Tolstoy “War and Peace” The Battle of Austerlitz on the pages of L. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” - presentation
The role of emperors in the Battle of Austerlitz
The history of mankind consists of victories and defeats in wars. In the novel War and Peace, Tolstoy describes the participation of Russia and Austria in the war against Napoleon. Thanks to Russian troops The battle of Schöngraben was won, and this gave strength and inspiration to the sovereigns of Russia and Austria. Blinded by victories, occupied mainly with narcissism, holding military parades and balls, these two men led their armies to defeat at Austerlitz. The Battle of Austerlitz in Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” became decisive in the war of the “three emperors”. Tolstoy shows the two emperors at first as pompous and self-righteous, and after their defeat as confused and unhappy people.
Napoleon managed to outwit and defeat the Russian-Austrian army. The emperors fled the battlefield, and after the battle ended, Emperor Franz decided to submit to Napoleon on his terms.
Kutuzov and Weyrother - who is to blame for the defeat?
The Austrian military leaders took on the main role in waging this war, especially since the battles took place on Austrian territory. And the battle near the town of Austerlitz in the novel “War and Peace” was also thought out and planned by the Austrian General Weyrother. Weyrother did not consider it necessary to take into account the opinion of Kutuzov or anyone else.
The military council before the Battle of Austerlitz resembles not a council, but an exhibition of vanities; all disputes were conducted not with the goal of achieving a better and correct solution, but, as Tolstoy writes: “... it was obvious that the purpose... of the objections was primarily the desire to make General Weyrother feel so self-confidently, like schoolchildren reading his disposition, that he was dealing not only with fools, but with people who could teach him in military affairs.”
Having made several useless attempts to change the situation, Kutuzov slept the entire time the council lasted. Tolstoy clearly makes it clear how much Kutuzov is disgusted by all this pomposity and complacency; the old general understands perfectly well that the battle will be lost.
Prince Bolkonsky, seeing all this, suddenly clearly realizes that all this ostentatious advice is only to satisfy the own ambitions of the generals of both armies. “Is it really necessary to risk tens of thousands of mine because of court and personal considerations?” my life? thinks Andrei Bolkonsky. But, as a true son of his father, Bolkonsky cannot humiliate himself to refuse to take part in the battle, even if he knows for sure that it will be lost.
Battle Analysis
Why was the battle lost, and why did Kutuzov try to prevent this attack on the French?
An experienced military man, he was not blinded by small victories over the French army, and therefore could realistically assess the enemy. Kutuzov understood perfectly well that Napoleon was a smart strategist. He was well aware of the number of Russian-Austrian troops, and knew that it exceeded the number of French soldiers. Therefore, it was clear that Bonaparte would try to take some action to deceive the enemy into a trap. That is why Kutuzov tried to delay time in order to get his bearings and understand what the French emperor was up to.
Even during the battle, having met the tsar, Kutuzov hesitates, and sends soldiers to attack only after the order of the Russian emperor.
In his description of the Battle of Austerlitz in War and Peace, Tolstoy showed the battlefield from two opposite sides, as if contrasting the emperors Napoleon, Alexander and Franz.
Above both armies there was the same “... clear blue sky, and a huge ball of the sun, like a huge hollow crimson float, swayed on the surface of a milky sea of fog.” But at the same time, the French troops go into battle confidently and with enthusiasm, and internal tensions and disputes are in full swing among the Russian-Austrian army. This also makes the soldiers feel insecure and confused. By including a description of nature in the story of the Austerlitz War in the novel, Tolstoy seems to be describing the scenery in a theater of military operations. The blue sky of Austerlitz, under which people fought and died, the sun illuminating the battlefield and the soldiers going into the fog to become ordinary cannon fodder in the game of imperial ambitions.
Andrey Bolkonsky
For Andrei Bolkonsky, the Battle of Austerlitz is an opportunity to show oneself, to show all one’s best qualities. Just as Nikolai Rostov, before the Battle of Shengraben, dreamed of accomplishing a feat, but, at a moment of danger, suddenly realized that he could be killed, so Bolkonsky, before the battle, thinks about death. And Rostov’s surprise: “Kill me? Me, whom everyone loves so much! very similar to Bolkonsky’s bewilderment: “Is it really necessary to risk tens of thousands of mine because of court and personal considerations?” my life?
But at the same time, the result of these thoughts is different between Rostov and Bolkonsky. If Rostov runs into the bushes, then Bolkonsky is ready to go towards danger in order to “... finally show everything that I can do.” Bolkonsky is vain, just like his father and his son in the future, but this vanity does not come from empty boasting, but from the nobility of the soul. He dreams not of awards, but of fame, of human love.
And in his moments of reflection about his future exploits, Tolstoy seems to lower him to the ground. The prince suddenly hears a stupid joke from the soldiers:
“Titus, what about Titus?”
“Well,” answered the old man.
“Tit, go thresh,” said the joker.
“Ugh, to hell with you,” a voice rang out, covered by the laughter of the orderlies and servants.”
Those people, for whose love Bolkonsky is ready to go to great lengths, do not even suspect his dreams and thoughts, they live an ordinary camp life and joke their stupid jokes.
Tolstoy describes the heroic behavior of Andrei Bolkonsky at the Battle of Austerlitz in everyday words, without embellishment or pathos. The weight of the banner, which was so difficult to hold that Bolkonsky fled “dragging it by the pole”, a description of the wound, when it was as if “... with a strong stick, one of the nearest soldiers, as it seemed to him, hit him in the head.” There is nothing pompous or heroic in the description of his feat, but this is precisely what creates the feeling that heroism is a manifestation of spiritual impulse in the everyday life of military operations.
Prince Bolkonsky could not do anything differently, although he perfectly understood that the outcome of the Battle of Austerlitz was a foregone conclusion.
As if emphasizing the vanity of everything that is happening, Tolstoy again returns to the sky above Austerlitz, which Andrei Bolkonsky now sees above him. “There was nothing above him anymore except the sky - a high sky, not clear, but still immeasurably high, with gray clouds quietly creeping across it. “How quiet, calm and solemn, not at all like how I ran,” thought Prince Andrei, “not like how we ran, shouted and fought... not at all like how the clouds crawl across this high endless sky. How come I haven’t seen this high sky before? And how happy I am that I finally recognized him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is deception, except this endless sky. There is nothing, nothing, except him. But even that is not there, there is nothing but silence, calm. And thank God!..”
Conclusion
To summarize and conduct brief analysis descriptions of the Battle of Austerlitz, an essay on the theme of the Battle of Austerlitz in the novel “War and Peace”, I would like to end with a quote from the novel, which very clearly reflects the essence of all military actions: “As in a watch, the result of the complex movement of countless different wheels and blocks is only slow and the uniform movement of the hand indicating the time, and the result of all the complex human movements of these one hundred and sixty thousand Russians and French - all the passions, desires, remorse, humiliation, suffering, impulses of pride, fear, delight of these people - was only the loss of the Battle of Austerlitz, the so-called the battles of three emperors, that is, the slow movement of the world-historical hand on the dial of human history.”
Whatever happens in this world, it’s all just the movement of the hand on the clock...
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The epic “War and Peace”, located on the pages of four books and two volumes and written by Leo Tolstoy, describes the Battle of Austerlitz, in addition to spiritual quests and romance. This indicates that in the novel the reader will find reflections on the historical nuances of the development of Russia in early XIX century.
Historical summary of the Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz took place on November 20 (old style - December 2) 1805. The battle is recognized as decisive, a turning point in the war of the Third Anti-French Coalition and France. Here, near the town of Austerlitz (now a city located in the Czech Republic, in the historical region of Moravia), the forces of the armies of Emperor Napoleon, as well as Emperors Alexander I and Franz II, clashed. As a result of the battle, France won a decisive victory, which led to the liquidation of the coalition. Napoleon entered the field of Austerlitz with smaller forces, but the losses of the coalition allies turned out to be incomparably greater.
The reader, however, should take into account that the real Battle of Austerlitz and the battle described by Leo Tolstoy are not identical phenomena. The first relates to the field of historical reality, and the second to the artistic, literary rethinking of events.
Emperors and war: what is the role of heads of state?
History, Clio, as you know, is a capricious muse. Clio preserves the names of the “great”: emperors and generals, scientists and writers... Names ordinary people, soldiers, workers are lost in the darkness of time, in the darkness of bygone eras. The experience acquired by humanity is a series of wars, victories and defeats, inventions and scientific breakthroughs.
Leo Tolstoy captured the image of the battle between France and the combined forces of Russia and Austria. Earlier, the Russian army defeated the French in the battle of Shengraben. This event motivated the Russians to go further in the war with Napoleon. However, despite their numerical superiority, the heads of Russia and Austria lost the battle of Austerlitz.
Historians say: there are many reasons for victories and defeats, but among them there are three main ones. First, the allied emperors were blinded by victory; secondly, lulled vigilance and narcissism forced Franz and Alexander to relax, not properly preparing for further battles. Finally, the third reason is that military parades and numerous balls did not contribute to the discipline and composure of the soldiers.
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This confrontation is called the "War of the Three Emperors." Leo Tolstoy plays on the contrast, portraying the rulers of the warring powers as self-confident and proud. Meanwhile, after the defeat, the images of the sovereigns change: now they are just people overcome by despair and loss. As a result, Emperor Franz of Austria surrendered to Napoleon, accepting the conditions of the French ruler. Russia continued the war against France.
A few words about the composition of the enemy troops
Let's present the data in the form of a list.
French army forces:
- Napoleon brought more than 73 thousand people to the field of Austerlitz, who controlled almost 140 guns. After the battle, France lost 1,305 soldiers killed, about 7 thousand people were wounded in the battle, and almost 600 French were captured. The army lost one banner.
- The allied army of the Anti-French Coalition consisted of more than 85 thousand soldiers and almost 300 guns. The losses of the Russian and Austrian armies were much greater - 16 thousand people died in battle, 20 thousand were captured by the French. Almost 190 guns were destroyed, and more than forty banners were lost.
So, 60 thousand Russian soldiers under the leadership of General Mikhail Kutuzov and 25 thousand Austrians under the command of General Franz von Weyrother took to the field at Austerlitz. The reader noted that the army of the allied emperors outnumbered the French, but Napoleon had large troops in reserve. The French emperor decided that 73 and a half thousand soldiers were enough to win the battle. Demonstrating a superior army is dangerous in strategic plan.
Alexander I and Franz II
In the novel “War and Peace,” the writer turns to the contrast between the rulers of Russia and Austria. After the defeat at Austerlitz, the Emperor of Austria decided to stop resisting Napoleon.
Leo Tolstoy notes how strange it is that there is the same sky above both armies, but the French fight harmoniously and boldly, while the Russians and Austrians do not come to common denominator in actions on the battlefield. The soldiers of the allied army are full of uncertainty, being in extreme confusion of feelings.
The Battle of Austerlitz exposes the pitfalls, revealing the cynicism and brutal realism of the theater of military operations.
Soldiers are cannon fodder, victims who are juggled by higher-ups to further their own ambitions.
Characteristics of generals Mikhail Kutuzov and Franz Weyrother
The Austrian generals led the main forces of the Allied forces: the battle took place on Austrian territory, so this decision seemed logical. Within the framework of the novel War and Peace, the author gave a central role in planning strategy and approving tactics to General Franz Weyrother. Mikhail Kutuzov considered the adopted plan to be deliberately false and losing, but the opinion of the Russian commander was not taken into account.
Leo Tolstoy, describing the council of military leaders before the Battle of Austerlitz, says that this event resembled more of an exhibition of vanity, a demonstration of the superiority and complacency of each of the generals present. The military leaders wanted to make it clear to the Austrian commander that he had something to learn from them.
As for Mikhail Illarionovich, the general slept during the council, because Kutuzov realized that no one would listen to his opinion, and it was unlikely that anything would be changed. This episode is one of the central ones in the writer’s description of his attitude towards the Russian general. Kutuzov was considered unsuitable for the position he occupied.
Leo Tolstoy expresses his own opinion about the council through the words of Andrei Bolkonsky: the nobleman says that the council is only a reason to satisfy the ambitions of the assembled military leaders, but with such an attitude the battle is doomed to defeat. For Andrei Bolkonsky, however, the Battle of Austerlitz is one of the main moments on the path of the character’s spiritual quest. Perhaps every reader and fan of “War and Peace” remembers the episode where the wounded prince contemplates the “sky of Austerlitz.” The prince is confident that the allies will lose the battle, but for a nobleman to retreat is humiliating. Andrei wonders why indulging the complacency and pomposity of his superiors requires endangering the lives of hundreds and thousands of people, including his own life.
Analysis of the Battle of Austerlitz and the results of the battle
The writer assigns a central role to Mikhail Kutuzov in realizing the impending defeat. The general went through many battles, so the victories of the French army did not confuse Kutuzov. The commander was aware of the strategic talent of the French emperor, but realistically assessed the situation. Considering that Napoleon knew about the number of soldiers in the armies of the allied emperors, it is therefore logical that the Frenchman prepared a trap for the Russians and Austrians.
Mikhail Illarionovich calculated Napoleon's move in advance: the Russian military leader tried to delay the start of the battle in order to figure out what trap awaited the allied troops. Kutuzov’s slowness was also evident during a direct clash with the French already on the Field of Austerlitz.
As a result of the battle, Austria withdrew from the Anti-French Coalition, and the Third Coalition ceased to exist. The war against France was continued by states in the Fourth Coalition, which included Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Saxony and Great Britain. This war was fought against France and its allies and satellites.
The defeat of Russia had an impact on the public mind and led to the spread of a painful, depressed mood among the masses. To Austerlitz Russian army was considered invincible, because the Russians had not lost a battle since the Battle of Narva. However, in the literature there are other opinions regarding the results of the Battle of Austerlitz. The defeat did not disorganize the allied forces: on the contrary, the armies of the Russians and Austrians, retreating, occupied advantageous position, having managed to save most of guns and skeletons of soldiers who fought at Preussisch-Eylau. This battle is recognized as the most brutal among the other battles of France and the armies of the Fourth Coalition. The main mistake of the French army was that, in the rapture of victory, the French did not destroy the main part of the enemy troops, allowing them to retreat.
Figures of Andrei Bolkonsky and Nikolai Rostov: the sky of Austerlitz
Leo Tolstoy describes two characters who are similar in that they both dream of fame and feats of arms. Nikolai Rostov and Andrei Bolkonsky go to war as dreamy youths, but return as men who have realized what life and death are.
Nikolai Rostov is the eldest son in the Rostov family. When the reader first meets Rostov, he is a student studying at the university. However, Nikolai leaves his studies to become a soldier in the army and fight against the French.
During the Battle of Shengraben, Nikolai boldly rushes into battle, but is wounded. The young man injures his hand. The wound is not fatal, it is a reason to think about the problems of life and death. Nikolai, everyone’s favorite, is aware of his own fragility and perishability. The young man does not want to die at all, he is not ready for death.
In the future, the reader will see Nikolai - already a mature man who demonstrates loyalty to his homeland and responsibility for duty. When 1812 comes and it becomes clear: Napoleon has opposed Russia, and the battle will take place on the territory Russian Empire, - Rostov shows courage, fighting as a hussar.
War strengthens Nicholas's character, making the hero's nobility especially refined. Rostov is going to marry his second cousin Sonya, a girl who has no dowry, against the will of her parents. Later, Nikolai will begin an affair with Prince Andrei’s sister Maria, whom Rostov marries.
As for Andrei Bolkonsky, the Battle of Austerlitz began for the hero in the same way as Shengraben for Nikolai Rostov. Ready to perform feats, the prince bravely rushed ahead of the detachment, but was wounded. By his example, Andrei inspired other soldiers to rush into battle, but the hero himself remained lying on the field. Bolkonsky's eyes, directed towards the sky, suddenly saw its depth: this caused reflection and bewilderment in the prince. Andrei wondered how one could risk the lives of thousands of people for the sake of personal ambitions. Among these thousands of lives was his life.
Similarity life situations two heroes of War and Peace led to different results. Nikolai Rostov is seized with panic: the character is afraid of danger and hides. The prince is ready to face danger face to face. It seems that Bolkonsky is driven by vanity - a family trait. But this is not so: the reader mistakes the spiritual depth and nobility of the prince for vanity.
Leo Tolstoy places Andrei Bolkonsky against the backdrop of the life of ordinary, simple, down-to-earth soldiers who have no idea about the prince’s inner quest. The sky of Austerlitz is a contrast that makes it possible to see that everything that happens is vanity, nothing - before the eyes of eternity. The writer describes the behavior of Prince Andrey during the Battle of Austerlitz using simple words, avoiding pathos.
The next day the sovereign stopped in Wischau. Physician Villiers was called to him several times. News spread in the main apartment and among the nearby troops that the sovereign was unwell. He ate nothing and slept badly that night, as those close to him said. The reason for this ill health was the strong impression made on the sensitive soul of the sovereign by the sight of the wounded and killed. At dawn on the 17th, a French officer was escorted from the outposts to Wieschau, who had arrived under a parliamentary flag, demanding a meeting with the Russian emperor. This officer was Savary. The Emperor had just fallen asleep, and therefore Savary had to wait. At noon he was admitted to the sovereign and an hour later he went with Prince Dolgorukov to the outposts of the French army. As was heard, the purpose of sending Savary was to propose peace and to offer a meeting between Emperor Alexander and Napoleon. A personal meeting, to the joy and pride of the entire army, was denied, and instead of the sovereign, Prince Dolgorukov, the winner at Wischau, was sent along with Savary to negotiate with Napoleon, if these negotiations, contrary to expectations, were aimed at a real desire for peace. In the evening Dolgorukov returned, went straight to the sovereign and spent a long time alone with him. On November 18 and 19, the troops made two more marches forward, and the enemy outposts retreated after short skirmishes. IN higher spheres From midday on the 19th, the army began a strong, busy and excited movement that lasted until the morning of the next day, November 20, on which the so memorable Battle of Austerlitz was fought. Until noon on the 19th, movement, lively conversations, running around, sending adjutants were limited to one main apartment of the emperors; in the afternoon of the same day, the movement was transmitted to Kutuzov’s main apartment and to the headquarters of the column commanders. In the evening, this movement spread through the adjutants to all ends and parts of the army, and on the night from the 19th to the 20th, the eighty-thousandth mass of the allied army rose from their overnight shelter, hummed with conversation and swayed and began to move like a huge nine-verst canvas. The concentrated movement that began in the morning in the main apartment of the emperors and gave impetus to all further movement was similar to the first movement of the middle wheel of a large tower clock. One wheel moved slowly, another turned, a third, and the wheels, blocks, and gears began to spin faster and faster, chimes began to play, figures jumped out, and the arrows began to move regularly, showing the result of the movement. As in the mechanism of a watch, so in the mechanism of military affairs, the once given movement is just as irresistible until the last result, and just as indifferently motionless, the moment before the transfer of movement, are the parts of the mechanism that have not yet been reached. The wheels whistle on the axles, clinging with teeth, the rotating blocks hiss from the speed, and the neighboring wheel is just as calm and motionless, as if it is ready to stand for hundreds of years with this motionlessness; but the moment came - he hooked the lever, and, submitting to the movement, the wheel crackled, turning and merged into one action, the result and purpose of which was not clear to him. Just as in a clock the result of the complex movement of countless different wheels and blocks is only the slow and steady movement of the hand indicating the time, so is the result of all the complex human movements of these one hundred and sixty thousand Russians and French - all the passions, desires, remorse, humiliation, suffering, impulses of pride , fear, delight of these people - there was only the loss of the Austelitz battle, the so-called battle of the three emperors, that is, the slow movement of the world-historical hand on the dial of human history. Prince Andrei was on duty that day and constantly with the commander-in-chief. At six o'clock in the evening, Kutuzov arrived at the main apartment of the emperors and, after staying with the sovereign for a short time, went to the Chief Marshal Count Tolstoy. Bolkonsky took advantage of this time to go to Dolgorukov to find out about the details of the case. Prince Andrei felt that Kutuzov was upset and dissatisfied with something, and that they were dissatisfied with him in the main apartment, and that all the faces of the imperial main apartment had with him the tone of people who knew something that others did not know, and therefore he wanted to talk with Dolgorukov. “Well, hello, mon cher,” said Dolgorukov, who was sitting with Bilibin over tea. - Holiday for tomorrow. What's your old man? out of sorts? “I won’t say that he was out of sorts, but he seemed to want to be listened to.” - Yes, they listened to him at the military council and will listen to him when he speaks his mind; but it is impossible to hesitate and wait for something now, when Bonaparte fears more than anything else a general battle. - Yes, have you seen him? - said Prince Andrei. - Well, what about Bonaparte? What impression did he make on you? “Yes, I saw it and was convinced that he was afraid of a general battle more than anything else in the world,” Dolgorukov repeated, apparently valuing this general conclusion he had drawn from his meeting with Napoleon. - If he were not afraid of battle, why would he demand this meeting, negotiate and, most importantly, retreat, while retreat is so contrary to his entire method of waging war? Believe me: he is afraid, afraid of a general battle, his time has come. This is what I'm telling you. - But tell me how he is, what? - Prince Andrey asked again. “He is a man in a gray frock coat, who really wanted me to say “Your Majesty” to him, but, to his chagrin, he did not receive any title from me. This is the kind of person he is, and nothing more,” answered Dolgorukov, looking back at Bilibin with a smile. “Despite my complete respect for old Kutuzov,” he continued, “we would all be good if we waited for something and thereby gave him a chance to leave or deceive us, whereas now he is surely in our hands.” No, we must not forget Suvorov and his rules: do not put yourself in the position of being attacked, but attack yourself. Believe me, in war, the energy of young people often shows the path more accurately than all the experience of the old cunctators. - But in what position do we attack him? “I was at the outposts today, and it is impossible to decide where exactly he is standing with the main forces,” said Prince Andrei. He wanted to express to Dolgorukov his plan of attack that he had drawn up. “Oh, it doesn’t matter at all,” Dolgorukov spoke quickly, standing up and revealing the card on the table. - All cases are foreseen: if he stands near Brunn... And Prince Dolgorukov quickly and vaguely explained the plan for Weyrother’s flank movement. Prince Andrei began to object and prove his plan, which could be equally good with Weyrother’s plan, but had the drawback that Weyrother’s plan had already been approved. As soon as Prince Andrei began to prove the disadvantages of him and the benefits of his own, Prince Dolgorukov stopped listening to him and absentmindedly looked not at the map, but at Prince Andrei’s face. “However, Kutuzov will have a military council today: you can express all this there,” said Dolgorukov. “That’s what I’ll do,” said Prince Andrei, moving away from the map. - And what are you worried about, gentlemen? - said Bilibin, who had been listening to their conversation with a cheerful smile and now, apparently, was about to make a joke. - Whether there is victory or defeat tomorrow, the glory of Russian weapons is insured. Apart from your Kutuzov, there is not a single Russian commander of the columns. Chiefs: Herr general Wimpfen, le comte de Langeron, le prince de Lichtenstein, le prince de Hohenloe et enfin Prsch... prsch... et ainsi de suite, comme tous les noms polonais. — Taisez-vous, mauvaise langue(28 )
The Allied army is preparing for the Battle of Austerlitz. The battle plan is discussed at headquarters. Kutuzov knows that it will be lost. While the Austrian General Weyrother reads the disposition, he is sleeping. Prince Andrey also had a battle plan ready, but he failed to present it.
On the night before the battle, Prince Andrei dreams of how he will find his Toulon tomorrow. When the army is defeated, he will express his plan to both sovereigns. Bolkonsky alone will lead the division into battle and win the battle. And the next battle will also be won by him alone. In dreams, he already takes the place of Kutuzov.
The prince admits to himself that he wants only one thing - fame. For her, he is ready to give his closest relatives and friends: father, sister, wife. At five in the morning the movement of the allied troops begins. People cannot see anything due to heavy fog and smoke from fires.
Kutuzov, who leads one of the columns of allied troops, is gloomy and in no hurry to start the battle. The Emperor is dissatisfied and asks why Kutuzov is hesitating, because they are not at the parade and not in Tsaritsyn Meadow.
Kutuzov replies that he is not starting precisely because they are not at the parade or in Tsaritsyn Meadow. His irony is clear to everyone. Obeying Alexander, Kutuzov gives the order to attack. The fog begins to clear. The Russians suddenly see the French, who are much closer than everyone expected.
The troops are fleeing. Prince Andrei stops them for a while: with a banner in his hands, he runs forward, followed by the battalion. Hand-to-hand combat begins. Wounded, Bolkonsky falls. He no longer sees people fighting, but the high sky, calm and solemn. He's surprised he hasn't noticed it until now.
Rostov is on the right flank, which at nine o'clock in the morning had not yet entered the battle. Bagration sends him to Kutuzov. On the way, Rostov sees upset crowds of Russian soldiers. He also sees the sovereign: he is very pale.
The hero regrets that, due to his indecision, he could not approach Alexander and that another person, Captain Tol, helped him cross the ditch. The Emperor shook his hand. The battle is lost.
The Russians are fleeing, and on a narrow dam they are being fired upon by French artillery. Dolokhov jumps onto the ice and shouts what he is holding. However, the ice bends and cracks. Others jump after him and drown.
Prince Andrey lies on Pratsenskaya Heights. Napoleon travels around the battlefield: in this way, looking at the dead and wounded, he cultivates his fortitude.
Looking at Bolkonsky, he says that his death is beautiful. To the prince who sees the sky, Napoleon's speech seems to be nothing more than the buzzing of a fly. Andrey groans and is taken to the hospital.
The battle, which took place in the early winter of 1805 near Austerlitz, a town in Moravia, finally cemented Napoleon’s fame as one of the greatest commanders in history, an outstanding tactician and strategist. Having forced the Russian-Austrian army to “play by its own rules,” Napoleon first put his troops on the defensive, and then, waiting for the right moment, delivered a crushing counterattack and defeated the enemy. Until tomorrow evening, this entire (Russian-Austrian) army will be mine. Napoleon, December 1, 1805
The forces of the parties The Allied army numbered 85 thousand people (60 thousand Russian army, 25 thousand Austrian army with 278 guns) under the overall command of General M.I. Kutuzov. Napoleon's army numbered 73.5 thousand people. With a demonstration of superior forces, Napoleon was afraid of scaring the allies. In addition, foreseeing the development of events, he believed that these forces would be sufficient for victory. Napoleon took advantage of the apparent weakness of his army, as this only added determination to the advisers of Emperor Alexander I. His adjutants, Prince Pyotr Dolgorukov and Baron Ferdinand Wintzingerode, convinced the emperor that now the Russian army, led by His Imperial Majesty, is quite capable of defeating Napoleon himself in a general battle. This was exactly what Alexander I wanted to hear.
Military council on the eve of the battle The unpopularity and senselessness of the campaign of the years are especially truthfully revealed by Tolstoy in his pictures of the preparation and conduct of the Battle of Austerlitz. In the highest circles of the army they believed that this battle was necessary and timely, that Napoleon was afraid of it. Only Kutuzov understood that it was unnecessary and would be lost. Tolstoy ironically describes the reading by the Austrian General Weyrother of the battle plan he had invented, according to which “the first column is marching... the second column is marching... the third column is marching...”, and the possible actions and movements of the enemy are not taken into account. All the commanders of the columns gathered for a military council before the Battle of Austerlitz, “with the exception of Prince Bagration, who refused to come.” Tolstoy does not explain the reasons that prompted Bagration not to appear at the council; they are already clear. Understanding the inevitability of defeat, Bagration did not want to participate in a meaningless military council.
At the council there is a clash not of opinions, but of egos. The generals, each of whom is convinced that he is right, can neither come to an agreement among themselves, nor yield to one another. It would seem like a natural human weakness, but it will bring great trouble, because no one wants to see or hear the truth. Therefore, Kutuzov at the council did not pretend “he was really asleep,” with an effort he opened his only eye “to the sound of Weyrother’s voice.”
Prince Andrei’s bewilderment is also understandable. His intelligence and already accumulated military experience tell him: there will be trouble. But why didn’t Kutuzov express his opinion to the tsar? “Is it really necessary to risk tens of thousands and my, my life because of court and personal considerations?” Prince Andrey thinks. It speaks now of the same feeling with which Nikolai Rostov ran to the bushes at the Battle of Shengraben: “Kill me? Me, whom everyone loves so much!” But these thoughts and feelings of Prince Andrei are resolved differently from those of Rostov: he not only does not run away from danger, but goes towards it. Prince Andrei could not live if he stopped respecting himself, if he humiliated his dignity. But, in addition, there is vanity in him, there is still a boy in him, a youth who, before a battle, is carried away by dreams: “And here is that happy moment, that Toulon, which he has been waiting for so long... He firmly and clearly speaks his opinion ... Everyone is amazed... and then he takes a regiment, a division... The next battle was won by him alone. Kutuzov is replaced, he is appointed...”
A quarter of a century ago, the stately and handsome Prince Nikolai Bolkonsky near Chesma or Izmail dreamed of how the decisive hour was coming, Potemkin was being replaced, he was appointed... And fifteen years later, a thin boy with a thin neck, the son of Prince Andrei, would see in a dream an army in front of which he walks next to his father, and upon waking up, he will make an oath to himself: “Everyone will know, everyone will love me, everyone will admire me... I will do something that would make even him happy...” (He is his father, Prince Andrei. ) The Bolkonskys are vain, but their dreams are not about awards: “I want fame, I want to be famous people, I want to be loved by them...” - Prince Andrei thinks in front of Austerlitz. Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky. Artist D. Shmarinov. Nikolenka Bolkonsky. Artist V. Serov.
Here, on Pratsenskaya Mountain, almost delirious, Prince Andrei will experience moments that will largely change his life and determine his entire future. He will hear voices and understand the French phrase spoken above him: “What a beautiful death!” “Prince Andrei realized that this was said about him and that Napoleon was saying it... He knew that it was Napoleon his hero, but at that moment Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant person in comparison with what was happening between him soul and this high endless sky with clouds running across it...” Prince Andrey on Pratsenskaya Mountain. Artist A. Nikolaev
In the scenes of the Battle of Austerlitz and the episodes preceding it, accusatory motives predominate. The writer reveals the anti-people nature of the war, shows the criminal mediocrity of the Russian-Austrian command. It is no coincidence that Kutuzov was essentially removed from decision-making. With pain in his heart, the commander realized the inevitability of defeat of the Russian army. Meanwhile, the climax in the depiction of the Battle of Austerlitz is heroic. Tolstoy shows that the defeat at Austerlitz was a disgrace for the Russian-Austrian generals, but not for the Russian soldiers. Prince Andrei with a banner in his hands in the attack near Austerlitz. Artist V. Serov. 1951–1953
Nikolai Rostov, in love with the Tsar, dreams of his own: to meet the adored Emperor, to prove his devotion to him. But he meets Bagration and volunteers to check whether the French riflemen are standing where they were yesterday. “Bagration shouted to him from the mountain so that he should not go further than the stream, but Rostov pretended as if he had not heard his words, and, without stopping, drove on and on...” Bullets buzzed above him, shots were heard in the fog, but in his soul there is no longer the fear that possessed him under Shengraben. During the battle on the right flank, Bagration does what Kutuzov failed to do near the king, he delays time in order to save his detachment. He sends Rostov to find Kutuzov (and Nikolai dreams of a king) and ask whether it is time for the right flank to join the battle. Bagration hoped that the messenger would return no earlier than in the evening... Until now, we have seen the battle through the eyes of Prince Andrei, who understood with bitterness what was happening in front of him. Now Tolstoy transfers the observation position to the completely unaware, enthusiastic Rostov.
Rostov already feels the madness of what is happening. No matter how little experience he has, he hears “in front of him and behind our troops... close rifle fire,” he thinks: “The enemy is in the rear of our troops? It can’t be...” This is where courage awakens in Rostov. “Whatever it is, however,” he thought, “there is nothing to go around now. I must look for the commander-in-chief here, and if everything is lost, then it’s my job to perish along with everyone else.” “Rostov thought about it and went exactly in the direction where they told him they would kill him.” He feels sorry for himself, just as he felt sorry for himself under Shengraben. He thinks about his mother, remembers her last letter and feels sorry for himself for her... But all this is different, not as it was under Shengraben, because he learned, hearing his fear, not to listen to it. He keeps driving forward, “not hoping to find anyone, but only to clear his conscience before himself,” and suddenly he sees his adored emperor alone, in the middle of an empty field, and does not dare to drive up, turn, help, show your devotion. And indeed, what is there to ask now, when the day goes to evening, the army is defeated, and only Bagration’s detachment is saved thanks to the reasonable cunning of its commander.
Depicting military actions and historical characters of emperors and military leaders, the writer criticizes deceitful state power and people who arrogantly tried to influence the course of events. He considered the military alliances concluded to be pure hypocrisy: after all, completely different interests and intentions were hidden behind them. The “friendship” between Napoleon and Alexander I could not prevent war. Huge troops accumulated on both sides of the Russian border and a clash between two historical forces turned out to be inevitable. Meeting of two emperors in Tilsit. Engraving by Lebeau from the original by Nade e
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