On November 17 (29), 1805, the allied troops left the great Olmüts road and, getting stuck in the autumn mud, moved around Brunn through Austerlitz. The troops moved slowly, waiting for the delivery of supplies, and not knowing where the enemy was. This was surprising and indicated the poor organization of the allies, because the Russian-Austrian army was on its territory and did not have good intelligence and agents. Therefore, the troops moved almost gropingly, on bad country roads. In three days - until November 19 (December 1) - they covered only 26 kilometers, scattering at stops in search of food and fuel.
This allowed Napoleon to easily unravel the Allied plan - to attack his right wing. Wanting to convince the enemy even more of his vacillations and uncertainty, Napoleon ordered Marshal Soult to leave the Prazen Heights with feigned haste. The French emperor concentrated his army between Austerlitz and Brunn. This further encouraged the allies, because the French vanguards retreated for several days, not trying to give a battle. Napoleon was clearly preparing to defend himself. On November 19 (December 1), the allied army, having completed a 60-kilometer march in four days, took up positions on the Pratsen Heights - Kovalovits line. The French emperor, observing this movement, applauded and exclaimed: “They are trapped! They are doomed! By the end of the day tomorrow, this army will be destroyed!"
Napoleon, perfectly aware of the enemy's plans by the spies in the allied headquarters, took up a position east of Brunn behind the Goldbach and Bozenitsky streams. The French emperor decided to deliver his main blow to the center of the enemy on the Prazen Heights, which, with the withdrawal of the left wing of the Allies, would be weakened. With this maneuver, Napoleon intended to cut the Russian-Austrian army in two, go to the flank and rear of the allied strike group and destroy them separately. To keep the enemy in the Telnits-Sokolnitsy sector, that is, the place of the main attack of the three Russian columns, Napoleon deployed only one brigade from the Legrand division, which was to be supported by Davout's troops, and to provide the left flank at Santon Hill, an 18-gun battery was installed, flanking approaches to Bozenicki brook. By the time the number of the French army reached 74 thousand people (60 thousand infantry and 14 thousand cavalry) with 250 guns.
Thus, in contrast to Weyrother's plan, built without taking into account the actual situation and on the theoretical position that the enemy would be passive, the French commander put forward an active plan of action in front of the outnumbered enemy. Napoleon was going to attack the enemy, and not wait until he was defeated and chased.
The French emperor, two days before the battle on horseback and on foot, explored the field of the future battle. He studied it so thoroughly, so well knew it, that, according to Savary, the foreground of Austerlitz became as familiar to Napoleon as the surroundings of Paris. The emperor spent the evening hours among the soldiers: he sat down by the fires, exchanged jokes, recognized old acquaintances, veterans; wherever Napoleon appeared, joyous revival, vigor, confidence in victory was born. On November 19 (December 1), Napoleon gathered the corps commanders and explained his plan. The center of the French troops was under the command of Marshal Soult, the left wing was led by Marshals Lahn and Bernadotte, the right flank, somewhat pulled back, was under the command of Marshal Davout. The guards were in reserve.
The Allies followed Weyrother's plan. A reinforced strike force on the left flank of three columns under the command of Generals D. S. Dokhturov, A. F. the fourth column of the Austrian general I. Kolovrat and general M. A. Miloradovich was to advance through the Pratsen heights to Kobelnits; the fifth column, consisting of the Austrian cavalry of General I. Liechtenstein, and the vanguard of the allied army under the command of General P. I. Bagration had the task of pinning down the enemy and providing a roundabout maneuver of the main forces. The Russian Guard, under the command of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, formed a reserve. The plan was good in theory, but did not foresee a possible enemy counteroffensive. In addition, the allies did not know about the size of Napoleon's army, they assumed that the French were no more than 40-50 thousand people.
Thus, the allied command overestimated its forces, underestimated the forces and intentions of the enemy. The left wing of the allied forces consisted of three columns under the general command of General Buxgewden. The Russian-Austrian troops under the command of Kutuzov served as the center, the right wing was commanded by Bagration. By the time of the battle, the Allies had more than 84, 5 thousand people (67, 7 thousand - infantry and 16, 8 thousand - cavalry) with 330 guns.
Austro-Russian headquarters in 1805. Giuseppe Rava
Mikhail Kutuzov again proposed to refrain from a decisive battle and first find out the situation, since the Russian-Austrian command did not have reliable information about the forces and location of Napoleon's army. But this proposal was again rejected by Emperor Alexander and a crowd of his arrogant and irresponsible advisers. The Russian tsar wanted the laurels of the victor Napoleon. The advisers wished for honors and awards. The Austrians were the winner in any outcome of the battle, since the entire brunt of the battle fell on the Russian army. Weyrother's mediocre plan went into effect. When Weyrother, on the night of November 20 (December 2), read the order to the chiefs of the columns convened at headquarters, when one of them asked about measures in case the French attack the Allied forces on Prazen Heights, the Quartermaster General replied: "This case is not foreseen." …
The allies began to rest, having occupied the Pracen Heights. It was mostly open, dominated by heights that sloped steeply down to the Goldbach brook, the eastern banks of which were difficult to cross. The most suitable places for crossing the stream were near the villages of Belanets, Sokolpits and Telnits, which lie in deep gullies. To the south of them were the Menits and Zachan lakes, already covered with weak ice. At dawn the troops formed up. The French chose a deep battle formation, the allies, by order of the headquarters, used a linear battle formation.
Battle
On November 20 (December 2), 1805, the battle of the three emperors began. At dawn, at the beginning of the 8th hour, the allied forces launched an offensive on the right flank of the French army, bypassing columns of generals Dokhturov, Langeron and Przhibyshevsky, built in two lines each. The fourth column of Kolovrat-Miloradovich stood on the Pratsen Heights. The fifth column of Liechtenstein - the Austrian cavalry - and the vanguard of the allied army under the command of Bagration covered the right flank of the allied army. The Russian guard was located behind the heights.
The fighting began on the left flank of the Russian-Austrian army, where Kienmeier's vanguard attacked the French and fought for the villages of Sokolnits and Telnits. The villages have repeatedly passed from hand to hand. Our troops took up as Kinmeier was strengthened by parts of Dokhturov's column, and the French brigade counterattacked after the approach of Davout's corps units. In this battle, the French were in a clear minority, but they managed to hold out, since the allies could not deliver one powerful blow and did not have enough space to deploy with all their might, which reduced their numerical superiority to nothing.
After 9 o'clock Telnits was taken, by 11 o'clock Langeron's column managed to capture Sokolnitsy, and Przhibyshevsky's column captured the Castle. Davout's corps, under powerful pressure from the allies, withdrew somewhat. However, the French right flank pinned down the shock fist of the allied army - more than 40 thousand soldiers, which contributed to the implementation of Napoleon's plan. Moreover, Alexander I ordered the Kolovrat-Miloradovich column to leave the Pratsen heights and follow to the main forces. "If the Russians leave the Pratsen Heights for a detour on the right, they will perish irrevocably …" - Napoleon said to his marshals during the battle. This was foreseen by Kutuzov, who, contrary to the orders of the headquarters, continued to hold the heights. Displeased with Kutuzov, Alexander rode to the Prazen Heights, ordered to leave them and go to the connection with Buxgewden.
Cuirassiers before the attack. Austerlitz. Jean-Louis Ernest Mesonier
Napoleon took advantage of this miscalculation of the allies. The French emperor at that time stood at a height northwest of the village of Shlyapanits, watched the actions of the Russians and waited for them to liberate the heights. The emperor had to give a sign to three corps - Murat, Soult and Bernadotte. The marshals were nervous and rushed Napoleon. But he realized that the decisive moment had not yet arrived, and the allies could still correct the first mistake: “Gentlemen, when the enemy makes a false move, we must not interrupt him in any way. Let's wait another 20 minutes. And he waited for this moment.
The French attack was fatal for the Allies. Soult's corps attacked the heights and flank of Kolovrat's column left by the enemy. The blow to the central position of the allies was overwhelming, the allies were taken by surprise. The French emerged from the fog and rushed to Prazen to the sound of drums. The French climbed the slope and ended up at the top. Climbing up and being within the reach of the enemy, they fired a volley and rushed into a bayonet attack. The center of the allies mixed, the cavalry mixed with the infantry, the troops interfered with each other and began to retreat.
Recovering himself, Kolovrat, supported on the right by Liechtenstein's cavalry and on the left by three regiments from the Langeron column, tried to counterattack, stop the enemy and return the heights. Russian troops went on the attack, but the French constantly threw new reserves into battle and intensified the onslaught. In this sector, two-thirds of the Napoleonic army, about 50 thousand soldiers, acted against 15 thousand Russians and Austrians.
At the same time, Napoleon threw the Lann (Lana) corps and Murat's cavalry into the junction of the center and the right flank. Bernadotte's corps was also advancing. Bagration's column entered the battle. Now the battle was in full swing along the entire line, both sides suffered heavy losses. The French especially suffered from the well-aimed fire of the Russian artillery. Finally, under the fierce onslaught of the French cavalry, the Russians could not stand it and began to retreat. Under continuous pressure from the corps of Bernadotte, Murat and Lannes, the right flank of the allied army began to retreat, which tore apart the single line of the allies.
The small Russian guard bravely tried to stop the onslaught of the corps of Bernadotte and Murat. The masses of the French surrounded them on all sides, but the guard did not flinch and fought fiercely, more than once rushing into bayonet attacks. The Russian guard, at the cost of tremendous efforts, broke through the advanced French lines, but was then stopped by enemy reserves. The attack of the guards infantry was supported by two squadrons of horse guards. The Russians threw back the Napoleonic cavalry, swooped down on the battalion of the 4th line regiment and took away the badge of its combat distinction - the eagle. The French soldiers wavered, but this was only a local success. The desperate efforts of the Russian guard, which covered themselves with glory that day, could not change the overall picture. The general genius of Napoleon turned out to be head and shoulders above the headquarters of the allied army and the heroism of the Russian soldiers could not change the situation. Napoleon threw the Mamluks into battle and they completed the rout of the Russian guard. Russian cavalry guards were almost completely exterminated. The Allied center was completely destroyed and retreated.
The feat of the Cavalry Regiment in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Bogdan (Gottfried) Villevalde
Battle for the banner (Feat of the Horse Guards at Austerlitz). Victor Mazurovsky. The painting depicts the first combat battle of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment and the capture of the French eagle in the battle of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805
Having deployed 42 guns at heights, the French, with the corps of Soult and Bernadotte, attacked the rear and flank of the outflanking columns. Davout's corps launched a counteroffensive. At 14 o'clock, the imperial guard and the grenadiers of Marshal Oudinot were ordered to move towards the village of Telnits in order to inflict a final defeat on the left flank of the allied army.
After breaking through the front, Kutuzov, recognizing the position of the army as desperate, sent an order to Buxgewden to retreat. However, he, not understanding the situation and observing the weak forces of the French army in front of him on the right bank of Goldbach, did not obey the order. He stamped on the spot, not moving forward and not trying to inflict a flank counterattack on the corps of Soult, operating from the direction of Prazen.
Thus, the commander of the left wing of the Russian troops Buxgewden, having 29 infantry battalions and 22 cavalry squadrons, instead of organizing a flank counterattack and helping the perishing Russian army, spent most of the battle near a secondary point of the battle, where he was held for hours by a small French detachment. And then the time came for the left flank of the allied army.
Meanwhile, the French divisions of Saint-Hiller and Legrand, which were operating in the direction of Sokolnitsy, attacked the right column of Przhibyshevsky. Hastily advanced against the threatening flank attack, several Russian battalions were immediately swept away by the superior forces of the enemy. The rest tried to retreat west through Goldbach, but were caught in the crossfire of Davout and Seth-Iler's artillery. The column was defeated: partly destroyed, part taken prisoner. However, this battle allowed Langeron's column to retreat through Telnits.
Only after that, being cut off from the rest of the army, Buxgewden realized his mistake and gave the order to retreat. The bypassing columns were forced to retreat, making their way through the French who came out to the rear, to use the defile between the lakes Monits and Zachan and the dam of the lake. Zachan, suffering heavy casualties. The forward nine battalions of Dokhturov and Kinmeier that remained to the east of the stream were retreating to Auezd, but Vandam's division had already reached this village and threw the Russians back to the frozen Lake Zachan. The Russians had to break through the ice and along the dam between the Zachanskoye and Myonitskoye lakes. General Dokhturov personally led a group of brave men, which covered the retreat, rushing into bayonet attacks on the French.
The right wing of the allied army under the command of Bagration, who clearly and calmly controlled his troops, continued to fight. Napoleon sent Murat's cavalry against him to help his left wing. Only then did Bagration leave. By evening, the battle died down. The French did not build on the success and did not organize a pursuit with the aim of completely annihilating the allied army. The weak pursuit of the French cavalry made it possible for the Allies to gather at Geding.
Results of the battle
The battle was lost by the Russian-Austrian army, and the attempt to defeat Napoleon ended in disaster. At Austerlitz, the Allies lost 27 thousand people (of which 21 thousand were Russians), of which 10 thousand were killed and 17 thousand were captured, 155 guns, 30 banners. The losses of the French amounted to 12 thousand.killed and wounded.
Emperors Alexander and Franz fled from the battlefield long before the end of the battle. Almost all of Alexander's brilliant retinue fled and joined him only at night and even in the morning. The Austrian emperor was so shocked that he decided to ask for peace from Napoleon. Kutuzov himself was wounded by a shrapnel in the cheek, and barely escaped captivity, and also lost his son-in-law, Count Tiesenhausen. Alexander, realizing his guilt, publicly did not blame Kutuzov, but he never forgave him defeat, believing that Kutuzov deliberately set him up.
The next day, in all parts of the French army, Napoleon's order was read: “Soldiers, I am pleased with you: on the day of Austerlitz, you accomplished everything that I expected from your courage. You have adorned your eagles with immortal glory. An army of 100 thousand people under the command of the Russian and Austrian emperors was cut and scattered in less than four hours. Those who eluded your sword are drowned in lakes … . True, as the later studies of historians showed, this was a strong exaggeration, with this retreat drowned in ponds and died from artillery fire from 800 to 1000 people.
Militarily, Austerlitz is characterized by the achievement of complete victory through a single simple maneuver, carried out at an unmistakable moment in time. At the same time, Napoleon's ability to create an advantage in forces in a decisive direction was manifested. However, no less important in the success of the French army is the mediocrity of the high command of the allied army, which exposed the army to the attack of the enemy. At Austerlitz, the viciousness of the outdated linear military system, which was followed in Austria and diligently implanted in Russia, was again exposed. The so-called "maneuverable strategy" and linear tactics showed their complete inconsistency in front of the new strategy and tactics of Napoleon. Organizationally, the Allies were also inferior to the French: unlike the French corps and divisions, the Allies formed columns of unconnected units. The absence of a unified command played an important role. With the beginning of the battle, the columns were left to their own devices, and the general leadership of the Russian-Austrian troops was lost. Kutuzov, following with Kolovrat's column and not feeling the power behind him, in fact was only the incomplete leader of this column. Buxgewden, obeying Alexander, did not follow Kutuzov's order to withdraw. And the rate of the two monarchs, where the "brain" of the operation was assembled, ceased to exist at the first failure. Alexander and Franz, with their retinues, fled in disarray from the battlefield, fearing being captured.
It should be noted that the defeat in the war forced the Austrians to continue military reforms, bringing the army in accordance with the new elements. By the next campaign, Austria already had a strong army.
Napoleon was especially proud of Austerlitz. He proved himself as a diplomat, deceiving and luring the enemy, as a strategist and commander, defeating the superior forces of the allies in a decisive battle. Austerlitz is the triumph of Napoleon's diplomatic and military genius. With this victory alone, he won an entire campaign, subjugating the whole of Central Europe to his influence. The glory of the French Empire and the invincible "Great Army" grew even more.
Austerlitz is one of the most brutal defeats of the Russian army in the 19th century. For the first time since the time of Peter the Great, the Russian army lost a general battle. And, nevertheless, later evaluating this campaign, Napoleon said: "The Russian army in 1805 was the best of all that ever put up against me." Indeed, although the Russian society was shocked by the defeat, this battle did not cause a decline in the spirit of the Russian army.
Defeat of the third coalition
The defeat in the general battle finished off the Austrian Empire. The Austrians refused to continue the fight, although the whole army of Archduke Charles still existed, the Russian army withdrew in order and after rest and replenishment could continue the fight, Russian reinforcements were approaching, and there was hope for the Prussian army.
On December 4, Emperor Franz himself appeared in Napoleon's camp and asked for an armistice. Napoleon received Emperor Franz politely, but first of all demanded that the remnants of the Russian army immediately leave the Austrian Empire, and he himself appointed certain stages for them. He said that he would only negotiate peace with Vienna. Franz, of course, agreed without question. The third coalition of European powers ended its existence.
Austria was forced to conclude on December 26 (January 7) in Pressburg (Bratislava) a difficult peace treaty with France. Austria ceded to Napoleon, as king of Italy, the Venetian region, Istria (except Trieste) and Dalmatia and recognized all French conquests in Italy. In addition, Austria also lost all of its possessions west of Carinthia, which came under the rule of Napoleon's main allies in the empire: Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden. Moreover, Emperor Franz II recognized the titles of kings for the monarchs of Bavaria and Württemberg, which removed them from the power of the institutions of the Holy Roman Empire. This brought about the end of Austrian domination of the Holy Roman Empire and contributed to its dissolution in 1806. Overall, Austria lost one-sixth of its population (4 million out of 24) and one-seventh of government revenues. Austria also paid an indemnity to France in the amount of 40 million florins.
Russia withdrew troops to its territory. The Anglo-Russian troops landed in Naples in November 1805 were returned to Malta and Corfu. General Tolstoy's corps, which landed in Tralsund (Germany), returned to Russia. At the same time, Russia renounced peace, continued hostile actions against Napoleon as part of the Fourth anti-French coalition, also organized with the active participation of England.
Prussia immediately abandoned the idea of war with France. On December 7, a frightened Prussian envoy, Count Haugwitz, appeared at Napoleon's headquarters and, without saying a word about his assignment (an ultimatum after which Prussia was to declare war on France), congratulated him on the victory at Austerlitz. "This is a compliment," Napoleon replied dryly, "whose address has changed thanks to fate." At first Napoleon shouted, said that he understood all the cunning of Prussia, but then agreed to forget and forgive, but on the condition: Prussia must enter into an alliance with France. The terms of the union were as follows: Prussia gives Bavaria its southern possession - Anshpakh; Prussia gives France its possessions - the principality of Neuchâtel and Cleves, with the city of Wesel; and Napoleon gives back to Prussia occupied by his troops in 1803 Hanover, which belonged to the English king. As a result, Prussia enters into an alliance with France, that is, declares war on England. Haugwitz agreed to everything. King Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia was the same, especially since he expected the worst. However, this agreement was offensive to Prussia and soon became a pretext for a new war.
The irreconcilable enemy of Napoleon, British Prime Minister William Pitt, when the news of Austerlitz came, broke down. Society accused him of disastrous illusions, the opposition demanded his resignation, shouted about the shame that falls on England, about the British gold millions that were thrown to the wind, on the mediocre coalition. Pitt could not stand the nervous shock, fell ill and soon died. The new government of England decided to make peace with France. True, it was not possible to conclude peace, already in 1806 the war continued.
Napoleon became the master of a large part of Europe. Austria was defeated. Prussia bowed before him. Endless carts with booty taken from the Austrian Empire were drawn to France and Italy. Some guns were captured in battles and taken from arsenals 2 thousand, more than 100 thousand guns, etc. France signed a close defensive and offensive alliance with Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden.
In addition, after King Ferdinand of Naples and his wife Caroline in October 1805, tempted after the Battle of Trafalgar by the thought that Napoleon would be defeated this time, entered into an alliance with England and Russia, decided to overthrow the Neapolitan Bourbon dynasty. After Austerlitz, the Bourbons had to pay dearly. “The Bourbons have ceased to reign in Naples,” said the French emperor and ordered the immediate occupation of the entire kingdom by French troops. The Bourbons fled to the island of Sicily, under the protection of the British fleet. Napoleon soon appointed his brother Joseph king of Naples. On the continental part of the Kingdom of Naples, a satellite state of France with the same name was formed. The insular part of the kingdom, that is, Sicily, retained its independence.
The capture of the Austrian standard by the French at Austerlitz. Unknown artist
