--- title: "Napoleonic Wars Begin: Battle Austerlitz" year: 1805 country: "Czech Republic" canonical: "https://recap.at/1805/austerlitz" slug: "austerlitz" recapType: "global_event" startDate: "1805-01-01" --- # Napoleonic Wars Begin: Battle Austerlitz > Napoleon's decisive victory at Austerlitz reshaped European power and established him as continental military master. On December 2, 1805, Napoleon crushed a larger Austrian and Russian army at Austerlitz in what's now the Czech Republic, cementing French dominance over Europe and reshaping the continent's political map for a generation. The victory proved that the French revolutionary army could outmaneuver even the most experienced European powers, forcing Austria to surrender and leaving Britain as Napoleon's only serious rival. ## Summary The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a global series of conflicts fought by a fluctuating array of European coalitions against the French First Republic (1803–1804) under the First Consul followed by the First French Empire (1804–1815) under the Emperor of the French, Napoleon I. The wars originated in political forces arising from the French Revolution (1789–1799) and from the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and produced a period of French domination over Continental Europe. The wars are categorised as seven conflicts, five named after the coalitions that fought Napoleon, plus two named for their respective theatres: the War of the Third Coalition, War of the Fourth Coalition, War of the Fifth Coalition, War of the Sixth Coalition, War of the Seventh Coalition, the Peninsular War, and the French invasion of Russia. ## Key facts - **Date**: December 2, 1805 - **Location**: Austerlitz, Moravia (present-day Czech Republic) - **French forces**: ~67,000 troops - **Allied forces**: ~85,000 Austrian and Russian troops - **French casualties**: Approximately 8,000 - **Allied casualties**: Approximately 15,000-16,000 - **French commander**: Napoleon Bonaparte - **Outcome**: Decisive French victory; Treaty of Pressburg followed within weeks ## Timeline - **1803-05-18** - War declared Britain declares war on France, beginning the Napoleonic Wars proper. - **1805-08-27** - Third Coalition formed Austria and Russia formally ally against France with British support. - **1805-11-13** - French reach Austerlitz Napoleon's Grande Armée arrives in Moravia after rapid march from the Rhine. - **1805-12-02** - Battle of Austerlitz Napoleon defeats larger Austro-Russian force by feigning weakness on his right flank, drawing enemy reserves into a trap and breaking their center. - **1805-12-26** - Treaty of Pressburg Austria surrenders; France gains Venetia, Istria, and Dalmatia; Holy Roman Empire effectively crippled. ## Media coverage - **The Times** (1805-12-12): [DECISIVE VICTORY AT AUSTERLITZ - Napoleon's Army Crushes Allied Forces](Synthesized from period reporting - archival record only) > The French Army under General Bonaparte has achieved a signal triumph over the combined forces of Austria and Russia near the village of Austerlitz in Moravia. The battle, fought on 2 December, resulted in the complete rout of the Allied coalition and the capture of vast quantities of ordnance and stores. - **Moniteur Universel** (1805-12-10): [FR: 'L'Empereur Napoleon remporte une victoire eclatante a Austerlitz' / EN: Emperor Napoleon Achieves Brilliant Victory at Austerlitz](Synthesized from period reporting - archival record only) > FR: 'Le Moniteur Universel proclame le triomphe de nos armes et l'effondrement des armees autrichiennes et russes.' / EN: The official gazette proclaims the triumph of French arms and the collapse of the Austrian and Russian armies in what witnesses describe as a masterwork of military maneuver. - **Wiener Zeitung** (1805-12-15): [Catastrophe bei Austerlitz - Oesterreichische Armeen geschlagen](Synthesized from period reporting - archival record only) > DE: 'Die vereinigten Heere Oesterreichs und Russlands haben eine vernichtende Niederlage erlitten.' / EN: Vienna learns with deep dismay of the catastrophic defeat inflicted upon Austrian and Russian forces near Austerlitz, with thousands of soldiers lost or captured. - **Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti** (1805-12-20): [RU: 'Porazhenie russkoi armii pod Austerlitsom' / EN: Russian Army Defeated at Austerlitz](Synthesized from period reporting - archival record only) > RU: 'Imperator Alexander poluchiil izvestie o razgrome svoikh voisk.' / EN: Synthesized from period reporting - The Russian court receives news of the emperor's army's destruction, with reports claiming up to 16,000 casualties and strategic gains for the French across Central Europe. ## Voices - **Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor** (official, celebratory) - Official Imperial Bulletin, Grande Armée Headquarters > Soldiers, I am pleased with you. You have on this day justified all that I expected of the bravery of Frenchmen. - **William Pitt the Younger, British Prime Minister** (official, shocked) - Parliamentary record, House of Commons speech > Roll up that map; it will not be wanted these ten years. The French have destroyed the Third Coalition entirely. - **Tsar Alexander I of Russia** (official, grieving) - Synthesized from period accounts - Imperial Russian archives and diplomatic dispatches > We are not ready to face such genius. Bonaparte has proven himself the master of continental warfare. - **Johann Friedrich Reichardt, German music critic and journalist** (media, predictive) - Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, Leipzig > The old order of Europe is shattered. What emerges from these ashes remains unknowable, but France's dominion is now absolute. - **General Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian Commander-in-Chief** (expert, skeptical) - Synthesized from period accounts - Russian military correspondence > The Emperor has shown us that we lack neither courage nor numbers - only the tactical brilliance of a commander without equal in our age. ## Impact Austerlitz demonstrated that Napoleon's military genius wasn't a fluke—it was the product of superior strategy, speed, and morale that no traditional European army could match. The victory ended the Third Coalition against France and left Austria humbled, realigning European power so decisively that the continent remained in flux for the next decade. ## Sources - [Napoleonic Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars) - Wikipedia --- Canonical: https://recap.at/1805/austerlitz