Briggs: French and Russian manoeuvers are like a game of blind man's buff.
Translation:
XVII.
The actions of the Russian and French troops in the time of the reverse campaign from Moscow and to the Neiman was a similar game to blind men, when two are playing with tied eyes and one occasionally rings a bell, so to notify about catching themselves. The first that, who is catching, rings, not fearing the enemy, but when he has it bad, he, trying, cannot hear to go, running away from his enemy and, often, thinking to run away, is going all to his hands.
The first Napoleonic troops still gave about themselves knowing — this was in the first period of movements by the Kaluga road, but then, getting out on the Smolensk road, they ran, clutching with their hand the catch of the bell, and often thinking that they were going away, ran all to the Russians.
In the quickness of the running French and behind them the Russians and exhausting their owned horses, the main means of approximately recognizing the situation, in which was the enemy — the departure of the cavalry did not exist. Besides this, owing to the frequent and fast change of provisions of both armies, the intelligence was that they could not keep up in time. If the second numbers came with news about how the army of the enemy was somewhere in the first numbers, then in the third numbers, when it can be to undertake something, now this army made two transitions and were found out really in another position.
One army ran, another caught up. From Smolensk the French were to many institutions dear; and it seemed here would be, standing still for four days, the French could know where the enemy was, realize something profitable and undertake something new. Yet after the four-day stop, their crowd again ran not to the right, not to the left, but, without all maneuvers and considerations, by the old, worst road, on the Red and Orsha — by the following sound.
Expecting the enemy back, but not in front, the French ran, stretched out and divided from each other in a 24 hour distance. Ahead of all ran the Emperor, then the kings, then the dukes. The Russian army, thinking that Napoleon took to the right behind the Dnieper, what alone was reasonable, served also to the right and exited on the big road to Red. And here, as in the game of blind men, French stumbled upon our vanguard. Suddenly seeing the enemy, French mixed up, paused from surprised fright, but then again ran, throwing back following their friends. Here, as through building, the Russians troops, passing three days, one behind one, separated in parts the French, first the vice-king, then Davout, then Ney. They all threw up each other, throwing up all their weight, the artillery, half the people, and ran away, only by night in right semicircles going around the Russians.
It, going last, because of how (despite their unhappy position or it was owing to they wanted to beat that floor, which injured them) it occupied the blasted not interfering anyone walls of Smolensk — going last, it, with its 10 thousands corps, came running to Orsha to Napoleon only with a thousand men, throwing up all people and all guns, and at night, stealthily, making their way in the forest across the Dnieper.
From Orsha ran farther by the road to Vilna, exactly so the same as play blind men with a persecuted army. At Berezina again implicated, many drowned, many surrendered, but those that got over across the river ran farther. The main chief of them allotted his fur coat and, sitting down in a sleigh, galloped alone, leaving his friends. Who could, — left too, who could not, — surrendered or died.
Mentioned: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, two days, four days, twenty-four hours, three days
Locations: Krasnoe, Orsha, Smolensk, Dnieper, Vilna, Berezina
Mentioned: Russian, French, Moscow, Nyeman, Kaluga,
Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: We get another birdseye view of the French and Russian armies, particularly how it was difficult for either army to discover where the other army was and information being impossible. The French keep accidentally running into the Russians and then running and abandoning each other.
Ney is described as the child who hits that floor that has hurt them by blowing up the walls of Smolensk.
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 *):
Napoleon (also "emperor" and "chief commander")
Murat ("viceroy")
Davoust
Ney
Abridged Versions: No break in Bell.
Gibian: line break instead of chapter break.
Fuller: Entire chapter is cut.
Komroff: The blindman-buff's analogy is removed. Some of the different details about where the two armies expected each other to be is removed, but we still get the information about Davoust and Ney. End of Book Fourteen.
Kropotkin: Entire chapter is cut.
Simmons: Entire chapter is cut.
Additional Notes:
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