In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 3, Chapters 14 and 15

Chapter 14

It's 5am and the Russians are advancing.  They are feeling very optimistic about this, at least for the first hour.  Then they start to feel that something had gone wrong, especially since, as we know, the generals aren't particularly enamoured of the plan and so haven't bothered to go around cheering the men up about following it.  The narration says they blame the Germans, calling them 'sausage eaters'.  Really, they are the wurst.  Seriously though, I did not know that bit of slang went this far back.

No one is where they're supposed to be, and everyone is angry about it.  The narration informs us that the Austrian flank was moving to the left, which meant the centre was too far separated from the right flank, and so the Austrian cavalry had to turn around and come back, blocking the advance of the infantry.  So while they all think it's Germany's fault, it is actually Austria's fault.  I am not going to make a Hitler joke, it would be in poor taste.

An Austrian guide and a Russian general start fighting at the front, because the Russian wants his infantry regiment to get past without waiting for the cavalry, and the Austrian tells him its the fault of his higher command (it is).  None of this helps the troops' collective mood.

This whole thing takes an hour.  Then they finally make it down the hill and the first shots are fired.  Unfortunately, they'd expected the French to be further away, it's foggy, and none of the officers are telling them what to do (because they are also lost in the fog).  That's the first to the third columns.  The fourth column, including Kutuzov, are still on the hill.  I don't know where Nikolai is - presumably he's already down there, since he asked to be at the front.  Napoleon's standing on the opposite hill, gazing down at the sea of fog below which a battle is taking place.  His plan is going as intended - the Russian's think he's further away, in another direction.  He doesn't attack yet though - it's the anniversary of his coronation, and, watching the battle going his way, he has "the face of a boy happily in love".  You know, in another world, I think he and Nikolai would get together and paint little soldiers and map out amazing battles that take up entire flats.  Anyway, Napoleon tells his regiment to charge at the soldiers still on the hill.  It's just after 9am.

Chapter 15

We're back in time, at 8am.  Kutuzov is leading his fourth column down the hill.  Prince Andrew is behind him, and he's also feeling excited and optimistic.  I realise this is absolutely not the same thing, but the controlled calm suppressing excitement and irritation is how I go into exams.  Anyway, Prince Andrew feels that it's "the day of his Toulon, or his bridge of Arcola", which I looked up.

[1] On 17 November 1796, fighting the Austrians in northern Italy, Napoleon, at the head of his grenadier and with a banner in this hand, charged onto the bridge at Arcole to keep the enemy from taking it. The plague that was raging in Jaffa when the French stormed the city afflicted both the local population and the French army. Napoleon visited the plague victims in the hospital with his marshals Berthier and Bessières, an incident commemorated by the French painter Jean-Antoine Gros (1771-1835) in The Plague Victims of Jaffa (1804).

 So, in what Prince Andrew thinks is a moment of victory, he likens his feelings to that of a victory the enemy he's currently facing had won previously, in which everyone got plague.  This really does not feel like a good omen to me.

Prince Andrew is expecting difficulties when he finally joins the battle down in the foggy basin, and is daydreaming about how he's going to handle that, and how it will lead to his glory.  The fourth column finally reach the village and there's some difficulty in getting past it.  In response to someone turning up to ask if the fourth column has passed the village, Kutuzov sends Andrew to see if the third column has gotten past yet, and if they have sharpshooters.  They have, but do not - the head of that column doesn't realise he's anywhere near a battle, and, tbh, he may not be.  I'm beginning to suspect all the shots in the fog are just nervous Russians.  He gets back to Kutuzov, who is in no hurry to move forward.  The two emperors ride past, and Nikolai is going to be so mad he missed this.  The Tsar is not happy with Kutuzov - who he calls Michael Ilariovich - waiting, and tells them to get on with it, they're not on the Empress' field for parade.  Kutuzov replies that that's exactly why they're not moving yet - because it's not a parade.  Everyone is shocked that he would say such a thing to the Emperor, but Kutuzov has gone back to looking innocent and agrees he'll do what he's told.

Chapter 16

Kutuzov and his column stop after about half a mile, or five minutes.  The fog's clearer and they can see the enemy about a mile and a half away, on the opposite hill.  Then someone suddenly shouts and they realise there are more troops, less than five hundred paces away,  Prince Andrew decides this is his moment of glory and rides up to Kutuzov to tell him that the French must be stopped, but then the French start firing at them and people start screaming and running away.  Kutuzov doesn't run, even when someone tells him to, even when his face is wounded.  Prince Andrew forces his way back to him to check he's okay.  Andrew is less heroic and more scared now.  Kutuzov tries to get his men back, but is carried away by another column running away.  He finally gets through, with only four members of his suite (I am gathering, a smaller group within the column?), and rides towards the sound of gunshot.  Kutuzov tells them to get the column back, but gets shot at again.  This time, the French know he's a general and they're purposefully aiming for him and his suite.  The guy holding the flag gets shot, along with several others, and Kutuzov calls for Andrew.  Andrew jumps off his horse, grabs the standard and runs with a cry of 'Forward!', feeling pleased that people are shooting at him.  I can see how this would be a fun challenge and also how you'd be getting a massive jolt of adrenaline, but I also think he doesn't really believe that he can die.  Seeing how confidently he charges, the battalion come with me.  I did not have much faith in Andrew's dreams -

- but they seem to be working out for him.  A sergeant tries to grab the standard off Andrew, because Andrew can't really hold it up properly, but he immediately gets shot and Andrew runs on.

He makes it to the front, where he can see Russians running back towards him and French soldiers turning the guns around to fire back at them.  Still he keeps going, until he is very suddenly stopped, by some je ne sais quoi.  His legs stop working and he falls to the ground, he is unclear on why.  Presumably, he's been shot somewhere.  He's not dead - he's staring up at the sky and realising everything is vanity and falsehood except the infinity sky.  Not once in this whole thing has he thought about his wife and their future baby.