Briggs: A small victory, with some (useless) losses. Napoleon is on his way out.
Translation:
VII.
Between that from the front another column was to attack on the French, but at this column was Kutuzov. He knew well that nothing besides confusion came from this against his commitment started battle and, as far as that it was in his authority, he held the troops. He did not move.
Kutuzov silently rode on his grayish horse, lazily answering to offers to attack.
— In you is all the language to attack, but do you not see that we are not able to do complex maneuvers, — he said Miloradovich, asking forward.
— We were not able in the morning to take Murat alive and come in time to the place: now there is nothing to do! — was his response to another.
When to Kutuzov it was reported that at the rear of the French, where by the reports of the Cossacks before nobody was, now was two battalions of Poles, he squinted backwards to Ermolov (he had still not spoken with him since yesterday).
— Here you are asking for an offensive, and offer different projects, but a little bit begins the business, nothing is ready, and the notified enemy takes their steps.
Ermolov squinted his eyes and a little smiled upon hearing these words. He got that for him the thunderstorm passed, and that Kutuzov will be limited by these hints.
— This is him on my score having fun, — quietly said Ermolov, pushing the knee of Raevsky, standing beside him.
Soon after this Ermolov moved forward to Kutuzov and respectfully reported:
— The time is not missed, your lordship, the enemy is not gone. Do you order to advance? But that guard and the smoke will see.
Kutuzov said nothing, but when to him it was reported that the troops of Murat retreated, he ordered an offensive; but through every one hundred steps stopped in three quarters of an hour.
All the battle consisted only in what was done by the Cossacks of Orlov-Denisov; the rest of the troops only in vain lost a few hundred people.
Owing to this battle, Kutuzov received a diamond sign, Bennigsen also received diamonds and one hundred thousand rubles, others by ranks accordingly also received many nice things, and after this battle was made still new movement in the staff.
"Here as in us is always done, all is inverted!" said after the Tarutinskaya battle Russian officers and generals, exactly so the same, as is spoken now, giving the feeling that some daft one there makes it so inverted, but we would not have done so. Yet people, speaking so, do not know affairs about which they speak, or intentionally deceive themselves. All battles — Tarutinskaya, Borodino, Austerlitz, all are committed not so as are supposed by its stewards. This is the essential condition.
A countless number of free forces (for nowhere are person freer, as in the time of battle, where the business is going about life and death) affects the direction of the battle, and this direction never may be known forward and never match with the direction of some one force.
Should many, at the same time and diversely directed, forces act on some body, that direction of movements of this body may not coincide with one of the forces; but will always average in the shortest direction, that what in mechanics is expressed in diagonal parallelogram forces.
Should in the descriptions of the historians, in particular the French, we find out that their war and battle was carried out by a forward definite plan, then there is only one conclusion which we can make from this, consisting in that these descriptions are not true.
The Tarutinskaya battle obviously did not reach the goals which were in the mind of Toll: by the order introduced by the dispositions in the business of the troops, and that — which could have Count Orlov taking in captivity Murat, or the goals of exterminating instantly only the corps which could have Bennigsen and other faces, or the goals of the officer, willing to get in the business and to be distinguished, or the Cossack who wanted to get more spoils than he brought, and etc. Yet, if the purpose was that what was really subjected and that what was for all the Russian people then a common desire (the banishment of the French from Russia and to decimate their army), then it will be completely clear that the Tarutin battle, owing to its incongruities, was that very thing that was needed in that period of the campaign. It is difficult and impossible to figure out some outcome of this battle, more expedient than that which it had. In a very small strain, in the greatest confusion and in the most insignificant loss, were acquired the largest results in all the campaign, was made a transition from retreat to offensive, was exposed the weakness of the French and was given that push, which only awaited the Napoleonic army for the beginning of flight.
Mentioned: the day before, three-quarters of an hour
Locations: Tarutino
Mentioned: French, Poles, Russia (and Russian), Borodino, Austerlitz
Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: Kutuzov, anticipating confusion, doesn't move and tries to hold back troops.
"The whole battle consisted in what Orlov-Denisov's Cossacks had done; the rest of the troops merely lost several hundred men for nothing." However, all the commanders received money and diamonds for their effort.
An interesting parenthetical that I think describes a lot of interest Tolstoy takes in military matters: "nowhere is a man more free than in a battle, where it is a question of life and death."
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 gray cob.)
Miloradovitch
Murat
Yermolof
Rayevsky
Orlof-Denisof (also "Count Orlof")
Benigsen
Toll
Napoleon ("Napoleonic")
Abridged Versions: End of Chapter 5 in Bell.
Gibian: end of Chapter 1.
Fuller: Entire chapter is cut.
Komroff: Entire chapter is cut.
Kropotkin: We pick up at "The whole battle was summed up in what Orlof-Denisof's Cossacks did", making a smooth transition and removing the Kutuzof episode early in this chapter. The digression about historians and the way forces actually act is removed, picking back up at "The Battle of Tarutino evidently failed". End of Chapter 2.
Simmons: Entire chapter is cut.
Additional Notes:
No comments:
Post a Comment