Hans and Charles, while crossing a river (Berezina map), were separated from their unit when the bridge was blown up. Charles remained on the bank with the soldiers, but Hans didn't make it across. Our Bavarian was no pushover; he understood that if he didn't cross the bridge by any means necessary, the evil spirits would devour him. The decision was made to jump into the water and swim the rest of the way. But as it turned out (most obviously), the soldiers on the other bank didn't like being held up because of one soldier, so they set off on their own, abandoning Charles and Hans.
Friends help each other, protecting each other from zombies and the elements. Standing still was dangerous, so they began looking for a place to spend the night and wandered into a neighboring village.
In the village, they knocked on the door of a strange, long house. It turned out to be the emergency room of the district doctor, Boniface Igorevich. The man admitted the soldiers, warmed them up, and got them talking. During the conversation, it became clear that a soldier had also visited him earlier. The Russian soldier looked very stern and didn't speak, only writing on a piece of paper. His handwriting revealed a feminine nature, but the doctor thought the stranger simply enjoyed calligraphy.
The soldier's story intrigued the boys, and they decided to find him and have him lead them to the Russian troops. There, they would be captured and sent back to the French forces as separate units.
Boniface himself acquired the nickname "Boni" because of his long name.
