War and Peace Volume 3, Part 2, Chapter 32 Summary

  • Our brave friend Pierre gets the heck out of there as quickly as his feet will carry him and runs back to the battery for cover.
  • But there’s something weird going on in the barrow. Pierre realizes that the battery officer is dead, and a French soldier is charging him!
  • Pierre acts totally on instinct and grabs the guy. The French soldier grabs him. Then they stand there staring at each other in confusion. Who is whose prisoner?
  • Pierre wins the imprisoning game of chicken, mostly because his grip is tighter, and the other guy kind of cries uncle when a cannonball sails by.
  • Pierre wimps out, lets the guy go, and runs back down the hill. The French soldier runs back up to the battery.
  • As Pierre runs down, a mob of Russian soldiers runs past him toward the battery. They storm the barrow and retake the battery from the French.
  • The field is a horrible mess of corpses by now, but the battle keeps going.