Summary
Tolstoy compares the French retreat and Russian pursuit to a game of blindman's buff, where both armies stumble around unable to see where the other is. The French, fleeing Moscow, make their presence known at first but then try to escape quietly—only to run straight into Russian forces they can't see coming. Poor communication and exhausted horses mean neither side knows where the other actually is. Information arrives too late to be useful, like getting yesterday's weather report. The French had four days to regroup at Smolensk and plan a smart escape route, but instead they panic and take the worst possible road through Krasnoe. This sets up a disaster: the Russians expect them to go right, so they position themselves right where the French blindly stumble. What follows is a series of devastating encounters where French commanders abandon each other and their men. Murat, Davout, and Ney each face the Russian gauntlet separately, losing most of their forces. Ney starts with 10,000 men and reaches Napoleon with only 1,000. At the Berezina River, the retreat becomes a complete rout—men drown, surrender, or die. Finally, Napoleon himself abandons his army, putting on a fur coat and escaping alone in a sleigh. The chapter reveals how organizational breakdown accelerates when leaders prioritize their own survival over their people's. It's a masterclass in how poor communication, panic decisions, and leadership failure create unstoppable collapse.
Coming Up in Chapter 316
With Napoleon fled and his army in ruins, the focus shifts to what this devastating campaign has cost both nations. The true price of war becomes clear as Tolstoy examines the human wreckage left behind.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
The movements of the Russian and French armies during the campaign from Moscow back to the Niemen were like those in a game of Russian blindman’s buff, in which two players are blindfolded and one of them occasionally rings a little bell to inform the catcher of his whereabouts. First he rings his bell fearlessly, but when he gets into a tight place he runs away as quietly as he can, and often thinking to escape runs straight into his opponent’s arms. At first while they were still moving along the Kalúga road, Napoleon’s armies made their presence known, but later when they reached the Smolénsk road they ran holding the clapper of their bell tight—and often thinking they were escaping ran right into the Russians. Owing to the rapidity of the French flight and the Russian pursuit and the consequent exhaustion of the horses, the chief means of approximately ascertaining the enemy’s position—by cavalry scouting—was not available. Besides, as a result of the frequent and rapid change of position by each army, even what information was obtained could not be delivered in time. If news was received one day that the enemy had been in a certain position the day before, by the third day when something could have been done, that army was already two days’ march farther on and in quite another position. One army fled and the other pursued. Beyond Smolénsk there were several different roads available for the French, and one would have thought that during their stay of four days they might have learned where the enemy was, might have arranged some more advantageous plan and undertaken something new. But after a four days’ halt the mob, with no maneuvers or plans, again began running along the beaten track, neither to the right nor to the left but along the old—the worst—road, through Krásnoe and Orshá. Expecting the enemy from behind and not in front, the French separated in their flight and spread out over a distance of twenty-four hours. In front of them all fled the Emperor, then the kings, then the dukes. The Russian army, expecting Napoleon to take the road to the right beyond the Dnieper—which was the only reasonable thing for him to do—themselves turned to the right and came out onto the highroad at Krásnoe. And here as in a game of blindman’s buff the French ran into our vanguard. Seeing their enemy unexpectedly the French fell into confusion and stopped short from the sudden fright, but then they resumed their flight, abandoning their comrades who were farther behind. Then for three days separate portions of the French army—first Murat’s (the vice-king’s), then Davout’s, and then Ney’s—ran, as it were, the gauntlet of the Russian army. They abandoned one another, abandoned all their heavy baggage, their artillery, and half their men, and fled, getting past the Russians by night by making semicircles to the right. Ney, who came last, had been busying himself blowing up the walls of Smolénsk...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Cascade of Abandonment
When leaders prioritize self-preservation over responsibility, it creates a domino effect where everyone below abandons their duties and each other.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when organizational breakdown follows the pattern of leaders abandoning their people, creating a domino effect of abandonment down the chain.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone in authority passes stress down instead of absorbing it—that's often the first sign of an abandonment cascade starting.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Russian blindman's buff
A children's game where blindfolded players try to catch each other, with one occasionally ringing a bell to give away their position. Tolstoy uses this as a metaphor for how both armies are stumbling around unable to see where the other is during the retreat.
Modern Usage:
Like when you're trying to coordinate with coworkers but everyone's getting different information at different times, so you're all working blind.
Cavalry scouting
Using mounted soldiers to ride ahead and gather information about enemy positions and movements. This was the main way armies got intelligence before modern communication, but exhausted horses made it impossible during the retreat.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how we send advance teams to check out situations before committing resources, or how we scout locations before events.
Strategic retreat
A planned military withdrawal designed to preserve forces and regroup for better positioning. The French retreat from Moscow started organized but devolved into panic and chaos when leadership broke down.
Modern Usage:
Like when a business pulls out of a failing market in an organized way versus when they just abandon everything and run.
Communication lag
The delay between when information is gathered and when it reaches decision-makers. In this chapter, by the time commanders got news about enemy positions, it was already outdated and useless.
Modern Usage:
When you finally get the memo about changes that happened three days ago, or when management makes decisions based on old data.
Command breakdown
When military leadership structure falls apart and officers start making individual survival decisions rather than coordinated strategic ones. This accelerated the French disaster as commanders abandoned each other.
Modern Usage:
Like when a company is failing and department heads start protecting only their own teams instead of working together.
The Berezina crossing
A disastrous river crossing where Napoleon's retreating army suffered massive casualties from drowning, freezing, and Russian attacks. It became synonymous with complete military catastrophe.
Modern Usage:
Any situation that becomes a total disaster despite attempts to salvage it - 'This project became our Berezina.'
Characters in This Chapter
Napoleon
Retreating commander-in-chief
Abandons his army at the end, putting on a fur coat and escaping alone in a sleigh while his soldiers die. Shows how even great leaders can prioritize self-preservation over responsibility when things get desperate.
Modern Equivalent:
The CEO who takes a golden parachute while laying off workers
Murat
French cavalry commander
One of Napoleon's marshals who faces the Russian gauntlet during the retreat. Gets separated from other French forces and suffers heavy losses due to poor coordination and communication.
Modern Equivalent:
The department head left to handle a crisis alone when upper management disappears
Davout
French marshal
Another of Napoleon's commanders who gets caught in the chaotic retreat through Krasnoe. Faces the Russians separately from other French forces, showing how the army's coordination completely broke down.
Modern Equivalent:
The middle manager trying to keep their team together when the company is falling apart
Ney
French rear guard commander
Starts the retreat with 10,000 men but arrives at Napoleon's position with only 1,000, showing the devastating cost of the disorganized withdrawal. His losses represent the human cost of leadership failures.
Modern Equivalent:
The supervisor who loses most of their staff during a badly managed restructuring
Key Quotes & Analysis
"One army fled and the other pursued."
Context: Describing the basic dynamic of the retreat from Moscow
This simple sentence captures the fundamental shift in the war. Napoleon's supposedly invincible army is now reduced to running for survival, while the Russians have become the hunters instead of the hunted.
In Today's Words:
One side was running for their lives, the other was chasing them down.
"If news was received one day that the enemy had been in a certain position the day before, by the third day when something could have been done, that army was already two days' march farther on and in quite another position."
Context: Explaining why both armies couldn't find each other during the retreat
Shows how information becomes useless when events move faster than communication. This communication lag made strategic planning impossible and forced both sides into reactive, often disastrous decisions.
In Today's Words:
By the time you got the news, it was already ancient history and completely useless.
"Often thinking to escape runs straight into his opponent's arms."
Context: Part of the blindman's buff metaphor describing both armies' movements
Captures the irony of how trying to avoid danger often leads you straight into it when you can't see the bigger picture. This happened repeatedly to the French during their retreat.
In Today's Words:
Trying so hard to avoid trouble that you run straight into it.
Thematic Threads
Leadership
In This Chapter
Napoleon abandons his entire army to save himself, while his generals abandon each other and their men in sequence
Development
Evolved from earlier themes of leadership responsibility to show complete leadership failure and its consequences
In Your Life:
You might see this when your boss throws you under the bus during a crisis, then you find yourself doing the same to your coworkers
Communication
In This Chapter
Poor communication between armies leads to blind collisions and missed opportunities for strategic retreat
Development
Builds on earlier themes about miscommunication in relationships to show how it becomes deadly in crisis
In Your Life:
You might experience this during family emergencies when nobody coordinates, leading to chaos and people getting hurt
Survival
In This Chapter
Individual survival instincts override collective responsibility, accelerating organizational collapse
Development
Transforms from earlier noble sacrifice themes to show how survival instincts can destroy what you're trying to save
In Your Life:
You might face this choice when your workplace is failing and you have to decide whether to stay loyal or protect your own career
Class
In This Chapter
Officers abandon enlisted men first, with each rank abandoning those below them in hierarchical order
Development
Continues the class hierarchy theme but shows how crisis reveals who really matters in the power structure
In Your Life:
You might see this when companies lay off front-line workers while protecting management, or when wealthy patients get better care during shortages
Consequences
In This Chapter
Poor decisions compound rapidly—choosing the wrong road at Smolensk leads to complete military destruction
Development
Builds on earlier themes about actions having results to show how bad choices accelerate in crisis
In Your Life:
You might experience this when one bad financial decision leads to a cascade of problems that destroy your stability
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific choices did French leaders make that turned a difficult retreat into a complete disaster?
analysis • surface - 2
Why did the abandonment cascade accelerate once it started, and what made it impossible to stop?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen this pattern of leaders abandoning their people during crisis in your workplace, family, or community?
application • medium - 4
If you were in middle leadership during this collapse, what specific actions would you take to protect your people while protecting yourself?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about the difference between authority and true leadership when everything falls apart?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Organization's Pressure Points
Think about your current workplace, family, or community organization. Draw a simple chain of command from top to bottom. At each level, identify what pressures exist and what that person might abandon to save themselves during crisis. Look for the weak links where abandonment would most likely start.
Consider:
- •Who has the most to lose if things go wrong?
- •Which relationships are purely transactional versus genuinely loyal?
- •What early warning signs would tell you abandonment is starting?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you felt abandoned by someone in authority over you. How did it change your behavior toward the people below you in that situation?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 316: The Myth of Great Men
As the story unfolds, you'll explore powerful people rewrite their failures as genius, while uncovering society creates myths around terrible leaders. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.