Battle of Austerlitz
On 2 December 1805 — the first anniversary of his coronation — Napoleon fought and won what is widely regarded as his greatest tactical battle, defeating the combined Austro-Russian armies of the Third Coalition at Austerlitz in Moravia (modern Czech Republic). The Allied army of some 85,000, commanded by the Russian General Kutuzov but with Tsar Alexander I present and pressing for offensive action, outnumbered Napoleon's 73,000. Napoleon deliberately weakened his right flank to tempt the Allies into attacking it, massing their strength on his southern wing to envelop what appeared to be an exposed French position. Once the Allied centre — stripped of troops for the flanking movement — had thinned, Napoleon unleashed Marshal Soult's corps up the commanding Pratzen Heights and drove it through the Allied centre, splitting the army in two. The southern wing was driven into frozen ponds, where artillery fire broke the ice and drowned thousands; the northern wing was driven back in rout. Allied casualties exceeded 36,000 killed, wounded, or captured; French losses were around 9,000. Austria signed the Treaty of Pressburg within weeks, ceding Venetia, the Tyrol, and Vorarlberg, and withdrew from the war. The Third Coalition dissolved.
- Year: 1805 CE
- Category: Military
