Austerlitz

The Allied battle plan envisioned crushing the French right flank and then rolling up the French line. Around 8:00 AM on December 2, the first Allied columns began hitting the French right near the villages of Telnitz, Sokolnitz and the …

1805-12-02

EPIC01

The Allied battle plan envisioned crushing the French right flank and then rolling up the French line. Around 8:00 AM on December 2, the first Allied columns began hitting the French right near the villages of Telnitz, Sokolnitz and the castle. Taking the villages, they threw the French back across Goldbach Stream. The French, led by Davout’s corps, counterattacked successfully. The Allies drew off most of their strength in the center to regain the initiative, and fighting around Sokolnitz raged throughout the day. Believing that the Allied center had been sufficiently weakened, Napoleon ordered Soult forward. Advancing through the morning fog, General Louis de Saint-Hilaire’s division attacked up the heights and was thrown back after bitter fighting. Charging again, they managed to capture the heights. To their north, the Allies struck Vandamme’s position with the Russian Imperial Guards cavalry and infantry. Storming forward, they had some success before Napoleon committed his own heavy Guards cavalry to the fray, forcing the Russians to retreat. At the northern end of the battlefield, Prince Liechtenstein led Allied cavalry against Kellermann’s light cavalry who fell back behind Lannes’ infantry. Lannes then moved forward against Prince Pyotr Bagration’s Russian infantry. Engaging in a hard fight, Lannes forced the Russians to retreat from the battlefield. To complete the victory, Napoleon turned south in a two-pronged attack, enveloping the Allied position. The Allied left collapsed. Those formations that did not surrender dissolved as the survivors fled en masse.

Austerlitz, Austria

The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. In what is widely regarded as the greatest victory achieved by Napoleon, the Grande Armée of France defeated a larger Russian and Austrian army led by Emperor Alexander I and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in the Austrian Empire. Austerlitz brought the War of the Third Coalition to a rapid end, with the Treaty of Pressburg signed by the Austrians later in the month. The battle is often cited as a tactical masterpiece, in the same league as other historic engagements like Cannae or Gaugamela.

Wikipedia: Battle of Austerlitz

French

Russians/Austrains

Third Coalition