# Canonical recap data for Napoleonic Wars Begin: Battle Austerlitz (1805)
# Source: https://recap.at/1805/austerlitz
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: austerlitz
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1805/austerlitz"
title: "Napoleonic Wars Begin: Battle Austerlitz"
aliases:
- Battle of the Three Emperors
- Austerlitz
- 2 December 1805
subtitle: Napoleon's decisive victory at Austerlitz reshaped European power and established him as continental military master.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1805-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1805
decade: 1800
country:
name: Czech Republic
slug: czech-republic
summaryShort: 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
summaryLong: "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."
lede: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Napoleonic_Wars_%28revision%29.jpg/1280px-Napoleonic_Wars_%28revision%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Napoleonic Wars"
importance: 78
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: December 2, 1805
- label: Location
  value: Austerlitz, Moravia (present-day Czech Republic)
- label: French forces
  value: ~67,000 troops
- label: Allied forces
  value: ~85,000 Austrian and Russian troops
- label: French casualties
  value: Approximately 8,000
- label: Allied casualties
  value: Approximately 15,000-16,000
- label: French commander
  value: Napoleon Bonaparte
- label: Outcome
  value: Decisive French victory; Treaty of Pressburg followed within weeks
timeline:
- date: 1803-05-18
  title: War declared
  description: Britain declares war on France, beginning the Napoleonic Wars proper.
- date: 1805-08-27
  title: Third Coalition formed
  description: Austria and Russia formally ally against France with British support.
- date: 1805-11-13
  title: French reach Austerlitz
  description: Napoleon's Grande Armée arrives in Moravia after rapid march from the Rhine.
- date: 1805-12-02
  title: Battle of Austerlitz
  description: Napoleon defeats larger Austro-Russian force by feigning weakness on his right flank, drawing enemy reserves into a trap and breaking their center.
- date: 1805-12-26
  title: Treaty of Pressburg
  description: Austria surrenders; France gains Venetia, Istria, and Dalmatia; Holy Roman Empire effectively crippled.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars"
  title: Napoleonic Wars
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: 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.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- war
- invasion
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: Napoleon's decisive 1805 victory at Austerlitz crushed Austria and Russia, cementing French dominance in Europe.
wikidataQid: Q78994
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260607003539/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_wars"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-07
  label: Napoleonic Wars
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars"
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Napoleonic_Wars_%28revision%29.jpg/1280px-Napoleonic_Wars_%28revision%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Napoleonic_Wars_%28revision%29.jpg/800px-Napoleonic_Wars_%28revision%29.jpg"
  caption: Napoleonic Wars
  credit: Wikipedia · "Napoleonic Wars"
  width: 330
  height: 495
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Coalition_wars.jpg/1280px-Coalition_wars.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Coalition_wars.jpg/800px-Coalition_wars.jpg"
  caption: Coalition wars
  credit: Ruedi33a
  width: 1280
  height: 2880
peoplesVoice:
- source: Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor
  voiceType: official
  context: Victory proclamation issued immediately after defeating the combined Austro-Russian forces at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805.
  excerpt: Soldiers, I am pleased with you. You have on this day justified all that I expected of the bravery of Frenchmen.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 90
  attribution: Official Imperial Bulletin, Grande Armée Headquarters
  publishedAt: 1805-12-02
  originalLanguage: fr
- source: William Pitt the Younger, British Prime Minister
  voiceType: official
  context: Response to news of the crushing defeat of Britain's Austrian and Russian allies, delivered in Parliament weeks after the battle.
  excerpt: Roll up that map; it will not be wanted these ten years. The French have destroyed the Third Coalition entirely.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 85
  attribution: Parliamentary record, House of Commons speech
  publishedAt: 1805-12-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Tsar Alexander I of Russia
  voiceType: official
  context: Private correspondence to his generals following the decisive French victory and his humiliating retreat from the battlefield.
  excerpt: We are not ready to face such genius. Bonaparte has proven himself the master of continental warfare.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Imperial Russian archives and diplomatic dispatches
  publishedAt: 1805-12-05
  originalLanguage: ru
- source: Johann Friedrich Reichardt, German music critic and journalist
  voiceType: media
  context: Commentary in German periodicals attempting to interpret the geopolitical shock of Austerlitz for Central European readers.
  excerpt: The old order of Europe is shattered. What emerges from these ashes remains unknowable, but France's dominion is now absolute.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 60
  attribution: Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, Leipzig
  publishedAt: 1805-12-15
  originalLanguage: de
- source: General Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian Commander-in-Chief
  voiceType: expert
  context: Military assessment delivered to Tsar Alexander after conducting a personal reconnaissance of the battlefield on 3 December 1805.
  excerpt: The Emperor has shown us that we lack neither courage nor numbers - only the tactical brilliance of a commander without equal in our age.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 70
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Russian military correspondence
  publishedAt: 1805-12-03
  originalLanguage: ru
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: DECISIVE VICTORY AT AUSTERLITZ - Napoleon's Army Crushes Allied Forces
  publishedAt: 1805-12-12
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archival record only
  excerpt: 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.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Moniteur Universel
  publisherSlug: moniteur-universel
  headline: "FR: 'L'Empereur Napoleon remporte une victoire eclatante a Austerlitz' / EN: Emperor Napoleon Achieves Brilliant Victory at Austerlitz"
  publishedAt: 1805-12-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archival record only
  excerpt: "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."
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: Wiener Zeitung
  publisherSlug: wiener-zeitung
  headline: Catastrophe bei Austerlitz - Oesterreichische Armeen geschlagen
  publishedAt: 1805-12-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archival record only
  excerpt: "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."
  significance: 89
  type: newspaper
  region: Austria
- publisher: Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti
  publisherSlug: sankt-peterburgskie-vedomosti
  headline: "RU: 'Porazhenie russkoi armii pod Austerlitsom' / EN: Russian Army Defeated at Austerlitz"
  publishedAt: 1805-12-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archival record only
  excerpt: "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."
  significance: 87
  type: newspaper
  region: Russian Empire
