Briggs: The war council at Fili. With a heavy heart Kutuzov opts for retreat.
Pevear and Volokhonsky: The council of war in a peasant's cottage in Fili, viewed by the peasant's little daughter. Kutuzov's decision.
Translation:
IV.
In the spacious, best hut of the peasant Andrey Savostyanov, at two gathered the advice. The men, women and children of the big peasant family crowded in the black hut across the canopy. Only the granddaughter of Andrey, Malasha, a six year old girl, who the lordly, caressing her, gave for tea a piece of sugar, stayed at the furnace in the big hut. Malasha timidly and happily watched from the furnace at the faces, uniforms and crosses of the generals, one behind the other entering in the hut and seating in the red corner, on broad benches under images. Grandfather himself, as internally called Malasha Kutuzov, sat from them particularly, in a dark corner behind the stove. He sat, deeply lowered on a foldable chair and incessantly grunted and straightened out the collar of his frock coat, which, although unbuttoned, all as if shook his neck. The entering one behind the other approached to the field marshal; some he shook hands with, some he nodded his head to. The adjutant Kaysarov wanted to draw back the curtain at the window against Kutuzov, but Kutuzov angrily waved his hand, and Kaysarov got that the lordly did not want so that his face was seen.
Around the peasant spruce desk, on which lied maps, plans, pencils, and paperwork, gathered so many people that the orderlies had brought more benches and put them at the desk. On this bench sat down the coming: Ermolov, Kaysarov and Toll. Below the very images at the first location sat with a George on his neck, with a pale, painful face and with his high forehead, merging with his naked head, Barclay-de-Tolly. For the second day already he was tormented by fever, and in this very time it shivered and broke. Nearby from him sat Uvarov and in a quiet voice (as all was said) something, quickly making gestures, informed Barclay. The little, round Dohturov, lifting his eyebrows and folding his hands on his belly, carefully listened. From different parties sat, leaning on his arm his wide with brave features and brilliant eyes head, Count Osterman-Tolstoy seemed submerged in his thought. Raevsky with an expression of impatience, habitually gesturing forward his curly black hair on his temples, glanced at Kutuzov, then at the entrance of the door. The solid, beautiful and good face of Konovnitsyn shined a tender and cunning smile. He met the look of Malasha and his eyes made to her signs that forced the girl to smile.
All were waiting for Bennigsen, who finished his tasty dinner under the pretext of a new inspection of the positions. He was awaited from four to six, and in all this time the meeting did not begin and quiet voices led the strangers’ conversations.
Only when in the hut entered Bennigsen, Kutuzov moved forward from his corner and moved to the table, but so that his face was not illuminated by the submitted on the table candles.
Bennigsen opened the advice’s issue: "whether to leave without battle the sacred and ancient capital of Russia or to protect it?" and was followed by a long and common silence. All faces frowned, and in the silence was heard the angry groaning and coughing of Kutuzov. All eyes looked at him. Malasha also watched grandfather. She was nearer than all to him and saw how his face wrinkled: he exactly gathered to cry. Yet this went on not for long.
— The sacred ancient capital of Russia! — he suddenly began talking, by an angry voice repeating the words of Bennigsen, and by this pointing at the false note of these words. — Let me say to you, your excellency, that this question has no sense for a Russian man. (He rolled over his heavy body forward.) Such a question cannot be set, and such a question has no sense. The question, for which I requested to gather these gentlemen, this is a question of the military. The next question: "the salvation of Russia is in the army. Whether it is more profitable to risk losing the army and Moscow, accepting battle, or to give Moscow without the battle? Here is what question I want to know your opinion." (He pumped out backwards on the backrest of the chair.)
Began the debate. Bennigsen did not count still to lose the game. Admitting the opinion of Barclay and others about the impossibility to accept a defensive battle under Fili, he, penetrated with Russian patriotism and love to Moscow, suggested to transfer the troops at night from the right to the left flank and to hit on the next day the right wing of the French. Opinions divided, there were disputes in favor and against this opinion. Ermolov, Dohturov and Raevsky agreed with the opinion of Bennigsen. Whether to lead the feeling of the needs of victims before the abandonment of the capital or other personal considerations, these generals as would not understand that the present advice could not change the inevitable passage of cases and that Moscow was now already abandoned. The rest of the generals understood this and, leaving to the side the question about Moscow, talked about the direction in which the retreat must be accepted by the army. Malasha, who, not lowering her eyes watched that what was done before her, otherwise understood the matters of this council. To her it seemed that the business was only in the personal struggle between "grandfather" and "long-legged," as she called Bennigsen. She saw that they were angry when they talked with each other, and in her soul she held the side of grandfather. In the middle of the conversation she noticed the quick sly look, thrown by grandfather at Bennigsen, and following then to her joy noticed that grandfather, saying something to the long-legged, besieged him: Bennigsen suddenly red and angrily walked by the hut. The words, so affecting to Bennigsen, were in a calm and quiet voice expressed by Kutuzov opinion about the benefit and disadvantages of the offers of Bennigsen: about the transfer at night of troops from the right to the left flank for the attacks of the right wing of the French.
— I, gentleman, — said Kutuzov, — cannot approve the plan of the count. The movement of troops in a close distance from the enemy is always dangerous, and military history confirms this consideration. So, for example... (Kutuzov as if thinking, looking for an example and in a bright, naive look looking at Bennigsen). Yes here though would be the Friedland battle, which, as I think, the count well remembers, was... not quite fortunate only because of how our troops rebuilt in a too close distance from the enemy... — followed, appearing to all a very long minute of silence.
The debate again resumed, but often advanced breaks, and the feeling that there was nothing more to speak about.
In the time of one of these breaks, Kutuzov heavily sighed, as would pulling together spoke. All looked around at him.
— So, gentleman, it has become me to pay for broken pots,—735 he said. And, slowly standing up, he came up to the table. — Gentleman, I hear your opinions. Some will not agree with me. Yet I (he stopped) and the power, handed to me by my sovereign and the fatherland, I — order retreat.
Following behind this the generals become dispersed with that same triumph and silent care, with which goes away after a burial.
Some of the generals in a quiet voice, really in another range than when they spoke at the advice, delivered something to the commander in chief.
Malasha, who already for a long time was waiting to have supper, carefully came down backwards from the chambers, clinging her barefoot legs for the ledges of the stove and confused, between the feet of the generals, sniffed at the door.
Letting go of the generals, Kutuzov long sat leaning on the table and thought all about the same scary question: "when again, when again finally decided that abandoned Moscow? When was done that, what decided the question and who is to blame in this?"
— This, this I was not awaiting, — he said to the entering to him, already late at night, adjutant Schneider; — this I was not awaiting! This I did not think!
— You need to relax, your lordship, — said Schneider.
— Yes no again! They will again eat horse meat as the Turks, — not answering screamed Kutuzov, hitting his plump fist on the table, — They will and only would...
735 Eh bien, messieurs! Je vois que c’est moi qui payerai les pots cassés, (Well, gentlemen! I see that it is me who will pay for the broken pots,)
Locations: the peasant Andrei's hut
Mentioned: Moscow, Russia (and Russian), Fili, French, Friedland, Turks
Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: We get a war council juxtapositioned with the setting of a peasant cottage, and perhaps most importantly, through the eyes of a six year old girl. Each of the many characters, most of whom we have met before that come in this room gets their own one or two sentence description from this view point, with Konovnitsyn getting the last and most positive, with apparent kindness to the little girl.
Bennigsen challenges Kutuzov by asking if they will abandon Russia's "sacred and ancient capital without a fight". Kutuzov tells him that these words have no meaning for a Russian, telling him that the army has to be saved because they cannot win without the army and if they try to defend Moscow, they will lose both Moscow and the army.
"Malasha (the little girl)...understood the meaning of this council differently. It seemed to her that it was a matter only of a personal struggle between (Kutuzov and Bennigsen)...."
Kutuzov ends the chapter alone with his adjutant, again contemplating when it was decided that Moscow would be abandoned and claiming that the French will eat horseflesh.
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 *):
Andrei Savostyanof (see early in book for variations on "Andrei". "...Savostyanov" in Wiener, Dunnigan, and Edmonds. "...Sevastianow" in Bell. And his family.)
Malasha
Kutuzof (also "Serene Highness", "field-marshal", "commander-in-chief", "serenity", and "little grandfather".)
Kaisarof
Yermolof
Toll
Barclay de Tolly
Uvarof
Dokhturof
Count Ostermann-Tolstoi
Rayevsky
Konovnitsuin
Benigsen
Schneider
Abridged Versions:
Gibian: End of chapter 3.
Fuller: Entire chapter is cut.
Komroff: Andrei Savostyanof's name is dropped and the conceit that the chapter is seen through the eyes of the granddaughter is also removed. Line break after Kutuzov gives the order to retreat. The Schneider, though his name is dropped, section of the chapter is kept and followed by another line break.
Kropotkin: Chapter is preserved. End of Chapter 1.
Bromfield: No apparent corresponding chapter.
Simmons: Chapter 3: The Malasha and Benigsen's delicious meal is removed.
Additional Notes:
Mikaberidze: Page 5: Barclay de Tolly spent the early hours preparing defences for a new round of fighting and was enraged to receive Kutuzov’s order to retreat. The officer who delivered it described the ‘deep silence’ reigning at the village of Gorki where he had found the peasant cottage in which Barclay de Tolly was quartered. Approaching the cottage, he ‘obtained a candle with much difficulty and entered the parlour where the general (Barclay de Tolly) was asleep on the floor, side by side with his aides-de-camp and orderlies’. He gently woke him, gave him th note which he had brought with him, and explained his mission. Barclay de Tolly ‘leapt to his feet, and, probably for the first time in his life, there burst from his lips generally so mild and gentle, a torrent of the most bitter invective against Bennigsen, who, for some reason or other, he took to be the principal author of the decision to retreat’. In his memoirs Barclay de Tolly lamented the ‘greatest disorder’ that spread through the army and believed this was ‘a natural consequence of the incompetence of the people in charge’.”
Fremont-Barnes: Page 134: "at Friedland, where Bennigsen foolishly placed his army with the River Alle at his back...Prussia ceded all its territory between the Rhine and the Elbe, most of this forming the new Kingdom of Westphalia under Napoleon's brother, Jerome."
(Tolstoy Worldview in War and Peace)
Kutuzov’s virtue...vision is ‘profounder’, they see something the others fail to see; they see the way the world goes, what goes with what, and what never will be brought together...
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