War and Peace Volume 1, Part 2, Chapter 6 Summary

  • It’s October 23, 1805.
  • General Kutuzov takes the army back toward Vienna, burning some bridges behind him (literally).
  • Now the army is about to cross the bridge in the town of Enns. 
  • Kutuzov and his officers are on a hill near a castle overlooking the troops. It’s a pretty day, and the town is very scenic. Behind the Russian army, the officers can see the enemy (a.k.a. Napoleon’s army) on another hill.
  • The officers are snacking and chatting about how pretty the view is. Nesvitsky, the top guy among them, is joking around about how he’d like to break into a nearby nunnery (nudge nudge, wink wink).  Oh, very nice.  Stay classy.
  • Suddenly, they realize that the enemy is about to fire on the bridge the army is crossing.  Kutuzov is annoyed that his army has been too slow, but he says the orders are the same: cross the bridge, then set fire to it. He sends Nesvitsky off to the troops to tell them to get a move on.
  • Meanwhile, from the bridge, someone fires a shot toward the enemy to measure the distance.
  • The shell lands nowhere close to enemy lines, which means the enemy’s bullets wouldn’t be able to reach over to the where the Russian army is. Everyone chills out and enjoys the view again.