Briggs: Kutuzov's speech of simplicity and sincerity moves the men.
Maude (chapters 6-9): Kutuzov at Krasnoe, his speech to the army. Encampment for the night: soldier scenes. Ramballe's appearance with his orderly. The song of Henri Quatre
Pevear and Volokhonsky: Kutuzov addresses his troops at Krasnoe.
Translation:
VI.
The 5th of November was the first day of the so called Krasnensky (Red) battle. Before night, when already after many disputes and mistakes of the generals, managers not there where they were needed; after the mailings of adjutants, from against orders, when already it had become clear that the enemy ran everywhere, and the battle may not be and will not be, Kutuzov left from Red and went to Dobroe, where was transferred on the current day the main apartment.
The day was clear and frosty. Kutuzov with a huge suite of dissatisfied generals whispering behind him, on his fat, white horse rode to Dobroe. Throughout the road crowded, warming up at bonfires, parties taken on the current day French captives (there were 7 thousand taken on this day). Near from Dobroe, a huge crowd of ragged, tied and wrapped up horrible captives hummed in speaking, standing up on the road beside a long number of harnessed French cannons. At the approaching commander in chief the dialect shut up, and all eyes stared at Kutuzov, who in his white with red band hat and cotton greatcoat, with a hump sitting on his stooped shoulders, slowly moved by the road. One of the generals reported to Kutuzov where were taken the guns and captives.
Kutuzov it seemed was concerned by something and did not hear the words of the general. He, displeased, squinted and carefully and intently peered at those figures of the captives, which presented an especially miserable view. The big part of the persons of the French soldiers were disfigured by frostbitten noses and cheeks, and almost all had red, swollen and festering eyes.
One bunch of the French stood close at the road, and two soldiers — the face of one of them was covered in sores, — tore up with his hands a piece of raw meat. was something scary and animal in this fluent glance, which they threw on the passing, and in this spiteful expression, with which the soldier with sores, looking at Kutuzov, immediately again turned away and continued their business.
Kutuzov for long carefully looked at these two soldiers; still frowning more, he squinted his eye and thoughtfully shook his head. In another location he saw a Russian soldier, who, laughing and ruffling by the shoulder a Frenchman, spoke something affectionately to him. Kutuzov again with that same expression shook his head.
— What did you speak? — he asked the general, continuing to report and drawing the attention of the commander in chief to the French taken banners, standing before the front of the Preobrazhensky regiment.
— Ah, banners! —said Kutuzov, apparently with labor ripped off from the subject occupying his thought. He absent-mindedly turned back. A thousand eyes with all parties, expecting his word, looked at him.
Before the Preobrazensky regiment he stopped, heavily sighed and closed his eyes. Someone of the suite waved so that the holding banners soldiers came up and put the shafts of the banners around the commander in chief. Kutuzov was silent for a few minutes and apparently reluctantly, obeying his need in the situation, raised his head and started to speak. A crowd of officers surrounded him. He with an attentive look got around the club of officers, upon learning some of them.
— I thank all! — he said, turning to the soldiers and again to the officers. At the silence reigning around him, clearly heard were his slowly pronounced words: — I thank all for the difficult and true service. The victory is complete, and Russia will not forget you. You will be thanked for centuries! — he was silent, looking back.
— Bend, bend the head of that, — he said to a soldier, holding a French eagle and accidentally lowering it before the banner of the Preobrazhensky. — Lower, lower, so that is here. Hoorah! Guys, — with a quick movement of his chin turning to the soldiers, he spoke.
— Hoorah-ra-ra! — roared a thousand voices.
While shouted the soldiers, Kutuzov, bending over on the saddle, bowed his head, and his eye lit up a meek, as if mocking, shine.
— Here is what, brothers, — he said, when fell a silent voice...
And suddenly the voice and expression of his face changed: ceased to speak the commander in chief, but began talking a searching, old person, obviously something very necessarily wishing to report now his friends.
In the crowd of officers and in the ranks of the soldiers happened a move, so to clearer hear that what he would say now.
— But here is what, brothers. I know, it is difficult for you, and what again to do! You suffer; not for long left. Escort the guests, take a rest then. For your service the tsar will not forget you. It is difficult for you, and all the same you are at home; but they — you see, to what they reached, — he said, pointing at the captives. — the worst is the last. While they were strong, we did not pity them, but now we can pity them. They also are people. So, guys?
He watched around himself and at the stubborn, respectful in bewilderment directed at him views reading the empathy of his words: his face became all lighter and lighter from his senile meek smile, stars wrinkling in the corners of his lips and eye. He was silent and as would being bewildered lowered his head.
— But that said, who again called them to us? By business they, m... and.. in g...., — he suddenly said, holding up his head. And waving his whip, he galloped, for the first time in all the campaign, going away from the happy laughing and roaring hoorah, upsetting the ranks of the soldiers.
The words, said by Kutuzov, were barely understood by the troops. Nothing managed to deliver the content of the first solemn and under the end of the ingenious-old man speech of the field marshal; but the cordial meaning of this speech not only was understood, but that very sense of stately celebrations in connection with pity to enemies and the consciousness of their rightness, expressed as it was by this old man’s good-natured curse, — this very feeling lied in the soul of each soldier and was expressed in joyful, long unceasing screaming. When after this one of the generals with an issue about whether or not the commander in chief ordered the carriage to come, turning to him, Kutuzov, answering, suddenly sobbed, apparently found out in strong agitation.
Locations: Krasnoe, Dobroe
Mentioned: French, Russia (and Russian)
Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: We have been building up to the battle of Krasnoe in the previous chapters, which comes to a head here. While Kutuzov is not interested in listening to the reports of generals, he stares at the French prisoners who are covered in sores, frostbitten, and have festering eyes. Kutuzov speaks to his own soldiers and tells them that the victory is complete. He also calls for pity for the prisoners.
"The words spoken by Kutuzov were hardly understood by the troops. No one would have been able to convey the contents of the field marshal's at first solemn and in the end simple-hearted old man's speech; but the heartfelt meaning of that speech was not only understood..."
Kutuzov ends the chapter by weeping.
Characters (characters who do not appear, but are mentioned are placed in italics. First appearances are in Bold. First mentions are underlined. Final appearance denoted by *):
Kutuzof (and his stout white cob. Also "commander-in-chief".)
Alexander ("tsar")
(also generals and adjutants and the French prsioners. Also the Russian soldiers. Also the aide-de-camp that asks Kutuzof if he wants to get in his carriage.)
Abridged Versions: No break in Bell.
Gibian: Chapter 3: line break instead of chapter break.
Fuller: Entire chapter is cut.
Komroff: Some of the intro detail about Krasnoye is removed. The chapter cuts off a little early with a line break, removing the reflection on how the soldiers heard the tone of the speech.
Kropotkin: Chapter 4: Chapter is preserved.
Simmons: Chapter 3: A lot of the detail of the condition of the French soldiers is removed. The reflections on Kutuzov's words is also removed.
Additional Notes:
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