Mikhail Kutuzov
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky (1745 – 1813), commander-in-chief of the Russian army.
By the start of War and Peace, Kutuzov is already one of the most decorated Russian generals. He served alongside Alexander Suvorov in the reign of Catherine the Great, and we hear many references to the great Suvorov in the novel.
He had been seriously wounded twice and lost an eye. He has been out of favour with the emperor for the last three years, but in 1805 leads 50,000 men into the field to support Austria.
BOOK ONE
Book 1, Part 2
26 Jan: Chapter 1
The commander-in-chief has set up his headquarters at Braunau. The Austrians have asked him to unite his forces with the Austrian army. The Russians have marched 700 miles, and Kutuzov wants to demonstrate that they are not ready to fight. So he goes to inspect them and the state of their boots.
27 Jan: Chapter 2
Our first look at Field Marshall Kutuzov. He lost an eye to a gunshot back in 1774, but his other eye is sharp enough: he picks out old companions from the wars, and draws attention to the lamentable state of the soldier’s boots. In his suite are the officers Bolkonsky, Nesvitsky and Zherkov.
28 Jan: Chapter 3
Back at headquarters, we see a bit more of the man Napoleon calls “that sly old fox”. He likes the sound of his own voice. He taunts the Austrian general, praising the armies that are likely already defeated. And sure enough, here is General Mack with news of the surrender.
7 Feb: Chapter 13
When Andrei catches up with the army, Kutuzov is giving Bagration orders to delay the French advance, a certain suicide mission that Andrei fancies joining. We hear Kutuzov behind a closed door, “excited and dissatisfied”. He meets Andrei’s request with a refusal: “I need good officers myself” and a warning: “If a tenth of his detachment returns tomorrow, I shall thank God.”
8 Feb: Chapter 14
Kutuzov plans to sacrifice four thousand men under Bagration to buy the army time to escape.
Book 1, Part 3
26 Feb: Chapter 11
No one wants to listen to Kutuzov, who believes the battle will be lost.
27 Feb: Chapter 12
Kutuzov sleeps through the final proceedings. “Before a battle there is nothing more important than to have a good sleep.”
1 Mar: Chapter 15
Kutuzov is on the Pratzen Heights waiting as the regiments move into the mist ahead. He laughs bitterly at the mention of the dispositions. When the emperor arrives, he explains why he is waiting. Unimpressed, the emperor orders him to advance.
2 Mar: Chapter 16
Kutuzov: “The wound is not here, it is here!” He points to the fleeing soldiers. “Stop them!” In the chaos, he is confused. “Bolkonsky! What’s that?” he points at the disordered regiment.
BOOK THREE
Book Three, Part One
21 June: Chapter 8
Andrei follows Kutuzov to Turkey and then asks for a transfer to the Western front and the war with Napoleon.
Book Three, Part Two
Chapter 6
In response to calls for the army to be given one commander-in-chief, Kutuzov is made a prince and then put in charge. As Kutuzov’s star ascends, Vasili is forced to change his opinions overnight. The blind courtier becomes the ‘very wise man’ who will save Russia.
Chapter 15
Kutuzov reviews the troops and summons Andrei to headquarters. Kutuzov commiserates with Andrei for the loss of his father and listens with boredom to Denisov’s plans for guerilla warfare. We learn that Kutuzov despises cleverness and knowledge. He says landowners will not be compensated for looting by Russian troops.
Chapter 16
Andrei and Kutuzov talk. The commander-in-chief has been reading a French novel and sprinkles his conversation with French proverbs. But Andrei is struck by Kutozov’s feeling when he says the French will eat horseflesh. He tells Andrei that he is his second father and asks him to stay with him. But Andrei insists that his place is with his regiment at the front.
Chapter 21
At Borodino, a church procession arrives with the Smolensk Mother of God. Pierre is absorbed by the sight of the crowd gazing at the icon. Kutuzov comes to kneel and kiss the icon. He rises to his feet with difficulty.
Chapter 22
An absent-minded Kutuzov offers Pierre his quarters, telling him he is his wife’s number one fan.
Chapter 30
Kutuzov sends a general to the river, and Pierre decides to follow, his spectacles almost slipping off as he goes.
Chapter 35
Kutuzov commands the Russian positions from Gorky. Unlike Napoleon, he knows it is impossible to direct the course of battle but guides ‘the spirit of the army’ as best he can. He sits down to eat and dozes off. An adjutant from Barclay de Tolly arrives to report the battle is lost. Kutuzov sends him packing and lets it be known that tomorrow they will attack.
Book Three, Part Three
Chapter 3
Four miles outside Moscow, Kutuzov and his generals stop. They argue about what should be done, and Count Rastopchin and Bennigsen say that Moscow must be defended. He, Kutuzov, sees it as impossible but cannot fathom when this became inevitable. Conscious of his own failure, he summons his most important generals, and they ride to Fili.
Chapter 4
Kutuzov holds his council of war in a peasant’s house at Fili. The peasant’s granddaughter is called Malasha, and we observe this historical occasion through her eyes as Bennigsen and Kutuzov argue about whether to engage the French army. Finally, Kutuzov orders the retreat, and Malasha goes for supper. A grumpy Kutuzov wonders again when this catastrophe was decided.
BOOK FOUR
Book 4, Part 2
Chapter 17
Kutuzov spends his sleepless nights considering the thousands of contingencies facing them as they wait for the French to make the first move. When the generals file in and tell him that Napoleon has abandoned Moscow, he turns to a dark corner of his room and speaks to God: ‘Russia is saved.’
Book 4, Part 4
Chapter 4
History acclaims Napoleon as grand, and Kutuzov is the ‘crafty, dissolute, weak old courtier’ who prevented anything from being achieved by the Russian army. Tolstoy maintains the opposite: seeing that there is nothing to be gained by acts of heroism, Kutuzov did what he could to save lives by pursuing the French at a distant and slackening pace.
Chapter 5
Tolstoy continues his passionate defence of Kutuzov’s legacy. He made no grand gestures or bold poses. He was an ordinary man in tune with a ‘national feeling,’ who did his job to the best of his ability. Time and patience; and if in doubt, do nothing. He does not fit the mould of a heroic leader, but he was, in Tolstoy’s opinion, ‘truly great.’
Chapter 6
On the first day of the battle of Krasnoi, Kutuzov rides to his headquarters at Dobroe. Generals report to him, but he appears preoccupied and is distracted by the sight of French prisoners by the roadside. He gives a speech to a regiment, and voices sympathy for the plight of the French. His simple-hearted talk is well-received if ‘hardly understood’ by the troops, and afterwards, he appears ‘evidently greatly moved.’
Chapter 10
The French cross the Berezina and abandon Russian territory. Kutuzov halts the army at Vilna. The emperor joins the army and expresses displeasure with Kutuzov’s conduct of the campaign. He explains his plan to take the war abroad and awards Kutuzov with the highest honour, the Order of St George of the First Class.
Chapter 11
The next day, Kutuzov holds a dinner where he presents the emperor with the captured standards of the French. Alexander calls his field marshal a comedian and Kutuzov advises against continuing the war beyond Russia. The emperor takes control of the army and with nothing left to give, Kutuzov dies.
Needed to review this~ thank you!