was no longer interested in the battlefield. His attention was completely attracted by the growing fire on people, and he felt that his own soul was also burned.

He was standing beside an elderly general when a young officer ran up to report that there were only eight shells left.The older officer yelled, "Use shot!" Just then, the momentary event happened, and the young officer uttered a cry, stooped, and sat down on the ground like a shot bird.Everything seemed strange, indistinct, dimmed to Bin-Air, and he had grown alarmed in the face of the booming, exploding, and whistling ammunition.

[32]

Bin-Air, delirious with terror, ran desperately back to the artillery station.

Before he could fully understand, the colonel had died, the man who was shouting "Brothers!" had been captured, and another soldier was also stabbed in the back with a bayonet.He had hardly recovered himself when a Frenchman with a weapon in his hand rushed towards him, shouting.Instinctively, Bin-Air fought with that man.When the two looked at each other briefly, their eyes showed a look of panic, terror and bewilderment.As Bin-Air's powerful hand closed more and more tightly around the throat of his enemy, the Frenchman first felt that he was going to die.Just as they were confronting each other, a shell exploded, and the Frenchman quickly lowered his head.

Bin-Air also let go of his hands.The Frenchman turned and ran to the position. Before Bin-Air had time to return to the hill, a large group of Russian soldiers came running in front of him. They shouted and ran desperately towards the battery.The French who once occupied the battery ran away, and our soldiers shouted "Hurrah" and chased the French far away from here.

He went back up the hill again.Gone was the extended family that had warmly received him, and among the many dead he knew several.A surviving young officer huddled up and sat on the bloody ground.Another badly wounded soldier was twitching, waiting for someone to take him to the hospital for treatment.

Bin-Air quickly descended the hill. "They're going to stop soon, they're going to be afraid of what they're doing!" He thought as he walked, walking aimlessly towards the soldiers carrying the stretcher.

[33]

The main battlefield of the Battle of Polagello was some open space between the Polagello and Borgolagio positions.In this open area next to the forest, the simplest and most direct fierce battle broke out.

(End of this chapter)