Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

Prince Andrei, having circled the entire line of the army on the left and right, mounted the battery which the colonel had mentioned in his speech, from which he could see the whole field.Here he dismounted, and with four cannons unloaded in front of him, he stopped beside the one that was next to it.A sentinel of the artillery was pacing up and down in front of the cannon. He would have stood up straight in the presence of officers, but Prince Andrei made a sign to him, and he continued to pace listlessly and evenly. walk around.The front car parked behind the cannon, and further back, you can see the horse post and the bonfire made by the artillery.Not far from the nearby cannon, to the left, a new shed made of twigs could be seen, from which came the lively conversation of officers.

From that fort, it is true, there was almost a complete view of the Russian and most of the enemy quarters.On the horizon of the opposite hill, just facing the fort, the village of Schen Graben can be seen. Not far from the village, there are already three places where a large number of French troops can be distinguished in the billowing black smoke of the French campfire. , apparently most of the French army camped in the village and behind the mountain.On the left side of the village, in a thick puff of smoke, it seemed that something resembling a battery could be seen, but it was not clear to the naked eye.Our right flank was on a rather steep plateau, rising above the French positions.Our infantry were scattered on the high ground, and dragoons could be seen close to the edge.In the center, from which Prince Andrei observed the position, was the battery in charge of Tushin, with a straight gentle slope and an ascent to the little river that separated us from the village of Schöngraben.The right side of our army is adjacent to the forest, and the bonfires lit by the infantry felling firewood emit a puff of smoke.The front line of the French army is wider than that of our army. It is clear at a glance that it is not difficult for French officers and soldiers to outflank us from both sides.There is a steep valley behind our army's position, and it is difficult for artillery and cavalry to retreat from the valley.Prince Andrei, leaning on his elbows on the barrel of the gun, took out his notebook and drew himself a map of the disposition of the troops.He marked two places with a pencil, intending to report to Bagration.He thought, first of all, to concentrate all the artillery in the central position, and second, to bring back the cavalry in the direction of the canyon.Prince Andrew was often near the commander-in-chief, paying attention to the operations of the masses and general orders. He often studied the historical documents of war, and could not help thinking about the outline of the course of military operations in the battle that was about to break out.He only had in his mind the following grave contingency: "If the enemy attacks the right flank," he said to himself, "the Kyiv Grenadiers and Podolsk Chasseurs will hold their positions until the reinforcements from the center arrive. .In this case, the dragoons may attack the flank troops and smash them. Once the enemy attacks the central position, we will place the central battery on this high ground, and under the cover of the battery, the left wing troops will be assembled and retreat in echelons. Canyon." He commented to himself...

While he was standing by one of the cannons on the battery, he kept hearing the voices of the officers talking in the shed, as usual, but he could not understand a single word of what they were saying.He was surprised by the sudden sound of several voices in the shed, speaking in tones so intimate and compelling that he could not help listening to them. "No, dear," came a melodious voice that seemed to be familiar to Prince Andrew, "I mean, if there were a way of knowing the future, none of us would be afraid of death. My dear." ,indeed so." Another, younger man's voice interrupted him.

"Whether you're afraid or not, it's the same anyway—death is inevitable." "But I'm still afraid! Hey, you are all very experienced people." Another voice of brave men interrupted the words of the first two, "Really, the reason why you artillerymen are very experienced is that Because you brought everything with you: vodka, side dishes, whatever you want." The man with the thick voice, apparently an infantry officer, laughed out loud. "Still afraid!" continued the first person with a familiar voice. "Afraid of the unknown, indeed. Anyway, the soul will go to heaven one day... We know it already, the sky There is no such thing as an atmosphere."

The voice of the brave man interrupted the artilleryman again. "Well, Tushin, let me have some of your grass-soaked wine," he said. "He is the captain who stands beside the trooper without his boots." Prince Andrei thought for a moment, and listened with pleasure to the pleasing abstraction of the speech. "May I treat you to some herbaceous wine," Tushin said, "I still need to understand my future life..." He didn't finish his sentence. At this time, there was a whistling sound in the air.Getting closer, faster, clearer, clearer, faster, a cannonball didn't seem to have finished what it wanted to say, and it exploded into pieces with inhuman power, rumbling not far from the shed It fell to the ground with a sound.The earth sighed at the terrible blow.

At this moment, the short Tushin was the first to rush out of the shed with a pipe crookedly in his mouth, his kind and intelligent face looked a little pale.A man with a deep voice, the gallant infantry officer, came out after him, and galloped to his own company, buttoning up his coat as he ran.