Battle of Austerlitz - Brno - Czech Republic
Posted by: laranja
N 49° 07.687 E 016° 45.774
33U E 628609 N 5443194
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was Napoleon's greatest victory, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition and brought it to an end.
Waymark Code: WMAXPT
Location: Jihomoravský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/08/2011
Views: 114
The Battle of Austerlitz was Napoleon's greatest victory, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition and brought it to an end.
On 26 December 1805, Austria and France signed the Treaty of Pressburg, which took Austria out of the war, reinforced the earlier treaties of Campo Formio and Lunéville, made Austria cede land to Napoleon's German allies, and imposed an indemnity of 40 million francs on the defeated Habsburgs. Russian troops were allowed to head back to home soil. Victory at Austerlitz also permitted the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine, a collection of German states intended as a buffer zone between France and central Europe. In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist when Holy Roman Emperor Francis II kept Francis I of Austria as his only official title. These achievements, however, did not establish a lasting peace on the continent. Prussian worries about growing French influence in Central Europe sparked the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806.
Napoleon’s army was reduced to 70.000 men and had lost power, the planning and the terrain characteristics were crucial to win the battle.
He envisioned that the Allies would throw so many troops to envelop his right flank that their center would be severely weakened. He counted on a massive French thrust through the center to cripple the Allied army, to be conducted by 16,000 troops of Soult's IV Corps. Meanwhile, to support his weak right flank, Napoleon ordered Davout's III Corps to force march all the way from Vienna and join General Legrand's men, who held the extreme southern flank that would bear the heavy part of the Allied attack. Davout's soldiers had 48 hours to march 110 km (70 miles). Their arrival was crucial in determining the success of the French plan. The Imperial Guard and Bernadotte's I Corps were held in reserve while the V Corps under Lannes guarded the northern sector of the battlefield.
The Battle of Austerlitz is a major event in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. The battle serves as an episode to exalt Russian values and traditions of spirituality and modesty above the alleged crude logic and arrogance of the French.
Name of Battle: Battle of Austerlitz
Name of War: Napoleonic Wars
Parking: N 49° 07.670 W 016° 45.778
Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 12/02/1805
Date of Battle (End): 12/02/1805
Entrance Fee: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.
In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.