Shengrabensky battle in the novel "War and Peace" Tolstoy L.N.

The battle of Shengrabens in the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is one of the most memorable episodes. However, if you set yourself the goal of thoroughly studying the course and development of the war with Napoleon in 1805, this battle would hardly have attracted your attention. In the unfolded tale of war, this event would be comparable only with the comma in the sentence.

But L. Tolstoy battle near the village of Shengraben gave the opportunity to write a number of psychological portraits of their heroes. Here the attitude of the writer himself to this war is clearly visible. In fact, in the eyes of the classic it is the only battle that had a moral justification.

A small part of a large whole

In order to understand the place the Shengrabens battle occupied in the War and Peace novel (throughout the war), it is worthwhile to briefly consider the reasons for the occurrence, the course of events and the role of the Russian army in this military campaign.

So, in fact, in that war, Russia was neither divided nor protected. It all started with the fact that Napoleon decided to crush the Great Britain. He summed up his "Great Army" in the number of 180 thousand people to the Channel on the part of France. For the Foggy Albion it was a serious threat. It would be very problematic to counterpose a worthy force to well-trained enemy forces.

Sea barrier

The weak point of the Napoleonic army was the fleet. It was sorely lacking to organize an effective cover during the transfer of land forces. Napoleon, having united his ships with the Spanish, tried to delay the main forces of the English fleet from the English Channel. But in the Battle of Trafalgar, his flotilla suffers a crushing defeat from Admiral Nelson, commander of the English squadron.

The birth of a coalition

However, England was well aware that this victory gave her just a temporary respite, because the main - land - enemy forces from its borders did not disappear anywhere. Therefore, the British government hastily hammers the anti-Napoleonic coalition, which includes Russia, Austria, Sweden, Portugal and the Kingdom of Naples.

The result of the messy actions of the Allies

To move the theater of military operations, the decision is made to attack Bavaria and Italy (the allies of France). Russia is pushing two of its armies to help Austria. At this time, the Austrians, not waiting for reinforcements, attack Bayern.

Napoleon is very mobile throwing his strength and, taken by surprise, the Austrian army capitulates. In this situation, General Kutuzov has only to retreat in order to join the second Russian army under the leadership of Buxgaeveden.

He successfully confronts the army of Napoleon, calculating and anticipating his actions, and even gives battle near Krems, in which it causes considerable damage to the French. However, the enemy's army still has a significant numerical advantage, and Bonaparte begins a maneuver, if successful, he would be able to deal a crushing blow to the army of Kutuzov.

To avoid this, the Shengraben battle was also needed. Tolstoy very successfully chose this episode of the war to describe how the characters of different people reveal themselves in a critical situation. In his novel, the smell of gunpowder and the cold breath of the comrades of death pacing the rows of mates tear off the masks and reveal the very essence of man.

The Battle of Shengraben: a summary

Attack began the French. Under the cover of heavy artillery, they came forward to the location of Russian soldiers. Numerical superiority was on the side of the Napoleonic army. Thirty thousand soldiers against the six thousand under the command of Major-General Bagration.

Of the guns in the Russian camp there were four cannons, which, according to the initial plan of the military leadership, were to fire at a nearby hollow. But Captain Tushin decides to bomb the village of Shengraben with incendiary shells. It was there that a significant part of the French stopped.

At the first attacks, the ranks of Russian soldiers trembled, and the commanders had to change positions. But regrouping, the soldiers with fresh fuse rushed into the battle. To send reinforcements to the weakened areas, Captain Tushin, under whose command the battery of four guns was located, completely took all the cover. But they continued to fire with such vigor that the French decided that it was there that the main forces of the Russian troops were concentrated. Tushin managed to set fire to the village of Shengraben, and this distracted the enemy.

In the end, after persistent battles and maneuvers, the French managed to take the people of Bagration into a ring. But, having gathered with forces, they broke through the cordon and retreated to new positions.

The goal was achieved - the detachment managed to delay the advance of the Napoleonic army so that Kutuzov could unite his main forces with the army of Buxgewenden.

In recognition of this service, this detachment was named "The Heroes' Guild".

The contribution of Leo Tolstoy

Although this military episode was in fact heroic, it was thanks to Tolstoy that he described the Shengraben battle in the novel War and Peace very vividly. As a result of this, any educated person knows about the feat of the Russian soldiers at Shengrab.

And how can it be otherwise? After all, Leo Tolstoy is a recognized classic, and therefore his novel "War and Peace" is included in the general curriculum, and every schoolboy will necessarily hear about the Battle of Shengraben. What chapter describes this battle, what heroes are involved in the episode, what is the characteristic of their actions - this is the minimum amount of information put into children's minds.

Scientific approach

It is interesting that the writer was very responsible for describing the battle scenes. He carefully studied the documents and even went himself to the battlefields to accurately convey the events that took place. How does Tolstoy paint the battle of Shengraben? The chapter begins with an unobtrusive, but detailed description of the surrounding area. Lev Nikolaevich, as a talented artist, smears a smear in the imagination of the reader a clear picture. This makes it easier to understand the actions of the participants in the fighting in that situation.

Psychological component

It is very interesting to watch how the view of some of the heroes of the novel changes to the war. For example, when observing the battle of Shengraben, Bolkonski realizes that the actual situation of control directly during the attack and retreat is fundamentally different from the thoughtful plans drawn up on paper.

The young Nikolai Rostov confesses with horror that the romance of the military campaign has escaped at once, and only primitive fear for his own life remained. He is ashamed of himself, but he can not help it.

However, Tolstoy does not simply reveal to us the inner world of his heroes. For a relatively short period of narration, he changes the attitude of the reader himself to some of the characters.

The battle of Shengraben in the novel "War and Peace" appears to us from different perspectives. We have the opportunity to observe the battle and the inner feelings of some of its participants. So, the nondescript and even somewhat clumsy captain Tushin appears before us a real hero. A brave and dashing ZHerkov, on the contrary, shows repulsive cowardice. Andrei Bolkonsky is also afraid, but he is worthy of overcoming it, helping Tushin's battery to retreat.