(This chapter makes me almost want to reread War and Peace as well as Les Miserables.) Russian strategy of withdrawal . . . lure N. into the country . . . N. aware of the trap, but falls into anyway, always thinking that the decisive battle must occur soon . . . Vilnius as base for N. , , , Russians systematically destroy crops, windmills, bridges, livestocks, fodder, shelter, grain--anything that the French could use-- as they retreat . . . scorched earth--their own earth . . . Russia before the scorched earth policy would have not provided food for N's troops . . . 1000 horses die every day for 175 days French army spends in Russia . . . Typhus fever hits N's troops . . .80,000 dead or sick from typhus . . . fever, shaking, congestion of the brain, death . . . N. misled regarding state of health of his troops and state of food supply . . . Russians avoid battle, fleeing with precision: "There appeared more order in their defeat than in our victory." . . . N. presses on, boldness being his trademark and fearful of showing hesitation . . . incredible heat in August . . . simultaneously, Wellington defeats the French in Iberia at the battle of Salamanca . . . food shortages force N's men to go out into countryside where Russian irregulars kills them or take them prisoner . . .vast size of Russia overwhelms N's ability to invade . . .. Battle of Borodino--bloodiest battle untle the first battle of the Marne a century later . . . N wins, but not decisively . . . Russian army withdraws, again . . . N. criticized for not risking his Guard (elite troops) to the battle . . . he felt the need to keep them back in case . . . was it a mistake? Historians mixed, as was N.
PUPPY Dysfunctional family has puppy that they need to get rid of. Mom places ad; family is coming over. Description of family. Mom: husband changed from long-haired attractive to stooped old man. Husband: talks constantly of living on a farm and doing what needs to be done, though he never lived on a farm. Conversations together: Sell and move to Arizona, get hooked on phonics for kids, buying a car wash. . . wonderful randomness. Straight-laced suburbanite comes to look at puppy. Seems like she will buy it, even though she is repelled by house. (Dog turds on carpet, filthy.) She is proud of how accepting she is until she looks out window and sees white trash's son tied by harness to a tree. Reader knows he is a menace to himself, darting across I-90, for example. Suburban mother beats hasty retreat, leaving dog to be (probably) drowned by dad who does what has to be done. Suburbanite remembers her own pathetic ch...
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