Chapter IX
Timeline
History, Novel, and Author · 1769–1910
Birth of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte is born in Ajaccio, Corsica, just after the island was acquired by France.
French Revolution Begins
The storming of the Bastille launches the French Revolution, which will destroy the old order in France and create the conditions for Napoleon's rise.
Napoleon's Italian Campaign
Napoleon, now a general, leads the French army to a series of stunning victories in Italy, establishing his reputation as a military genius.
Napoleon Seizes Power
In the coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon overthrows the Directory and becomes First Consul of France.
Napoleonic Wars Begin
After a brief peace, war resumes between France and Britain. The Napoleonic Wars will last until 1815.
Napoleon Crowned Emperor
Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of the French at Notre-Dame Cathedral, placing the crown on his own head.
Battle of Trafalgar
The British navy destroys the French fleet at Trafalgar. Britain rules the seas; Napoleon rules the land.
Battle of Austerlitz
Napoleon defeats the combined Austro-Russian army. In the novel, Prince Andrei is wounded here and has his revelation looking at the sky.
First Appearance of Pierre Bezukhov (in the novel)
The novel opens in July 1805 at Anna Pavlovna Scherer's salon in St. Petersburg. Pierre, newly wealthy, awkward, and searching for meaning, is introduced.
Battle of Friedland
Napoleon defeats the Russian army, leading to the Treaty of Tilsit.
Treaty of Tilsit
Napoleon and Alexander I meet on a raft in the Neman River. They make peace and divide Europe between them. The alliance is fragile from the start.
Natasha's First Ball (in the novel)
Natasha Rostova, now sixteen, attends her first grand ball and dances with Prince Andrei. He falls in love with her. This is the novel's most radiant scene.
Andrei and Natasha's Engagement (in the novel)
Prince Andrei proposes to Natasha. Old Prince Bolkonsky objects, and the marriage is postponed for a year. Andrei goes abroad.
Anatole's Seduction of Natasha (in the novel)
While Andrei is away, Anatole Kuragin seduces Natasha. She breaks off her engagement. The Rostov family is disgraced. Andrei, returning, refuses to forgive.
Growing Tensions
The Tilsit alliance unravels. Russia chafes under the Continental System. Napoleon prepares for war.
Napoleon Invades Russia
The Grande Armée — 600,000 men — crosses the Niemen River. The largest military force in European history enters Russia.
Kutuzov Takes Command
Prince Kutuzov is appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army. He continues Barclay's retreat but knows a battle must come.
Battle of Borodino
The bloodiest day of the Napoleonic Wars: 70,000+ casualties. In the novel, Pierre watches the battle; Andrei is mortally wounded.
Napoleon Enters Moscow
The French reach Moscow to find it abandoned. That night, fires begin. Within days, three-quarters of the city is destroyed.
Pierre in Moscow (in the novel)
Pierre wanders through burning Moscow, saves a child, attempts to assassinate Napoleon, and is arrested by the French as an arsonist.
The Retreat Begins
Napoleon orders the Grande Armée to retreat from Moscow. Winter is coming.
Crossing the Berezina
The retreating French army is nearly trapped at the Berezina River. Thousands die. The Grande Armée ceases to exist as a fighting force.
End of the Grande Armée
Fewer than 30,000 of the original 600,000 cross back over the Niemen. Napoleon rushes ahead to Paris to raise a new army.
Pierre's Captivity and Escape (in the novel)
Pierre marches with the retreating French as a prisoner. He meets Platon Karataev, who teaches him the meaning of life. Karataev dies; Pierre is freed.
Battle of Leipzig
The 'Battle of the Nations.' Napoleon is defeated by the combined armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden. He retreats to France.
Allies Enter Paris
Russian and allied troops march into Paris. Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
Congress of Vienna
The victorious powers redraw the map of Europe. Russia emerges as the dominant land power.
Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon's final defeat. He is exiled to St. Helena, where he will die in 1821.
The Epilogue (in the novel)
Seven years after the war. Pierre and Natasha are married. Nikolai and Marya are married. Andrei's son Nikolenka dreams of glory. The cycle begins again.
The Decembrist Uprising
Officers who had fought in 1812 attempt a coup for constitutional government. It is crushed. Five are hanged; over 100 are exiled to Siberia. This was the event Tolstoy originally wanted to write about.
Birth of Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy is born at Yasnaya Polyana, the family estate in Tula Province.
Tolstoy Joins the Army
Tolstoy follows his brother to the Caucasus and joins the Russian army as an artillery officer — the same role as Prince Andrei.
Crimean War and Sevastopol
Tolstoy fights in the siege of Sevastopol. His 'Sevastopol Sketches' make him famous.
Marriage to Sophia Behrs
Tolstoy marries Sonya Behrs, age 18. She will copy the manuscript of War and Peace seven times by hand.
Begins Writing War and Peace
Tolstoy begins what will become War and Peace, originally conceived as a novel about the Decembrists.
First Installment Published
The first part of the novel appears in The Russian Herald under the title 'The Year 1805.'
War and Peace Published Complete
The complete novel is published after six years of obsessive labor. It is over 1,200 pages long.
Anna Karenina Published
Tolstoy's second masterpiece. Many consider it an even greater novel than War and Peace.
Tolstoy's Spiritual Crisis
Tolstoy undergoes a profound spiritual crisis, renounces his earlier works, and embraces a philosophy of Christian anarchism and nonviolence.
Death of Tolstoy
Tolstoy dies at the railway station of Astapovo, having fled his estate in the middle of the night. His final word: 'Truth.'