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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>
The allies decided that they would stand and fight at the small village of Austerlitz, here they had secured some high ground and waited for the French to approach. The allies waited for Napoleon’s army with some 88,000 men, they were well supplied with cavalry and cannons. The majority of the forces were Russian.<ref> Abbott, John, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1406503789/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1406503789&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=615da9fc619688fe3b53fbdc93125792 Life of Napoleon Bonaparte]. Kessinger Publishing, London, 2005, 349</ref>. Both the Austrian and the Russian army was organized in a manner very similar to the eighteenth century. The main unit of organization was the regiment and they were all commanded by aristocrats. Nearly all of the officers were aristocrats and they maintained a strict discipline in their units and physical punishment for even slight infringements were common. The French arrived at Austerlitz, with a force of approximately 72,000 men. This was smaller than the Russian and Austrians but they were among the finest and most experienced soldiers in Europe and they were highly motivated by their officers and Napoleon. Unlike the allies’ officers, they had all received their commission based on merit. The French officer corps was generally better than the allies and this was a direct result of Napoleon’s reform and reorganization of the previously undisciplined French Revolutionary armies.<ref>Abbot, p. 124</ref>
==Battle of Austerlitz==
