Chapter 9 Chapter nine

Prince Andrew arrived at the headquarters at the end of June.The Emperor's First Army had fortified Drissa; the Second Army was retreating, trying to join the First Army, and they were said to have been cut off by the strength of the French.All were dissatisfied with the military situation of the Russian army; but no one thought of the danger of invading the Russian provinces, and no one expected the war to pass beyond the western provinces of Poland. On the banks of the Drisa, Prince Andrew found Bax de Tolly, to whom he had been sent.Since there was not a large village around the camp, a large number of generals and courtiers accompanying the army were housed in the best houses in the villages on both sides of the river for a radius of ten versts.Bacchus de Tolly lived four versts from the emperor.He received Bolkonski coldly, said in a German accent that he would be confirmed by the Holy Grail, and would only ask him to remain at his headquarters for the time being.Anatoly Kuragin, whom Prince Andrew hoped to find in the army, was not here; he was in Petersburg, and Bolkonsky was pleased with the news.At present, Prince Andrew was preoccupied with the central issues of the great war that was taking place, and he was glad to have some time away from the Kuragin problem that had been haunting him.During the first four days he was not asked to do anything, and Prince Andrei went round all the fortified camps, and it was possible to get a definite idea of ​​each camp from his own knowledge and conversations with the persons concerned.But the question whether the defense of the camp was effective or ineffective was an unresolved question for Prince Andrew, who had already drawn from his own military experience the conviction that in military affairs the Well-thought-out and well-thought-out plans mean nothing (as he saw at the Battle of Austerlitz), everything depends on how sudden, unforeseen enemy actions are dealt with, on how and by whom the whole campaign.In order to ascertain this latter question, Prince Andrei, using his position and acquaintances, endeavored to gain an in-depth knowledge of the character of the command of the army, of the commanders and factions involved in it, and thus arrived at the following conception of the military situation.

While the emperor was still in Vilna, the army was divided into three parts: the first under Barclay de Tolly, the second under Bagration, and the third under Tormasov.The Emperor was in the First Army, but not as Commander-in-Chief.According to the decree, the emperor will not command the army, but only follow the army.In addition, there is no general staff department in front of the emperor, only the general staff department of the emperor.There was the Chief of Staff of the Emperor's Office, that is, Prince Bolkonski, the general in charge of the military supplies, several generals, aides-de-camp, diplomats, and a large number of foreigners, but this was not the army headquarters.In addition, persons who do not have a position before the emperor include: Arakcheyev - former Minister of War, Count Bennigsen - old general (general) by rank, Crown Prince Lestan J. Pavnovy Grand Duke, Count Rumyantsev - first class civil servant, Stein - ex-Prussian minister, Arenfeld - Swedish general, Pfuel - chief drafter of the battle plan, aide-de-camp Bavoluch - —Sardinian Desperadoes, Volzogen and many others.Although these people do not have military positions, but due to the influence of their positions, usually a regiment commander or even the commander-in-chief does not know what Bennigsen or the Grand Duke, or Arakcheyev, or Bolkonsky are. I don't know whether this question or suggestion comes from themselves or from the emperor, and whether it should or should not be implemented.But this is only superficial, the real significance of the emperor and these people coming out from the point of view of the court (the emperor is present, all others are court courtiers) is clear to everyone.That meaning is: the emperor did not assume the title of commander-in-chief, but he commanded the whole army; all around him were his assistants.Arakcheyev was the faithful executor, the keeper of order, the emperor's bodyguard; Bennigsen, the landowner of Vilna province, seemed to be doing the Leshonneurs (French: to receive the emperor) of the landowner, but in fact He is an excellent general who can make suggestions and can replace Barclay at any time.The Grand Duke was there because it pleased him, the ex-Minister Stein because he could give useful advice, because the Emperor Alexander thought highly of his personal qualities.Alenfield, Napoleon's sworn enemy, was a general confident that he could always influence Alexander.Bavolucci for his outspokenness and decisiveness.The aide-de-camp was there because they were present everywhere the Emperor was, and last but not least—Pfuel was there because he had drawn up a military plan against Napoleon and had convinced Alexander of its feasibility, and he In charge of all military affairs.Alongside Pfuel is Woerzogen, a man who can express Pfuel's ideas in a more lucid way than Pfuel himself, for Pfuel is a biting, self-confident, bookish theorist. Home.

In addition to the aforementioned Russians and foreigners (especially foreigners, who have the typical audacity of people who move or work among strangers, and every day come up with startling new ideas), there are many secondary characters. It's there because their bosses are there. In this large, busy, brilliant, and proud group, Prince Andrei found that all thoughts and discussions were clearly divided into the following factions and tendencies. The first school is: Pfuel and his followers, those military theorists who believe in the existence of a military science, which has its own inalterable laws, laws of mobile warfare, laws of deviating movements, etc.Pfuel and his followers demanded a retreat to the interior of the country, according to the precise laws laid down by the pseudo-military theory, from which all deviations could only be regarded as barbaric, ignorant, or ulterior motives.To this faction were the German princes, Woerzogen, Wenzengerode, and others, mostly Germans.

The second faction is the opposite of the first faction.As is often the case, where there is one extreme, there is also another.This faction demanded the invasion of Poland from Vilna, and the removal of all preconceived plans.In addition to being representatives of bold action, the representatives of this faction are also representatives of nationalism, so the debate has become more extreme.These were Russians: Bagration, Ermolov, who had grown in popularity, and others.Ermolov jokes were being circulated at this time, as if he was asking for the emperor's favor - to make him a German.People of this school who remember Suvorov say that one should not think that one should not pierce a map with a needle, but should go to battle, strike at the enemy, prevent the enemy from entering Russia, and not demoralize.

The third faction was most trusted by the emperor, and they were the courtiers between the two factions.Most of the people in this faction were soldiers, and Arakcheyev belonged to this faction. They thought and said what they had no convictions, but they wanted to think and say what ordinary people with convictions thought and said.There is no doubt, they say, that war, especially with such a genius as Bonaparte (also known as Bonaparte), requires the most thoughtful planning and profound scientific knowledge, and Pfuel is a genius in this respect However, it must also be admitted that theoreticians are often one-sided, so they cannot be completely trusted, and one should listen to the opinions of the opposition Pfuel and people with practical military experience, and then make a compromise.This faction advocated holding the Drissa camp according to Pfuel's plan and changing the actions of other armies.Although this change served no other purpose, the school thought it would be better.

The fourth faction is represented most famously by the Grand Duke and the Dauphin. He cannot forget his defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz, when he wore a steel helmet and cavalry uniform, and rode near as if on a military parade. The front of the guard, hoping to defeat the French army cleanly, ended up in the front line, and escaped with difficulty in panic.This faction has frank strengths and weaknesses in its own discussions.They were afraid of Napoleon, saw his strength and their own weakness and said it outright.They said: "There will be nothing but sorrow, disgrace, and ruin! We have lost Werner, we have lost Vitebsk, we have lost Drissa. It would be wise to drive us out before now." Get out of Petersburg and conclude peace as soon as possible."

This view was quite common in the upper echelons of the military and was also supported in Petersburg, where First Class Civilian Rumyantsev was also in favor of a settlement for other political reasons. The fifth sect is the followers of Barclay de Tolly.They thought of him less as a man than as Secretary of State and Commander-in-Chief.They said: "No matter who he is, (always started like this), but his integrity, shrewdness, no one is better than him. Please give him the real power, because it is impossible to have a unified command in war, he Will show what he can do, as he did in Finland. If our army is in order, capable, retreats to Drisa without taking any losses, then it can only be due to Barclay. If now with Bei Bennigsen replaces Barclay, and it's all over, because Bennigsen showed himself incompetent in 1807," say the faction.

The sixth faction is the Bennigsen faction.On the contrary, they say, "Anyway, there is no one more able and experienced than Bennigsen, and no matter how hard you try, he is the one to ask in the end." This faction proves that we all retreated to Drisa is the result of the most lamentable failure and an uninterrupted chain of mistakes. They say: "The more mistakes are made, the sooner it will be understood that this cannot go on, that there is no need for a Barclay, but for a Bennigsen That kind of people.He had already shown his skills in 1807, and Napoleon himself had done his justice, which made it all the more convincing to admit that the only authority was Bennigsen. "

The seventh faction is those who are always around the emperor, especially the young emperors, and there are many such people around Emperor Alexander. They are generals and military officers. They are infinitely loyal to the emperor, just like Rostov In 1805 adored him as much.Not as an emperor, but as a man, worship him sincerely and unselfishly, and see in him not only all the virtues, but all the good qualities of human beings.Although these people praised the emperor's modesty of refusing to command the army, they accused such excessive modesty. Set up a commander-in-chief base camp, command the army by yourself, and ask experienced theorists and doers to assist when necessary, which will greatly inspire the morale of the army.

The eighth faction was the most numerous, and compared with the other factions by their numbers ninety-nine to one, they consisted of those who desired neither peace nor war, nor favored attack nor favored the war in Drissa. Fortify camps and anywhere else.They don't support Emperor Barclay, nor Pfuel and Bennigsen. They only plan for one thing, one very important thing, and that is to act for their own best interests and pleasure. The plot is intricate and confusing, full of conspiracies and conspiracies, from which unexpected benefits can be reaped at other times.Some people are just afraid of losing their vested interest.So one day he agreed with Pfuel, the next day he agreed with Pfuel's opposition, and the next day he announced that he had no opinion on a certain issue, so long as he could avoid responsibility and please the Emperor.Others, hoping to gain some advantage, to attract the emperor's attention, shouted, upheld something the emperor had hinted at the day before, argued and shouted in councils beating their breasts, demanded duels from those who disagreed, and This shows that he is ready to sacrifice for the public good.The third kind, who, in the middle of two meetings and in the absence of the opposition, simply asks for a grant for his faithful service, knows that there is no time to refuse him.The fourth kind of people do everything possible to show that they have worked hard.The fifth type of people, in order to achieve their long-awaited long-cherished wish—to dine with the emperor, desperately prove the correctness or inaccuracy of a just-presented opinion, and cite more or less correct and sufficient arguments for it.

All the men of this faction were for rubles, medals, and offices.In this kind of pursuit, you only follow the wind vane of the emperor's favor. As long as you find that the wind vane is pointing in that direction, it turns out that it is more difficult to turn the wind vane to the other side.In this volatile situation, in this grave danger of panic and uneasiness in all, in this maelstrom of conspiratorial selfishness, conflicting opinions and feelings, and the racial differences of all these people, this multitude , the unselfish Eighth faction added great confusion and panic to the common cause.Whatever the issue, the swarm of bees flies to the new issue before it has finished humming on the previous one, and with its humming overwhelms and drowns out sincere debate. At the very moment when Prince Andrew came to the army, a ninth faction was gathering from all these factions, which was improving its reputation.This faction is composed of old, experienced, smart and capable people. They do not agree with any opposing opinion. They calmly observe what is happening in Dakar, and think about getting rid of the current lack of direction and weak will. , the way out of chaos and powerlessness. What this school of people thinks is that all bad things come from the emperor and his military advisers stationed in the army. All kinds of relationships are not clear, restrict each other, and bring them into the army if they are vacillating. This is feasible in the family.It's bad in the military.The emperor should govern the country, not command the army, and the only way out of this state is to withdraw the emperor and his court from the army, and paralyze fifty thousand troops for his personal safety in the presence of the emperor alone; the worst A commander-in-chief, but independent, is much better than the best commander-in-chief, who is restrained by the emperor and his authority. While Prince Andrei was idling in Drissa, Khidekov, who had been one of the leading representatives of this faction, sent a letter to the Emperor, in which Balashov and Arakcheyev also agreed. sign.In the letter, taking advantage of the emperor's permission to discuss the overall situation, he respectfully asked the emperor to leave the army under the pretext that he must inspire the fighting spirit of the people in the capital. Inspired and called upon by the Emperor himself to defend the Fatherland—this was (in the case of the Emperor himself in Moscow) the chief reason for the Russian victory.In order to find an excuse for the emperor to leave the army, this suggestion was made by the emperor.