Russian Village, late November 1812

Tsar Alexander the First, whilst residing in Saint Petersburg, receives a letter from the French Emperor proposing peace, in which , it details a terrifying ordeal where the dead seem to rise from the earth. The Tsar, mocking the letter, realizes too late its truth when a few days later came news of ill soldiers attacking their fellow men and eating them alive. He then orders an immediate evacuation. Forces of the Russian army are sent out to handle the sudden rise of the dead, causing them to be separated; some troops are pushed westwards whilst most stay behind. Horrifyingly, the scorched-earth military strategy that the Russian Empire had used themselves to stop the French advance just mere months earlier came back to bite them as Russian troops run out of resources fast. In a small village, an exhausted and diseased Russian battalion starts arguing and infighting occurs, leading to the execution of some Russian soldiers to boost morale. A handful of men desert.