Battle of Austerlitz

At the Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805), during Napoleonic War of the Third Coalition, a French force of approximately 73,000 under Napoleon decisively defeated a joint Russo-Austrian force of over 89,000, commanded by Russian General Kutuzov with General von Weyrother commanding the Austrian contingent. The Battle of Austerlitz followed on Napoleon's significant defeat of the Austrian General Mack at Ulm. In an unprecedentedly (for that era) rapid concentration of French forces, Napoleon essentially defeated Mack by maneuver, resulting in the surrender of a major Austrian force protecting the northern approach to Vienna, and subsequently leading to the capture of the Austrian capital.

Napoleon used an unusual flanking maneuver at Austerlitz. When Kutuzov's forces attacked, Napoleon allowed his right flank to weaken somewhat before strengthening it with reinforcements to keep it from collapsing. While the enemy was busy hammering away at the right flank, Napoleon ordered a direct frontal assault by 17,000 troops on the now-weakened center. Kutuzov's forces, who had expected French counterattacks to be flanking side maneuvers, were surprised at the frontal attack, and the center was routed after heavy fighting. With the center broken, the Russo-Austrian armies on the side flanks were cut off from each other, and soon those armies also retreated.

The French suffered 9,000 casualties and the Russo-Austrian armies lost about 25,000 men that where killed, wounded or captured. The Russians withdrew from Austria and the Austrians signed the Treaty of Pressburg (26 December 1805), conceding substantial territories to the French.

Austerlitz is sometimes known as the "Battle of Three Emperors" because it represented the clash of Napoleon I, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire on the battlefield [were they on the field or merely in the theater?].

See also: Napoleonic Wars

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