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War & Peace Podnotes, A Study GuideAuthor: Sean Roman Language: en-us Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Bk. 1, Pt. 3, Ch. 14: Target Pratzen
Episode 20
Sunday, 26 October, 2025
The doomed advance commenced around 5 a.m., when still quite dark. The idea was for General Bagration’s left flank to initiate the attack on the French right flank and drive the enemy into the mountains. Officers were hurriedly drinking tea and eating a decent breakfast while buttoning their coats and buckling their swords. Battalion and regimental commanders, along with their adjuncts, mounted their horses and gave final instructions. Austrian guides were now moving among the troops and heralding the advance. Those who would be moving were anxious amidst the cold and mist. The soldiers had been eating their rations, which consisted of a biscuit, while some beat their feet (while sitting around fires) to a tolerable warmth. The allied army reached a critical point, to either keep what they had or destroy it. Thus, into the fires went chairs, tables, wheels and everything that was not needed or could not be carried. The men then hoisted their bags onto carts, readied their muskets, and ran to form rank. There were a lot of non-combatant equipment men and logistics people who harnessed and packed the wagons. Soon the tramp of thousands of marching feet resounded. The throng moved without seeing where they were headed, as great masses of familiar men were surrounded by smoke and fog. For most, their senses heightened and they listened intently and looked about, each strengthened by their numbers. The columns thus advanced, descending and ascending hills, going over new and unknown ground. Nowhere did they encounter the French. The troops marched with enthusiasm for about an hour before the greater part had to halt and an unpleasant consciousness of some blunder spread. Tolstoy notes how such a mindset moves through such a body so rapidly is impossible to define. It was understood that large units were crossing one other. For example, in one area, several thousand cavalry crossed in front of the infantry. In contrast to the jovial spirit with which the troops had started, they were now filled with vexation and anger. The disorder was attributed to “those stupid Germans,” often called “sausage-eaters.” There were even visible altercations between some Austrian and Russian leaders. While stationary, the troops grew listless and dispirited. After this inauspicious development that lasted the better part of an hour, some soldiers started to hear shots. It was beyond the fog and irregular but then came at more frequent intervals. A small contingent who expected to come upon the enemy down by a stream stumbled upon the French in the fog. Similar interactions, of advancing and halting and exchanging uneven shots with the enemy, played out among the first, second and third columns in the lowlands, amidst thick fog. The 4th column, which Kutuzov was with, stood on the Infamous Pratzen Heights. On this higher ground, much of the field was becoming observable as the day developed and sun rose. High up in the village of Schlappanitz –the Great Napoleon stood with his marshals, observing the field and the Pratzen Heights. He was basking in the crimson sun that was rising in a striking blue sky. He donned the famous blue cloak he wore on his Italian campaign, sitting on his gray Arab horse. He gazed at the hills which seemed to rise out of the sea of mist and on which his adversaries were moving, listening to the sounds of firing. He is imbued by as already having the air of having victory. One part of the Russian forces already descended into a valley toward the ponds and lakes and another were leaving the Pratzen Heights, which Napolean abandoned before the battle but intended to retake and regarded as the key position. Napoleon plainly noticed the disorderly movement of his enemy and that the columns moving near The Pratzen Heights constituted the center of the Russian army, which was sufficiently weakened to be successfully attacked.
