Book 3 Part 1 Chapter 15 (Chapter 179 overall)

Chapter Summaries: Dole: Rostof's gallant charge upon the French dragoons. Capture of the young officer. Re-action. Nikolai's promotion. Thoughts suggested.
Maude: His hussars charge the French Dragoons. He wounds and captures a prisoner
Briggs: Nikolay, with his huntsman's eye, excels in battle.

Translation:

XV.

Rostov with his keen hunting eye was one of the first to see these blue French dragoons, pursuing our lancer. Nearer and nearer moved the disturbed in droves lancers, and the French dragoons, pursuing them. Now one could see, as these, appearing under the mountain as small, people collided, caught up to each other and waved hands or sabres.

Rostov as in baiting watched that what was done before him. His instinct felt that, should hit now the hussars with the French dragoon, they will not stand; but should they hit, that need was now, at this moment, otherwise it will already be too late. He turned back around himself. The captain, standing up beside him, exactly so the same did not lower his eyes from the cavalry down below.

— Andrey Sevastyanych, — said Rostov, — because we doubt them...

— It would be a dashing thing, — said the captain, — but in the very case...

Rostov, not listening to him, pushed his horse, jumped out forward of the squadron and not still having time to command movement, as all the squadron, tested that same that he, set off behind it. Rostov himself did not know how and why he did this. All this he did, as he did in hunting, not thinking, not considering. He saw that the dragoons close were jumping, disturbed; he knew that they would not withstand, he knew that it was only one minute, which did not return should he miss it. The bullets so excitedly squealed and whistled around him, the horse so hotly asked forward that he could not withstand it. He touched his horse, ordered and at that same moment, upon hearing for himself the sound of the stomp of his deployed squadron, in full trotting, began to go down to the dragoons under the mountain. They barely got off under the mountain, as unwittingly their trotting gait moved into a gallop, becoming all faster and faster, at least as they moved closer to their lancers and galloped behind them and the French dragoons. The dragoons were close. The front, seeing the hussars, began to turn backwards, and the rear paused. With the feeling with which he carried across the wolf, Rostov, released in all steps his Don, galloped across the disturbed rows of the French dragoons. One lancer stopped, one on foot fell down to the ground, so he was not crushed, one horse without a rider got mixed up with the hussars. Almost all the French dragoons galloped backwards. Rostov, choosing himself one of them on a gray horse, started up behind him. By the road he swooped in on a bush; the good horse carried him over across it, and, barely coping on the saddle, Nikolay saw that he through a few moments caught up to that enemy, whom he chose for his purpose. This Frenchman, probably an officer by his uniform, bent over and galloped on their gray horse, with a saber urging it. In an instant the horse of Rostov stroked the breast on the backside of the officer’s horse, a little bit not knocking it down from its feet, and at that same instant Rostov, himself not knowing what for, raised his saber and stroked the Frenchman by it.

At that same moment, as he did this, all the revitalization of Rostov suddenly disappeared. The officer fell not so much from the blow of the saber, which only a little cut his arm above the elbow, as much as from pushing the horse from fear. Rostov, holding back his horse, sought out the eyes of his enemy, so to see, whom he conquered. The French dragoon officer on one foot hopped on the ground, another hooked in the stirrup. He, scaredly squinting, as if all expecting the second new blow, frowning, with an expression of horror looked from below up at Rostov. His face, pale and splattered with mud, blond, young, with a hole in his chin and bright blue eyes, was very not for the field of battle, not the face of an enemy, but a very simple room face. More than before, Rostov decided what he would do with him, the officer shouted: I give up!609 He, in a hurry, wanted to and could not disentangle his leg from the stirrup and, not lowering his scared blue eyes, watched Rostov. The jumped hussars eased his leg and planted him on the saddle. The hussars from different parties fussed with the dragoons: one was injured, and, with a face in blood, not giving his horse; another, hugging a hussar, sat on the rump of his horse; a third climbed, supported by a hussar, on his horse. Ahead ran, shooting, the French infantry. The hussars hastily jumped backwards with their own captives. Rostov galloped backwards with others, testing some unpleasant feeling, squeezing his heart. Something obscure, confused, what he could in no way explain to himself, opened by his taking in captivity this officer and by that blow by which he harmed him.

Count Osterman-Tolstoy met the returning hussars, called upon Rostov, thanked him and said that he was to represent to the sovereign about his well done act and will ask for him a George cross. When Rostov was demanded to Count Osterman, he, remembering about how his attack was began without orders, was quite convinced that the chief required him so that to punish him for an unauthorized act. Therefore the flattering words of Osterman and the promise of awards would have joyfully hit Rostov; but all that same unpleasant, obscure feeling morally nauseated him. "And what does the tormenting mean to me?", he asked himself, driving off from the general. "Ilyin? No, he is intact. Am I disgraced in something? No, not all that!" Another something tormented him. As remorse. "Yes, yes, this French officer with the hole. And I well remember how my hand stopped when I raised it."

Rostov saw the transported captives and galloped behind them, so that to look at the Frenchman with the hole in his. He in his strange uniform sat on the lively hussar horse and anxiously looked around himself. His wound on his hand was almost not a wound. He feignedly smiled at Rostov and waved his hand, in seeing greetings. Rostov all so the same was awkward and somewhat ashamed.

All this next day, the friends and companions of Rostov noticed that he was not boring, not angry, but silent, thoughtful and focused. He reluctantly drank, tried to stay alone, and about something thought.

Rostov all thought about this brilliant feat of his, which, to his surprise, brought him a George cross and even made his reputation brave, and in no way could understand something. "So they still more fear us!" he thought. "So only that and only that, what is called heroism? And didn’t I do this for the fatherland? And in what is he to blame with his hole and blue eyes? But how he was scared! He thought that I would kill him. For what am I to kill him? My hand trembled. But they gave me the George cross. Nothing, nothing to understand!"

While Nikolay made in himself these questions, all the same he did not give himself a clear report in this. What so confused him, the wheel of happiness by service, as this often is, turned in his favor. He was put forward after the Ostrovnensky affairs, given a battalion of hussars, and, when it was needed to be consumed by a brave officer, he was given errands.

609 je me rends! (I surrender!)

Time: see previous chapter

Locations: Ostrovna
Mentioned: French

Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: Rostov views the battle and looks at it like he viewed events while hunting. He uses this hunting instinct to know to charge, picks out someone to charge at and attacks them. “At the same moment Rostov, not knowing why himself, raised his saber and struck the Frenchman with it. The moment he did this, all Rostov’s animation suddenly vanished.” Rostov sees how frightened and un-enemy-like he is as he surrenders. “Rostov galloped away with the others, experiencing some unpleasant feeling which wrung his heart.”

The rest of the chapter follows Rostov's thoughts and feelings after this event. “I understand nothing, nothing!”

He gets promoted again.

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 *):

Nikolai Rostof (and his Don pony.)

Andrei Sevastyanuitch (“Andrey Sevastyanych” in Weiner and Briggs (Mandelker and Dunnigan have the same as the second name, but use “Andrei” for the first name). “Andre Sevastianovitch” in Bell. “Andrey
Sevastianitch” in Garnett. “Andrei Sevastyanich” in Edmonds. A captain.)

Count Ostermann-Tolstoi

(also the French dragoons, uhlans, and the hussars. Notable ones include the uhlan who falls to the ground in order to avoid being crushed, the French officer with the dimple who Rostof scratches with his sword
and surrenders.)

Abridged Versions: End of chapter 7 in Bell.
Gibian: Chapter 15.

Fuller: Entire chapter is cut.

Komroff: Chapter seems preserved.

Kropotkin: Chapter 9: The captain’s name is removed. Chapter seems preserved.

Bromfield: Rostov believes Ilin will be killed for sure. Chapter pretty much the same otherwise, no break.
Simmons: Chapter 15: chapter is basically preserved.

Additional Notes:

Carroll: Page 39: "Leo was surprised to hear General Baryatinsky praising him for his calm bearing

under fire. The general advised him to apply for a commission. Visions of greatness swam before

Leo's eyes. Perhaps he would be awarded the Cross of St. George for gallantry. The limp, crumpled

bodies being lifted onto stretchers faded from his thoughts."

Letters (translated by Christian): Page 29: “St George Cross...I frankly confess that of all military honors,

it’s that little cross alone that I had the vanity to covet, and that this misfortune caused me bitter resentment,

the more especially since there’s only one time for receiving it, and as far as I’m concerned that has now passed.”

Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy adopted the named of his grandfather, which is why he has the rare

hyphenated name. Considering he is in many of the key battles of the novel and was on Kutuzov's side (not to

mention his last name), it is a little surprising that he is not in the novel more than he is (though perhaps Tolstoy

wanted to heighten the opposition to Kutuzov and having him have allies would have contradicted some of Tolstoy's

narrative.)