War and Peace Ch. 30: The General's Inspection

Leo Tolstoy

The General's Inspection

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Summary

Kutuzov arrives in a light blue Viennese caleche with an Austrian general in white at his side, talking in low voices as if the two thousand breathless men did not exist. The regimental commander flushes, throws himself across the saddle, and performs devotion so hard it becomes comedy. The regiment shouts health to the commander in chief; Kutuzov walks the ranks, shakes his head at the boots, and lets the colonel sweat every word.

He greets the red-nosed captain Timokhin with remembered kindness, asks Andrew to produce Dolokhov, and tells the disgraced man to do his duty without forgetting him. Afterward the colonel apologizes to Timokhin and promises Dolokhov epaulettes after the next affair if he behaves. The men march off singing; Dolokhov dances in time beside the road, still in the ranks he was nearly shouted out of.

Zherkov, once Dolokhov's Petersburg friend, rides up familiarly and invites him to faro. Dolokhov answers coldly that he will not drink or gamble until reinstated, and that if he wants anything he will take it, not beg. A song about the hawk from a wide right sleeve keeps time as Zherkov's horse prances off after the carriage. The inspection ends, morale lifts, and the war thread tightens.

In this chapter:Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Reading Calibrated Mercy

Leaders sometimes repair a unit by sparing one person in public. Kutuzov praises Timokhin, summons Dolokhov, and leaves the colonel grateful while boots stay the real report.

When a senior figure makes a show of forgiveness, ask what behavior they are buying before you copy the tone.

This chapter

Inside the Mind: the regimental commander

He flushes, throws his body across the saddle, and prepares to shout with his mouth awry. Last night's wrong guess already humiliated him, so devotion has to become visible. He needs Kutuzov to see a man spending himself to please, so the worn boots will count as loyalty rather than failure.

Continue this thoughtThe Wish to Be Authored

Coming Up in Chapter 31

On returning from the review, Kutuzov takes the Austrian general into his private room and asks his adjutant for papers on the troops and letters from Archduke Ferdinand. Prince Andrew comes in with the required papers. Kutuzov and the Austrian sit at a table with a plan spread out.

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Chapter 30

The General's Inspection

“He’s coming!” shouted the signaler at that moment. The regimental commander, flushing, ran to his horse, seized the stirrup with trembling hands, threw his body across the saddle, righted himself, drew his saber, and with a happy and resolute countenance, opening his mouth awry, prepared to shout. The regiment fluttered like a bird preening its plumage and became motionless. “Att-ention!” shouted the regimental commander in a soul-shaking voice which expressed joy for himself, severity for the regiment, and welcome for the approaching chief. Along the broad country road, edged on both sides by trees, came a high, light blue Viennese…

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The General's Inspection

Summary

Why This Matters