War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy translated by Elmer and Louise Maud book 10 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org recording by James Slater War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy book 10 chapter 28 Many historians say that the French did not win the battle of Bordino because Napoleon had a cold and That if he had not had a cold the orders he gave before and during the battle would have been still more full of genius and Russia Would have been lost in the face of the world have been changed To historians who believe that Russia was shaped by the will of one man Peter the Great and That France from Republic became an empire and French armies went to Russia at the will of one man Napoleon to say that Russia remained a power because Napoleon had a bad cold on the 24th of August may seem logical and convincing if it had depended on Napoleon's will to fight or not to fight the battle of Bordino and if this or that other Arrangement depended on his will then evidently a cold affecting the manifestation of his will might have saved Russia and Consequently the valet who admitted to bring Napoleon as waterproof boots on the 24th would have been the savior of Russia Along that line of thought such a deduction is indubitable as Indubitable as the deduction Voltaire made in jest without knowing what he was jesting at When he saw that the massacre of Saint Bartholomew was due to Charles the Ninth's stomach being deranged But to men who do not admit that Russia was formed by the will of one man Peter the first or that the French Empire was formed in the war with Russia begun by the will of one man Napoleon that argument seems not merely untrue and irrational But contrary to all human reality to the question of what causes historic events another answer presents itself Namely that the course of human events is predetermined from on high Depends on the coincidence of the wills of all who take part in the events and what a Napoleon's influence on the course of these events is purely external and fictitious Stranges at first glance it may seem to suppose that the massacre of Saint Bartholomew was not due to Charles the Ninth's will Though he gave the order for it and thought it was done as a result of that order and Stranges it may seem to suppose that the slaughter of 80,000 men at Bordino was not due to Napoleon's will though He ordered the commencement and conduct of the battle and thought it was done because he ordered it Stranges these suppositions appear that human dignity Which tells me that each of us is if not more at least not less a man than the great Napoleon Demands the acceptance of that solution of the question and historic investigation abundantly confirms it At the Battle of Bordino Napoleon shot at no one and killed no one That was all done by the soldiers therefore it was not he who killed people The French soldiers went to kill and be killed at the Battle of Bordino not because of Napoleon's orders But by their own volition the whole army French Italian German Polish and Dutch Hungry ragged and weary of the campaign felt at the sight of an army blocking their road to Moscow that the wine was drawn and must be drunk Had Napoleon then forbidden them to fight the Russians They would have killed him and have proceeded to fight the Russians because it was inevitable When they heard Napoleon's proclamation offering them as compensation for mutilation and death the words of posterity about They're having been in the battle before Moscow. They cried Viva l'Empereur Just as they had cried Viva l'Empereur at the site of the portrait of the boy piercing the terrestrial globe with a toy stick And just as they would have cried Viva l'Empereur at any nonsense that might be told them There was nothing left for them to do but cry Viva l'Empereur and go to fight in order to get food and rest as Conquerors in Moscow so it was not because of Napoleon's commands that they killed their fellow men and It was not Napoleon who directed the course of the battle For none of his orders were executed and during the battle he did not know what was going on before him So the way in which these people killed one another was not decided by Napoleon's will but occurred in a penalty of him in Accord with the will of hundreds of thousands of people who took part in the common action It only seemed to Napoleon that it all took place by his will and so the question whether he had or had not a Cold has no more historic interest than the cold of the least of the transport soldiers Moreover the assertions made by various writers that his cold was the cause of his dispositions not being as well planned as on former occasions And of his orders during the battle not being as good as previously is quite baseless Which again shows that Napoleon's cold on the 26th of August was unimportant The dispositions cited above are not at all worse But are even better than previous dispositions by which he had won victories His pseudo orders during the battle were also no worse than formally but much the same as usual These dispositions and orders only seem worse than previous ones because the battle of Bordino was the first Napoleon did not win The profoundest and most excellent dispositions and orders seem very bad and every learned militarist Criticizes them with looks of importance when they relate to a battle that has been lost and the very worst Dispositions and orders seem very good and serious people fill whole volumes to demonstrate their merits when they relate to a battle that has been won The dispositions drawn up by way rather for the battle of Austerlitz were a model perfection for that kind of composition But still they were criticized Criticized for their very perfection for their excessive minuteness Napoleon at the battle of Bordino fulfilled his office as representative of authority as well as and even better than at other battles He did nothing harmful to the progress of the battle. He inclined to the most reasonable opinions He made no confusion, did not contradict himself, did not get frightened or run away from the field of battle But with his great tact and military experience carried out his role of appearing to command calmly and with dignity End of chapter 28 Recorded by James Slater This recording is in the public domain War and Peace book 10 chapter 29 read for LibriVox.org by Anna Simon On returning from a second inspection of the lines, Napoleon remarked The chessmen are set up. The game will begin tomorrow Having ordered punch and summoned the busse he began to talk to him about Paris and about some changes He meant to make to the emperor's household Surprising the prefect by his memory of my new details relating to the court He showed an interest in trifles Joked about the bossaise love of travel and chatted carelessly as a famous Self-confident surgeon who knows his job does when turning up his sleeves and putting on his apron while a patient is being strapped to the operating table The matter is in my hands and is clear and definite in my head When the time comes to set to work I shall do it as no one else could but now I can jest and the more I jest and the calmer I am the more tranquil and confident you ought to be and the more amazed at my genius Having finished his second glass of punch Napoleon went to rest before the serious business which he considered awaited him next day He was so much interested in that task that he was unable to sleep and in spite of his cold Which had grown worse from the dampness of the evening He went into the large division of the tent at three o'clock in the morning loudly blowing his nose He asked whether the Russians had not withdrawn and was told that the enemy's fires were still in the same places He noted approval. The edgitant in attendance came into the tent Well rap, do you think we shall do good business today Napoleon asked him Without doubt sire replied rap Napoleon looked at him Do you remember sire what you did me the honor to say at Smolensk continued rap The wine is drawn and must be drunk Napoleon frowned and said silent for a long time leading his head on his hand This poor army he suddenly remarked it has diminished greatly since Smolensk Fortune is frankly a courtesan rap. I've always said so and I'm beginning to experience it But the guards rap the guards are intact.  He was not sleepy and it was still not nearly morning It was impossible to give further orders for the sake of killing time for the orders had all been given and were now being executed Have the biscuits and rice been served out to the regiments of the guards asked Napoleon sternly Yes, sir the rice too Rap replied that he'd given the emperor's order about the rice But Napoleon shook his head in dissatisfaction as if not believing that his order had been executed An attendant came in with punch Napoleon ordered another glass to be brought for rap and silently sipped his own I've neither taste nor smell he remarked sniffing at his glass. This cold is tiresome They talk about medicine. What is the good of medicine when it can't cure a cold? Carvers I gave me these lozenges, but they don't help at all What can doctors cure one can't cure anything our body is a machine for living it is organized for that It is its nature that life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself It will do more than if you paralyze it by encumbering it with remedies Our body is like a perfect watch that should go for a certain time The watchmaker cannot open it. He can only adjust it by fumbling and that blindfold Yes, our body is just a machine for living. That is all And having entered on the path of definition of which he was fond Napoleon suddenly and unexpectedly gave a new one Do you know rap what military art is he asked it is the art of being stronger than the enemy at a given moment That's all Rap made no reply Tomorrow we shall have to deal with Kutuzov said Napoleon. We shall see Do you remember at Braunau? He commanded an army for three weeks and it once mount a horse to inspect his entrenchments. We shall see He looked at his watch. It was still only four o'clock. He did not feel sleepy The punch was finished and there was still nothing to do Heroes walked to and fro put on a warm overcoat and a hat and went out of the tent The night was dark and damp a scarcely perceptible moisture was descending from above Nearby the campfires were dimly burning among the French guards and in the distance Those of the Russian line shunned through the smoke The weather was calm and the Russell and trample the French troops already beginning to move to take up their positions were clearly audible Napoleon walked about in front of his tent looked at the fires and listened to these sounds and as he was passing a tall Guardsman in a shaggy cap who was standing sentinel before his tent and had drawn himself up like a black pillar outside of the Emperor Napoleon stopped in front of him What year did you enter the service? He asked with that affectation of military bluntness and geniality with which he always addressed the soldiers The man answered the question. Ah one of the old ones has your regiment had its rise It has your majesty Napoleon nodded and walked away At half past five Napoleon rode to the village of Chevardino It was growing light the sky was clearing only a single cloud lay in the east The abandoned campfires were burning themselves out in the faint morning light on the right a single deep report of a cannon resounded and died away in the prevailing silence Some minutes passed a second and a third report shook the air then a fourth and a fifth boomed solemnly nearby on the right The first shots have not yet seized the reverberate before others rang out and yet more were heard mingling with and overtaking one another Napoleon with his suite rode up to the Chevardino redoubt where he dismounted the game had begun End of chapter 29 war and peace book 10 chapter 30 read for LibriVox.org by Eva Harnick On returning to Gorky after having seen Prince Andrew Pierre ordered his groom to get the horses ready and to call him early in the morning and then Immediately fell asleep behind the partition in a corner Boris had given up to him Before he was suddenly awake next morning Everybody had already left the hut The pains were rattling in the little windows and his groom was shaking him Your Excellency Your Excellency Your Excellency He kept repeating patinatiously while he shook Pierre by the shoulder Without looking at him having apparently lost hope of getting him to wake up What has it begun? Is it time? Pierre asked waking up Here the firing said the groom at discharge soldier All the gentlemen have gone out and his sardine highness himself rode past long ago Pierre dressed hastily and ran out to the porch Outside all was bright fresh dewy and cheerful The sun just bursting force from behind the cloud that had concealed it was shining With rays still heartbroken by the clouds Over the roofs of the street opposite on the dubious sprinkled dust of the road on the walls of the houses On the windows the fence and on Pierre's horses standing before the hut The roar of guns sounded more distinct outside An adjutant accompanied by a cossack passed by at a sharp trot It is time count it is time cried the adjutant Telling the groom to follow him with the horses Pierre went down the street to the knoll From which he had looked at the field of the battle the day before The crowd of military men was assembled there members of the staff could be heard conversing in French and Kutuzov's gray head in a white cap with a red band was visible His gray nape sunk between his shoulders He was looking through a field glass down the high road before him Mounting the steps to the knoll Pierre looked at the scene before him Spellbound by beauty It was the same panorama. He had admired from that spot the day before But now the whole place was full of troops and covered by smoke clouds from the guns and The slanting rays of the bright Sun rising slightly to the left behind Pierre Cast upon it through the clear morning air penetrating streaks of rosy Golden tinted light and long dark shadows The forest at the farthest extremity of the panorama Seemed carved in some precious stone of a yellowish green color its undulating outline was silhouetted against the horizon and Was pierced beyond Valuevo by the small ends high road crowded with troops Nearer at hand glittered golden cornfields interspersed with corpses There were troops to be seen everywhere in front and to the right and left All this was vivid majestic and unexpected But what impressed Pierre most of all was the view of the battlefield itself of Borodino and the hollows on both sides of the Colotia above the Colotia in Borodino and on both sides of it especially to the left where the voina flowing between its marshy banks force into the Colotia a mist had spread which seemed to melt to dissolve and to become Translucent when the brilliant Sun appeared and magically colored and outlined everything The smoke of the guns mingled with this mist and Over the whole expanse and through that mist the rays of the morning Sun were reflected Flashing back like lightning from the water from the dew and from the bayonets of the troops crowded together by the riverbanks and in Borodino A white church could be seen through the mist and Here and there the roofs of huts in Borodino as well as dense masses of soldiers or green ammunition chests and ordnance and All this moved or seemed to move as the smoke and mist spread out over the whole space Just as in the mist envelope hollow near Borodino so along the entire line outside and above it and Especially in the woods and fields to the left in the valleys and on the summits of the high ground Clouds of powder smoke seemed continually to spring up out of nothing Now singly now several at a time some translucent others dense Which swelling growing rolling and blending extended over the whole expanse These puffs of smoke and strange to say the sound of the firing produced the chief beauty of the spectacle Puff suddenly around compact cloud of smoke was seen merging from violet into gray and Milky white and boom came the report a second later puff puff and Two clouds arose pushing one another and blending together and boom boom came the sounds Confirming what the eye had seen Pierre glanced round at the first cloud Which he had seen as a round compact ball and in its place already were balloons of smoke Floating to one side and puff with a pause puff puff Three and then four more appeared and then from each with the same interval boom boom boom Came the fine firm precise sounds in reply It seemed as if those small clouds sometimes ran and sometimes stood still While woods fields and glittering bayonets ran past them From the left over fields and bushes those large balls of smoke were continually appearing Followed by their solemn reports while nearer still in the hollows and woods They're burst from the musket small cloud that's that had no time to become balls But had their little echoes in just the same way truck Came the frequent crackle of musket tree But it was irregular and feeble in comparison with the reports of the cannon Pierre wished to be there with that smoke those shining bayonets that movement and those sounds He turned to look at kutuzov and his suit to compare his impressions with those of others They were all looking at the field of battle as he was and As it seemed to him with the same feelings All their faces were now shining with that latent warmth of feeling Pierre had noticed the day before and had fully understood after his talk with Prince Andrew Go my dear fellow go and Christ be with you Kutuzov was saying to the general who stood beside him not taking his eye from the battlefield Having deceived his order the general passed by Pierre on his way down the knoll To the crossing said the general cordially and sternly in reply to one of the staff who asked where he was going I Will go there too. I too sought Pierre and followed the general The general mounted a horse a cossack had brought him Pierre went to his groom who was holding his horses and Asking which was the quietest clambered onto it Seized it by the main and turning out his toes pressed his heels against its sides and Feeling that his spectacles were slipping off but unable to let go of the main and reins he galloped after the general Causing the staff officers to smile as they watched him from the knoll end of chapter 30 Recording by Eva Harnick Pontevedra, Florida war and peace book 10 chapter 31 read for LibriVox.org by Anna Simon Having descended the hill the general after whom Pierre was galloping turned sharply to the left and Pierre losing sight of him Galloped in among some ranks of infantry marching ahead of him He tried to pass either in front of them or to the right or left But there were soldiers everywhere all with expression and busy with some unseen but evidently important task They all gazed with the same dissatisfied and inquiring expression at this stout man in a white hat Who for some unknown reason threatened to trample them under his horse's hooves Why ride into the middle of the battalion one of them shouted at him Another prodded his horse with a butt end of a musket and Pierre bending over a cellar bow and hardly able to control his Shying horse galloped ahead of the soldiers where there was a free space There was a bridge ahead of him where other soldiers stood firing Pierre rode up to them Without being aware of it He had come to the bridge across the Coloche between Gorky and Borodino which the French have an occupied Borodino We're attacking in the first phase of the battle Pierre saw that there was a bridge in front of him and that soldiers were doing something on both sides of it And in the meadow among the rows of new moon hay which he had taken no notice of amid the smoke of the campfires the day before But despite the incessant firing going on there He had no idea that this was the field of battle He did not notice the sound of the bullets whistling from every side or the projectiles that flew over him Did not see the enemy on the other side of the river and for a long time did not notice the killed and wounded though many fell near him He looked about him with a smile which did not leave his face Why is that fellow in front of the line shout at somebody at home again? To the left keep to the right the man shouted to him Pierre went to the right and unexpectedly encountered one of Rewski's Adjutants whom he knew the adjutant looked angrily at him evidently also intending to shout at him But on recognizing him he nodded How have you got here? He said and galloped on Pierre feeling out of place there having nothing to do and afraid of getting in someone's way again galloped after the adjutant What's happening here? May I come with you? He asked One moment one moment replied the adjutant and riding up to a stout colonel who was standing in the meadow He gave him some message and then addressed Pierre Why if you come here count he asked with a smile still inquisitive Yes, yes, I sent at Pierre but the adjutant turned his horse about and rode on Here it's tolerable said he but the percussion on the left flank. They're getting it frightfully hot Really sir Pierre. Where's that? Come along with me to our knoll. We can get a view from there and in our battery. It is still bearable said the adjutant will you come Yes, I'll come with you replied Pierre looking around for his groom It was only now that he noticed wounded man staggering along or being carried on stretches on that very meadow He had ridden over the day before a soldier was lying athwart the rose of scented hay with his head thrown awkwardly back and a Shaco off Why haven't they carried him away Pierre was about to ask but seeing the stern expression of the adjutant who was also looking that way He checked himself Pierre did not find his groom and rode along the hollow with the adjutant to rescue his readout His horse lagged behind the adjutants and jolted him at every step You don't seem to be used to riding count remarked the adjutant No, it's not that but her action seems so jerky said Pierre in a puzzled tone Why she's wounded said the adjutant in the awful leg above the knee a bullet. No doubt. I congratulate you count on your baptism of fire Having ridden in the smoke past the sixth core behind the artillery which had been moved forward and was in action Defining them with the noise of firing. They came to a small wood there It was cool and quiet with the scent of autumn Pierre and the adjutant dismounted and walked up the hill on foot It the general here asked the adjutant on reaching the knoll He was here a minute ago, but it's just gone that way. Someone told him pointing to the right The adjutant looked at Pierre as if puzzled what to do with him now Don't trouble about me. So Pierre. I'll go up on to the knoll if I may Yes, do you'll see everything from there and it's less dangerous and I'll come for you Pierre went to the battery and the adjutant rode on They did not meet again and only much later did Pierre learn that he lost an arm that day The knoll to which Pierre ascended was that famous one after it's known to the Russians as a knoll battery Oravsky's redoubt and to the French as la grande redoute, la fatale redoute, la redoute du centre Around which tens of thousands fell and which the French regarded as the key to the whole position This redoubt consisted of a knoll on three sides of which trenches have been dug Within the entrenchment stood ten guns that were being fired through openings in the earthwork In line with the knoll on both sides stood other guns which also fired incessantly A little behind the guns stood infantry When ascending that knoll Pierre had no notion that this spot on which small trenches have been dug And from which a few guns were firing was the most important point of the battle On the contrary just because he happened to be there He thought it one of the least significant parts of the field Having reached the knoll Pierre sat down at one end of a trench surrounding the battery And gaze that was going on around him with an unconsciously happy smile Occasionally he rose and walked about the battery still with that same smile Trying not to obstruct the soldiers who were loading hauling the guns and continually running past him with bags and charges The guns of that battery were being fired continually one after another with a deafening roar Enveloping the whole neighborhood in powder smoke In contrast with the dread felt by the infantrymen placed in support Here in the battery where a small number of men busy at their work were separated from the rest by a trench Everyone experienced the common and as it were family feeling of animation The intrusion of Pierre's non-military figure in a white hat made an unpleasant impression at first The soldiers looked at scans at him with surprise and even the alarm as they went past him The senior artillery officer a tall long-legged pockmarked man Moved over to Pierre as if to see the action of the farthest gun and looked at him with curiosity A young round-faced officer quite a boy still and evidently only just out of the cadet college Who was zealously commanding the two guns entrusted to him addressed Pierre sternly Sir he said permit me to ask you to stand aside. You must not be here The soldiers shook their heads disapprovingly as they looked at Pierre But when they had convinced themselves that this man in the white hat was doing no harm But either sat quietly on the slope of the trench with a shy smile or politely making way for the soldiers Paced up and down the battery and their fire as calmly as if he were on a boulevard Their feeling of hostile distrust gradually began to change into a kindly and bantering sympathy Such as soldiers feel for their dogs cocks goats and in general for the animals that live with the regiment The man soon accepted Pierre into their family adopted him gave him a nickname Our gentleman and made kindly fun of him among themselves A shell tore up the earth two paces from Pierre and he looked around with a smile as he brushed from his clothes Some earth it had thrown up And how's it you're not afraid sir really now a red-faced broad-shouldered soldier asked Pierre with a grin that disclosed a set of sound white teeth Are you afraid then said Pierre? What else do you expect answered the soldier? She has no mercy, you know when she comes sputtering down Out go your innards and can't help being afraid. He said laughing Several of the men with bright kindly faces stopped beside Pierre They seemed not to have expected him to talk like anybody else and the discovery that he did so delighted them It's the business of a soldier's but in the gentleman. It's wonderful. There's a gentleman for you To your places cried the young officer to the man gathered round Pierre The young officer was evidently exercising his duties for the first or second time And therefore treated both his superiors and the men with great precision and formality The booming cannonade and the fusillade of musketry were growing more intense over the whole field Especially to the left where Begation's Fleshers were but where Pierre was the smoke with the firing made it almost impossible to distinguish anything Moreover, his whole attention was engrossed by watching the family circle Separated from all else formed by the man in the battery His first unconscious feeling of joyful animation produced by the sights and sounds of the battlefield was now replaced by another Especially since he had seen that soldier lying alone in the hayfield Now seated on the slope of the trench. He observed the faces of those around him By 10 o'clock some 20 men had already been carried away from the battery Two guns were smashed and cannonballs fell more and more frequently on the battery and spent bullets buzzed and whistled around But the man in the battery seemed not to notice this and merry voices and jokes were heard on all sides A live one shouted a man as a whistling shell approached Not this way to the infantry, added another with a loud laughter Seeing the shell fly past and fall into the ranks of the supports Are you bowing to a friend eh? remarked another Chafing a peasant who ducked low as a cannonball flew over Several soldiers gathered by the wall of the trench looking out to see what was happening in front Dave withdrawn the front line. It has retired said they pointing over the earthwork Mind your own business an old sergeant shouted at them if they retired is because there's work for them to do farther back And the sergeant taking one of the men by the shoulders gave him a shove with his knee This was followed by a burst of laughter To the fifth gun wheeled up came shouts from one side Now then altogether like barges rose the merry voices of those who were moving the gun Oh, she nearly knocked our gentleman's head off cried the red-faced humorist showing his teeth chafing Pierre Awkward baggage he added reproachfully to a cannonball that struck a cannonwheel and a man's leg Now then you foxes said another laughing at some militia man who Stooping low entered the battery to carry away the wounded man So this grill isn't to your taste.   They don't like it at all Pierre noticed that after every ball that hit the redoubt and after every loss the liveliness increased more and more As the flames of the fire hidden within come more and more vividly and rapidly from an approaching thunder cloud So as if in opposition to what was taking place the lightning of hidden fire growing more and more intense glowed in the faces of these men Pierre did not look out at the battlefield and was not concerned to know what was happening there He was entirely absorbed in watching this fire which burned ever more brightly and which he felt was flaming up in the same way in his own soul At ten o'clock the infantry that had been among the bushes in front of the battery along the Kamenka streamlet retreated From the battery they could be seen running back past it carrying their wounded on their muskets A general with his suite came to the battery and after speaking to the colonel gave Pierre an angry look And went away again having ordered the infantry supports behind the battery to lie down so as to be less exposed to fire After this from amid the ranks of infantry to the right of the battery Came the sound of a drum and shouts of command and from the battery one saw how those ranks of infantry moved forward Pierre looked over the walls of trench and was particularly struck by a pale young officer who letting his sword hang down Was walking backwards and kept glancing uneasily around The ranks of the infantry disappeared amid this smoke but their long drawn shout and rapid musketry firing could still be heard A few minutes later crowds of wounded men and stretcher bears came back from that direction Projectiles began to fall still more frequently in the battery Several men relying about who had not been removed Around the cannon the man moved still more briskly and busily No one any longer took notice of Pierre Once or twice he was shouted at for being in the way The senior officer moved with big rapid strides from one gun to another with a frowning face The young officer with his face still more flushed commanded the man more scrupulously than ever The soldiers handed up the charges turned loaded and did their business with strained smartness They gave little jumps as they walked as though they were on springs Storm cloud had come upon them and in every phase the fire which Pierre had watched Kindle burned up brightly Pierre standing beside the commanding officer the young officer his hand to his shaco ran up to his superior I have the honor to report sir that only eight rounds are left are we to continue firing he asked Grape shot the senior shouted without answering the question looking over the wall of the trench Suddenly something happened the young officer gave a gasp and bending double sat down on the ground like a bird shot on the wing Everything became strange confused and misty in Pierre's eyes One cannonball after another whistled by and struck the earthwork a soldier or a gun Pierre who had not noticed these sounds before now heard nothing else On the right of the battery soldiers shouting hurrah we're running not forwards but backwards it seemed to Pierre A cannonball struck the very end of the earthwork by which he was standing crumbling down the earth A black ball flashed before his eyes and at the same instant plumbed into something Some militia men who were entering the battery ran back All with grape shot shouted the officer The sergeant ran up to the officer and in a frightened whisper informed him as a butler at dinner informs his master That there is no more of some wine asked for that there were no more charges The scoundrels what are they doing shouted the officer turned to Pierre The officer's face was red and perspiring and his eyes glittered under his frowning bro Run to the reserves and bring up the ammunition boxes He yelled angrily avoiding Pierre with his eyes and speaking to his men I'll go said Pierre the officer without answering him strode across to the opposite side Don't fire wait, he shouted the man who'd been ordered to go for ammunition stumbled against Pierre Hey, sir, this is no place for you said he and ran down the slope Pierre ran after him avoiding the spot where the young officer was sitting One cannibal another and a third flew over him falling in front beside and behind him Pierre ran down the slope Where am I going he suddenly asked himself when he was already near the green ammunition wagons He halted irresistibly not knowing whether to return or to go on Suddenly a terrible concussion threw him backwards to the ground At the same instant he was dazzled by a great flash of flame And immediately a deafening roar crackling and whistling made his ears tingle When he came to himself he was sitting on the ground leaning on his hands The ammunition wagons he had been approaching no longer existed Only charred green boards and wrecks littered this scorched grass And a horse dangling fragments of its shaft behind it galloped past While another horse lay like Pierre on the ground uttering prolonged and piercing cries End of Chapter 31 War and Peace Book 10 Chapter 32 Read for LibriVox.org by Anna Simon Beside himself with terror Pierre jumped up and ran back to the battery As to the only refuge from the horrors that surrounded him On entering the earthwork he noticed that there were men doing something there But that no shots were being fired from the battery He had no time to realize who these men were He saw the senior officer lying on the earth wall with his back turned As if he were examining something down below And that one of the soldiers he had noticed before was struggling forward shouting Brothers and trying to free himself from some men who were holding him by the arm He also saw something else that was strange But he had no time to realize that the colonel had been killed That the soldier shouting Brothers was a prisoner And that another man had been bayoneted in the back before his eyes For hardly had he run into the redoubt Before a thin, cellophased, perspiring man in a blue uniform Rushed on him sword in hand shouting something Instinctively guarding against the shock For they'd been running together at full speed before they saw one another Pierre put out his hands and seized the man A French officer by the shoulder with one hand and by the throat with the other The officer dropping his sword seized Pierre by his collar For some seconds they gazed with frightened eyes at one another's unfamiliar faces And both were perplexed at what they had done and what they were to do next Am I taken prisoner or have I taken him prisoner? He trust thinking But the French officer was evidently more inclined to think he had been taken prisoner Because Pierre's strong hand impelled by instinctive fear Squeezed his throat ever tighter and tighter The Frenchman was about to say something when just above their heads Terrible and low a cannonball whistled And it seemed to Pierre that the French officer's head had been torn off So swiftly I deducted Pierre too bent his head and let his hands fall Without further thought as to who had taken whom prisoner The Frenchman ran back to the battery and Pierre ran down the slope Stumbling over the dead and wounded who it seemed to him caught at his feet But before he reached the foot of the knoll He was met by a dense crowd of Russian soldiers who Stumbling, trapping up and shouting, ran merrily and wildly toward the battery This was the attack for which Ermilov claimed the credit Declaring that only his courage and good luck made such a feat possible It was the attack in which he was said to have thrown some St. George's crosses He had in his pocket into the battery for the first soldiers to take who got there The French who had occupied the battery fled And our troops shouting Hurrah! Pursued them so far beyond the battery that it was difficult to call them back The prisoners were brought down from the battery And among them was a wounded French general whom the officers surrounded Crowds of wounded, some known to Pierre and some unknown Russians and French with faces distorted by suffering Walked, crawled and were carried on stretches from the battery Pierre again went up onto the knoll where he had spent over an hour And of that family circle which had received him as a member He did not find a single one There were many dead whom he did not know But some he recognized The young officer still sat in the same way bent double In a pool of blood at the edge of the earth wall The red-faced man was still twitching but they did not carry him away Pierre ran down the slope once more Now they will stop it Now they will be horrified at what they've done, he thought Aimlessly going toward a crowd of stretcher-bearers moving from the battlefield But behind the veil of smoke the sun was still high And in front and especially to the left near Seminovsk Something seemed to be seething in the smoke And the roar of cannon and musketry did not diminish But even increased to desperation Like a man who, straining himself, shrieks with all his remaining strength End of Chapter 32 The active action of the Battle of Borodino Was fought within the 7,000 feet between Borodino and Bagration's Fleshes Beyond that space there was, on the one side, a demonstration Made by the Russians with Uvarov's cavalry at Mite And on the other side, beyond Uttica, Ponyatovsky's collision with Tuchkov But these two were detached and feeble actions In comparison with what took place in the center of the battlefield On the field between Borodino and the Fleshes, beside the wood The chief action of the day took place on an open space Visible from both sides and was fought in the simplest and most artless way The battle began on both sides with a cannonade from several hundred guns Then, when the whole field was covered with smoke Two divisions, Campan's and Desers, advanced from the French right While Murat's troops advanced on Borodino from the left From the Chevardino readout, when Napoleon was standing The Fleshes were two-thirds of a mile away And it was more than a mile, as the crow flies, to Borodino So that Napoleon could not see what was happening there Especially as the smoke, mingling with the mist, hid the whole locality The soldiers of Desers' division, advancing against the Fleshes Could only be seen till they had entered the hollow that lay between them and the Fleshes As soon as they had descended into that hollow The smoke of the guns and musketry on the Fleshes Grew so dense that it covered the whole approach on that side of it Through the smoke, glimpses could be caught of something black Probably men, and at times the glint of bayonets But whether they were moving or stationary, whether they were French or Russian Could not be discovered from the Chevardino readout The sun had risen brightly, and its slanting rays struck straight into Napoleon's face As, shading his eyes with his hand, he looked at the Fleshes The smoke spread out before them, and at times it looked As if the smoke were moving, at times as if the troops moved Sometimes shards were heard through the firing But it was impossible to tell what was being done there Napoleon, standing on the knoll, looked through a field glass And in its small circlet saw smoke and men Sometimes his own, and sometimes Russians But when he looked again with the naked eye He could not tell where what he had seen was He descended the knoll, and began walking up and down before it Occasionally he stopped, listened to the firing, and gazed intently at the battlefield But not only was it impossible to make out what was happening from where he was standing down below From the knoll above, on which some of his generals had taken the stand But even from the Fleshes themselves, in which by this time there were now Russian And now French soldiers, alternately odd together Dead, wounded, alive, frightened, or maddened Even at those Fleshes themselves, it was impossible to make out what was taking place There, for several hours amid incessant cannon and musketry fire Now Russians were seen alone, now Frenchmen alone Now infantry, and now cavalry They appeared, fired, fell, collided, not knowing what to do with one another Screamed, and ran back again From the battlefield, agitans he had sent out, and orderlies from his marshals Kept galloping up to Napoleon with reports of the progress of the action But all those reports were false, both because it was impossible in the heat of battle To say what was happening at any given moment And because many of the agitans did not go to the actual place of conflict But reported what they had heard from others And also because what an agitant was riding more than a mile to Napoleon Circumstances changed, and the news he brought was already becoming false Thus an agitant galloped up from Murat, with tidings that Borodino had been occupied And the bridge over the Kalosha was in the hands of the French The agitant asked whether Napoleon wished the troops to cross it Napoleon gave orders that the troops should form up on the farther side and wait But before that order was given, almost as soon in fact as agitant had left Borodino The bridge had been retaken by the Russians and burned in a very skirmish head Which Pierre had been present at the beginning of the battle An agitant galloped up from the flashes with a pale and frightened face And reported to Napoleon that their attack had been repulsed Campan wounded and Davout killed Yet at the very time the agitant had been told that the French had been repulsed The flashes had in fact been recaptured by other French troops And Davout was alive and only slightly bruised On the basis of these necessarily untrustworthy reports Napoleon gave his orders, which had either been executed before he gave them Or could not be and were not executed The marshals and generals who were nearer to the field of battle But, like Napoleon, did not take part in the actual fighting And only occasionally went within musket range Made their own arrangements without asking Napoleon And issued orders where and in what direction to fire And where cavalry should gallop and infantry should run But even their orders, like Napoleon's, were seldom carried out and then but partially For the most part things happened contrary to their orders Soldiers ordered to advance ran back on meeting grapeshot Soldiers ordered to remain where they were Suddenly seeing Russians unexpectedly before them Sometimes rushed back and sometimes forward And the cavalry dashed without orders in pursuit of the flying Russians In this way two cavalry regiments galloped through the Simeonov's collo And as soon as they reached the top of the incline turned round And galloped full speed back again The infantry moved in the same way Sometimes running to quite other places than those they were ordered to go to All orders, as to where and when to move the guns When to send infantry to shoot or horsemen to ride down the Russian infantry All such orders were given by the officers on the spot nearest to the units concerned Without asking either Ney, Davout or Mura, much less Napoleon They did not fear getting into trouble for not fulfilling orders Or for acting on their own initiative For in battle what is at stake is what is dearest to man His own life And it sometimes seems that safety lies in running back Sometimes in running forward And these men who were right in the heat of the battle Acted according to the mood of the moment In reality however All these movements forward and backward Did not improve or alter the position of the troops Or the rushing and galloping at one another did little harm The harm of disablement and death was caused by the balls and bullets That flew over the fields on which these men were floundering about As soon as they left a place where the balls and bullets were flying about Their superiors, located in the background, Reformed them and brought them under discipline And under the influence of their discipline Let them back to the zone of fire Where under the influence of fear of death They lost their discipline And rushed about according to the chance promptings of the throng End of chapter 33 Recording by Ernst Patinama Amsterdam, The Netherlands This recording is in the public domain War and Peace Book 10 Chapter 34 Read for LibreVox.org by Philippe Brody Napoleon's generals, Davout, Ney and Moura, Who were near that region of fire and sometimes even entered it, Repeatedly led into it huge masses of well-ordered troops But contrary to what had always happened in their former battles, Instead of the news they expected of the enemy's flight, These orderly masses returned thence as disorganized and terrified mobs The generals reformed them, but their numbers constantly decreased In the middle of the day Moura sent his adjutant Napoleon to demand reinforcements Napoleon sat at the foot of the knoll, drinking punch, When Moura's adjutant galloped up with an assurance that the Russians would be routed If his majesty would let him have another division Reinforcements, said Napoleon, in a tone of stern surprise, Looking at the adjutant, a handsome lad with long black curls arranged like Moura's own, As though he did not understand his words Reinforcements, thought Napoleon to himself, How can they need reinforcements when they already have half the army directed Against a weak, unentrenched Russian wing? Tell, the king of Naples, he said sternly, That it is not noon yet, and I don't yet see my chessboard clearly Go! The handsome boy adjutant with a long hair sighed deeply without removing his hand from his hat And galloped back to where men were being slaughtered Napoleon rose, and having summoned Colin Cour and Bertier Began talking to them about matters unconnected with the battle In the midst of this conversation, which was beginning to interest Napoleon, Bertier's eyes turned to look at a general with a suit Who was galloping towards the knoll on a lathering horse It was Belia Having dismounted, he went up to the emperor with rapid strides, And in a loud voice began boldly demonstrating The necessity of sending reinforcements He swore on his honour that the Russians were lost If the emperor would give another division Napoleon shrugged his shoulders and continued to pace up and down without replying Belia began talking loudly and eagerly To the generals of the suite around him You are very fiery Belia said Napoleon When he came up again to the general In the heat of a battle it is easy to make a mistake Go and have another look and then come back to me Before Belia was out of sight, a messenger from another part of the battlefield galloped up Now then what do you want asked Napoleon In the tone of a man irritated at being continually disturbed Sire the prince began the adjutant Asks for reinforcements said Napoleon with an angry gesture The adjutant bent his head affirmatively and began to report But the emperor turned from him, took a couple of steps, stopped, Came back and called Belia We must give reserves, he said, moving his arms slightly apart Who do you think should be sent there, he asked of Belia Whom he subsequently termed that gozling have made an eagle Saint Clapeyre's division sire, replied Belia Who knew all the division's regiments and battalions by heart Napoleon nodded ascent The adjutant galloped to Clapeyre's division And a few minutes later the young guard station behind the knoll moved forward Napoleon gazed silently in that direction No, he said suddenly to Belia, a cunt in Clapeyre Saint Freon's division Though there was no advantage in sending Freon's division Instead of Clapeyre's, and even in obvious inconvenience and delay In stopping Clapeyre and sending Freon now, the order was carried out exactly Napoleon did not notice that in regard to his army He was playing the part of a doctor who hinders by his medicine A role he so justly understood and condemned Freon's division disappeared as the others had done Into the smoke of the battlefield From all sides adjutants continued to arrive at a gallop And as if by agreement all said the same thing They all asked for reinforcements And all said that the Russians were holding their positions And maintaining a hellish fire under which the French army was melting away Napoleon sat on a campstall wrapped in thought Em de Boussée, the man so fond of travel, having fasted since morning, came up to the emperor And ventured respectfully to suggest lunch to his majesty I hope I may now congratulate your majesty on a victory, he said Napoleon silently shook his head in negation Assuming the negation to refer only to the victory and not to the lunch Em de Boussée ventured with respectful jocularity To remark that there is no reason for not having lunch when one can get it Go away, explained Napoleon suddenly and morosely, and turned aside A beatific smile of regret, repentant and ecstasy beamed on Em de Boussée's face And he glided away to the other generals Napoleon was experiencing a feeling of depression like that of an ever-lucky gambler who After recklessly flinging money about and always winning Suddenly, just when he's calculated all the chances of the game Finds that the more he considers his play the more surely he loses His troops were the same, his generals the same The same preparations had been made, the same dispositions and the same proclamation Quote et énergique, he himself was still the same He knew that, and knew that he was now even more experienced and skillful than before Even the enemy was the same as at Avsterlitz and Friedland Yet the terrible stroke of his arm had supernaturally become impotent All the old methods that had been unfailingly crowned with success The concentration of batteries at one point An attack by reserves to break the enemy's line And a cavalry attack by the men of iron All these methods had already been employed And yet not only was there no victory But from all sides came the same news of generals killed and wounded Of reinforcements needed Of the impossibility of driving back the Russians And of disorganization among his own troops Formerly after he'd given two or three orders and uttered a few phrases Marshals and adjutants had come galloping up with the congratulations and happy faces Announcing the trophies taken The cause of prisoners Bundles of enemy eagles and standards Cannon and stores And Murat had only begged leave to lose the cavalry To gather in the baggage wagons So it had been at Lodi, Marengo, Arkola, Jena, Austerlitz, Vagram and so on But now something strange was happening to his troops Despite news of the capture of the Fleshes Napoleon saw that this was not the same Not at all the same as what had happened in his former battles He saw that what he was feeling was felt by all the men about him Experienced in the art of war All their faces looked dejected and they all shunned one another's eyes Only a debute could fail to grasp the meaning of what was happening But Napoleon with his long experience of war well knew the meaning of a battle Not gained by the attacking side in eight hours After all efforts had been expended He knew that it was a lost battle And that the least accident might now With the fight balanced on such a strained centre Destroy him and his army When he ran his mind over the whole of this strange Russian campaign In which not one battle had been won And in which not one flag or cannon or army course Had been captured in two months When he looked at the concealed depression of the Faces around him And heard reports of the Russians still holding their ground A terrible feeling like a nightmare took possession on him And all the unlucky accidents that might destroy him occurred to his mind The Russians might fall on his left wing Might break through his centre He himself might be killed by a stray cannonball All this was possible In former battles he had only considered the possibilities of success But now innumerable unlucky chances presented themselves And he expected them all Yes it was like a dream in which a man fancies that a ruffian is coming to attack him And raises his arm to strike that ruffian a terrible blow Which he knows should annihilate him But then feels that his arm drops powerless and limp like a rag And the horror of unavoidable destruction seizes him in his helplessness The news that the Russians were attacking the left flank of the French army Aroused that horror in Napoleon He sat silently on a campstall below the knoll With head bowed and elbows on his knees But Tia approached and suggested that they should ride along the line To ascertain the position of affairs Would, would you say, asked Napoleon Yes, tell him to bring me my horse He mounted and rode towards Seminov's Amid the powder smoke slowly dispersing over the whole space Through which Napoleon rode Horses and men were lying in pools of blood Singly or in heaps Neither Napoleon nor any of his generals had ever before seen such horrors Or so many slain in such a small area The roar of guns that had not ceased for ten hours Waryed the ear And gave a peculiar significance to the spectacle As music does to tableaux vivants Napoleon rode up the high ground at Seminov's And through the smoke saw ranks of men in uniforms of a colour unfamiliar to him They were Russians The Russians stood in serried ranks behind Seminov's village And its knoll and their guns boomed incessantly along their line And sent forth clouds of smoke It was no longer a battle It was a continuous slaughter Which could have been of no avail Either to the French or the Russians Napoleon stopped his horse and again fell into the reverie From which Bertier had aroused him He could not stop what was going on before him and around him And was supposed to be directed by him and to depend on him And from its lack of success this affair for the first time seemed to him Unnecessary and horrible One of the generals rode up to Napoleon and ventured to offer to lead the old guard into action Nay and Bertier, standing near Napoleon, exchanged looks and smiled Contemptuously at this general's senseless offer Napoleon bowed his head and remained silent a long time At eight hundred leagues from France I will not have my guard destroyed He said and turning his horse rode back to Chavardeno End of chapter 34 Recording by Philippe Brody Edinburgh Laspecula.blogspot.com War and Peace Book 10 Chapter 35 Read for LibriVox.org By Philippe Brody On the road-covered bench where Pierre had seen him in the morning sat Kutuzov His grey head hanging, his heavy body relaxed He gave no orders, but only assented to, or dissented from, what others suggested Yes, yes, do that, he replied to various proposals Yes, yes, go, dear boy, and have a look He would say, to one or other, of those about him or No, don't we'd better wait He listened to the reports that were brought him and gave directions when his subordinates demanded that of him But when listening to the reports it seemed as if he were not interested in the import of the words spoken But rather in something else In the expression of face and tone of voice of those who were reporting By long years of military experience he knew, and with the wisdom of age understood That it is impossible for one man to direct hundreds of thousands of others struggling with death Kutuzov knew that the result of a battle is decided not by the orders of a commander-in-chief Nor the place where the troops are stationed Nor by the number of cannon, of slaughtered men But by that intangible force called the spirit of the army And he watched this force and guided it, in as far as that was in his power Kutuzov's general expression was one of concentrated quiet attention And his face wore a strained look as if he found it difficult to master the fatigue of his old and feeble body At eleven o'clock they brought him news that the flesh is captured by the French being retaken But that the prince-progation was wounded Kutuzov groaned and swayed his head Ride over to the prince Peter Ivanovich and find out about it exactly He said to one of his adjutants and then turned to the Duke of Wuttenberg Who was standing behind him Will your highness please take command of the First Army Soon after the Duke's departure Peter Ivanovich Semenovsk, his adjutant came back from him and told Kutuzov that the Duke asked for more troops Kutuzov made a grimace and sent an order to Doctorov to take over the command of the First Army And a request to the Duke Whom he said he could not spare at such an important moment to return to him When they brought in the news that Noach had been taken prisoner And the staff officers congratulated him Kutuzov smiled Wait a little gentlemen Kutuzov said he The battle is won and there is nothing extraordinary in the capture of Noach Still, it is better to wait before we rejoice But he set an adjutant to take the news round the army When Sherbinin came galloping from the left flank with news that the French had captured the Fleshes and the village of Semenovsk Kutuzov, guessing by the sounds of the battle and by Sherbinin's looks that the news was bad Rows as if to stretch his legs and taking Sherbinin's arm Let him aside My dear fellow, he said to Emma Love and see whether something can't be done Kutuzov was in Gorky near the centre of the Russian position The attack directed by Napoleon against our left flank had been several times repulsed In the centre the French had not got beyond Borodino And on their left flank, Uvorov's cavalry had put the French to flight Towards three o'clock the French attacks ceased On the faces of all who came from the field of battle and of those who stood around him Kutuzov noticed an expression of extreme tension He was satisfied with the day's success A success exceeding his expectations But the old man's strength was failing him Several times his head dropped below as if it were falling and he dozed off Dinner was brought to him Adjutant General Volzigin The man who, when riding past Prince Andrew had said The war should be extended widely And whom, the Gratian so detested, rode up while Kutuzov was at dinner Volzigin had come from Barclay de Tolly to report on the progress of affairs on the left flank The sagacious Barclay de Tolly, seeing crowds of wounded men running back And the disordered rear of the army weighed all the circumstances Concluded that the battle was lost And sent his favourite officer to the commander in chief with that news Kutuzov was chewing a piece of roast chicken with difficulty And glanced at Volzigin with eyes brightened under their puckering lids Volzigin, notchllantly stretching his legs Approached Kutuzov with a half-contemptious smile on his lips Scarcely touching the peak of his cap He treated his serene highness with a somewhat affected notchllence Intended to show that, as a highly trained military man He left to Russians to make an idol of this useless old man But that he knew whom he was dealing with Dear Altair Herr, as in their own set the Germans called Kutuzov Is making himself very comfortable, Volzigin And looking severely at the dishes in front of Kutuzov He began to report to the old gentleman The position of affairs on the left flank as Barclay had ordered him to And as he himself had seen and understood it All the points of our position are in the enemy's hands And we cannot dislodge them for lack of troops The men are running away and it is impossible to stop them He reported Kutuzov ceased chewing and fixed an astonish gaze on Volzigin As if not understanding what was said to him Volzigin, noticing the old gentleman's agitation Said with a smile I have not considered it right to conceal from your serene highness What I have seen The troops are in complete disorder You have seen? You have seen? Kutuzov shouted, frowning Rising quickly he went up to Volzigin How?  He shouted, choking and making a threatening gesture with his trembling arms How dare you, sir, say that to me You know nothing about it Tell General Barclay from me that his information is incorrect And that the real course of the battle is better known to me The commander-in-chief than to him Volzigin was about to make a rejoinder But Kutuzov interrupted him The enemy has been repulsed on the left and defeated on the right flank If you have seen amiss, sir Do not allow yourself to say what you don't know Be so good as to ride to General Barclay And inform him of my firm intention to attack the enemy tomorrow Said Kutuzov sternly All was silent and the only sound audible was the heavy breathing of the panting old general They are repulsed everywhere for which I thank God and our brave army The enemy is beaten and tomorrow we shall drive him from the sacred soil of Russia Said Kutuzov crossing himself and he suddenly sobbed as his eyes filled with tears Volzigin shrugging his shoulders and curling his lips, stepped silently aside Marvelling at the old gentleman's conceited stupidity Ah, here he is, my hero! said Kutuzov to a portly, handsome, dark-haired general Who was just descending the knoll This was Revsky who had spent the whole day at the most important part of the field of Borodino Revsky reported that the troops were firmly holding their ground And that the French no longer ventured to attack After hearing him, Kutuzov said in French Then you do not think like some others that we must retreat On the contrary, Your Highness, in indecisive actions it is always the most stubborn who remain victors Replied Revsky and in my opinion Kaiserov Kutuzov called to his adjutant Sit down and write out the order of the day for tomorrow And you, he continued, addressing another Ride along the line and that tomorrow we attack While Kutuzov was talking to Revsky and dictating the order of the day Kutuzov returned from Barclay and said that General Barclay wished to have written confirmation of the order the field marshal had given Kutuzov, without looking at Revsky, gave directions for the order to be written out which the former commander-in-chief To avoid personal responsibility, very judiciously, wished to receive And by means of that mysterious, indefinable bond which maintains throughout an army One and the same temper known as the spirit of the army And which constitutes the sinew of war In other words, his order for a battle the next day immediately became known from one end of the army to the other It was far from being the same words or the same order that reached the farthest links of the chain The tales passing from mouth to mouth at different ends of the army did not even resemble what Kutuzov had said But the sense of his words spread everywhere because what he was said was not the outcome of cunning calculations But of a feeling that lay in the commander-in-chief's soul as in that of every Russian Learning that tomorrow they were to attack the enemy and hearing from the highest quarters the confirmation of what they wanted to believe The exhausted, wavering men felt comforted and inspired End of chapter 35 Recording by Philippa Brody Prince Andrew's regiment was among the reserves which till after one o'clock were stationed inactive behind Semenovsk under heavy artillery fire To a two o'clock the regiment having already lost more than 200 men was moved forward into a trampled outfield In the gap between Semenovsk and the Norv battery where thousands of men perished that day And on which an intense concentrated fire from several hundred enemy guns was directed between one and two o'clock Without moving from that spot or firing a single shot the regiment here lost another third of its men From in front and especially from the right in the unlifting smoke the guns boomed and out of the mysterious domain of smoke That overlayed the whole space in front quick hissing cannonballs and slow whistling shells flew unceasingly At times as if to allow them a respite a quarter of an hour passed during which the cannonballs and shells all flew overhead But sometimes several men were torn from the regiment in a minute and the slain were continually being dragged away and the wounded carried off With each fresh blow less and less chance of life remained for those not yet killed The regiment stood in columns of battalion 300 paces apart but nevertheless the men were always in one and the same mood All alike were taciturn and morose, talk was rarely heard in the ranks and it ceased altogether every time the thought of a successful shot and the cry of stretchers was heard Most of the time by their officers order the men sat on the ground One having taken off his shackle carefully losing the gathers of its lining and drew them tight again Another rubbing some dry clay between his palms polished his bayonet Another finger to strap and pulled the buckle of his bandolier While another smoothed and refoldered his leg bands and put his boots on again Some built little houses of the tufts in the plowed ground or plated baskets from the straw in the cornfield All seemed fully absorbed in these pursuits When men were killed or wounded, when rows of stretchers went past, when some troops retreated And when great masses of the enemy came into view through the smoke, no one paid any attention to these things But when our artillery or cavalry advanced or some of our infantry were seen to move forward, words of approval were heard on all sides But the lifeless detention was attracted by occurrences quite apart from and unconnected with the battle It was as if the minds of these morally exhausted men found relief in everyday commonplace occurrences A battery of artillery was passing in front of the regiment The horse of an ammunition cart put its leg over a trace Look at the trace horse, get her leg out, she'll fall Ah, they don't see it, came identical shouts from the ranks all along the regiment Another time general attention was attracted by a small brown dog coming heaven knows whence Which, trotted in a preoccupied manner in front of the ranks, was tailed stiffly erect till suddenly a shell fell close by When it helped, tucked its tail between its legs and darted aside Yes, and sheiks of laughter rose from the whole regiment But such distractions lasted only a moment And for eight hours the men had been inactive, without food, in constant fear of death And their pale and gloomy faces grew even paler and gloomier Prince Andrew, pale and gloomy, like everyone in the regiment, paced up and down from the border of one patch to another At edge of the meadow beside an outfield, with head bowed and arms behind his back There was nothing for him to do, and no orders to be given Everything went on, off itself The killed were dragged from the front, the wounded carried away, and the ranks closed up To any soldiers ran to the rear, they returned immediately and hastily At first Prince Andrew, considering it his duty to rouse the courage of the men and to set them an example, walked about among the ranks But he soon became convinced that this was unnecessary, and that there was nothing he could teach them All the powers of his soul, as of every soldier there, were unconsciously bent on avoiding the contemplation of the horrors of their situation He walked along the meadow, dragging his feet, rustling the grass, and gazing at the dust that covered his boots Now he took big strides trying to keep to the footprints left on the meadow by the mowers Then he counted his steps, calculating how often he must walk from one strip to another to walk a mile Then he stripped the flowers from the wormwood that grew along a boundary rut, rubbed them in his palms, and smelled their pungent, sweetly bitter scent Nothing remained of the previous day's thoughts. He thought of nothing He listened with weary ears to the ever-recurring sounds distinguishing the whistle of flying projectiles from the booming of the reports Plans that the tarsomly familiar faces of the men of the first battalion end waited Here it comes, this one is coming our way again He sought, listening to an approaching whistle in the hidden region of smoke One, another, again, it has hit He stopped and looked at the ranks No, it has gone over, but this one has hit And again he started trying to reach the boundary strip in sixteen paces A whiz and a thud, five paces from him, a cannonball tore up the dry earth and disappeared A cheer ran down his back Again he glanced at the ranks. Probably many had been hit A large crowd had gathered near the second battalion Adjutant, he shouted, ordered them not to crowd together The adjutant, having obeyed this instruction, approached Prince Andrew From the other side a battalion commander rolled up Look out! came a frightened cry from a soldier And like a bird, wearing in rapid flight and alighting on the ground A shell dropped with little noise within two steps of Prince Andrew And close to the battalion commander's horse The horse first, regardless of whether it was right or wrong to show fear Snorted, reared almost throwing the major and galloped aside The horse's terror infected the man Lie down, cried the adjutant, throwing himself flat on the ground Prince Andrew hesitated The smoking shell spun like a top between him and the prostrate adjutant Near a wormwood plant between the field and the meadow Can this be death, saw Prince Andrew looking with a quite new envious glance at the grass The wormwood and the streamlet of smoke that curled up from the rotating black ball I cannot, I do not wish to die I love life, I love this grass, this earth, this air He sought this and at the same time remembered that people were looking at him It is shameful, sir, he said to the adjutant, what? He did not finish speaking At one and the same moment came the sound of an explosion A whistle of sprinters as from a breaking window frame A suffocating smell of powder And Prince Andrew started to one side raising his arm and fell on his chest Several officers ran up to him From the right side of his abdomen blood was welling out making a large stain on the grass The militiamen with stretchers who were called up stood behind the officers Prince Andrew lay on his chest with his face in the grass, raising heavily and noisily What are you waiting for?  The stomach, that means death, my God Voices among the officers were heard saying It flew a hair's breast past my ear, said the adjutant The peasants, adjusting the stretcher to their shoulders Started hurriedly along the pass they had trodden down to the dressing station Keep in step, oh those peasants Shouted at officers seizing by their shoulders and checking the peasants Who were walking unevenly and jolting the stretcher Get into step, feather, I say feather, said the foremost peasant Now that is right, said the one behind joyfully when he had got into step Your excellency, Prince said the trembling voice of Timokin Who had run up and was looking down on the stretcher Prince Andrew opened his eyes and looked up at the speaker From the stretcher into which his head had sunk deep And again his eyelids drooped The militia man carried Prince Andrew to the dressing station by the wood Where wagons were stationed The dressing station consisted of three tents with flaps turned back Pitched at the edge of a birch wood In the wood wagons and horses were standing The horses were eating oats from the movable troughs And sparrows flew down and pecked the grains that fell Some crows, senting blood, flew among the birch trees Cawing impatiently Around the tents over more than five acres Blood-stained men in various garbs stood set or lay Around the wounded stood crowds of soldier stretcher-bearers With dismal and attentive faces Whom the officers keeping order tried in vain to drive from the spot Disregarding the officers' orders The soldiers stood leaning against their stretchers and gazing intently As if trying to comprehend the difficult problem or what was taking place before them From the tents came now loud angry cries Now plaintive groans Occasionally dresses ran out to fetch water Or to point out those who were to be brought in next The wounded men awaiting their turn outside the tents Growned, sighed, wept, screamed, swore Or asked for vodka Some were delirious Prince Andrew's bearers, stepping over the wounded who had not yet been bandaged Took him as a regimental commander, close up to one of the tents And there stopped awaiting instructions Prince Andrew opened his eyes and for a long time could not make out What was going on around him He remembered the meadow, the wormwood, the field, the whirling black ball And his sudden rush of passionate love of life Two steps from him leaning against the branch and talking loudly And attracting general attention Stood a tall, handsome, black-haired, non-commissioned officer with a bandaged head He had been wounded in the head and lagged by bullets Around him eagerly listening to his talk A crowd of wounded and stature-bearers were gathered We kicked him out from there so that he chucked everything We grabbed the king himself, cried he Looking around him with eyes that glittered with fever If only reserves had come up just then, lads There wouldn't have been nothing left of him I tell you surely Like all the others near the speaker, Prince Andrew looked at him with shining eyes And experienced a sense of comfort But isn't it all the same now, sought he And what will be there, and what has there been here Why was I so reluctant to part with life There's something in this life I did not and do not understand End of Chapter 36 Recording by Ava Harnick, Bontavedra, Florida All right, immediately He replied to a dresser who pointed Prince Andrew out to him And he told them to carry him into the tent Murmurs arose among the wounded who were waiting It seems that even in the next world only the gentry are to have a chance But it seems that even in the next world only the gentry are to have a chance It seems that even in the next world only the gentry are to have a chance Remarked one Prince Andrew was carried in and laid on a table that had only just been cleared, and which a dresser was washing down Prince Andrew could not make out distinctly what was in that tent The pitiful groans from all sides and the torturing pain in his thigh, stomach, and back distracted him All he saw about him merged into a general impression of naked, bleeding, human bodies That seemed to fill the whole of the low tent As a few weeks previously on that hot, august day Such bodies had filled the dirty pond beside the Smolensk Road Yes, it was the same flesh, the same Sheral Canone The sight of which had even then filled him with horror As by a presentment There were three operating tables in the tent Two were occupied and on the third they placed Prince Andrew For a little while he was left alone and involuntarily witnessed what was taking place on the other two tables On the nearest one sat a tartar, probably a cossack, judging by the uniform thrown down beside him Four soldiers were holding him and a spectacle doctor was cutting into his muscular brown back Grunted the tartar and suddenly lifting up his swarthy, snub-nosed face with its high cheekbones and bearing his white teeth He began to wriggle and twitch his body and utter piercing, ringing, and prolonged yells On the other table, round which many people were crowding, a tall, well-fed man lay on his back with his head thrown back His curly hair, its color, and the shape of his head seemed strangely familiar to Prince Andrew Several dressers were pressing on his chest to hold him down One large, white, plump leg twitched rapidly all the time with a feverish tremor The man was sobbing and choking convulsively Two doctors, one of whom was pale and trembling, were silently doing something to this man's other gory leg When he had finished with the tartar, whom they covered with an overcoat, the spectacle doctor came up to Prince Andrew, wiping his hands He glanced at Prince Andrew's face and quickly turned away Undress him! What are you waiting for? he cried angrily to the dressers His very first, remotest recollections of childhood came back to Prince Andrew's mind when the dresser with sleeves rolled up began hastily to undo the buttons of his clothes and undress him The doctor bent down over the wound, felt it, and sighed deeply Then he made a sign to someone, and the torturing pain in his abdomen caused Prince Andrew to lose consciousness When he came to himself, the splintered portions of his thigh bone had been extracted The torn flesh cut away, and the wound bandaged Water was being sprinkled on his face As soon as Prince Andrew opened his eyes, the doctor bent over, kissed him silently on the lips, and hurried away After the sufferings he had been enduring, Prince Andrew enjoyed a blissful feeling such as he had not experienced for a long time All the best and happiest moments of his life, especially his earliest childhood, when he used to be undressed and put to bed And when leaning over him, his nurse sang him to sleep, and he, burying his head in his pillow, felt happy in the mere consciousness of life Returned to his memory, not merely as something past, but as something present The doctors were busily engaged with the wounded man, the shape of whose head seemed familiar to Prince Andrew They were lifting him up and trying to quiet him Show it to me!  His frightened moans could be heard, subdued by suffering and broken by sobs Hearing those moans, Prince Andrew wanted to weep, whether because he was dying without glory, or because he was sorry to part with life Or because of those memories of a childhood that could not return Or because he was suffering, and others were suffering, and that man near him was groaning so piteously He felt like weeping childlike, kindly, and almost happy tears The wounded man was shown his amputated leg, stained with clotted blood, and with the boot still on Oh, oh, oh! He sobbed, like a woman The doctor, who had been standing beside him, preventing Prince Andrew from seeing his face, moved away My God, what is this? Why is he here? said Prince Andrew to himself In the miserable, sobbing, and feebled man, whose leg had just been amputated, he recognized Anatole Kerogen Men were supporting him in their arms, and offering him a glass of water, but his trembling, swollen lips could not grasp its rim Anatole was sobbing painfully Yes, it is he Yes, that man is somehow closely and painfully connected with me, thought Prince Andrew, not yet clearly grasping what he saw before him What is the connection of that man with my childhood and my life? he asked himself without finding an answer And suddenly, a new unexpected memory from that realm of pure and loving childhood presented itself to him He remembered Natasha as he had seen her for the first time at the ball in 1810 With her slender neck and arms, and with a frightened happy face ready for rapture, and love and tenderness for her Stronger and more vivid than ever awoke in his soul He now remembered the connection that had existed between himself and this man who was dimly gazing at him through tears that filled his swollen eyes He remembered everything, and ecstatic pity and love for that man overflowed his happy heart Prince Andrew could no longer restrain himself and wept tender loving tears for his fellow men, for himself and for his own and their errors Compassion, love of our brothers, for those who love us and for those who hate us, love of our enemies Yes, that love which God preached on earth and which Princess Mary taught me and I did not understand That is what made me sorry to part with life, that is what remained for me had I lived But now it is too late, I know it End of Chapter 37 And the consciousness of the impotence of his once mighty arm produced an unexpected impression on Napoleon Who usually liked to look at the killed and wounded, thereby he considered testing his strength of mind This day the horrible appearance of the battlefield overcame that strength of mind which he thought constituted his merit and his greatness He rode hurriedly from the battlefield and returned to the Chavardino knoll where he sat on his campstool His cello face swollen and heavy, his eyes dim, his nose red and his voice hoarse Involuntarily listening with downcast eyes to the sounds of firing With painful dejection he waited the end of this action in which he regarded himself as a participant and which he was unable to arrest A personal human feeling for a brief moment got the better of the artificial phantasm of life he had served so long He felt in his own person the sufferings and death he had witnessed on the battlefield The heaviness of his head and chest reminded him of the possibility of suffering and death for himself At that moment he did not desire Moscow or victory or glory What need had he for any more glory The one thing he wished for was rest, tranquility and freedom But when he had been on the Semenovsk Heights the artillery commander had proposed to him to bring several batteries of artillery up to those heights to strengthen the fire on the Russian troops crowded in front of Knyazkov Napoleon had ascended and had given orders that news should be brought to him of the effect those batteries produced An adjutant came now to inform him that the fire of two hundred guns had been concentrated on the Russians as he had ordered but that they still held their ground Our fire is moaning them down by rows but still they hold on said the adjutant They want more said Napoleon in a hoarse voice Sire asked the adjutant who had not heard the remark They want more croaked Napoleon frowning Let them have it Even before he gave that order the thing he did not desire and for which he gave the order only because he thought it was expected of him was being done And he fell back into that artificial realm of imaginary greatness and again as a horse walking a treadmill thinks it is doing something for itself He submissively fulfilled the cruel, sad, gloomy and inhuman role predestined for him And not for that day and hour alone were the mind and conscience darkened of this man on whom the responsibility for what was happening lay more than on all the others who took part in it Never to the end of his life could he understand goodness, beauty or truth or the significance of his actions which were too contrary to goodness and truth Too remote from everything human for him ever to be able to grasp their meaning He could not disavow his actions, relorted as they were by half the world and so he had to repudiate truth, goodness and all humanity Not only on that day as he rode over the battlefield strewn with man killed and maimed by his will as he believed Did he reckon as he looked at them how many Russians there were for each Frenchman And deceiving himself find reason for rejoicing in the calculation that there were five Russians for every Frenchman Not on that day alone did he write in a letter to Paris that the battlefield was superb because fifty thousand corpses lay there But even on the island of St Helena in the peaceful solitude where he said he intended to devote his leisure to an account of the great deeds he had done He wrote, All that remained was to organize it Satisfied on these great points and with tranquility everywhere I too should have had my congress and my holy alliance Those ideas were stolen from me In that reunion of great sovereigns we should have discussed our interests like one family and have rendered account to the peoples as clerk to master Europe would in this way soon have been in fact but one people and anyone who traveled anywhere would have found himself always in the common fatherland I should have demanded the freedom of all navigable rivers for everybody that the seas should be common to all and that the great standing armies should be reduced henceforth to mere guards for the sovereigns On returning to France to the bosom of the great strong magnificent peaceful and glorious fatherland I should have proclaimed her frontiers immutable All future wars purely defensive all a grandestment anti-national I should have associated my son in the empire my dictatorship would have been finished and his constitutional reign would have begun Paris would have been the capital of the world and the French the envy of the nations My leisure then and my old age would have been devoted in company with the empress and during the royal apprenticeship of my son to leisurely visiting with our own horses and like a true country couple every corner of the empire Receiving complaints redressing wrongs and scattering public buildings and benefactions on all sides and everywhere Napoleon predestined by providence for the gloomy role of executioner of the peoples assured himself that the aim of his actions had been the people's welfare and that he could control the fate of millions and by the employment of power confer benefactions Of 400,000 who crossed the Vistula, he wrote further of the Russian war, half for Austrians, Prussians, Saxons, Poles, Bavarians, Württembergers, Mecklenburgers, Spaniards, Italians and Neopolitans The imperial army strictly speaking was one third composed of Dutch, Belgians, men from the borders of the Rhine, Piedmontese, Swiss, Givonese, Tuscans, Romans, inhabitants of the 32nd military division of Bremen, of Hamburg and so on It included scarcely 140,000 who spoke French The Russian expedition actually cost France less than 50,000 men The Russian army in its retreat from Vilna to Moscow lost in the various battles four times more men than the French army The burning of Moscow cost the lives of 100,000 Russians who died of cold and want in the woods Finally in its march from Moscow to the Oder the Russian army also suffered from the severity of the season So that by the time it reached Vilna it numbered only 50,000 and at Kalish less than 18,000 He imagined that the war with Russia came about by his will and the horrors that occurred did not stare his soul He boldly took the whole responsibility for what happened and his darkened mind found justification in the belief that among the hundreds of thousands who perished there were fewer Frenchmen than Hessians and Bavarians End of Chapter 38 War and Peace, Book 10, Chapter 39, read for lippifox.org by Anna Simon Several tens of thousands of the slain lay in diverse postures and various uniforms on the fields and meadows belonging to the Davidoff family and to the crowned serfs Those fields and meadows were for hundreds of years the peasants of Borodino, Gorky, Shevardino and Seminovsk had reaped their harvests and pastured their cattle At the dressing stations the grass and earth were soaked with blood for a space of some three acres around Crowds of men of various arms, wounded and unwounded with frightened faces, dragged themselves back to Mozhaisk from the one army and back to Valuevo from the other Other crowds, exhausted and hungry, went forward led by their officers Others held their ground and continued to fire Over the whole field, previously so gaily beautiful with a glitter of bayonets and cloudless of smoke in the morning sun, there now spread a mist of dampened smoke and a strange acid smell of solpita and blood Clouds gathered and drops of rain began to fall on the dead and wounded, on the frightened, exhausted and hesitating men as if to say Enough men, enough, seize, rethink yourselves, what are you doing? To the men of both sides alike, worn out by want of food and rest, it began equally to appear doubtful whether they should continue to slaughter one another All the faces expressed hesitation and the question arose in every soul For what, for whom must I kill and be killed? You may go and kill whom you please, but I don't want to do so anymore By evening this thought had ripened in every soul At any moment these men might have been seized with horror at what they were doing and might have thrown up everything and run away anywhere But, though toward the end of the battle, the men felt all the horror of what they were doing Though they would have been glad to leave off, some incomprehensible, mysterious power continued to control them and they still brought up the charges, loaded, aimed and applied the match There were only one artillery man survived out of every three and though they stumbled and panted with fatigue, perspiring and stained with blood and powder The cannonballs flew just as swiftly and cruelly from both sides, crushing human bodies and that terrible work which was not done by the will of a man But at the will of him who governs man and worlds, continued Anyone looking at the disorganized rear of the Russian army would have said that if only the French made one more slight effort, it would disappear And anyone looking at the rear of the French army would have said that the Russians need only make one more slight effort and the French would be destroyed But neither the French nor the Russians made that effort and the flame of battle burned slowly out The Russians did not make that effort because they were not attacking the French At the beginning of the battle they stood blocking the way to Moscow and they still did so at the end of the battle as at the beginning But even had the aim of the Russians been to drive the French from their positions, they could not have made this last effort For all the Russian troops had been broken up, there was no part of the Russian army that had not suffered in the battle And though still holding their positions, they had lost one half of their army The French, with the memory of all their former victories during 15 years, with the assurance of Napoleon's invincibility With the consciousness that they had captured part of the battlefield and had lost only a quarter of their men And still had their guards intact, 20,000 strong, might easily have made that effort The French had attacked the Russian army in order to drive it from its position Or to have made that effort, for as long as the Russians continued to block the road to Moscow as before The aim of the French had not been attained and all their efforts and losses were in vain But the French did not make that effort Some historians say that Napoleon need only have used his old guards who were intact and the battle would have been won To speak of what would have happened had Napoleon sent his guards, it's like talking of what would happen if autumn became spring It could not be Napoleon did not give his guards, not because he did not want to, but because it could not be done All the generals, officers and soldiers of the French army knew it could not be done Because the flagging spirit of the troops would not permit it It was not Napoleon alone who had experienced that nightmare feeling of the mighty arm being stricken powerless But all the generals and soldiers of his army, whether they had taken part in the battle or not After all their experience of previous battles, when after one-tenth of such efforts the enemy had fled Experienced a similar feeling of terror before an enemy who, after losing half his men, stood as threateningly at the end as at the beginning of the battle The moral force of the attacking French army was exhausted Not that sort of victory which is defined by the capture of pieces of material fastened to sticks called standards And of the ground on which the troops had stood and were standing But a moral victory that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his opponent and of his own impotence was gained by the Russians at Borodino The French invaders, like an infuriated animal that has in its onslaught received a mortal wound, felt that they were perishing but could not stop Any more than the Russian army weaker by one-half could help swerving By impotence gained, the French army was still able to roll forward to Moscow But there, without further effort on the part of the Russians, it had to perish, bleeding from the mortal wound it had received at Borodino The direct consequence of the battle of Borodino was Napoleon's senseless flight from Moscow His retreat along the Old Smolensk Road, the destruction of the invading army of 500,000 men and the downfall of Napoleonic France On which at Borodino for the first time the hand of an opponent of stronger spirit had been laid End of Chapter 39 End of War and Peace Book 10 by Leo Tolstoy This recording is in the public domain