Chapter 6 Chapter Six

Kutuzov burned bridges (Braunau over Inn and Linz over Traun) and retreated to Vienna.On October 23, Russian troops crossed the Enns River.At noon that day, Russian convoys, artillery and infantry columns passed through the city of Enns on both sides of the bridge. It was a mild, drizzling autumn day.The vast vistas in front of the plateau on which the Russian forts guarding the bridge are located are sometimes suddenly obscured by the slanting rain like a veil, and sometimes they appear very open. Also legible.In the small town below, the chalk houses, the red roofs, the cathedral and the bridge--the rabble of Russian troops streaming on both sides of the bridge-all can be seen.You can see the ships and islands of the Danube Bend, the garden city surrounded by the confluence of the Enns and the Danube, you can see the steep left bank of the Danube covered by a pine forest and the green peaks and blue passes in the mysterious distance, you can see the outcrop Reconnaissance detachments of enemy cavalry behind the monastery towers behind wild pine forests that seemed uncut and before the distant hills beyond the Enns.

Between the cannon on this plateau, a general at the head of the rear guard stood in front, accompanied by an officer of the suite, and surveyed the terrain through a glass.A few steps behind them, Nesvitsky, who had been sent by the commander in chief to the rear, was sitting at the rear of the gun carriage.The Cossack accompanying Nesvitsky passed the rucksack and the military jug, and Nesvitsky entertained the officers with pies and pure liqueur.The officers surrounded him cheerfully, some on their knees, others sitting cross-legged like Turks on the wet grass. "The Austrian duke is no fool. He built a castle here. It's a wonderful place. Gentlemen, why don't you eat it?" Nesvitski said.

"Thank you very much, Duke," replied an officer, feeling very pleased to be speaking with such a prominent Headquarters officer. "Beautiful place. We saw two deer as we walked near the park. What a gorgeous house!" "Duke, please take a look," said another officer, eager to take another pie, but feeling embarrassed, he pretended to look around the terrain, "Look, our infantry has reached that place, go It's so far away. Right there, on the meadow behind the village, there are three men dragging something to clear the palace building." He said with obvious admiration .

"Even that, even that," Nesvitski said. "But I'd like to," he added, chewing the pie with his good-looking wet mouth, "then go to that place." He pointed to the towered monastery visible from the hill.He smiled slightly, his eyes narrowed with a bright light. "Gentlemen, this is really handsome!" The officers laughed. "It's good to scare the nuns. It is said that some of them are Italian girls. To be honest, I would rather risk my life for five years!" "They're lonely enough," said a bolder officer, smiling. At that time, the attendant officer standing in front was pointing out something to the general, and the general took a look through the binoculars.

"That's true, that's true," the general said angrily, put down the binoculars, and shrugged his shoulders, "It's true, the enemy is going to hit the ferry, why are they wasting time there?" On the other side of the river, the enemy and their fortresses could be seen with the naked eye. Milky white gunpowder smoke rose from the fortresses, and behind the gunpowder smoke came the distant sound of artillery, and our troops could be seen hurrying across the river. Nesvitsky, gasping for breath, got up and walked towards the general with a smile on his face. "Would you like something to eat, my lord?" he said.

"Too bad," said the general, without answering him, "our army is slowing down." "My lord, do you want to go for a walk?" Nesvitsky said. "Yes, please go and go," said the general, repeating what he had already ordered in detail, "tell the hussars that, as I ordered, the last ones will cross the river, burn the bridges, and look over Fuel for the fire on the bridge." "Very well," replied Nesvitsky. He called out to the Cossack soldier leading the horse, ordered him to pack his rucksack and military canteen, and lightly turned his heavy body onto the saddle.

"Seriously, I'm going to find the nun," he said to the officers who looked at him smilingly, and went down a winding path. "Hey, Captain, fire a cannon and see where you can get it!" said the General, turning his face to the artilleryman. "It's boring, have fun." "Gunners on their positions!" An officer gave the command, and after a while, the gunners ran happily from the campfire to load their shells. "Number one, let it go!" issued a password. The No. 1 Artillery quickly jumped away.The cannon made a deafening rumbling sound, and a grenade flew over the heads of our officers and soldiers down the mountain, making a whistling sound. Where the grenade fell, smoke billowed out and exploded. The grenade was still far away from the enemy's position.

Amidst the rumble of cannons, the faces of the officers and soldiers showed joyful expressions; all of them stood up to observe the movement of our army down the mountain, which they knew well, and the movement of the enemy army that was gradually approaching.At this time, the sun completely peeked out from behind the clouds.The monotonous, pleasant sound of the cannon and the glare of the sun combined to create an impression of cheering and cheering.