Book Ten: 1812 - Chapter XXIII

by Leo Tolstoy

　　From Gorki, Bennigsen descended the highroad to the bridge which,when they had looked it from the hill, the officer had pointed outas being the center of our position and where rows of fragrantnew-mown hay lay by the riverside. They rode across that bridge intothe village of Borodino and thence turned to the left, passing anenormous number of troops and guns, and came to a high knoll wheremilitiamen were digging. This was the redoubt, as yet unnamed, whichafterwards became known as the Raevski Redoubt, or the KnollBattery, but Pierre paid no special attention to it. He did not knowthat it would become more memorable to him than any other spot onthe plain of Borodino.

　　They then crossed the hollow to Semenovsk, where the soldiers weredragging away the last logs from the huts and barns. Then they rodedownhill and uphill, across a ryefield trodden and beaten down as ifby hail, following a track freshly made by the artillery over thefurrows of the plowed land, and reached some fleches* which were stillbeing dug.

　　*A kind of entrenchment.

　　At the fleches Bennigsen stopped and began looking at the ShevardinoRedoubt opposite, which had been ours the day before and where severalhorsemen could be descried. The officers said that either Napoleonor Murat was there, and they all gazed eagerly at this little group ofhorsemen. Pierre also looked at them, trying to guess which of thescarcely discernible figures was Napoleon. At last those mounted menrode away from the mound and disappeared.

　　Bennigsen spoke to a general who approached him, and beganexplaining the whole position of our troops. Pierre listened to him,straining each faculty to understand the essential points of theimpending battle, but was mortified to feel that his mental capacitywas inadequate for the task. He could make nothing of it. Bennigsenstopped speaking and, noticing that Pierre was listening, suddenlysaid to him:

　　"I don't think this interests you?"

　　"On the contrary it's very interesting!" replied Pierre not quitetruthfully.

　　From the fleches they rode still farther to the left, along a roadwinding through a thick, low-growing birch wood. In the middle ofthe wood a brown hare with white feet sprang out and, scared by thetramp of the many horses, grew so confused that it leaped along theroad in front of them for some time, arousing general attention andlaughter, and only when several voices shouted at it did it dart toone side and disappear in the thicket. After going through the woodfor about a mile and a half they came out on a glade where troops ofTuchkov's corps were stationed to defend the left flank.

　　Here, at the extreme left flank, Bennigsen talked a great deal andwith much heat, and, as it seemed to Pierre, gave orders of greatmilitary importance. In front of Tuchkov's troops was some high groundnot occupied by troops. Bennigsen loudly criticized this mistake,saying that it was madness to leave a height which commanded thecountry around unoccupied and to place troops below it. Some of thegenerals expressed the same opinion. One in particular declared withmartial heat that they were put there to be slaughtered. Bennigsenon his own authority ordered the troops to occupy the high ground.This disposition on the left flank increased Pierre's doubt of his owncapacity to understand military matters. Listening to Bennigsen andthe generals criticizing the position of the troops behind the hill,he quite understood them and shared their opinion, but for that veryreason he could not understand how the man who put them there behindthe hill could have made so gross and palpable a blunder.

　　Pierre did not know that these troops were not, as Bennigsensupposed, put there to defend the position, but were in a concealedposition as an ambush, that they should not be seen and might beable to strike an approaching enemy unexpectedly. Bennigsen did notknow this and moved the troops forward according to his own ideaswithout mentioning the matter to the commander in chief.