Book Fifteen: 1812-13 - Chapter VII

by Leo Tolstoy

　　When the troops reached their night's halting place on the eighth ofNovember, the last day of the Krasnoe battles, it was alreadygrowing dusk. All day it had been calm and frosty with occasionallightly falling snow and toward evening it began to clear. Through thefalling snow a purple-black and starry sky showed itself and the frostgrew keener.

　　An infantry regiment which had left Tarutino three thousand strongbut now numbered only nine hundred was one of the first to arrive thatnight at its halting place- a village on the highroad. Thequartermasters who met the regiment announced that all the huts werefull of sick and dead Frenchmen, cavalrymen, and members of the staff.There was only one hut available for the regimental commander.

　　The commander rode up to his hut. The regiment passed through thevillage and stacked its arms in front of the last huts.

　　Like some huge many-limbed animal, the regiment began to prepare itslair and its food. One part of it dispersed and waded knee-deepthrough the snow into a birch forest to the right of the village,and immediately the sound of axes and swords, the crashing ofbranches, and merry voices could be heard from there. Anothersection amid the regimental wagons and horses which were standing in agroup was busy getting out caldrons and rye biscuit, and feeding thehorses. A third section scattered through the village arrangingquarters for the staff officers, carrying out the French corpsesthat were in the huts, and dragging away boards, dry wood, andthatch from the roofs, for the campfires, or wattle fences to servefor shelter.

　　Some fifteen men with merry shouts were shaking down the high wattlewall of a shed, the roof of which had already been removed.

　　"Now then, all together- shove!" cried the voices, and the hugesurface of the wall, sprinkled with snow and creaking with frost,was seen swaying in the gloom of the night. The lower stakes crackedmore and more and at last the wall fell, and with it the men who hadbeen pushing it. Loud, coarse laughter and joyous shouts ensued.

　　"Now then, catch hold in twos! Hand up the lever! That's it... Whereare you shoving to?"

　　"Now, all together! But wait a moment, boys... With a song!"

　　All stood silent, and a soft, pleasant velvety voice began tosing. At the end of the third verse as the last note died away, twentyvoices roared out at once: "Oo-oo-oo-oo! That's it. All together!Heave away, boys!..." but despite their united efforts the wattlehardly moved, and in the silence that followed the heavy breathingof the men was audible.

　　"Here, you of the Sixth Company! Devils that you are! Lend a hand...will you? You may want us one of these days."

　　Some twenty men of the Sixth Company who were on their way intothe village joined the haulers, and the wattle wall, which was aboutthirty-five feet long an seven feet high, moved forward along thevillage street, swaying, pressing upon and cutting the shoulders ofthe gasping men.

　　"Get along... Falling? What are you stopping for? There now..."

　　Merry senseless words of abuse flowed freely.

　　"What are you up to?" suddenly came the authoritative voice of asergeant major who came upon the men who were hauling their burden."There are gentry here; the general himself is in that hut, and youfoul-mouthed devils, you brutes, I'll give it to you!" shouted he,hitting the first man who came in his way a swinging blow on the back."Can't you make less noise?"

　　The men became silent. The soldier who had been struck groaned andwiped his face, which had been scratched till it bled by his fallingagainst the wattle.

　　"There, how that devil hits out! He's made my face all bloody," saidhe in a frightened whisper when the sergeant major had passed on.

　　"Don't you like it?" said a laughing voice, and moderating theirtones the men moved forward.

　　When they were out of the village they began talking again as loudas before, interlarding their talk with the same aimless expletives.

　　In the hut which the men had passed, the chief officers had gatheredand were in animated talk over their tea about the events of the dayand the maneuvers suggested for tomorrow. It was proposed to make aflank march to the left, cut off the Vice-King (Murat) and capturehim.

　　By the time the soldiers had dragged the wattle fence to its placethe campfires were blazing on all sides ready for cooking, the woodcrackled, the snow was melting, and black shadows of soldiersflitted to and fro all over the occupied space where the snow had beentrodden down.

　　Axes and choppers were plied all around. Everything was done withoutany orders being given. Stores of wood were brought for the night,shelters were rigged up for the officers, caldrons were beingboiled, and muskets and accouterments put in order.

　　The wattle wall the men had brought was set up in a semicircle bythe Eighth Company as a shelter from the north, propped up by musketrests, and a campfire was built before it. They beat the tattoo,called the roll, had supper, and settled down round the fires forthe night- some repairing their footgear, some smoking pipes, and somestripping themselves naked to steam the lice out of their shirts.