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The Battle of Austerlitz also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors was one of the most important battles in European History. It was also Napoleon’s greatest victory. At the battle, Napoleon’s employed a brilliant strategy to defeat the combined forces of the Russian and the Austrian Empires. The victory of the French stunned Europe and meant that they were masters of Europe, for a brief period of time. This article will discuss the reasons for the French victory, this will include Napoleon's military genius, the superiority of the French army and poor Allied decision-making.

==The Preparations==

The Allies leadership was divided.<ref>Fisher, Todd & Fremont-Barnes Gregory, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYHOVVZ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01LYHOVVZ&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=286956cb7b56cd3271bf57ffab84c6ca The Napoleonic Wars: The Rise and Fall of an Empire]</i> (Pelican, London, 1987), p. 33</ref> The Austrian and the Russian Emperors were present at the battle and they had a great influence on the commanders. General Kutsov, the Russian commander in chief, correctly believed that Napoleon’s forces were running low on supplies and that together with the weather, that his army would soon be in difficulties and then ready for an allied attack possibly in the Spring, the Austrian Emperor agreed with his strategy. The Tsar over-ruled General Kutuzov and the Austrian Emperor was in a weak position after the defeat at Ulm and the loss of his capital. Napoleon wanted the allies to fight him in a battle and he pretended to want peace negotiations.<ref> Fischer and Fremont-Barnes, p. 137</ref> He was not sincere and did not want to peace. This fooled some of the allies and persuaded them that they should attack Napoleon immediately. The wily Kutuzov knew that it was a trap and he counseled for a more cautious approach. He lost out, once again and the allies agreed that once they made contact with the French army they would stand and fight.<ref>Chandler, p. 411</ref>

==Battle of Austerlitz==

The two armies faced each other at Austerlitz on the 1st of December 1805. The allies made an attack against the French right. This was what Napoleon had expected, he had deliberately weakened it so as to entice the allies into an attack on this area. He simply ordered his right to hold on for as long as possible. The Allies initially made some headway and they drove the French from a small hamlet, but the French right retreated in an orderly manner and inflicted heavy casualties on the Russians and the Austrians. The French artillery was very accurate and efficient and it managed to at first slow the allies and later stopped their attack on the right. A Corps under Davout then arrived and bolstered the right. Napoleon saw that the allies had weakened their center in order to attack his right.

Napoleon placed Lannes's V Corps at the northern end of the line, and Claude Legrand's Corps men at the southern end. He then placed Soult’s IV Corps in the center and this strengthened it greatly. This was a very complex maneuver but it was carried out efficiently and speedily thanks to the efficiency of the '''Grand Armee''' corps system. Then Napoleon ordered a corps under Davout to attack his right flank and this caught the allies by surprise, the Russian commander was drunk and soon the allies were in full retreat in this sector<ref> Chandler, p. 415</ref>.

*[[How did Winston Churchill become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in World War Two?]]

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==Reference==

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[[Category:Wikis]]

[[Category:German History]] [[Category:Military History]][[Category:European History]][[Category:Russian History]][[Category:French History]]