The Battle of the Cowshed takes place in Chapter Four when Jones and his men try to recapture the farm. During the ensuing battle, the behavior of certain animals reveals much about their characters.
Snowball, for example, plans the battle tactics by reading a book on Julius Caesar's military campaigns and takes an active role in the fighting. This shows he is a natural leader and is committed to the principle of equality, as he fights alongside the other animals. His reaction to the death of the humans, however, illustrates he is a committed Animalist who still believes humans are the enemy:
War is war! The only good human is a dead one.
In contrast, Boxer's reaction to killing a human during the battle illustrates his soft and sensitive nature. He is overcome with regret and struggles to accept that his actions were justified, regardless of provocation:
I had no intention of doing that… I have no wish to take life, not even human life.
Mollie disappears as soon as the first gunshot is fired. Terrified of fighting and lacking courage, Mollie runs away from the battle and hides among the hay in the manger. She has no interest in fighting the humans, or anybody else — she simply wants peace.
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