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"It is now my turn to ask you 'why?' mon cher," said Bolkonski.

"I confess I do not understand: perhaps there are diplomatic

subtleties here beyond my feeble intelligence, but I can't make

it out. Mack loses a whole army, the Archduke Ferdinand and the

Archduke Karl give no signs of life and make blunder after

blunder. Kutuzov alone at last gains a real victory, destroying

the spell of the invincibility of the French, and the Minister of

War does not even care to hear the details."