Napoleonic+Wars+–++Battle+of+Austerlitz

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Brenden Cain-BCain8@Gmail.com

In August 1805, Napoleon, Emperor of France since May of the previous year, turned his army's sights from the English Channel to the Rhine in order to deal with the new Austrian and Russian threats. On September 25, after great secrecy and feverish marching, 200,000 French troops began to cross the Rhine on a front of 260 km (160 miles).Napoleon hoped to swing his forces northward and perform a wheeling movement that would find the French at the Austrian rear. The Ulm Maneuver was well-executed and on October 20 Mack and 23,000 Austrian troops surrendered at Ulm, bringing the total number of Austrian prisoners in the campaign to 60,000.Although the spectacular victory was soured by the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar the following day, French success on land continued as Vienna fell in November, replete with 100,000 muskets, 500 cannon, and the intact bridges across the Danube.Meanwhile, the lateness of the arrival of Russian troops under Kutuzov prevented them from saving the Austrian field armies, so the Russians withdrew to the northeast to await reinforcements and to link up with surviving Austrian units.Prussian intentions were unknown and could be hostile, the Russian and Austrian armies now converged, and to add to the frustration,Napoleon realized that the only meaningful way to capitalize on the success at Ulm was to force the Allies to battle and defeat them. Napoleon could muster some 75,000 men and 157 guns for the impending battle, but about 7,000 troops under Davout were still far to the south in the direction of Vienna.[21] The Allies had about 73,000 soldiers, seventy percent of them Russian, and 318 guns.The northern part of the battlefield was dominated by the 700-foot (210 m) Santon hill and the 850-foot (260 m) Zuran hill, both overlooking the vital Olmutz .Brno road, which was on an east/west axis. To the west of these two hills was the village of Bellowitz, and between them the Bosenitz Stream went south to link up with the Goldbach Stream, the latter flowing astride the villages of Kobelnitz, Sokolnitz, and Telnitz. The centerpiece of the entire area were the Pratzen Heights, a gently sloping hill about 35 to 40 feet (11–12 m) in height. An aide noted that Napoleon repeatedly told his Marshals, "Gentlemen, examine this ground carefully, it is going to be a battlefield; you will have a part to play upon it".[|[]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Battle_of_Austerlitz%2C_Situation_at_1800%2C_1_December_1805.gif width="300" height="230" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Austerlitz,_Situation_at_1800,_1_December_1805.gif"]] [[image:http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png width="15" height="11" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Austerlitz,_Situation_at_1800,_1_December_1805.gif"]]Allied (red) and French (blue) deployments at 1800 hours on [|December 1] 1805. Look in "Warfare and Armed Conflicts" P230-235 On the morning of the 2nd, a thick fog initially covered the battlefield, conveniently assisting in hiding the French dispositions. At seven in the morning, the Allies launched their attacks against Tellnitz and Zoloknitz. Fighting back and forth, the villages changed hands over the next two hours, but by nine they were mostly in Allied control. However, at eight the mist had begun to rise and Napoleon spied the Allied troops moving towards the south.on the French left, everything had been quiet until 9:30, when the scene exploded into action. The soldiers under Lannes and Bagration exchanged attacks, and then Lichtenstein's cavalry moved in to decide the affair. Murat saw an opportunity and charged, and when the French cuirassiers slammed into the Allied cavalry, the sound of the impact was heard across the entire battle. The French V Corps continued to push forward, slowly but surely taking more ground and forcing the Allied line back. While the Allied line did not break, Bagration was nearly cut off from the Allied center by the forward movement of Lannes and Murat.With the situation going so well for the French, Napoleon decided to envelop and destroy Buxhowden's command of the Allied left. Ordering the French center to incline to the right and sever the Allied line, he then ordered Bernadotte to move and become the new French center. Grand Duke Constantine saw an opportunity for success with the French movement, and launched the Russian Imperial Guard into Vandamme's division. Two of Vandamme's batallions broke and fled, shouting "Vive l'Empereur!" but still running as their officers tried unsuccessfully to rally them. Napoleon responded by sending Bessières forward with the French Imperial Guard, and Bernadotte on his own initiative sent Drouet's division to attempt to stabilize the situation. Once the Russian Imperial Guard was pushed back, Napoleon sent his aide General Rapp to attack the Russian Imperial Guard with two squadrons of the Chasseurs of the Guards and one of the Mamelukes. In less than ten minutes the Russians broke with 500 dead and 200 taken prisoner, including the commander of the czar's personal escort, Prince Repnine. By now the Allied center had ceased to exist and the left had become completely isolated. As the French surrounded and pushed forward against the Allied left, Przbysewski's command surrendered and half of Langeron's force was isolated and taken prisoner. Doctorov was pushed back against frozen lakes, and in desperation he ordered his men to save themselves, with them scattering across the lakes for safety. The weight of so much artillery and so many horses was already a dangerous combination on the ice, and then the French began to bombard the fleeing soldiers, with the cannonballs beginning to crack the ice and adding more weight. Needless to say the ice broke, and many Russian soldiers fell into the lake and drowned. General Bagration had since realized that the battle was hopelessly lost, and managed to retreat in good order. Since his command was the only part of the Allied army still in decent condition, he formed the rear guard and began to hurry away from the battlefield as quickly as possible. Napoleon had won a decisive victory, and the legend of this victory would strike fear into his enemies for years to come. The French had lost 1305 killed, 6940 wounded, and 573 captured versus the Allies who had lost 11,000 Russians and 4000 Austrians killed, and 12,000 soldiers captured. The French also managed to take 180 cannons and 45 colors. The next day the Austrian emperor asked for an armistice, and the Russians continued to retreat back to their own territory. In the next few days Davout's III Corps overtook the retreating Russians and only suspended their attack when a handwritten note from the Czar Alexander stated that an armistice had been conducted with Napoleon. Davout was suspicious but allowed the Russians to retreat, and the czar was able to escape French capture through this lie. http://www.virtualarc.com/web/battles/austerlitz.html/ one of the greatest military engagements won by Napoleon. It took place near the village of Austerlitz (now Slavkov, Czech Republic) on Dec. 2, 1805, between a French army of about 68,000 and an Austro-Russian army of nearly 90,000. It is sometimes called the Battle of the Three Emperors because Napoleon, Francis I of Austria, and Alexander I of Russia were all present on the field. Napoleon had defeated the Austrians at Ulm in October and had occupied Vienna, the Austrian capital, in November, but part of the Austrian army remained intact and moved north to join its Russian ally at Olmütz (Olomouc) in Moravia. Napoleon followed, with the aim of winning a quick victory before Prussia could join the anti-French coalition and tip the scales against him. Napoleon advanced as far as Brünn (Brno) in late November and then retired a few miles, hoping that the Russian commander, Prince M. I. Kutuzov (1745–1813), would try to outflank him and cut off his line of retreat to Vienna. The anti-French allies thereupon occupied the Pratzen plateau west of Austerlitz and, on December 2, the Russians advanced to attack Napoleon’s right flank, as he had hoped they would. This attack and another by the Austrians on the left flank were both turned back. At that point, Napoleon sent his main force, under Marshal Nicolas Soult (1769–1851), against the allied center, which had been weakened to carry out the flanking movements. After a fierce struggle, the French broke the Austrian and Russian lines, and a complete rout ensued. The French lost 9000 men; the allies, about 25,000. As a result of this victory, the third coalition against Napoleon dissolved. http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=201841

**- With some major threats emerging from Russia and Austria, Napoleon decided to invade England during the summer of 1805, and turned to deal with some new major problems imerging. - 200,000 French troops departed their camps near Boulogne and - They crossed the Rhine along a 160-mile front on September 25. - Austrian General Karl Mack concentrated his army at the fortress of Ulm in Bavaria. - After winning a series of battles, Napoleon captured Mack and 23,000 men at Ulm on October 20. - On December 1, the Russian and Austrian leadership met to decide their next move. - Under pressure from their senior commanders, it was finally decided that an attack would be made against the French southern flank which would open a path to Vienna. - While moving forward, they adopted a plan devised by Austrian Chief of Staff Franz von Weyrother, which called for four columns to assault the southern flank. - The assult favored Napoleon - Anticipating that they would strike at his right, he thinned it to make it more alluring. - Believing that this assault would weaken the Allied center, he planned on a massive counterattack in this area to shatter their lines, while Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout's III Corps came up from Vienna to support the right. - Around 8:00 AM on December 2, the first Allied columns began hitting the French right near the village of Telnitz. - Taking the village, they threw the French back across Goldbach Stream. Moving to the attack, they recaptured Telnitz, but were driven out by Allied cavalry. - The following Allied column attacked Sokonitz and they were hurt badly. - The French kept moving. They took over Sokonitz but later had it taken. - Around 8:45 on December 2, Napoleon thought about attacking the enemy lines atop Pratzen Heights - He stated that "One sharp blow and the war is over." - He ordered an assult at 9:00 a.m - After being halted one time, he captured Pratzen Heights - From the Heights, Napoleon ordered another attack on General Dominique Vandamme, who had just defeated Napoleons Allied forces. - Napoleon won this battle, and decided to turn south - He set up an attack at St. Hilaire's division and part of Davout's corps in a two-pronged attack on Sokolnitz. - Allied troops started to flee the field after having a collapse at St Hailaire's division - Napoleon's greatest victory at Austerlitz pretty much ended the War of the Third Coalition. - With hardly any land, Austria took one last blow and agreed to make a treaty called the Treaty of Pressburg. - Napoleon then set camp in southern Germany - He abolished the Holy Roman Empire and made the Confederation of the Rhine as a buffer state between France and Prussia. - The french lossed 1,305 at the Battle of Austerlitz, while the Allied forces lost 15,000 - Austerlitz is known as the battle of the three emperors. - http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/napoleonicwars/p/austerlitz.htm - http://www.answers.com/topic/battle-of-austerlitz-1
 * Harrison Bachman- nygiants4ever13@aim.com 11hbachman@gmail.com

www.britishbattles.com/. ../austerlitz-2.jpg Justin Butz Gmail account- JButz26@Gmail.com
 * Napoleon meeting the Emperor of Austria after the Battle of Austerlitz, 1805

Battle of Austerlitz December 2, 1805

** French victory. Unable to prevent the Russian and Austrian armies from linking up, [|Napoleon] ordered La Grande Armée to fall back and selected an area near the town of Austerlitz to make a stand. Next Napoleon sent his aide [|Savary] to negotiate an armistice and deceive the Allies into thinking that the French lacked confidence, and in the meantime his soldiers prepared defensive positions. On December 1st, the Allied army arrived with many of its commanders excited about the possibility of destroying the French army. After heated discussions, the Austrian Chief of Staff General Weyrother's plan was accepted as the course of action. Seeing the overextended wing on the French right, General Buxhowden would launch a series of columns in force against that wing and turn it, rolling the French back northward. On the Allied right, [|General Bagration] would press forward and hit the French from that side, while the center would hold steady and keep the two wings linked. The Russian Imperial Guard, commanded by the czar's brother Constantine, would be held in reserve and respond where it was most needed. On the other side, Napoleon was ecstatic when he saw the movements of the enemy army. He had purposely weakened and spread out his right flank in the hopes of enticing as many enemy units to that side of the battlefield as possible. Only [|Legrand's] division of [|Soult's] IV Corps formed the right, but [|Davout's] III Corps was enduring forced marches to arrive at the battlefield by the next morning. Napoleon's plan called for the right flank to hold its ground as well as possible, forcing the Allies to commit more and more troops to that flank. Then, when the time was right and most of the Allied troops were engaged on one of the two wings, the other divisions of IV Corps would storm the Pratzen Heights in the center, smashing the Allied center and breaking their line. On the left, [|Lannes'] V Corps supported by [|Murat's] cavalry was ordered to not attack too forcefully to ensure the Allies would not send reinforcements to that side. Instead, Lannes was to contain Bagration, engaging his troops as much as necessary to ensure they could not interfere with the assault on the center. [|Bernadotte's] I Corps would form up on the center left, able to assist with either the center or the left. [|Oudinot's] grenadier division, temporarily commanded by both [|Duroc] and Oudinot, and the Imperial Guard were held in reserve.

That night, as Napoleon rode among his troops, the French soldiers lit torches and shouted, "Vive l'Empereur!" despite having orders to not light torches and give away their positions. The fact that the battle would be fought on the anniversary of Napoleon's coronation was not lost on the soldiers, and morale was high after the impromptu procession. On the morning of the 2nd, a thick fog initially covered the battlefield, conveniently assisting in hiding the French dispositions. At seven in the morning, the Allies launched their attacks against Tellnitz and Zoloknitz. Fighting back and forth, the villages changed hands over the next two hours, but by nine they were mostly in Allied control. However, at eight the mist had begun to rise and Napoleon spied the Allied troops moving towards the south. "How long will it take you to move your divisions to the top of the Pratzen Heights?" Napoleon asked Soult. "Less than twenty minutes, sire," was Soult's response, and so Napoleon waited another fifteen minutes before giving the order to attack. Once unleashed, [|Vandamme] and [|St. Hilaire's] divisions quickly moved up and assaulted the heights. [|Kutusov] immediately noticed the movement and tried to reverse Kollowrat's column, but it was too late for enough troops to arrive to stem the French onslaught. Meanwhile, on the French left, everything had been quiet until 9:30, when the scene exploded into action. The soldiers under Lannes and Bagration exchanged attacks, and then Lichtenstein's cavalry moved in to decide the affair. Murat saw an opportunity and charged, and when the French cuirassiers slammed into the Allied cavalry, the sound of the impact was heard across the entire battle. The French V Corps continued to push forward, slowly but surely taking more ground and forcing the Allied line back. While the Allied line did not break, Bagration was nearly cut off from the Allied center by the forward movement of Lannes and Murat. Back in the center, St. Hilaire's division endured attacks on three sides but managed to hold the line together until Soult was able to rush artillery forward to support him. With that crisis averted, the Pratzen Heights were firmly in French hands. On the right, earlier in the morning Napoleon had sent Oudinot's grenadier division to support that flank. The right was soon in better shape as the Allied attacks stalled as the Allies awaited orders and shifted objectives to deal with the unexpected situation in the center. With the situation going so well for the French, Napoleon decided to envelop and destroy Buxhowden's command of the Allied left. Ordering the French center to incline to the right and sever the Allied line, he then ordered Bernadotte to move and become the new French center. Grand Duke Constantine saw an opportunity for success with the French movement, and launched the Russian Imperial Guard into Vandamme's division. Two of Vandamme's batallions broke and fled, shouting "Vive l'Empereur!" but still running as their officers tried unsuccessfully to rally them. Napoleon responded by sending [|Bessières] forward with the French Imperial Guard, and Bernadotte on his own initiative sent Drouet's division to attempt to stabilize the situation. Once the Russian Imperial Guard was pushed back, Napoleon sent his aide [|General Rapp] to attack the Russian Imperial Guard with two squadrons of the Chasseurs of the Guards and one of the Mamelukes. In less than ten minutes the Russians broke with 500 dead and 200 taken prisoner, including the commander of the czar's personal escort, Prince Repnine. As Rapp led the prisoners back to Napoleon, Napoleon remarked, "Many fine ladies of St. Petersburg will lament this day," and this scene was later commemorated in the famous painting of the battle. By now the Allied center had ceased to exist and the left had become completely isolated. As the French surrounded and pushed forward against the Allied left, Przbysewski's command surrendered and half of [|Langeron's] force was isolated and taken prisoner. [|Doctorov] was pushed back against frozen lakes, and in desperation he ordered his men to save themselves, with them scattering across the lakes for safety. The weight of so much artillery and so many horses was already a dangerous combination on the ice, and then the French began to bombard the fleeing soldiers, with the cannonballs beginning to crack the ice and adding more weight. Needless to say the ice broke, and many Russian soldiers fell into the lake and drowned. General Bagration had since realized that the battle was hopelessly lost, and managed to retreat in good order. Since his command was the only part of the Allied army still in decent condition, he formed the rear guard and began to hurry away from the battlefield as quickly as possible. Napoleon had won a decisive victory, and the legend of this victory would strike fear into his enemies for years to come. The French had lost 1305 killed, 6940 wounded, and 573 captured versus the Allies who had lost 11,000 Russians and 4000 Austrians killed, and 12,000 soldiers captured. The French also managed to take 180 cannons and 45 colors. The next day the Austrian emperor asked for an armistice, and the Russians continued to retreat back to their own territory. In the next few days Davout's III Corps overtook the retreating Russians and only suspended their attack when a handwritten note from the Czar Alexander stated that an armistice had been conducted with Napoleon. Davout was suspicious but allowed the Russians to retreat, and the czar was able to escape French capture through this lie.http://www.virtualarc.com/web/battles/austerlitz.html/


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