Summary
As Russian forces retreat toward Vienna, destroying bridges behind them, we witness a telling moment of military life during the crossing at Enns. General Kutuzov's rearguard holds position on a hill, watching their troops cross below while enemy forces approach. The scene reveals how people handle stress and danger through small comforts and dark humor. Prince Nesvitski, a staff officer, shares food and drink with fellow officers, making crude jokes about the nearby nunnery to lighten the mood. Meanwhile, the commanding general grows increasingly anxious as he watches through his field glass, frustrated that troops are moving too slowly while under potential enemy fire. The contrast is striking: some men joke and eat to cope with tension, while others focus grimly on the tactical situation. When enemy artillery begins firing, the general orders his own guns to return fire 'for fun' - a moment that shows how violence can become casual entertainment when you're removed from its immediate consequences. The chapter captures a universal truth about how people handle stress differently - some through humor and distraction, others through intense focus on the task at hand. It also reveals how war creates strange moments where life and death decisions mix with mundane concerns like sharing a meal or making jokes. Tolstoy shows us that even in retreat, even facing danger, people find ways to maintain their humanity and cope with fear.
Coming Up in Chapter 35
The retreat continues as Russian forces face increasing pressure from pursuing enemies. Critical decisions about the bridge crossing will test both military strategy and individual courage under fire.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Kutúzov fell back toward Vienna, destroying behind him the bridges over the rivers Inn (at Braunau) and Traun (near Linz). On October 23 the Russian troops were crossing the river Enns. At midday the Russian baggage train, the artillery, and columns of troops were defiling through the town of Enns on both sides of the bridge. It was a warm, rainy, autumnal day. The wide expanse that opened out before the heights on which the Russian batteries stood guarding the bridge was at times veiled by a diaphanous curtain of slanting rain, and then, suddenly spread out in the sunlight, far-distant objects could be clearly seen glittering as though freshly varnished. Down below, the little town could be seen with its white, red-roofed houses, its cathedral, and its bridge, on both sides of which streamed jostling masses of Russian troops. At the bend of the Danube, vessels, an island, and a castle with a park surrounded by the waters of the confluence of the Enns and the Danube became visible, and the rocky left bank of the Danube covered with pine forests, with a mystic background of green treetops and bluish gorges. The turrets of a convent stood out beyond a wild virgin pine forest, and far away on the other side of the Enns the enemy’s horse patrols could be discerned. Among the field guns on the brow of the hill the general in command of the rearguard stood with a staff officer, scanning the country through his fieldglass. A little behind them Nesvítski, who had been sent to the rearguard by the commander in chief, was sitting on the trail of a gun carriage. A Cossack who accompanied him had handed him a knapsack and a flask, and Nesvítski was treating some officers to pies and real doppelkümmel. The officers gladly gathered round him, some on their knees, some squatting Turkish fashion on the wet grass. “Yes, the Austrian prince who built that castle was no fool. It’s a fine place! Why are you not eating anything, gentlemen?” Nesvítski was saying. “Thank you very much, Prince,” answered one of the officers, pleased to be talking to a staff officer of such importance. “It’s a lovely place! We passed close to the park and saw two deer... and what a splendid house!” “Look, Prince,” said another, who would have dearly liked to take another pie but felt shy, and therefore pretended to be examining the countryside—“See, our infantrymen have already got there. Look there in the meadow behind the village, three of them are dragging something. They’ll ransack that castle,” he remarked with evident approval. “So they will,” said Nesvítski. “No, but what I should like,” added he, munching a pie in his moist-lipped handsome mouth, “would be to slip in over there.” He pointed with a smile to a turreted nunnery, and his eyes narrowed and gleamed. “That would be fine, gentlemen!” The officers laughed. “Just to flutter the nuns a bit. They say there are Italian girls...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Coping Divide - How People Handle the Same Crisis Differently
People facing identical stress respond in opposite ways - through social distraction or intense focus - and both approaches serve the same psychological need for managing anxiety.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify and respect different ways people handle pressure without judging their coping mechanisms.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone handles stress differently than you do - instead of judging them as too serious or too casual, ask what they need to feel supported right now.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Rearguard
The troops assigned to protect the back of a retreating army, fighting off pursuers while the main force escapes. They're essentially the sacrifice - staying behind to buy time for everyone else to get away safely.
Modern Usage:
Like being the person who stays late to finish the project while everyone else goes home, or covering someone's shift when they're in trouble.
Field glass
Early binoculars or telescope used by military officers to see distant enemy movements. Before modern technology, commanders had to physically watch the battlefield to make decisions.
Modern Usage:
Today's equivalent would be security cameras, radar, or any tool that gives you advance warning of what's coming.
Baggage train
The long line of wagons, supplies, and equipment that follows an army - food, ammunition, medical supplies, personal belongings. It's everything an army needs to survive but also what slows them down.
Modern Usage:
Like moving with kids - all the extra stuff you have to pack and transport that makes everything take twice as long.
Strategic retreat
Pulling back not because you're beaten, but as part of a larger plan - destroying resources as you go so the enemy can't use them. It's choosing when and where to fight rather than being forced into it.
Modern Usage:
Like quitting a toxic job before you get fired, or ending a bad relationship on your terms rather than waiting for it to explode.
Gallows humor
Making jokes about serious, dangerous, or morbid situations as a way to cope with stress and fear. It's a psychological defense mechanism that helps people function under pressure.
Modern Usage:
Hospital workers joking about difficult cases, or people making dark jokes during a crisis to keep from falling apart.
Command hierarchy
The chain of authority in military organizations where orders flow down from generals to officers to soldiers. Everyone knows their place and who they answer to.
Modern Usage:
Any workplace structure - from hospital departments to retail management - where there's a clear pecking order of who makes decisions.
Characters in This Chapter
Kutuzov
Russian commander-in-chief
Though not directly present in this scene, he's orchestrating the strategic retreat. His decision to destroy bridges shows calculated military thinking - sacrificing territory to preserve his army.
Modern Equivalent:
The experienced CEO who knows when to cut losses and regroup rather than fight a losing battle
Prince Nesvitski
Staff officer and comic relief
He uses food, drink, and crude jokes to cope with the tension of being under potential enemy fire. Represents how some people handle stress through humor and distraction.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworker who cracks jokes during stressful meetings to lighten the mood
The general in command
Rearguard commander
Grows increasingly anxious watching the slow troop movement while enemy forces approach. His tension shows the weight of responsibility when lives depend on your decisions.
Modern Equivalent:
The supervisor watching the clock during a deadline crunch, knowing if things go wrong, it's on them
Zherkóv
Young officer and messenger
Represents the younger generation of officers who haven't fully grasped the seriousness of war. His casual attitude contrasts with the general's anxiety.
Modern Equivalent:
The new employee who doesn't yet understand how high the stakes really are
Key Quotes & Analysis
"It would be nice if they'd be quicker"
Context: Watching his troops cross too slowly while enemy forces approach
This simple statement reveals the crushing weight of command - knowing that every minute of delay could cost lives, but being unable to make things move faster. It shows how military leaders must balance urgency with the reality of logistics.
In Today's Words:
Come on, people, we don't have all day for this
"Oh, what a fine fellow!"
Context: Making crude jokes about the nuns in the nearby convent
This inappropriate humor shows how people use distraction and shock value to cope with fear and tension. It's a defense mechanism that helps maintain sanity in insane situations.
In Today's Words:
Did you see that? Now that's what I'm talking about!
"Fire at them for fun"
Context: Ordering his artillery to return enemy fire
The casual use of 'for fun' when ordering deadly force shows how war can make violence seem routine. It reveals how people in power can become detached from the human cost of their decisions.
In Today's Words:
Let's give them a taste of their own medicine
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Officers share food and make jokes while enlisted men do dangerous work below, showing how rank creates distance from consequences
Development
Continues the theme of how social position affects perspective and responsibility
In Your Life:
You might notice how management handles workplace stress differently than front-line workers who face the actual consequences
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Bonds form through shared meals and humor even in dangerous situations, while others connect through shared professional focus
Development
Shows how relationships adapt to extreme circumstances, building on earlier themes of wartime connections
In Your Life:
You might see how some friendships strengthen through joking during hard times while others bond through serious problem-solving
Identity
In This Chapter
Each character reveals their core identity through how they handle stress - the joker, the worrier, the commander
Development
Builds on how war strips away social masks to reveal true character
In Your Life:
You might recognize how crisis situations reveal who people really are beneath their everyday personas
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Military hierarchy expects certain behaviors, but stress reveals individual coping styles that don't always match rank expectations
Development
Continues exploring how formal roles clash with human nature
In Your Life:
You might notice how workplace expectations about 'professional behavior' during stress don't account for different coping styles
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What two different ways do the officers handle the stress of being under potential enemy fire?
analysis • surface - 2
Why do you think some people joke around during dangerous situations while others become intensely focused?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen this same pattern of different stress responses in your workplace, family, or community?
application • medium - 4
When you're in a high-stress situation with others, how do you handle the tension between different coping styles?
application • deep - 5
What does this scene teach us about judging others for how they handle pressure?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Stress Response Team
Think of a recent stressful situation involving multiple people - a work deadline, family crisis, or community problem. Draw a simple diagram showing who handled stress which way: jokers/socializers on one side, focused/quiet processors on the other. Mark yourself on the spectrum. Then identify one person whose coping style annoyed or confused you at the time.
Consider:
- •Neither coping style is better or worse - they're just different ways of managing the same anxiety
- •People often judge others for not handling stress the 'right' way (meaning their way)
- •The most effective teams have both types working together, not against each other
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when someone's way of handling stress frustrated you. Looking back, what were they actually trying to accomplish? How might you respond differently now?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 35: Chaos on the Bridge
In the next chapter, you'll discover crisis reveals true character under pressure, and learn social hierarchies break down in chaotic situations. These insights reveal timeless patterns that resonate in our own lives and relationships.