Summary
Napoleon's army crashes into Russia like a falling boulder, gaining speed as it approaches Moscow. The French have unstoppable momentum, while the Russians keep retreating, growing stronger and more united with each step backward. At Borodino, the armies finally collide in a massive battle. Though neither side is completely destroyed, the Russians retreat again—but this time, something has changed. The French reach Moscow and then just... stop. For five weeks, Napoleon's once-unstoppable force sits motionless in the captured city like a wounded animal. Then, suddenly and without clear reason, they flee back the way they came, moving even faster in retreat than they had in advance. Kutuzov, the Russian commander, knows his army won at Borodino even though they retreated afterward. He wants to attack the next day, and his soldiers are eager to fight, but the brutal reality hits: half his army is gone, supplies are exhausted, and wounded men need care. Sometimes wanting to do something isn't enough—you need the actual capability. Tolstoy then delivers a masterclass in leadership reality. People sitting comfortably at home, looking at maps, love to criticize commanders: 'Why didn't he do this? Why didn't he go there?' But real leadership isn't like playing chess. A commander doesn't get to pause the game, study the board, and make perfect moves. Instead, he's drowning in a flood of urgent, contradicting demands—wounded soldiers need evacuation, supplies must be moved, spies bring conflicting reports, politicians send impossible orders, and every decision must be made instantly while new crises pile up. The moment you choose one path, ten other doors slam shut forever. This isn't about military strategy—it's about understanding why leaders in any crisis often make choices that look obviously wrong to outsiders who weren't there, weren't drowning in the chaos, and didn't have to choose between bad and worse with incomplete information and no time to think.
Coming Up in Chapter 232
The focus shifts from the grand strategy of armies to the intimate human cost of war, as we see how ordinary people cope when their world is turned upside down by forces beyond their control.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
The forces of a dozen European nations burst into Russia. The Russian army and people avoided a collision till Smolénsk was reached, and again from Smolénsk to Borodinó. The French army pushed on to Moscow, its goal, its impetus ever increasing as it neared its aim, just as the velocity of a falling body increases as it approaches the earth. Behind it were seven hundred miles of hunger-stricken, hostile country; ahead were a few dozen miles separating it from its goal. Every soldier in Napoleon’s army felt this and the invasion moved on by its own momentum. The more the Russian army retreated the more fiercely a spirit of hatred of the enemy flared up, and while it retreated the army increased and consolidated. At Borodinó a collision took place. Neither army was broken up, but the Russian army retreated immediately after the collision as inevitably as a ball recoils after colliding with another having a greater momentum, and with equal inevitability the ball of invasion that had advanced with such momentum rolled on for some distance, though the collision had deprived it of all its force. The Russians retreated eighty miles—to beyond Moscow—and the French reached Moscow and there came to a standstill. For five weeks after that there was not a single battle. The French did not move. As a bleeding, mortally wounded animal licks its wounds, they remained inert in Moscow for five weeks, and then suddenly, with no fresh reason, fled back: they made a dash for the Kalúga road, and (after a victory—for at Málo-Yaroslávets the field of conflict again remained theirs) without undertaking a single serious battle, they fled still more rapidly back to Smolénsk, beyond Smolénsk, beyond the Berëzina, beyond Vílna, and farther still. On the evening of the twenty-sixth of August, Kutúzov and the whole Russian army were convinced that the battle of Borodinó was a victory. Kutúzov reported so to the Emperor. He gave orders to prepare for a fresh conflict to finish the enemy and did this not to deceive anyone, but because he knew that the enemy was beaten, as everyone who had taken part in the battle knew it. But all that evening and next day reports came in one after another of unheard-of losses, of the loss of half the army, and a fresh battle proved physically impossible. It was impossible to give battle before information had been collected, the wounded gathered in, the supplies of ammunition replenished, the slain reckoned up, new officers appointed to replace those who had been killed, and before the men had had food and sleep. And meanwhile, the very next morning after the battle, the French army advanced of itself upon the Russians, carried forward by the force of its own momentum now seemingly increased in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from its aim. Kutúzov’s wish was to attack next day, and the whole army desired to do so. But to make an attack the wish to do...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Armchair General Trap
The tendency to harshly judge decision-makers while being safely removed from the chaos and incomplete information they're navigating.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how real decisions happen under pressure with incomplete information, not like chess moves with perfect clarity.
Practice This Today
Next time someone criticizes a leader's choice, ask yourself: What pressures and information am I not seeing that they had to navigate in real time?
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Momentum
The unstoppable force that builds as something moves toward its goal. Tolstoy uses this physics concept to describe how Napoleon's army gained power and speed as it approached Moscow, like a boulder rolling downhill.
Modern Usage:
We see this in toxic relationships that escalate, or when someone gets obsessed with a goal and can't see the damage they're causing along the way.
Strategic Retreat
Moving backward not from weakness, but as a calculated strategy to gain advantage. The Russians retreated while growing stronger and more unified, drawing the French deeper into hostile territory.
Modern Usage:
Like when you step back from an argument to let someone dig their own hole, or quit a job to find something better rather than staying and burning out.
Pyrrhic Victory
Winning a battle but at such a devastating cost that it's actually a loss. The French technically won at Borodino but were so damaged they couldn't continue effectively.
Modern Usage:
Getting the promotion you wanted but destroying your health and relationships in the process, or winning a lawsuit that bankrupts you in legal fees.
Decision Fatigue
When leaders become overwhelmed by constant urgent choices and conflicting information. Tolstoy shows how real commanders face endless immediate crises with no time to think clearly.
Modern Usage:
Like a single parent juggling work deadlines, sick kids, and bills, making quick decisions that might look wrong to someone who wasn't drowning in the chaos.
Armchair Quarterback
People who criticize decisions from comfort and distance, without understanding the pressure and limited information the actual decision-maker faced in the moment.
Modern Usage:
Everyone on social media who knows exactly how the nurse should have handled that difficult patient, or how the teacher should manage that disruptive class.
Overextension
Pushing so far toward a goal that you lose your ability to maintain what you've gained. Napoleon's army reached Moscow but was too weakened and stretched to hold it.
Modern Usage:
Taking on too many extra shifts for the money, then getting so exhausted you make mistakes that cost you the job you were trying to protect.
Characters in This Chapter
Napoleon
Antagonist
His army reaches its ultimate goal of Moscow but then becomes paralyzed, sitting motionless for five weeks before fleeing. Shows how achieving your goal can sometimes reveal it was the wrong goal all along.
Modern Equivalent:
The ambitious manager who fights for the corner office, gets it, then realizes they're miserable and trapped
Kutuzov
Strategic leader
The Russian commander who wants to attack immediately after Borodino but must face the harsh reality that wanting to do something isn't the same as being able to do it. Half his army is gone and supplies are exhausted.
Modern Equivalent:
The experienced supervisor who knows what needs to be done but has to work with the staff and resources they actually have, not what they wish they had
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The more the Russian army retreated the more fiercely a spirit of hatred of the enemy flared up, and while it retreated the army increased and consolidated."
Context: Describing how the Russian retreat actually made them stronger
This reveals how sometimes backing down isn't weakness—it's strategy. The Russians used their retreat to build unity and strength while drawing the enemy into a trap.
In Today's Words:
Sometimes the best way to win is to let your opponent think they're winning while you get your act together.
"As a bleeding, mortally wounded animal licks its wounds, they remained inert in Moscow for five weeks."
Context: Describing Napoleon's army after reaching Moscow
This shows how achieving your goal can sometimes reveal that the victory hollow. The French got what they wanted but were too damaged to enjoy or use it.
In Today's Words:
They finally got what they thought they wanted, but they were too beaten up to do anything with it.
"Every soldier in Napoleon's army felt this and the invasion moved on by its own momentum."
Context: Explaining how the French army was driven by unstoppable force toward Moscow
This captures how momentum can become dangerous—when you're so focused on reaching a goal that you can't stop to ask if it's still the right goal or if you're destroying yourself getting there.
In Today's Words:
Everyone was so caught up in the rush toward their goal that nobody stopped to ask if they were heading off a cliff.
Thematic Threads
Leadership Reality
In This Chapter
Kutuzov faces impossible choices with limited resources while critics at home judge his decisions from comfort
Development
Introduced here as contrast to earlier idealized views of command
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself criticizing your boss's decisions without knowing the full picture of what they're juggling
Information Gaps
In This Chapter
People with maps think they understand war better than commanders drowning in real-time chaos
Development
Builds on earlier themes about the difference between theory and practice
In Your Life:
You might realize you're judging someone's parenting or work choices based on incomplete information
Momentum and Inertia
In This Chapter
Napoleon's army gains unstoppable speed advancing but then suddenly stops and retreats just as fast
Development
Continues the theme of how external forces shape individual choices
In Your Life:
You might recognize how your own life has periods of rapid change followed by sudden stops or reversals
Hidden Strength
In This Chapter
Russians grow stronger through retreat, gaining power by appearing to lose
Development
Develops the theme that apparent weakness can be strategic strength
In Your Life:
You might see how stepping back from a conflict or taking time to regroup actually makes you stronger
Resource Limits
In This Chapter
Kutuzov wants to attack but faces the brutal math of lost soldiers and exhausted supplies
Development
Introduced here as the gap between desire and capability
In Your Life:
You might recognize times when you wanted to take action but lacked the actual resources or energy to follow through
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Kutuzov want to attack after Borodino, but ultimately can't follow through with his plan?
analysis • surface - 2
What makes it so easy for people 'sitting comfortably at home' to criticize military commanders, according to Tolstoy?
analysis • medium - 3
Think of a time when you criticized someone's decision from the outside. What pressures or information might you have been missing?
application • medium - 4
When you're the one making a difficult decision under pressure, how do you handle criticism from people who aren't dealing with the same constraints?
application • deep - 5
Why do we seem naturally inclined to judge decision-makers harshly when we're not in their position?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Hidden Pressures
Think of someone whose recent decision frustrated or confused you - a boss, family member, politician, or public figure. Write down their decision, then brainstorm at least five pressures, constraints, or pieces of information they might have been dealing with that you couldn't see. Try to imagine yourself in their exact situation, facing the same flood of competing demands.
Consider:
- •What deadlines or time pressures might they have faced?
- •What other people or groups were they trying to satisfy simultaneously?
- •What information or resources might have been limited or unavailable?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you made a decision that others criticized, but you knew they didn't understand the full situation you were facing. How did their judgment affect you, and what would you want them to know?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 232: The Weight of Impossible Decisions
The coming pages reveal leaders navigate when all options seem impossible, and teach us group discussions can sometimes paralyze rather than clarify. These discoveries help us navigate similar situations in our own lives.