<P> In Andrei's absence however, Natasha develops an infatuation with the libertine Prince Anatole Kuragin . She breaks off the engagement with Andrei and plans to elope with Kuragin . Natasha is stopped by her cousin Sonya and Marya Dmitrievna, who suspect Anatole's intentions . They later find out from Pierre Bezukhov that Anatole is already secretly married to a Polish woman . </P> <P> Andrei wants to take revenge on Kuragin, who flees after Pierre warns him . Not having found Kuragin and in the light of Napoleon's 1812 invasion, he decides to join the army again . When Kutuzov is appointed commander - in - chief, he offers Andrei a position in his personal staff . Andrei declines as he is a well - liked regimental commander, considering his role there to be more important than what he could possibly accomplish as a staff officer . </P> <P> During the Battle of Borodino he is hit by an exploding shell and seriously wounded in the stomach . While in agony, he sees Anatole, whose leg is amputated due to war wounds, and realizes that he has the capability to forgive both Anatole and Natasha, and that he still loves her . He is driven back to Moscow, where Sonya (Natasha's cousin) notices him when the Rostovs are helping transport wounded soldiers . Eventually, Natasha discovers, and they are reunited . She tries to nurse him back to his health . Although Prince Andrei's wounds begin to heal and health slowly returns, he eventually loses the will to live and dies in Natasha's care . </P> <P> Prince Andrei is one of the most elaborated personages in the novel, together with Count Pierre Bezukhov, to whom he serves as a philosophical opposite . He is introduced as a slightly cynical character, disillusioned in his marriage by what he sees as the simple - mindedness of his wife . He's depicted as an atheist, sceptical of his sister Marya's strong religious beliefs . </P>

Does prince andrei die in war and peace