Summary
Napoleon spends an entire day crafting what seems like a masterful battle plan for the upcoming fight at Borodino. He rides around the battlefield looking important, nodding thoughtfully, and issuing commands that sound impressive on paper. His detailed orders specify exactly where batteries should be placed, which generals should attack where, and how the entire battle should unfold. The French historians later praise these dispositions as works of genius. But Tolstoy reveals the brutal truth: every single part of Napoleon's plan was fundamentally flawed and impossible to execute. The batteries couldn't reach their targets from where Napoleon placed them. The woods were impassable where he ordered troops to advance. The terrain didn't support the movements he commanded. Most damning of all, Napoleon positioned himself so far from the actual fighting that he couldn't see what was happening or adjust his orders when reality inevitably diverged from his plan. This chapter exposes the gap between Napoleon's legendary reputation and his actual performance as a military leader. Tolstoy shows how the emperor's distance from the ground truth, combined with everyone's reluctance to question his 'genius,' creates a perfect storm of failure. It's a masterclass in how leaders can become prisoners of their own mythology, making decisions based on how they think things should work rather than how they actually do work.
Coming Up in Chapter 218
The battle of Borodino is about to begin, and we'll see how Napoleon's flawed plans collide with the chaos of actual warfare. The real test isn't in the planning—it's in what happens when the shooting starts.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
On the twenty-fifth of August, so his historians tell us, Napoleon spent the whole day on horseback inspecting the locality, considering plans submitted to him by his marshals, and personally giving commands to his generals. The original line of the Russian forces along the river Kolochá had been dislocated by the capture of the Shevárdino Redoubt on the twenty-fourth, and part of the line—the left flank—had been drawn back. That part of the line was not entrenched and in front of it the ground was more open and level than elsewhere. It was evident to anyone, military or not, that it was here the French should attack. It would seem that not much consideration was needed to reach this conclusion, nor any particular care or trouble on the part of the Emperor and his marshals, nor was there any need of that special and supreme quality called genius that people are so apt to ascribe to Napoleon; yet the historians who described the event later and the men who then surrounded Napoleon, and he himself, thought otherwise. Napoleon rode over the plain and surveyed the locality with a profound air and in silence, nodded with approval or shook his head dubiously, and without communicating to the generals around him the profound course of ideas which guided his decisions merely gave them his final conclusions in the form of commands. Having listened to a suggestion from Davout, who was now called Prince d’Eckmühl, to turn the Russian left wing, Napoleon said it should not be done, without explaining why not. To a proposal made by General Campan (who was to attack the flèches) to lead his division through the woods, Napoleon agreed, though the so-called Duke of Elchingen (Ney) ventured to remark that a movement through the woods was dangerous and might disorder the division. Having inspected the country opposite the Shevárdino Redoubt, Napoleon pondered a little in silence and then indicated the spots where two batteries should be set up by the morrow to act against the Russian entrenchments, and the places where, in line with them, the field artillery should be placed. After giving these and other commands he returned to his tent, and the dispositions for the battle were written down from his dictation. These dispositions, of which the French historians write with enthusiasm and other historians with profound respect, were as follows: At dawn the two new batteries established during the night on the plain occupied by the Prince d’Eckmühl will open fire on the opposing batteries of the enemy. At the same time the commander of the artillery of the 1st Corps, General Pernetti, with thirty cannon of Campan’s division and all the howitzers of Dessaix’s and Friant’s divisions, will move forward, open fire, and overwhelm with shellfire the enemy’s battery, against which will operate: 24 guns of the artillery of the Guards 30 guns of Campan’s division and 8 guns of Friant’s and Dessaix’s divisions — in all 62 guns. The commander of the artillery...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Planning From the Ivory Tower
Leaders become so removed from ground-level reality that their detailed plans, however impressive, are fundamentally flawed and doomed to fail.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when leaders are making decisions based on theory rather than reality, and how that always ends in failure.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone in authority makes a rule or plan - ask yourself: when did they last do this job themselves, and does their plan account for how the work actually gets done?
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Dispositions
Military orders that lay out detailed battle plans - where troops should go, when they should attack, how the battle should unfold. Napoleon spent hours crafting these elaborate written instructions for Borodino.
Modern Usage:
Like a detailed project plan that looks perfect on paper but falls apart when it hits reality - the boss who micromanages every detail from their office.
Redoubt
A small fortress or fortified position, usually temporary, built to defend a strategic point. The Shevardino Redoubt was a key Russian defensive position that the French captured the day before Borodino.
Modern Usage:
Any defensive position someone builds to protect what matters to them - like the barriers people put up at work or in relationships.
Left flank
The left side of an army's battle line when facing the enemy. Military commanders constantly worry about their flanks being attacked because it can collapse their whole formation.
Modern Usage:
Your vulnerable spot that opponents try to exploit - like when someone attacks your weak point in an argument or targets what you can't defend.
Ground truth
What's actually happening on the battlefield versus what commanders think is happening from a distance. The gap between the plan and reality that destroys most military strategies.
Modern Usage:
The real situation versus what management thinks is happening - like when corporate makes decisions based on reports instead of talking to actual customers.
Genius mythology
The belief that certain leaders possess special supernatural insight that makes them always right. People stop questioning their decisions because of their reputation rather than the quality of their ideas.
Modern Usage:
When we assume someone must know what they're doing because of their title or past success - like following a CEO's bad ideas because they're 'visionary.'
Command distance
The physical and informational gap between leaders making decisions and the people dealing with the consequences. The further you are from the action, the worse your decisions become.
Modern Usage:
Upper management making policies without understanding what actually happens on the floor - or parents making rules without knowing what their teens really face.
Characters in This Chapter
Napoleon
Overconfident leader
Spends the entire day crafting what he believes is a brilliant battle plan, riding around looking important and issuing detailed commands. But every aspect of his plan is flawed because he's too far from reality to understand what's actually possible.
Modern Equivalent:
The CEO who makes grand pronouncements from the executive floor
Davout
Loyal subordinate
One of Napoleon's marshals who suggests turning the Russian left wing. He's now called Prince d'Eckmühl, showing how Napoleon rewards loyalty. Represents the competent people trapped in a dysfunctional system.
Modern Equivalent:
The experienced manager who knows better but has to work with the boss's bad ideas
The generals
Yes-men enablers
Surround Napoleon and listen to his commands without questioning them. They're so invested in his reputation for genius that they don't point out obvious flaws in his planning.
Modern Equivalent:
The executive team that nods along with the boss's terrible ideas because nobody wants to be the one to speak up
Key Quotes & Analysis
"It was evident to anyone, military or not, that it was here the French should attack."
Context: Describing how obvious the Russian weak point was to everyone
Tolstoy is setting up the irony - if the strategy was so obvious, why does Napoleon get credit for genius? This reveals how we often praise leaders for stating the obvious while ignoring their real failures.
In Today's Words:
Even a kid could see this was the obvious move.
"Yet the historians who described the event later and the men who then surrounded Napoleon, and he himself, thought otherwise."
Context: After explaining how obvious Napoleon's strategy was
This exposes how reputation creates its own reality. People see genius where there's just common sense because they need to believe in the myth. It shows how history gets rewritten to protect powerful people's images.
In Today's Words:
But everyone pretended it was brilliant because that's what they needed to believe.
"Without communicating to the generals around him the profound course of ideas which guided his decisions merely gave them his final conclusions in the form of commands."
Context: Describing how Napoleon issued orders without explanation
This reveals the arrogance of power - Napoleon doesn't explain his reasoning because he believes his authority makes him right. It also shows how isolation from feedback creates bad decisions.
In Today's Words:
He just barked orders without explaining his thinking because he figured they should trust him.
Thematic Threads
Power
In This Chapter
Napoleon's elevated position physically and socially distances him from battlefield reality, making his power counterproductive
Development
Building on earlier themes of power corrupting judgment and creating blind spots
In Your Life:
You might see this when your boss makes decisions without understanding your actual job challenges
Pride
In This Chapter
Napoleon's legendary reputation prevents him from acknowledging he might not understand the terrain or conditions
Development
Continues the thread of pride blinding characters to their limitations and mistakes
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself sticking to a plan that isn't working just because you don't want to admit you were wrong
Class
In This Chapter
The social hierarchy prevents lower-ranking officers from questioning Napoleon's flawed orders, even when they see the problems
Development
Reinforces how class barriers prevent crucial information from flowing upward
In Your Life:
You might hesitate to speak up about problems you see because the person in charge seems too important to question
Reality
In This Chapter
There's a stark gap between Napoleon's paper plans and the actual physical terrain and military capabilities
Development
Continues exploring the tension between how things appear and how they actually are
In Your Life:
You might find yourself frustrated when carefully made plans fall apart because you didn't account for real-world complications
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific problems did Napoleon's battle plan have, and why couldn't it work in practice?
analysis • surface - 2
Why didn't anyone tell Napoleon his plan was flawed? What does this reveal about power dynamics?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen leaders make detailed plans that fell apart because they were too removed from the actual work?
application • medium - 4
How can you tell when someone in authority is making decisions based on theory rather than reality?
application • deep - 5
What does Napoleon's distance from the battlefield teach us about the relationship between power and self-deception?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Own Ivory Tower
Think of an area where you make decisions for others - parenting, managing, teaching, or even planning family activities. List three assumptions you make about what the people affected actually need or want. Then identify when you last directly experienced what they're going through. This exercise reveals where your own 'distance from the battlefield' might be creating blind spots.
Consider:
- •Consider how your position or role might filter the information you receive
- •Think about whether people feel safe giving you honest feedback about your decisions
- •Reflect on the difference between what you think works and what actually works for those affected
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you discovered your plan or assumption was completely wrong because you were too far removed from the situation. What did you learn about staying connected to ground-level reality?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 218: The Myth of the Great Man
What lies ahead teaches us to recognize when people give too much credit to individual leaders, and shows us collective action matters more than individual commands. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.