Editing War and Peace (section)

==Background and historical context==
[[Image:French retreat in 1812 by Pryanishnikov.jpg|thumb|''In 1812'' by the Russian artist [[Illarion Pryanishnikov]].]]

The novel spans the period from 1805 to 1820. The era of [[Catherine the Great]] was still fresh in the minds of older people. Catherine had made French the language of her royal court.<ref name="cath">{{cite book |title=Catherine the Great and the French philosophers of the Enlightenment: Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot and Grim |last=Inna |first=Gorbatov |year=2006 |publisher=[[Academica Press]] |isbn=978-1-933-14603-4 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9sHebfZIXFAC&q=catherine+the+great+introduce+French+language+to+Russian+court |access-date=3 December 2010 }}</ref> For the next 100 years, it became a social requirement for the Russian nobility to speak French and understand French culture.<ref name="cath"/>

The historical context of the novel begins with the execution of [[Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien]] in 1805, while Russia is ruled by [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. Key historical events woven into the novel include the [[Ulm Campaign]], the [[Battle of Austerlitz]], the [[Treaties of Tilsit]], and the [[Congress of Erfurt]]. Tolstoy also references the [[Great Comet of 1811]] just before the [[French invasion of Russia]].<ref name=Leo/>{{rp|1,6,79,83,167,235,240,246,363–364}}

Tolstoy then uses the [[Battle of Ostrovno]] and the [[Battle of Borodino#Battle of Shevardino|Battle of Shevardino Redoubt]] in his novel, before the occupation of Moscow and the subsequent [[Fire of Moscow (1812)|fire]]. The novel continues with the [[Battle of Tarutino]], the [[Battle of Maloyaroslavets]], the [[Battle of Vyazma]], and the [[Battle of Krasnoi]]. The final battle cited is the [[Battle of Berezina]], after which the characters move on with rebuilding Moscow and their lives.<ref name=Leo/>{{rp|392–396,449–481,523,586–591,601,613,635,638,655,640}}