Summary
Prince Andrew's regiment endures eight grueling hours under constant artillery fire at the Battle of Borodino, losing hundreds of men while barely moving or fighting back. The soldiers cope with the psychological torture by focusing on tiny distractions—a horse stepping over a trace, a small dog running through the ranks—anything to avoid thinking about their situation. Prince Andrew paces restlessly, realizing there's nothing he can do as a leader except wait like everyone else. In a moment of terrible irony, just as he's walking among wormwood plants and thinking about nothing in particular, a shell lands nearby. As he stares at the spinning, smoking metal, he suddenly feels an overwhelming love for life—for the grass, the earth, the air around him. But it's too late. The shell explodes, severely wounding him in the abdomen. As stretcher-bearers carry him to the field hospital, he drifts in and out of consciousness, remembering that sudden rush of wanting to live. At the medical station, surrounded by hundreds of other wounded and dying men, he listens to a wounded soldier bragging about the battle and wonders why he was so reluctant to leave life behind. This chapter captures how quickly everything can change and how we often don't appreciate what we have until we're about to lose it.
Coming Up in Chapter 227
At the field hospital, Prince Andrew will encounter someone from his past in an unexpected and deeply meaningful way, leading to a profound realization about forgiveness and human connection.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Prince Andrew’s regiment was among the reserves which till after one o’clock were stationed inactive behind Semënovsk, under heavy artillery fire. Toward two o’clock the regiment, having already lost more than two hundred men, was moved forward into a trampled oatfield in the gap between Semënovsk and the Knoll Battery, where thousands of men perished that day and on which an intense, concentrated fire from several hundred enemy guns was directed between one and two o’clock. Without moving from that spot or firing a single shot the regiment here lost another third of its men. From in front and especially from the right, in the unlifting smoke the guns boomed, and out of the mysterious domain of smoke that overlay the whole space in front, quick hissing cannon balls and slow whistling shells flew unceasingly. At times, as if to allow them a respite, a quarter of an hour passed during which the cannon balls and shells all flew overhead, but sometimes several men were torn from the regiment in a minute and the slain were continually being dragged away and the wounded carried off. With each fresh blow less and less chance of life remained for those not yet killed. The regiment stood in columns of battalion, three hundred paces apart, but nevertheless the men were always in one and the same mood. All alike were taciturn and morose. Talk was rarely heard in the ranks, and it ceased altogether every time the thud of a successful shot and the cry of “stretchers!” was heard. Most of the time, by their officers’ order, the men sat on the ground. One, having taken off his shako, carefully loosened the gathers of its lining and drew them tight again; another, rubbing some dry clay between his palms, polished his bayonet; another fingered the strap and pulled the buckle of his bandolier, while another smoothed and refolded his leg bands and put his boots on again. Some built little houses of the tufts in the plowed ground, or plaited baskets from the straw in the cornfield. All seemed fully absorbed in these pursuits. When men were killed or wounded, when rows of stretchers went past, when some troops retreated, and when great masses of the enemy came into view through the smoke, no one paid any attention to these things. But when our artillery or cavalry advanced or some of our infantry were seen to move forward, words of approval were heard on all sides. But the liveliest attention was attracted by occurrences quite apart from, and unconnected with, the battle. It was as if the minds of these morally exhausted men found relief in everyday, commonplace occurrences. A battery of artillery was passing in front of the regiment. The horse of an ammunition cart put its leg over a trace. “Hey, look at the trace horse!... Get her leg out! She’ll fall.... Ah, they don’t see it!” came identical shouts from the ranks all along the regiment. Another time, general attention...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Last-Minute Awakening
We often don't fully appreciate what we have until we're about to lose it, due to psychological tunnel vision that blocks out peripheral beauty and meaning.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how stress and crisis narrow our perception, making us miss what's actually important until it's almost too late.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you're so focused on a problem that you stop seeing anything else—then deliberately name three things you'd miss if they were gone.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Artillery bombardment
Sustained attack using large cannons that fire explosive shells from a distance. In this battle, soldiers had to endure hours of being shelled without being able to fight back or take cover.
Modern Usage:
Like being stuck in a toxic work environment where you're constantly under attack but can't defend yourself or leave.
Reserve troops
Soldiers held back from the main fighting, waiting to be called into action. They often suffered the psychological torture of waiting while watching others fight and die.
Modern Usage:
Like being on standby at work during a crisis - you're not actively doing anything, but the stress of waiting and uncertainty can be worse than being busy.
Battle of Borodino
The bloodiest single day of fighting in the Napoleonic Wars, where Russians tried to stop Napoleon's advance toward Moscow. Over 70,000 casualties in one day.
Modern Usage:
Any situation where massive losses occur for what seems like little gain - like corporate layoffs that devastate families but barely help the bottom line.
Fatalism
The belief that events are predetermined and there's nothing you can do to change your fate. Soldiers often adopted this mindset to cope with situations beyond their control.
Modern Usage:
The 'it is what it is' attitude people develop when dealing with chronic illness, economic hardship, or other overwhelming circumstances.
Psychological coping mechanisms
Mental strategies people use to deal with unbearable stress or trauma. In this chapter, soldiers focus on trivial details to avoid thinking about their dire situation.
Modern Usage:
Like scrolling social media during a family crisis or obsessing over small tasks when facing major life problems.
Irony of fate
When life delivers the opposite of what you expect at the worst possible moment. Prince Andrew feels intense love for life just as he's about to lose it.
Modern Usage:
Like finally appreciating your job the day before you get laid off, or realizing you love someone just as they're walking away.
Characters in This Chapter
Prince Andrew
Wounded protagonist
A military officer who spends hours under bombardment, realizes he can't control the situation as a leader, then gets severely wounded just as he experiences a profound love for life.
Modern Equivalent:
The middle manager who realizes they're powerless during a company crisis
The soldiers in Andrew's regiment
Collective victims
They endure eight hours of artillery fire, losing hundreds of men while barely moving. They cope by becoming silent and focusing on meaningless distractions.
Modern Equivalent:
Workers in a failing company who just keep their heads down and try not to think about layoffs
The stretcher-bearers
Battlefield medics
They carry the wounded Prince Andrew to the medical station, representing the people who clean up after disasters they didn't cause.
Modern Equivalent:
EMTs and hospital workers dealing with the aftermath of violence and accidents
The wounded soldier at the medical station
Coping survivor
He brags about the battle despite being wounded, showing how people sometimes use bravado to process trauma.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworker who jokes about getting hurt on the job to avoid dealing with the real fear
Key Quotes & Analysis
"With each fresh blow less and less chance of life remained for those not yet killed."
Context: Describing how the artillery bombardment gradually destroys the regiment
This captures the grinding, inevitable nature of some disasters. It's not dramatic - just a slow, mathematical reduction of hope and survival.
In Today's Words:
Every hit made it more likely you'd be next.
"All alike were taciturn and morose. Talk was rarely heard in the ranks."
Context: Describing how the soldiers cope with hours of bombardment
Shows how people shut down emotionally when facing overwhelming stress. Communication stops because there's nothing useful to say.
In Today's Words:
Everyone went quiet and grim. Nobody wanted to talk about it.
"He suddenly felt an overwhelming love for life - for the grass, the earth, the air around him."
Context: Prince Andrew's thoughts just before the shell explodes near him
Life's cruel irony - we often don't appreciate what we have until we're about to lose it. The timing makes his realization both beautiful and tragic.
In Today's Words:
Right then, he realized how much he wanted to live - and it was too late.
Thematic Threads
Mortality
In This Chapter
Prince Andrew's sudden confrontation with death strips away all pretense and reveals what truly matters—simple existence itself
Development
Evolved from abstract philosophical pondering to immediate, visceral reality
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when a health scare or loss makes ordinary moments suddenly precious
Powerlessness
In This Chapter
Despite his rank and leadership role, Prince Andrew can do nothing but wait and endure like every other soldier
Development
Continuation of the theme that individual agency is often limited by larger forces
In Your Life:
You see this when you realize your position or title can't protect you from certain universal human experiences
Psychological Coping
In This Chapter
Soldiers focus on tiny distractions—a horse, a dog—to avoid confronting their terrifying reality
Development
Shows how the mind protects itself from overwhelming circumstances
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself doing this during stressful medical procedures or difficult conversations
Ironic Timing
In This Chapter
The moment Prince Andrew feels most alive and grateful is precisely when he's mortally wounded
Development
Introduced here as a cruel twist of fate
In Your Life:
You might notice this pattern when clarity comes just as opportunities are ending
Collective Suffering
In This Chapter
The field hospital shows hundreds of wounded men, each with their own story, all part of the same massive tragedy
Development
Expands from individual experience to shared human condition
In Your Life:
You see this in hospital waiting rooms, unemployment lines, or any place where individual struggles become visible as collective experience
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What happens to Prince Andrew's ability to see beauty around him during the hours of artillery fire, and when does this change?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Prince Andrew only feel overwhelming love for life at the moment when death becomes imminent?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see this pattern of not appreciating what you have until you're about to lose it in modern life?
application • medium - 4
How could someone practice appreciation before crisis forces it on them?
application • deep - 5
What does Prince Andrew's experience teach us about how stress and fear affect our ability to see what matters?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Break Your Tunnel Vision
Think of something in your life you've been complaining about or taking for granted recently - your job, your living situation, a relationship, your health. Spend five minutes writing as if you just found out you were going to lose it tomorrow. What would you suddenly notice that you've been blind to? What would you wish you had appreciated more?
Consider:
- •Focus on specific details you normally overlook, not just big-picture gratitude
- •Notice how your perspective shifts when you imagine actual loss rather than just thinking about being grateful
- •Pay attention to what your stress or frustration has been blocking from your view
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you only realized how much something meant to you when you were about to lose it or after you lost it. What warning signs do you recognize now that could help you appreciate what you have before crisis forces the perspective shift?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 227: Compassion in the Field Hospital
The coming pages reveal extreme suffering can break down the barriers between enemies, and teach us compassion often emerges in our most vulnerable moments. These discoveries help us navigate similar situations in our own lives.