La Bataille d'Austerlitz

The decaying duchies and tyrannical monarchies of a partitioned Europe had been in turmoil ever since Citizens of the Third Estate has established the French Republic. After the crowning of Napoleon Bonapart as Empereur of the French in 1804, England began hatching a new plot to thwart the will of the common man to be free.

The British Prime Minister, elected via the pocket borough corruptness of the parliamentary system, had united the diverse interests of Austria and Russia by the use of English Gold. By bringing birth to the Third Coalition, the petty princes of the two ramshackle empires mobilised armies for war. This was to be a conflict to re-establish the social order and privileges of the Ancien Regime. England however, would typically limit its involvement to financing the campaign and futile attempts to enrich herself by stealing some of Spain's colonies.

Napoleon, witnessing the Austrians marching up the Danube valley and the Russians hurrying to their aid, knew that only a bold offensive could save French territory. Napoleon marched the Grande Armée from the camp of Boulogne south-eastwards towards Austria. Coordinating the movements of his corps in a huge arc, stretching from Bavaria to Alsace, the French moved at unheard of speed. The French rapidly encircled the Austrian army of General Mack, standing at the recently seized stronghold of Ulm. Mack's army faced westwards in anticipation of the French debouching through the Black Forest to the west. When the French descended from the North and East, General Mack was taken completely by surprise. Due in large measure to the heroic efforts of Marshal Ney[1] at Elchingen, the Austrians were unable to break out of the encirclement and were forced to file in captivity[2]. The unfortunate General Mack was later imprisoned by Kaiser Franz for his efforts.

Suddenly, without a battle being fought, the western most Allied Army had been decisively defeated. The Third Coalition was now on the defensive. Except for a minor naval victory [3] they were being thrown back on all fronts. In Italy Marshal Messena was containing Price Charles' expansionist dreams. Even the anti-republican zeal of a neutral Prussia's Queen Louise had been cooled by the sudden turn of events. Queen Louise was, as Napoleon said, "The only real man in Prussia" and had a great deal of influence in that state.

The Empereur did not hesitate, but launched his army eastward in an attempt to envelope and destroy the Russian Vanguard under Price Kutuzov [4]. The leading French troops, under the leadership of Napoleon's cavalry general, Marshal Murat, had a golden opportunity to trap the Russians when Marshal Lannes seized the main bridge over the Danube in a stunning coup de main. Marshal Murat decided to capture the open city of Vienna instead, letting the Russian's escape. Napoleon rested in the Kaiser's Palace and attended van Beethoven's new opera, Fidelio. After some sharp rearguard actions conducted by Price Bagration, the Russian Army retreated to the northeast into Moravia, where they were joined by the remnants of the Austrian Army.

The French were now in a critical situation. The extended lines of communication and foul weather had exacted a serious toll and as late November the Allies actually outnumbered the French in Moravia. The Czar visited Berlin and signed a treaty causing the Prussians to "mediate" in the war with 180,000 men. The King of Prussia, very timidly decided to wait until December 15^th to begin hostilities. Napoleon needed a victory very badly as even the spectators on the bourse began to doubt his destiny and French bonds fell seven points.

Napoleon ordered his army to retreat a few miles, giving the impression that he feared the Allies. In spite of the advice of Kutuzov to wait, the young advisors to the Czar won the day and the Allies advanced to the attack. After many interminable councils of war, the Allies compromised on a plan. They would use the classic Eighteenth-century oblique order in an attempt to turn the French right flank and cut them off from Vienna, the French supply base. General Buxhowden, with a large part of Allied army, would lead the assault on the left through Tellnitz and Sokolnitz. Kollowrath would hold the centre on the Pratzen heights and Generals Lichtenstein and Bagration guarded the Russian right flank and the road back to Russia. The reserve of the Russian Imperial Guard under Grand Duke Constantine with the Czar would be ready to exploit any success. The combined Allied might would send this "little man in a grey coat" scurrying back to Paris.

He had retreated to this area and given up the Pratzen heights deliberately to entice the Allies into foolishly attacking, hopefully on the French right flank. This was held seemingly very weakly, but unknown to the Allies, Marshal Davout's troops were force marching north from Vienna and would arrive to reinforce the French. The bulk of the French Army was massed on the left in dense manoeuvrable columns of divisions.

The second of December dawned cold and foggy. The allies soon got underway and the large unwieldy mass of the left flank advanced towards the French right. The vanguard was held up at the Goldbach stream and the villages of Sokolnitz and Tellnitz. Just when they were about to break through and gain enough room to deploy. Friant's division of Davout's corps forced march to the rescue. The trailing columns of Buxhowden's corps jammed into those in front, unable to join the battle. Kollowrath also moved off to the left. Leaving the vital heights of the Pratzen empty, as the sun rose, burning away the fog.

Napoleon had the situation exactly as he wanted with both Allied flanks engaged, for Bagration had moved forward into the French under Lannes and Murat, leaving a void in the Allied centre. Napoleon unleashed the troops in the centre and Vandammes' and St. Hilaire's divisions, with the drums beating the pas-de-charge and advancing at revolutionary quickstep, soon swept all before them and were masters of the Pratzen, separating the Allied wings. The Allies made desperate attempts to dislodge these troops by launching Miloradovitch and Kollowrath at the French before the Guard and Oudinot's grenadiers could reinforce the two divisions of Soult. These uncoordinated attacks were defeated but the crises of the battle was reached when the Russian Imperial Guard advanced, bayonets at the ready. They were met with cries of "vivre l'Empereur"/span> and masses volleys, routing the parade ground servants of the Czar. General Rapp personally led the Chasseurs a Cheval of the Guard in a charge which threw back the Chevalier Lifeguard of the Russians, capturing their standard. Now that the Allied centre had been vanquished, Napoleon wheeled Soult's and Oudinot's troops to the south onto the corps of Buxhowden. Vainly attempting to form a new line to the north General Langeron's division was smashed and driven south across the frozen lakes, along with the rest of the Allied left. The artillery of the Guard wreaked havoc, especially as when the Allies fled across the lake, as the cannon balls broke the ice.

After a prolonged battle on the French left, in which most of both sides' cavalry reserves were occupied, Lannes emerged victorious. He was unable to get through the cavalry screen to the routing Russian formations which choked the roads leading eastwards.

The Allies were demoralised, having suffered four times the casualties of the French, and winter retreat through Moravia reaped even more. Czar Alexander agreed to Austria making a separate peace. Prussia decided to begin demobilising their army, and the remnants of the Russian army pulled back into the occupied territory of Poland. Peace, honour, and freedom were declared the victors, while civilised men of Europe proclaimed themselves justly rid of the once feared Oriental hoard.

Marshal Enterprises, 1980, footnotes by Nigel Barry 2010