Until now, the war episodes and the peace episodes had been kept separate. Now this is no longer possible: Napoleon invades Russia, and the war is brought to those who had previously kept out of it. And the novel enters a new phase.

Tolstoy starts this part by meditating on the nature of historic action. We will get quite a few of these authorial meditations, and some readers object to it. Of course, such chapters don't ordinarily belong to a novel, but this is no ordinary novel. We have no choice but to go wherever Tolstoy decides to take us. It is worth the effort.

When readers complain that these chapters are irrelevant, they are surely wrong. The novel so far has enquired into why the characters behave in such a way, and not any other. It is an enquiry into the roots of human behaviour. Now, we have the same enquiry, but on a much larger scale: what determines the behaviour of entire people? What determines the events of history? Historians tell us that it was because of certain economic factors; or because Napoleon willed it; or whatever. Tolstoy dismisses these. Any event is a consequence of an infinite number of infinitely small factors, and ascribing it to merely a few of these factors - as historians tend to do - was, in Tolstoy's opinion, charlatanism. But that leaves open the question: why did hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen march across Europe to invade Russia? Surely, it was more than merely one man's will. But what?

The Tsar is in Vilna when he hears of the French armies crossing the border. Boris, who is there at the time, notices something momentous is happening, and positions himself to hear what it is. The Tsar sends Balashev with a message for Napoleon, demanding that he withdraw his troops immediately from Russian soil.

We are now shown the French armies crossing into Russia. The scene is painted on a massive canvas. If the domestic scenes at the Rostovs, say, were in close-up, then these are long, panoramic shots. We are given a vivid picture of hundreds of thousands of men on the move. Napoleon himself takes all the adulation of his troops in his stride, as if it were something only to be expected. It even irritates him at times, as he is trying to think. Tolstoy seems to have little respect for this man whom he saw borne on the waves of history, but who vainly imagined that it was he who was controlling the waves.

Balashev, in his journey to meet with Napoleon, first meets two of his generals - the vain Murat, and the boorish Davoust. They appear briefly, but are brought to life with unerring skill. Finally, Balashev gets to meet Napoleon in the very palace at Vilna in which the Tsar had charged him with the mission. Napoleon is not interested in listening. After all, why should a man in his position listen to anyone? Napoleon does all the talking, and carried away by his own verbosity, says whatever comes into his head. Later, Napoleon invites Balashev to dinner, quite unconscious of having behaved improperly. As far as he is concerned, the very fact that he had acted in a certain way means that that was the correct way to act.

Now, we move to Bald Hills again, and a very sombre place it is now. The old Prince's mind is going; senility is setting in, and he wastes no opportunity to torment both his daughter and himself. Andrei, now a sort of walking zombie after the episode with Natasha, has joined the army again. He is trying to seek out Anatole, so he could provoke him to a duel and kill him. Andrei comes to stay briefly in Bald Hills. When with his father, he tries to talk - as he usually does with his father - of military strategy, but his father now has something else on his mind: his daughter, whom he cannot help tormenting. Andrei sides with his sister, and the old man flies into a rage. For the first time in his life, Andrei parts from his father on bad terms.

Before he leaves, there is a wonderful short scene between Andrei and Maria. Speaking of Mademoiselle Bourienne - who seems delighted that the senile old Prince is ludicrously paying court to her - Andrei bursts out in uncontrolled passion: "And to think that such - such trash can bring misery on people!"

There is almost a sort of telepathy between brother and sister. She knows right away that her brother is not referring merely to Mademoiselle Bourienne: she asks Andrei not to seek out Anatole Kuragin. And Andrei does not promise - he cannot. Anatole Kuragin has dishonoured him - him, Andrei Bolkonsky - and he must be punished for it.

Andrei finally reaches the Army headquarters, and we are given an account of the various factions therein. The German general Barclay de Tolly is in charge, but is not much liked: there is much xenophobia around. Andrei speaks to the Tsar, and rather than be a hanger-on at the Tsar's court (the Tsar is leaving the Army on advice of the military staff), he asks to serve with the army at the front.

We now move to Nikolai, still with the hussars. He has heard that his sister's engagement has been broken off, but doesn't know of the full facts of the matter. His family keep asking him to return home. We see Nikolai and some others innocently flirting with the pretty wife of a jealous Army doctor, who makes her travel with him. Under Nikolai's command is a lad of sixteen called Ilyin, and Nikolai is attached to him like an older brother. The relationship between Nikolai and Ilyin is like the one that had previously existed between Denisov and Nikolai.

Nikolai is involved in a skirmish. He is no longer frightened of action -- not because he had become used to it (that is impossible), but because he has learnt how not to think about it. On his own initiative, Nikolai charges down and captures some French soldiers. As a result, he is commended and decorated. But Nikolai is uneasy: is this what heroism is? He remembers the frightened face of one of the French soldiers whom he has captured. Is this really heroism? And something which Nikolai cannot articulate even to himself gnaws at him.

We now move to the other Rostovs. Natasha had been dangerously ill, but is now beginning to recover physically. Emotionally, she remains depressed. We follow her to church, where services are being given for the safe deliverance of the Fatherland. And Natasha prays for everyone - the country, and also for her brother, and for Andrei. It strikes her momentarily that there is something not quite right about praying for one's enemies, and also praying that the French be defeated; but she doesn't allow that thought to bother her too much. She prays in the church as devoutly as anyone.

Pierre visits the Rostovs often. And he has quite clearly, fallen in love with Natasha. Suddenly, the big questions concerning life - although still present - cease to torment him: instead, he finds himself musing on Natasha. Otherwise, he leads a meaningless, idle life. Having nothing better to do, he tries various contrived pieces of numerology to try to interpret the Revelation of St John, and somehow manages to convince himself that Napoleon's destiny and his are vaguely intertwined. This is the occupation of a mind that has nothing to do.

Natasha welcomes Pierre's visits. After the terrible episode with Andrei, it is Pierre who has shown her affection and tenderness, with not a hint of reproach. One evening, at the Rostovs, it suddenly strikes Pierre how unfair it was for him to keep seeing Natasha: when all is said and done, he is a married man. He leaves the Rostovs, and stops visiting.

Meanwhile Petya, much to his parents concern, insists on joining the army. He is only 15, but the patriotic fever sweeping through Moscow has hit him hard. Without telling his parents, he goes to see the Tsar, who is visiting Moscow in an effort to convince the nobles to raise troops from amongst their serfs. Petya imagines that he would be able to go straight up to the Tsar, and ask him directly to serve in the army. It doesn't, of course, work out that way. Petya is swept along by the crowds, and is nearly crushed. And he is not even sure whether the man he does see really is the Tsar or someone else. But nothing can dampen his patriotic fervour: he is determined to join the army. Eventually, Count Rostov makes enquiries on the safest place for Petya to serve.

In the final two chapters of this long part, we are shown the nobles and the merchant classes of Moscow, who have all gathered to hear the Tsar's patriotic appeal. The scene is one of apprehension, disorder, and patriotic fervour. The war has now entered their very homeland, and will soon be on their doorsteps.

Book 3, Part 2

This is the longest part of War and Peace, and is virtually a novel in itself. In many ways, it is a sort of microcosm of the entire work, mixing as it does great historic events and panoramic long views of movements of entire peoples, with scenes of personal drama, often of a quite overwhelming emotional intensity. The whole part culminates in a depiction of the Battle of Borodino, which is possibly the greatest representation of battle in literature.

In the first chapter, Tolstoy presents a picture of the advance of the French troops into Russia. As ever, he pours scorn on the idea that any of this was planned by anyone, either from the French or from the Russian side. Everything has an infinite number of infinitely small causes. Tolstoy also presents the mutual antagonism between the two leaders on the Russian side, Prince Bagration and the German Barclay de Tolly. There is much anti-German feeling in the Russian Army.

At Bald Hills, Prince Bolkonsky's cruelty to his daughter continues. He accuses her of having created the rift between himself and his son. Maria still receives letters from Julia Karagin, now Boris' wife: she writes in curiously Frenchified Russian. (It is now considered unpatriotic to write in French, but people of Julias class barely know their own language.)

Princess Maria is so used to leaving major decisions to her father, that she has not been concerned about the French advance, mainly because her father had given the matter no importance. But her father simply cannot grasp what is happening: his mind is not what it was. As far as he is concerned, the French armies are still in Poland. Now, we get a quite extraordinary chapter where we se the world from Prince Bolkonsky's unsteady perspective. His mind cannot settle on anything, and is constantly wandering back to the past. At long last, he takes in the letter from his son - who has written to him in conciliatory terms to heal the rift between them. And from this letter, the old man grasps with horror how close the French really are. But then, once again, his mind drifts back to the past - to the first time he had met with Tsarina Catherine and with the great Potemkin.

The Bolkonskys' steward, Alpatych, is sent on an errand to Smolensk, some 40 miles to the west of Bald Hills. While he is there, the town comes under attack, and those who hadn't left the city already start evacuating. There are scenes of disorder, and of panic, as the French shells and cannon-balls land all around. Alpatych is met by Andrei, who writes a note to his sister instructing her to leave for Moscow. It is significant that it is his sister to whom he now writes, and not his father: Andrei had seen the state of his father's mind when he had last left Bald Hills. As Andrei is speaking to Alpatych, Berg, not recognizing Andrei at first, admonishes him for merely standing by while the city is being shelled. Andrei does not stoop so much as to acknowledge Berg's presence.

After Smolensk has fallen, Andrei visits Bald Hills. The family has all left. Andrei tells Alpatych to take the peasants on the estate towards Moscow. And there is nothing more to be done. A great air of sadness hangs around the now deserted place. On returning from the estate, Andrei sees some soldiers jumping into a dirty pond. He is invited to join them. And inexplicably, Andrei feels a strange distaste for the sight - for the sheer physicality of the naked white flesh. His own flesh, too, makes him shudder in horror. All he can see in this mass of humanity is flesh that will be torn apart by cannons.

We now move briefly to the salons of Petersburg. Anna Pavolvna's salon has become patriotic, and anti-French; Helene's salon is still hoping that peace can soon be restored. Prince Vasili has become old, and his mind, too, is starting to fail: he can no longer always remember which is the right thing to say in each salon. But as ever in these salons, nothing is sincere or deeply felt. We learn in these chapters that Kutuzov has been appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian forces.

We are given another comic interlude as one of Nikolai's serfs, Lavrushka, is captured by the French. The great Napoleon himself speaks to him, imagining that Lavrushka does not realise to whom he is speaking. Lavrushka has realized this all along, but plays along with Napoleon's ego, feigning horror and shock when Napoleon's identity is revealed to him. The great man, pleased with the effect produced, lets Lavrushka go.

Princess Maria was not in Moscow as Andrei had thought. The Bolkonskys had gone only as far as Bogucharovo, Andrei's estate. And it is here that old Prince Bolkonsky has a stroke. He lies there like a corpse, his right side paralyzed.

To remain at Bogucharovo is becoming unsafe, but the old man can hardly be moved. And Maria suddenly finds herself looking forward to what her life would be like after her father's death. Her naturally tender mind is shocked at finding herself thinking of this.

The next morning, the old man asks for Maria. His slurred speech is not easy to understand, but she makes out what he is saying. "My soul is troubled." He is always thinking of her, he says, and had been calling for her all last night. Now, at the gates of death, he suddenly - for the first and only time in his life - feels capable of expressing the love he feels for his daughter - the love he has always felt for her, even when he could not help himself from tormenting and humiliating her at every step. And he thanks her for everything, and asks her forgiveness.

Is this the man whose death she had wanted? Maria asks herself. The old man asks for Andrei, and on being reminded that he is with the army, recalls to himself the state of Russia, and he weeps. And the last thing he says to his daughter is: "Put on your white dress. I like it."

By the afternoon, he is dead. And as Maria kisses her father's dead face, she suddenly recoils. "In a flash, all the deep tenderness she had been feeling for him vanished before the horror and dread of what lay there on the bed before her."

In and around Bogucharovo, the peasants had been used to working for absentee landlords. (Andrei's own peasants had all been emancipated, of course.) Ignorant and uneducated as they are, and ever open to rumours, their mistrust of the aristocrats comes to the fore. Why should they help these people to get away? After all, haven't the French promised to treat everyone well?

When it is made clear to Maria that she has to get away, she finds the peasants unwilling to co-operate. Still reeling from the shock of her father's death, and of the unexpected tenderness he had shown her at the very end, she tries desperately to think of what her father would have done. She tries her best to meet their concerns, but they're having none of it. Even Dron, Andrei's trusted steward, finds himself forced to side with the peasants.

It is at this point that Nikolai, who is out with the young Ilyin foraging for his men, comes across Bogucharovo. He knows exactly how to deal with the peasants: threaten them, tie them up, beat them if necessary. He is foolhardy enough to do this on his own; and, of course, it helps that, if required, he has the full backing of the army. And there is something about Princess Maria's luminous eyes - now in tears - that strikes him. He inevitably sees something very romantic in all this. But he has given his word to Sonya.

Andrei, meanwhile, meets with Kutuzov. Denisov is there as well, enthusiastically proposing guerrilla action against the French troops. Kutuzov is moved to hear of the death of Prince Bolkonsky. He tells Denisov in fatherly tones that they will discuss his ideas the next day. Kutuzov is also lenient on Russian troops taking all the crops available. Never mind the looting - nothing must be left behind for the French! If retreat is inevitable, make sure as little as possible gets left behind.

Kutuzov offers Prince Andrei a position on his staff, but Andrei prefers to serve with the fighting troops. Kutuzov consents.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, society continues in its frivolity. These people, so used to French that they even think in that language, are now struggling with speaking Russian - which, they feel, they have to do for patriotic reasons. The governor of Moscow, Count Rostopchin, has forbidden anyone to leave the city: there is no reason to evacuate - the French will never reach Moscow. This convinces Pierre that the occupation of Moscow is but a matter of time.

In the streets, Pierre sees a Frenchman accused of spying being mercilessly whipped. Pierre is deeply troubled. He toys with the intention of joining the army. Hardly knowing his own intentions, he finds himself going to Mozhaisk, near Borodino, where much of the Russian army is quartered.

The battle, Tolstoy points out, was to the advantage of neither army. Yet it happened. Why? Pierre walks around, seeing the soldiers, and he wonders how many of those he sees would still be alive the next day. His own life seems to lack any meaning or direction; he scarcely knows why he has come here. To see the battle as a sort of spectator? To help out? His mind in a whirl, he does not know. He wants to take part in the battle, and is told to apply directly to Kutuzov. (Pierre is a count, after all - he would hardly be treated as an ordinary recruit.)

After having seen as much of the lay-out as he can, Pierre tries to seek out Andrei. He briefly meets with Kutuzov, and then, Dolohov, who, quite unexpectedly, apologises to Pierre for past "misunderstandings", and hopes there is no ill-feeling between them. Pierre does not know what to say as Dolohov embraces him with tears in his eyes.

Andrei, meanwhile, muses to himself. He feels very close to death, and does not regret it. This is not because he has conquered his fear of death, but because he has lost all emotional ties that bind him to this life. And all the questions that had so tormented him appear to him as if "illuminated by a cold white light, having no shadows, without perspective, without distinction of outline". All that he had valued - "honour and glory, the good of society, love for a woman, the Fatherland itself" - all seems meaningless now to him. And he thinks how foolish he was in having loved Natasha. (But he does not think of her by name.) Andrei is haunted by three great sorrows: his love for a woman (he still does not mention her name, not even in his thoughts); the death of his father; and the invasion of the French Army. To continue living has no attraction for Andrei.

This is a quite remarkable chapter, that somehow takes the reader as close to the reality of death as seems possible.

It is at this point that Pierre arrives. Andrei is naturally surprised, but, for the one and only time, he is not pleased to see his friend. At first, he seems disinclined to be left alone with Pierre: his friend is too much associated with various things that still pain Andrei. Pierre notices Andrei's displeasure on seeing him, and is unsure what to make of it. But far from feeling offended, he feels for his friend's sake.

Andrei speaks bitterly about the French invasion. Bald Hills, that his father had looked after with such care, where he himself had grown up, is now overrun with invaders. And he can feel nothing for the invaders but hatred.

Andrei is skeptical about the "science of war". What will win is not numbers or strategy, but the feeling that is in the men. Then, with growing passion, Andrei starts talking about war itself, and about military values. There is a deep bitterness in him. Let us stop playing at war, he says - let us stop pretending that it is honourable and glorious. It is merely murder on the greatest scale, nothing more. And yet, our societies are such, that it is the military profession we honour most: all Emperors wear military uniform, and those who have killed the most are the most honoured. Given that Andrei is himself from a proud military family, this is as close as he can come to expressing self-hatred.

"Life has become a burden to me," Andrei finally tells his friend. "I see that I have begun to understand too much." He advises Pierre to leave. Then, suddenly, he embraces his friend and kisses him, and starts to tell him something. But then he stops himself and turns away. In the dark, Pierre could not see whether his face is angry or tender.

After this extraordinarily moving scene, Tolstoy takes us to Napoleon's tent. Napoleon, the great self-deceiver, is convinced that it has been merely his will that has brought him here, and that it will be his genius that will ensure victory. A portrait of Napoleon's infant son is brought before him: in the picture, the pretty little boy is playing with a toy globe. Napoleon, aware that whatever he does and says now will be recorded in the history books, says "Take him away - it is too early yet for him to look upon the field of battle." And everyone is apparently impressed by the wisdom and profundity of this saying.

Tolstoy then sets out to debunk the myth of Napoleon's military greatness. Every single one of Napoleon's instructions was, he claims, impossible to carry out; and, naturally, none of them was executed. By the time any report comes to Napoleon on how the battle is progressing, a million and one things have already happened that make the report out of date.

We are shown the battle mainly from Pierre's perspective. Without realising it, he is in the very place where some of the main events of the battle takes place, and Pierre witnesses horrors unimaginable. He attempts to help, but merely gets in everyone's way. Then, the cannonballs start hitting, leaving behind the dead, and the wounded writhing in agony.

The battle is simply mass slaughter. The Russian armies withstand the most devastating shelling, but without retreating. The French also suffer heavy losses. All around is death and devastation, and veritable rivers of human blood. These are some of the most grotesque scenes ever committed to paper. And Napoleon, convinced though he was of his own genius, faces for the first time the possibility of defeat, and of the unthinkable possibility that his genius may be fallible after all.

Kutuzov, knowing how little commands from on high mean on the actual battlefield, says little. Only when someone brings news of a setback does he loudly insist that he is wrong - that there is no setback. Unlike Napoleon, he knows that all he can do is to try to maintain morale.

Andrei's regiment was kept back in reserve, but soon, even they come under fire. A shell lands near Andrei, and others shout at him to lie down and cover himself. But Andrei hesitates. "Can this be death?" he asks himself. And suddenly, in that split second before the shell goes off, he feels an overpowering love of earthly life. He suddenly loves this grass, this earth, this air....And then, the explosion happens.

As he is being carried to hospital, Andrei, half delirious with the pain, asks himself why he suddenly felt that way. "What made me so reluctant to part with life? There was something in life I did not and don't understand."

The scene in the military hospital is of a nightmarish intensity. An overworked doctor comes out of the tent in a blood-soaked apron, holding his cigar between his thumb and little finger so as not to stain it with blood. A detail like that nails him as a human being, and not merely a character in fiction.

As Andrei is taken in, we see again the class resentment we had noted before with the peasants in Bogucharovo: the "quality" - i.e. the upper classes - are seen to first. Andrei is barely aware of what is happening. In his semi-delirium, the events around him get mixed up with fleeting thoughts and sensations. All around is pain, as people bearing the most hideous of wounds scream in agony. Andrei finds his mind reverting to his happiest moments - especially his earliest childhood when he was being undressed and put to bed.

In the bed next to Andrei, a man is having his leg amputated. Hearing his sobs, Andrei too wants to weep, but he does not know why. He does not know whether this is because he was dying a death without glory, or whether he was sorry to part with life; or whether it is because that childhood of his would never return, or whether because he was in pain and others were in pain. But the tears he wants to weep were, he felt, "almost happy tears".

And suddenly, he remembers who the man is next to him who was having his leg amputated. It is Anatole. Andrei remembered vaguely that Anatole was somehow connected to him, but he could not remember how. And suddenly, an unexpected recollection presented itself to Andrei. It was Natasha the first time he had seen her at that ball, "with her slender neck and arms, with her timid, happy face prepared for ecstasy". And "his soul awoke to a love and tenderness for her which were stronger and more pulsing with life than they had ever been". Now, he remembers who Anatole is, and all he can now feel for this man is a passionate pity and love. No longer able to restrain himself, he weeps tears of compassion for his fellow men, and for himself. "But it is too late now," he says to himself, "I know it."

The battle is over now. The slaughter on both sides has been devastating. Napoleon, who normally enjoyed surveying the wounded and the dead on the battlefield, looks upon the devastation, but the horror "made no impression upon his soul".

Book 3, Part 3

This part starts with Tolstoy musing again on the cause of historic events. He draws an analogy with calculus. If we regard time as discrete units, movement is incomprehensible; only when we see time as sequences of moments infinitesimally small, and integrate these infinitesimals together, can we understand the process of change. And similarly with historic events - they are products of an infinite number of infinitely small causes, and to attempt to ascribe them to one or two major causes - such as, say , the will of Napoleon - is sheer charlatanism.

After Borodino, the French Army, like a badly wounded animal, advances towards Moscow out of its sheer forward momentum. It cannot stop. And Kutuzov gives up Moscow without a fight rather than sacrifice the army in an attempt to defend it. This is met with general disapproval: Moscow is, after all, the "ancient and sacred capital".

Those who can - i.e. those wealthy enough to do so - evacuate Moscow.

Meanwhile, in Petersburg, Helene has a dilemma: she has two suitors. And to complicate matters, she is already married. That is not a problem, however: to someone of Helen's great intellect, it's all so simple. Helene suddenly converts to Catholicism. Now, she can obtain a divorce - ratified by His Holiness the Pope himself - and then choose from between her two suitors. She sends a letter to Pierre, asking for a divorce. The letter arrives when Pierre is at Borodino.

After the battle, Pierre returns to Mozhaisk, and is forced to spend the night in a carriage. He has a confused dream, in which the words Andrei had said to him about war merge with Masonic teaching. On his way back to Moscow, he hears of the death of Anatole, and of his friend Andrei.

The governor of Moscow, Count Rostopchin, advises Pierre to make himself scarce: all sorts of rumours are flying around - will Moscow be given up to the French? Who is responsible for this? etc. - and Rostopchin cannot guarantee the safety of freemasons. A certain Verschagin has been sentenced to hard labour for allegedly circulating forged proclamations. Moscow is descending into chaos.

The Rostovs have left it late to evacuate from Moscow, mainly because they did not want to leave without Petya, who, until recently, had been with his regiment. Natasha, now recovered somewhat from her depression, helps with the packing. But when the wounded pour in from Borodino, Natasha tells them that they may make use of their carts and wagons. Her father, she knows, won't mind. Her father indeed does not mind, but her mother is furious when she finds out. As if it weren't bad enough that her husband had squandered the family fortune - now they must leave everything behind! Count Rostov, for ever feeling guilty about the ruin of the family fortunes, has no alternative but to give way. But Natasha is furious. How can they even think of taking their belongings instead of taking the wounded! The Countess has no option but to give way to her daughter. And, unknown to Natasha, one of the wounded they take is Andrei. The Countess, reluctant to re-open old wounds, tells Sonya not to let Natasha know.

On their way out of Moscow, the Rostovs meet Pierre, who is wandering around Moscow in a peasant coat. Pierre, having returned from Borodino, his mind swimming from what he had witnessed at Borodino, had deserted his house, and had made for Bazdeyev's. Bazdeyev is now dead, and the house is occupied by his widow, and by his mentally retarded brother. Pierre settles down to go through Bazdeyev's papers. At the back of his mind is the vague thought that his fate is somehow related to Napoleon's, and an idea starts taking shape: he, Pierre, will liberate Europe by assassinating Napoleon. He asks for a peasant coat, and a gun.

Napoleon has entered Moscow, but, to his surprise, there is no deputation to meet him. The rulers of the town and its chief citizens have all left. The city is populated only by the working men and women: their "masters" are all gone. For all intents and purposes, Moscow is empty. Rostopchin, before he leaves, fearing an insurrection, eggs on the crowd gathered in front of his palace to lynch Verschagin. And he justifies to himself this dreadful crime: after all, Verschagin was a criminal, wasn't he? And the crowd's wrath has to be appeased!

Fires start in Moscow soon afterwards. Its not the French armies who start it; and neither is it the fanatical patriotism of the Russians that is responsible. Fires are inevitable in a city left unattended consisting mainly of wooden buildings.

Some French officers enter Bazdeyev's house, and Pierre sees Bazdeyev's retarded brother attempting to shoot one of them. Instinctively, Pierre prevents him. The French officer is a genial chap, and is very grateful to Pierre for having saved his life. On Pierre's request, he even allows Bazdeyev's brother to go free. He introduces himself as Captain Ramballe, and invites Pierre to sup with him. And as Pierre sups, and becomes more and more drunk, he feels his resolution - to kill Napoleon - vanishing. And, after a few drinks, he tells Ramballe all about himself - even about his love for Natasha.

We now move to the Rostovs, who, with the other evacuees from Moscow, see the sky red with the fires. They look on helplessly as their beloved city burns.

Much to the Countess' annoyance, Sonya tells Natasha about the presence of Andrei amongst the wounded. There's a whiff of suspicion that this was a calculated act: if Andrei survived, and married Natasha, then, according to the rules of the Orthodox Church, Nikolai could not marry Maria. Ever since Nikolai had rescued Maria at Bogucharovo, there has been much talk of this.

Natasha waits till all her family is asleep, and then goes to where she knows Andrei is. She does not know how he would react to seeing her again. And he smiles, and holds out his hand to her.

We are taken back to Andrei's perspective. Still semi-delirious with pain, his mind is not in a normal state. He has, uncharacteristically for him, asked for a New Testament. It seems to him that in the army hospital, something new had been revealed to him - something he could not quite define to himself. He remembers that next to him was a man he had wanted to kill. This man's leg had been amputated, and he had been sobbing like a child. And Andrei had felt no bitterness, no anger: just pity - pity for himself, and for this man who had been an enemy of his. And as he muses in his semi-delirious state on love - which he had been conscious that he could not quite attain in the course of his normal life - he sees a figure in white approaching him. It is Natasha. Falteringly, she asks for forgiveness, but he does not understand what there is to forgive.

From that day onwards, Natasha tends to Andrei, never leaving his side.

We now return to Pierre. The morning after his drunken supper with Captain Ramballe, Pierre, disgusted with the way he has behaved, determines to carry out his intention. There is chaos in the streets. Pierre rescues a girl from a burning building, but then cannot find her parents. Then, noticing some French soldiers harassing a woman, he goes to her rescue. Strong though he is, he is overpowered. They find in his possession a revolver, and a knife; and he refuses to reveal his name. Pierre is arrested on suspicion of being an incendiary.

Himadri Chatterjee currently works as an operational research analyst for an airline, and lives near London, UK, with his wife and two children. What spare time he has apart from his day job and family commitments, he likes to spend reading, and listening to classical music. He also loves the theatre, good conversation, and good whisky (he is a long-standing member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society).
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