War and Peace, Book 14: 1812, Chapter 16 summary
Book 14: 1812, Chapter 16 of 365 · 3 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 16, the French army shrinks through hunger, exhaustion, and disorder as it retreats, while Berthier urges Napoleon to restore its strength at Smolénsk. Instead, the soldiers plunder their supplies and flee, exposing the gap between official commands and an army whose leaders seek only personal escape.
What happens
- Frost increases suffering after October twenty-eighth, but the narrator argues that the army’s collapse continues at the same rate regardless of conditions.
- Beyond Vyázma, the retreating French abandon three columns and crowd into one mass.
- Berthier reports widespread desertion, discarded weapons, hunger, and exhaustion, and recommends rest and reorganization at Smolénsk.
- At Smolénsk, soldiers search for food, kill one another, plunder their own stores, and flee.
- Napoleon and his circle continue issuing ineffective commands while privately concentrating on their own escape.
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What happens when the French reach Smolénsk?
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