The Rostóv’s are very late to start preparing to evacuate Moscow, but they manage to get Pétya reassigned near them where he will be safer.
There is a big, last minute flurry of activity in the Rostóv house, as everyone hurries to be ready to leave town the next day.
In the Rostóv house, everyone is rushing to get ready for evacuation the next day. Natásha takes over direction of the work. A badly wounded officer to be lodged at the house is Prince Andrew.
The Count permits wounded soldiers to ride in their carts, and will leave the family valuables behind. The Countess is upset. If they lose their house and valuable property, her children will have nothing.
Natásha protests leaving the wounded soldiers behind to carry away the Rostóv’s belongings. Her mother realizes Natásha is correct. The carts are unloaded to make room for as many soldiers as possible.
The Rostóv’s finally get underway, accompanied by their carts loaded with the wounded. They don’t tell Natásha Prince Andrew is with them. On the road they spot Pierre dressed as a coachman.
After slipping away from his house, Pierre spends two days at the home of his deceased masonic benefactor, and obtains peasant clothes for himself and a pistol.
When he reached Moscow, Napoleon assumed he would be met by an official deputation from the Russians, but there was no deputation and the city was empty.
There were still a few people in Moscow but the city was empty. Moscow was like a dying queenless beehive.
Some of the Russian troops passing through Moscow that night looted shops in Red Square.