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At five in the morning it was still quite dark. The troops of the

center, the reserves, and Bagration's right flank had not yet

moved, but on the left flank the columns of infantry, cavalry,

and artillery, which were to be the first to descend the heights

to attack the French right flank and drive it into the Bohemian

mountains according to plan, were already up and astir. The smoke

of the campfires, into which they were throwing everything

superfluous, made the eyes smart. It was cold and dark. The

officers were hurriedly drinking tea and breakfasting, the

soldiers, munching biscuit and beating a tattoo with their feet

to warm themselves, gathering round the fires throwing into the

flames the remains of sheds, chairs, tables, wheels, tubs, and

everything that they did not want or could not carry away with

them. Austrian column guides were moving in and out among the

Russian troops and served as heralds of the advance.