The decisive attacks on the Allied center by St. Hilaire and Vandamme split the Allied army in two and left the French in a golden strategic position to win the battle.
By 1400 hours, the Allied army had been dangerously separated. Napoleon now had the option to strike at one of the wings, and he chose the Allied left since other enemy sectors had already been cleared or were conducting fighting retreats.
Following Napoleon’s orders to press northward as fast as possible, the leading units of Davout’s exhausted III Corps arrived southwest of Telnitz. Responding to a request for help, Davout sent an infantry brigade from Friant’s division and a dragoon division toward Telnitz. Friant’s remaining two infantry divisions pressed on toward Sokolnitz. The unexpected appearance of this new force before Telnitz caused panic among the defenders until a charge by Austrian hussars sent the French infantry flying, leaving Telnitz once more in Allied hands. Kienmayer again sought permission to continue his advance, but once more Buxhöwden refused, as II and III Columns had still not moved beyond Sokolnitz. Then, as the Russians finally prepared to advance, Davout threw Friant’s two divisions forward. Langeron’s sole brigade bore the brunt of the initial attack before driving the French back, but not before Przhebishevsky’s men also faced a fresh attack. French aggression was proving effective, the main thrust of the Allied plan becoming bogged down on the Goldbach.
The IV Column was scheduled to commence marching an hour later than the first three columns, but it was about 9:00 A. M., two hours after the first move against Telnitz, before it finally got underway. The cause of the delay lay with V Column, the main cavalry force, part of which had bivouacked overnight in the wrong area and impeded other columns as it moved off. Jointly commanded by Miloradovich and Austrian Feldzeugmeister Kolowrat, IV Column was numerically strong, with about 12,000 men, but lacked quality. All fourteen Russian battalions had suffered attrition on the long march to the Bavarian border and back, while half the Austrian infantry were raw and inexperienced depot battalions.
At French headquarters Napoleon waited anxiously. The mist that had shrouded the Pratzen plateau cleared at about 8:00 A. M. and then, at last, he saw that the Allies were moving against his right as he had hoped. At about 9:00 A. M., with gunfire to the north confirming that Lannes was in action against Bagration and with continuing gunfire from the south, Napoleon ordered the two divisions of IV Corps, Vandamme and St. Hilaire, to march for the plateau, where he anticipated little resistance. As the leading units of the Allied IV Column approached Pratze, Soult’s 16,000 men came into view. The three understrength Russian battalions and two squadrons of Austrian dragoons of the advance guard immediately prepared to defend Pratze. Kolowrat led his two Austrian brigades toward the Pratzeberg, the highest point on the southern end of the plateau, while Miloradovich prepared to defend Pratze and Staré Vinohrady, the high point on the northern end, with the advance guard and his two Russian brigades.
The French, believing there would be little opposition, sent only a battalion to clear Pratze. It was comprehensively repelled, but a second wave of General Paul Thiébault’s brigade swept forward, and after a fierce struggle, five Russian battalions turned and fled, their retreat protected by the two squadrons of Austrian dragoons.
While Thiébault was clearing Pratze, the 10eme Légere (10th Light Infantry), the leading unit of St. Hilaire’s division, bypassed the village heading for the Pratzeberg, intending to secure the high ground. The delayed Russian brigade of Langeron’s II Column was finally marching for Sokolnitz when the commander, General Sergey Kamenski, observed this French force. He immediately sent word to Langeron before turning his brigade and heading back toward the plateau. Initially Kamenski’s men pushed the outnumbered 10eme Légere back, but before they could outflank them, Thiébault rushed forward with the rest of his brigade and artillery support to stabilize the position. As the Russians and French engaged, Franz Freiherr von Jurczik’s Austrian brigade of Kolowrat’s command, making for the Pratzeberg, joined the attack, with Rottermund’s brigade in support. The initial attack failed, and Kamensky and Jurczik fell back. It appears that Rottermund, isolated by this move and with confusion all around, ordered his men back toward the Allied position on Staré Vinohrady. The desperate battle for the Pratzeberg continued as Langeron rode up from Sokolnitz and, realizing the danger, immediately summoned reinforcements.
With ammunition running low, St. Hilaire was close to ordering a retreat, when he decided instead on a desperate bayonet attack against the Russians to ease the pressure on his command. Both sides had suffered heavy casualties, but the ferocity of the French assault proved too much for Kamenski’s men, who turned and fled. Jurczik’s men attempted to stem the tide, which they did, briefly, before also falling back. Two battalions, sent by Langeron to reinforce the position, arrived just as the Allies abandoned the Pratzeberg and were crushed between St. Hilaire’s men and a brigade of Legrand’s division that advanced from the Goldbach. The French were in undisputed possession of the Pratzeberg.
At the northern end of the plateau Vandamme brought his division up to Pratze. To the east of the village Miloradovich stood with his remaining five battalions, while Rottermund’s Austrian brigade occupied Staré Vinohrady. The heavily outnumbered Russians held their ground for a while, but as the French began to outflank them and artillery fire increased, they gave way. Rottermund made a stubborn resistance, but, outnumbered 2 to 1 and with his flanks threatened, his line finally gave way. It was now about 11:00 A. M. and the French were masters of the Pratzen plateau from north to south. From his headquarters, Napoleon ordered an advance. Bernadotte’s corps marched eastward, part of it climbing the plateau, as did the Imperial Guard and the Reserve Grenadiers.
As part of the Allied plan, Bagration, the Russian commander on the northern flank, was not to advance until it was clear the battle was underway in the south. To his left the cavalry of V Column occupied the area between him and the plateau. Opposing Bagration, Lannes’s V Corps had similar orders, to delay an advance until the battle was underway. It was probably not until sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 A. M. that Lannes began to move. An attack by the Russian cavalry to arrest this movement brought a temporary halt but then developed into a confused series of cavalry melees. While these ebbed and flowed, a Russian attempt to outflank the French line failed, blocked by a fierce defense of the Santon strongpoint. As the cavalry combat continued, with the Russians facing the full weight of Murat’s Cavalry Reserve, the Austrian cavalry faced one of Bernadotte’s divisions, advancing north of the Pratzen plateau. The Russian cavalry resistance finally broke under the weight of a charge by General Etienne Nansouty’s division, and the Austrians, now threatened in the flank by Vandamme’s capture of Staré Vinohrady, also fell back. With the Allied cavalry threat removed, Lannes ordered his infantry forward again.
Bagration’s infantry stood firm in the face of repeated French attacks. A forward position on Bagration’s left, occupied by elements of the Russian Imperial Guard, finally gave way under pressure and exposed his flank. Grudgingly, Bagration pulled back until two Austrian batteries arrived to offer much-needed support. Lannes’s advance petered out in the face of this concentration of fire.
Back on Staré Vinohrady, Vandamme began to reform his division after the exertions of battle. Observing this, Grand Duke Constantine, commander of the Russian Imperial Guard, determined to prevent him from pushing on. Four battalions of Guard Fusiliers stormed forward, attacking a battalion of 4eme Ligne (4th Line Regiment) at bayonet point, forcing them to break. The Russian Guard infantry rushed on but stalled at a second French line and fell back. As they regrouped, the cavalry of the Russian Imperial Guard moved forward and crashed into the re-forming battalion of 4eme Ligne, capturing their eagle. The cavalry also broke a second French formation, the 24eme Légere (24th Light Infantry). Napoleon, who had now arrived on Staré Vinohrady, immediately ordered his Imperial Guard cavalry to attack. The ensuing melee absorbed the entire cavalry of both Imperial Guards, but the French benefited from the arrival of Drouet’s division of Bernadotte’s corps, behind which they were able to re-form before returning to the fight. Unable to sustain the action any longer, the Russian Guard fell back toward Krzenowitz, their retreat protected by the Guard Hussars.
With the Allied threat in the north neutralized and with control of the Pratzen plateau secured, Napoleon turned southward with Vandamme’s division, followed by the Imperial Guard and the Reserve Grenadiers. He linked with St. Hilaire’s division as he progressed, leaving Bernadotte to hold Staré Vinohrady. Down along the Goldbach, Legrand and Davout were still occupying the Allied attack columns when the French appeared on the plateau in the rear of the Allies at about 2:00 P. M. As St. Hilaire’s division prepared to move off the plateau, Legrand extended his divisions toward them, and Davout launched fresh attacks to engage the Allies. Langeron and Przhebishevsky realized the battle was lost with the appearance of French troops on the plateau. Langeron extricated five of his nine battalions still fighting on the Goldbach and marched southward. Przhebishevsky attempted to fight his way out to the north but failed, and he surrendered near Kobelnitz.
While the French pushed toward Sokolnitz, Buxhöwden ordered Dokhturov and Kienmayer to retire eastward. As the leading units reached the village of Augezd, Vandamme’s men appeared on the plateau above them, cutting this escape route. Veering to the right, the head of the column ventured onto the ice of the vast frozen Satschan pond, where a combination of French artillery fire and the weight of men and equipment caused the ice to break, dumping many into the freezing but shallow water. About 200 Russians died there. Those units following turned back, under the protection of a determined rear guard that held off all French attacks, and escaped across a causeway on the southern side of the pond. At about 4:00 P. M. the last Allied troops left the battlefield.
Austerlitz was a stunning victory for Napoleon, gained, with great dramatic effect, on the first anniversary of his coronation. On 4 December, at a meeting with the Austrian emperor, Francis, the two emperors signed an armistice. Tsar Alexander agreed to the terms and withdrew his army back to Russia. By the end of the month the war had officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Pressburg. The terms humiliated Austria, forcing it to pay a huge financial indemnity and give up large tracts of land. This further weakened Austria’s already-waning influence in the German territories, leading the following year to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the creation of the French-dominated Confederation of the Rhine. The smoldering resentment caused by the imposition of these terms saw Austria resume hostilities four years later.
References and further reading Bowden, Scott. 1997. Napoleon and Austerlitz. Chicago: Emperor’s. Burton, Brigadier-General R. G. 2003. From Boulogne to Austerlitz. Cambridge: Trotman. (Orig. pub. 1912.) Castle, Ian. 2002. Austerlitz 1805: The Fate of Empires. Oxford: Osprey.—.2005. Austerlitz: Napoleon and the Eagles of Empire. London: Leo Cooper. Chandler, David G. 1995. The Campaigns of Napoleon. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Duffy, Christopher. 1977. Austerlitz, 1805. London: Seeley Service. Furse, Colonel George A. 1995. Campaigns of 1805-Ulm, Trafalgar and Austerlitz. Felling, UK: Worley. (Orig. pub. 1905.) Goetz, Robert. 2005. 1805-Austerlitz: Napoleon and the Destruction of the Third Coalition. London: Greenhill. Hourtoulle, F. G. 2003. Austerlitz: The Empire at Its Zenith. Paris: Histoire and Collections. Maycock, Captain F. W. O. 1912. The Napoleonic Campaign of 1805. London: Gale and Polden. Miquel, Pierre. 2005. Austerlitz. Paris: Michel. Rothenberg, Gunter E. 1982. Napoleon’s Great Adversaries: The Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army, 1792-1814. London: Batsford. Schneid, Frederick C. 2005. Napoleon’s Conquest of Europe: The War of the Third Coalition. Westport, CT: Praeger. Stutterheim, Major-General Freiherr Karl von. 1985. A Detailed Account of the Battle of Austerlitz. Cambridge: Trotman. (Orig. pub. 1807.)
