Summary
Tolstoy reveals the psychological mechanics behind the French army's retreat from Moscow. He shows how humans in desperate situations create intermediate goals—like reaching Smolensk—to make unbearable journeys possible. The French soldiers don't actually know if salvation awaits them there, but believing in it gives them strength to keep moving. This chapter demonstrates how mass psychology works: individual French soldiers want to surrender, but the crowd's momentum carries them forward like a physical force. Meanwhile, Kutuzov understands something his fellow Russian commanders don't—that the French army is already destroying itself through retreat. While other Russian officers want glory through direct attack, Kutuzov advocates patience, knowing the enemy will collapse naturally. His metaphor of the melting snow reveals deep wisdom: some processes can't be rushed, and applying more force can actually strengthen what you're trying to destroy. The chapter shows the tension between wanting immediate, dramatic action and understanding that sometimes the most effective strategy is to step back and let natural forces work. Tolstoy uses this military situation to explore how we often make our problems worse by forcing solutions instead of recognizing when patience and restraint are more powerful than direct confrontation.
Coming Up in Chapter 299
As we enter Book Fourteen, the focus shifts to examine how the aftermath of 1812 reshapes the characters we've followed throughout this epic journey. The war's end brings new challenges and revelations.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
A man in motion always devises an aim for that motion. To be able to go a thousand miles he must imagine that something good awaits him at the end of those thousand miles. One must have the prospect of a promised land to have the strength to move. The promised land for the French during their advance had been Moscow, during their retreat it was their native land. But that native land was too far off, and for a man going a thousand miles it is absolutely necessary to set aside his final goal and to say to himself: “Today I shall get to a place twenty-five miles off where I shall rest and spend the night,” and during the first day’s journey that resting place eclipses his ultimate goal and attracts all his hopes and desires. And the impulses felt by a single person are always magnified in a crowd. For the French retreating along the old Smolénsk road, the final goal—their native land—was too remote, and their immediate goal was Smolénsk, toward which all their desires and hopes, enormously intensified in the mass, urged them on. It was not that they knew that much food and fresh troops awaited them in Smolénsk, nor that they were told so (on the contrary their superior officers, and Napoleon himself, knew that provisions were scarce there), but because this alone could give them strength to move on and endure their present privations. So both those who knew and those who did not know deceived themselves, and pushed on to Smolénsk as to a promised land. Coming out onto the highroad the French fled with surprising energy and unheard-of rapidity toward the goal they had fixed on. Besides the common impulse which bound the whole crowd of French into one mass and supplied them with a certain energy, there was another cause binding them together—their great numbers. As with the physical law of gravity, their enormous mass drew the individual human atoms to itself. In their hundreds of thousands they moved like a whole nation. Each of them desired nothing more than to give himself up as a prisoner to escape from all this horror and misery; but on the one hand the force of this common attraction to Smolénsk, their goal, drew each of them in the same direction; on the other hand an army corps could not surrender to a company, and though the French availed themselves of every convenient opportunity to detach themselves and to surrender on the slightest decent pretext, such pretexts did not always occur. Their very numbers and their crowded and swift movement deprived them of that possibility and rendered it not only difficult but impossible for the Russians to stop this movement, to which the French were directing all their energies. Beyond a certain limit no mechanical disruption of the body could hasten the process of decomposition. A lump of snow cannot be melted instantaneously. There is a certain limit of time in less...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Intermediate Goals
Creating manageable milestones to psychologically survive overwhelming situations, regardless of whether those milestones actually solve the underlying problem.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how humans create intermediate goals to make unbearable situations psychologically manageable, even when those goals don't solve the underlying problem.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you tell yourself 'just get through [specific timeframe]' and ask: is this genuine progress or psychological comfort?
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Intermediate Goals
Breaking down overwhelming journeys into smaller, achievable targets. The French soldiers can't handle thinking about reaching France, so they focus on getting to Smolensk. This psychological trick makes impossible situations bearable.
Modern Usage:
When someone deep in debt focuses on paying off one credit card at a time instead of the total amount.
Mass Psychology
How groups of people think and act differently than individuals. A single French soldier might want to surrender, but the crowd's energy carries everyone forward. Individual logic gets overwhelmed by group momentum.
Modern Usage:
How social media outrage spreads - one person might not care, but the group energy makes everyone feel they must participate.
Strategic Patience
Knowing when NOT to act is more powerful than taking action. Kutuzov understands the French are destroying themselves through retreat, so he doesn't need to attack. Sometimes the best move is letting your opponent defeat themselves.
Modern Usage:
Not responding to every text from a toxic ex - letting their drama burn itself out instead of engaging.
False Hope as Motivation
Believing in something that probably isn't true because you need that belief to survive. The French don't actually know if help awaits in Smolensk, but imagining it does gives them strength to keep walking.
Modern Usage:
Telling yourself 'just one more semester' when you're struggling in college, even when you're not sure you can make it.
Natural Collapse
When systems break down on their own without outside force. Tolstoy shows how the French army is falling apart from within - hunger, cold, and despair are doing more damage than Russian attacks ever could.
Modern Usage:
Watching a toxic workplace implode as good employees quit one by one, without anyone having to actively sabotage it.
Crowd Momentum
The physical and psychological force that keeps groups moving even when individuals want to stop. Like water flowing downhill, the mass of retreating soldiers carries everyone along regardless of personal desires.
Modern Usage:
Being swept along in Black Friday shopping crowds even when you didn't plan to buy anything.
Characters in This Chapter
Napoleon
Fallen leader
Even Napoleon knows there are no real supplies waiting in Smolensk, but he can't admit this to his troops. He's trapped between maintaining morale and facing reality. His leadership is now about managing collapse rather than achieving victory.
Modern Equivalent:
The CEO who knows the company is failing but has to keep giving optimistic speeches to employees
Kutuzov
Patient strategist
While other Russian commanders want glory through direct battle, Kutuzov understands that the French are already defeated by their own retreat. He advocates patience, knowing that winter and desperation will do more damage than any attack.
Modern Equivalent:
The experienced manager who doesn't panic during a crisis because they know most problems solve themselves if you wait
French soldiers
Desperate survivors
They represent how ordinary people cope with impossible situations by creating psychological tricks. They focus on Smolensk not because they know it will save them, but because they need something to believe in to keep walking.
Modern Equivalent:
Workers staying at a failing company because they need to believe the next paycheck will come
Russian commanders
Impatient warriors
They want immediate action and glory through battle, not understanding Kutuzov's deeper strategy. They represent the human desire for dramatic solutions over patient wisdom.
Modern Equivalent:
Middle managers who want to fire someone immediately instead of documenting problems and following proper procedures
Key Quotes & Analysis
"A man in motion always devises an aim for that motion. To be able to go a thousand miles he must imagine that something good awaits him at the end of those thousand miles."
Context: Tolstoy explains why the retreating French soldiers focus on reaching Smolensk
This reveals how humans survive impossible situations by creating hope, even false hope. We need something to believe in to keep moving forward, regardless of whether that belief is realistic.
In Today's Words:
People need something to look forward to, even if they're making it up, or they'll just give up completely.
"One must have the prospect of a promised land to have the strength to move."
Context: Describing the psychological necessity of having goals during hardship
Tolstoy shows that hope isn't just nice to have - it's essential for survival. Without believing in a better future, people literally can't continue moving forward.
In Today's Words:
You need to believe things will get better, or you won't have the energy to keep trying.
"The impulses felt by a single person are always magnified in a crowd."
Context: Explaining how individual French soldiers get carried along by group momentum
This captures how group psychology works - emotions and decisions become more intense when shared by many people. Individual reason gets overwhelmed by collective feeling.
In Today's Words:
Whatever you're feeling gets way stronger when everyone around you feels the same way.
"Today I shall get to a place twenty-five miles off where I shall rest and spend the night, and during the first day's journey that resting place eclipses his ultimate goal."
Context: Showing how people break down overwhelming journeys into manageable pieces
This demonstrates the power of intermediate goals - the immediate target becomes more important than the final destination because it's achievable. It's a survival mechanism for dealing with impossible situations.
In Today's Words:
Focus on getting through today instead of worrying about the whole mess you're in.
Thematic Threads
Psychological Survival
In This Chapter
French soldiers create belief in Smolensk as salvation to make retreat bearable
Development
New theme showing how humans cope with overwhelming circumstances
In Your Life:
You might break down overwhelming challenges into smaller goals to keep moving forward.
Strategic Patience
In This Chapter
Kutuzov advocates letting the French army destroy itself rather than attacking
Development
Continues Kutuzov's wisdom theme, now showing restraint as strength
In Your Life:
You might recognize when stepping back serves you better than forcing immediate action.
Mass Psychology
In This Chapter
Individual French soldiers want to surrender but crowd momentum carries them forward
Development
New exploration of how group dynamics override individual judgment
In Your Life:
You might find yourself carried along by group momentum even when your instincts say stop.
Natural Forces
In This Chapter
Tolstoy's snow metaphor shows some processes can't be rushed or forced
Development
Introduced here as wisdom about working with rather than against natural patterns
In Your Life:
You might learn to recognize when problems need time to resolve naturally rather than forced solutions.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why do the French soldiers keep marching toward Smolensk even though they don't know if it will actually save them?
analysis • surface - 2
What does Kutuzov understand about the retreating French army that his fellow commanders miss?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about a time when you set a short-term goal to get through a difficult period. Did focusing on that goal help or hurt your long-term situation?
application • medium - 4
When have you seen someone make a problem worse by trying to force a quick solution instead of letting things resolve naturally?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about the difference between taking action and taking the right action at the right time?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Intermediate Goals
Think about a current challenge you're facing. Write down the intermediate goals you've created to get through it - the 'just get to Friday' or 'just make it through this month' targets. Then honestly assess: Are these goals moving you toward a real solution, or are they just helping you avoid facing the full problem?
Consider:
- •Some intermediate goals are survival tools - they're meant to keep you going, not solve everything
- •The danger comes when intermediate goals become permanent substitutes for addressing root problems
- •Like Kutuzov, sometimes the wisest strategy is patience rather than forced action
Journaling Prompt
Write about a situation where you kept setting short-term goals instead of facing a bigger truth. What would have happened if you had addressed the real issue sooner? What would Kutuzov's approach look like in your situation?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 299: When the Rules Don't Apply
Moving forward, we'll examine conventional wisdom sometimes fails in crisis situations, and understand ordinary people can defeat powerful institutions through unconventional methods. These insights bridge the gap between classic literature and modern experience.