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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.

==Background==

Napoleon after a string of brilliant victories had made himself Emperor of the French. By 1805, his armies had proven victorious in Germany, Spain, and Italy and he was the most powerful man in Europe. This prompted the other powers in Europe to form the Third Coalition in order to defeat the French. This Coalition included England, Russia, Prussia and Austria. The formation of this alliance caught Napoleon off guard. He had been planning for the invasion of England and had amassed a large army in northern France, known as the Army of England. However, he learned that Austria, Prussia, and the Russians were mobilizing and planned to attack the French and their allies. Napoleon abandoned his plans to invade England and decided to attack his enemies in the east before they could unite their forces. This was typical of Napoleon who was always willing to go on the attack and believed that the key to success was to never let the enemy to settle and attack them before they were in a position to attack the French <ref> David G. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon (Longman, N.Y., 2000) p. 407</ref>.

Moving with great speed he took his army of over 200,000 French and allied troops from their encampments near Boulogne and crossed into Germany on September the 25th. The army was divided into several corps. They were independent units with attachments of artillery and each corps commander had a great deal of autonomy in their decision making. The army had also two cavalry divisions of approximately 20,000. The Austrians with their German allies decided to meet Napoleon in Bavaria in Germany. They intended to slow down his army and to defend Austria from a French invasion until the arrival of the huge Russian army. The Prussians because of internal politics had been very slow in mobilizing and the Austrians were forced to meet Napoleon almost on their own. The Austrian General Mack established a line of defense near Ulm in Bavaria. However, Napoleon’s army was very quick and after a feint attack, he was able to appear at the rear of the Austrian army and inflicted a decisive defeat on Mack. In this battle, the French captured Mack and some 23,000 of his men. Napoleon was free to march into Central Europe <ref> Chandler, p. 401</ref>.

In November of 1805, the French marched on Vienna and occupied it. The Austrian army knew it could not defeat Napoleon so it retreated to an area in modern-day the Czech Republic, here they met the Russian army under General Kutsov. Here they waited for the Prussian army. Napoleon did not stay long in Vienna and marched forward to meet the allies before they were joined by the Prussians. He had swept aside all opposition but he was faced with many problems, his men had marched across Europe and needed rest, while worryingly his logistics were breaking down. His men were reliant up confiscating food from the locals, then there was the fact that the snows of winter were due and the French army had not established any winter quarters. Napoleon was eager for a quick battle or else he would have to retreat because of the weather and a shortage of supplies.

==The Preparations==

The Allies leadership was divided.<ref>Fisher, Todd & Fremont-Barnes Gregory, <i>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>

==Reference==

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