War and Peace Volume 1 Book 2 Chapter 20

In which the chaos of retreat and panic momentarily overcomes the Russian infantry, only to be turned by the sudden, valiant charge of a steadfast company and the spirited resistance of an artillery battery, whose youthful commander finds a strange exhilaration amid the tumult of battle. Through the vivid sounds, sights, and movements on the field, we witness the soldierly resolve and fleeting moments of camaraderie and human frailty that adorn the grim theatre of war.