small Bavarian village of Austerlitz was destined to enter the history of the world, as close to her December 2, 1805 there was a battle, widely regarded as soma grand battle during the Napoleonic wars.It 73000th French army defeated the superior numbers of its anti-Napoleonic coalition.The Battle of Austerlitz is considered a triumph of diplomatic and military genius of Napoleon.
dispute Three Emperors
Sometimes it is called the "Battle of Three Emperors at Austerlitz."And it is quite true, because in addition to Napoleon on that fateful day on the battlefield there were two more august personages - the Russian Emperor Alexander I and Austrian Franz II.To understand the reasons of their powers plunged into a bloodbath, return two years ago when France and England concluded the so-called Peace of Amiens.
plans for the conquest of England
signed on paper, in reality it only gave the ambitious French emperor time to prepare for the invasion of the British Isles and the subsequent capture of London.The British understood this very well and rightly saw their salvation only to build on another continent, the third in a row, the international coalition against Napoleon.It was created and existed until the day that is not broke fatal for her battle of Austerlitz.
this year was marked by an abundance of the most ambitious plans of the French emperor, and he was quite seriously obsessed with the intention of capturing London.For this purpose, in Boulogne, near Paris, we were in full combat readiness of the troops, whose task it was, crossing the English Channel move to the English capital.Prevent the execution of a planned French Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, the fault which Napoleon did not wait for the squadron, designed to transport troops across the strait.
Coalition building
Soon the coalition was created out of an interest in curbing the aggressive plans of Napoleon.Its participants are Russia, Austria, and England itself.However, their roles are, to say the least, uneven.England direct participation in hostilities did not accept, and took over a war funding costs.Austria was at war, but in the decisive battle on the battlefield led 25 thousand soldiers, while the Russian there were 60 thousand.Thus, the battle of Austerlitz his weight fell on the shoulders of the Russian soldiers, which, incidentally, is repeated many times in history.
original plans of the coalition
must pay tribute to the European strategy.They developed a very ambitious plan to curb Napoleon and the Battle of Austerlitz took place as a result of the fact that he has remained only on paper.According to their development, to military action should have been involved much greater manpower than it was in reality.For example, in the northern part of Europe against Napoleon's ally - Denmark - was supposed to put almost 100-thousand Russian-English corpus.
other allies of France - Bavaria - were to attack the forces of the Austrian 85000th Corps under the command of the famous at the time of General K. Mack.To help him out of Russia put forward the army MI Kutuzov.On top of the Austrian Archduke instructed, knocking out the French from northern Italy to start the victorious march of the French territory.If we could realize at least half of the planned, the ill-fated 1805 battle of Austerlitz simply would not take place.But fate would have it to dispose of its own way.
Ambition Russian Emperor
In many ways served the cause of the defeat of excessive arrogance then still young and eager ambulances military laurels in-Chief of the troops of Alexander I. Kutuzov was against fighting.The Battle of Austerlitz, in his opinion, was not only untimely, but disastrous for the Allies.He suggested the deliberate retreat, in which will be able to stretch as much as possible the enemy's troops and using the arrival of reinforcements, they applied crushing blows from the flanks.
The plan, a reasonable, but not promising fast and brilliant victory, was rejected by the emperor.Historians who covered these events later, are unanimous in the opinion that despite the fact that in the battle of Austerlitz Russian troops commanded by Kutuzov, in fact decisions were taken by Alexander.In the early battle and urged allies - Austrians as Vienna it was at that time captured by the French, and they make every effort to its early release.
tactical plans of Napoleon
When Allied troops battle of Austerlitz in 1805 was premature, unprepared and therefore destructive, then Napoleon, it was only right tactical decisions in the current situation at the time.Perfectly assessing the situation, he set out to prevent the retreat of the enemy, and thus delaying the hostilities.The French Emperor was aware that allies await the approach of significant reinforcements from Prussia, ready to join the anti-Napoleonic coalition.
study in detail the actions of Napoleon, to achieve this goal, we can only marvel, with some cunning he set their nets.Deeply thought-out actions, he managed to persuade the Allied commanders in their weakness, indecision, and the intention to withdraw.Moreover, he even provoked them to take the battle to the top precisely those positions that were favorable to him.
peaceful town Slovaks
territory where there was a battle of Austerlitz in 1805, today owned by the Czech Republic, and where there was once a Bavarian village, which gave its name to one of the greatest battles in history, now lives a peaceful lifea small town in Slovakia.Tourists, once there, it is hard to imagine that 210 years ago, on these green fields and hills came together three strongest armies in Europe.
Without going into the details of the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, of interest only to military specialists, we note only the main stages of the battle.They are not difficult to restore the numerous witnesses and participants of the events.Especially since the battle for many years has been the subject of numerous articles and research.
Battle of Austerlitz: summarizes the key points of her
So, December 2, 1805.It began the famous Battle of Austerlitz blow inflicted on the allies on the right flank of the enemy where the troops commanded by Marshal Davoust.Following the plan, developed personally by Napoleon, after a short resistance, he began to recede, causing part of the Allies to the persecution and pulling them into the swampy lowlands.As a result, the French managed to considerably weaken the center of the Allied forces.
As mentioned earlier, in the Battle of Austerlitz Russian troops commanded by Kutuzov, but the intervention of Alexander I, it was completely devoid of initiative.An experienced commander knew that the enemy is preparing a trap, but in obedience to the emperor, was forced to give the order to counterattack the retreating marshal.As a result of these actions the central position of the allied troops were easy prey for the enemy.
Setting parts cross
allies Napoleon was not slow to attack the weakened portion of its strike forces of another famous warlord - Marshal Soult.What has happened is that in the history of the world battles are often preceded by the defeat of the armies.Allied troops were cut by half, and each of the parts as a result of lightning maneuvers of the enemy appeared surrounded and cut off from possible reinforcements.
But the most dramatic events unfolded at the time on the left wing allies.Continuing the offensive against the troops under the command of Marshal Davoust, they got into a real bag and died under the heavy fire of the French.From the complete destruction of their came to the rescue in time to save the Horse Guards commanded by General NI Depreradovicha.They took the enemy fire and the cost of many of the victims were given the opportunity to get out of the fire surrounded by parts.
retreat that saved the army
avoid disastrous panic in such cases is largely due to the composure and managed to extract one of the most experienced Russian generals DS Dokhturov.He was able to deduce from the environment already rather depleted ranks of soldiers and to organize a retreat to preserve the army in combat readiness.Nevertheless, Allied casualties were enormous.Historians estimate that this day on the field of battle were left lying 27,000 people, with 21,000 of them were Russian.
However, studying the details of the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, historians agree that even greater losses could be avoided by correctly chosen direction of escape.On the left wing of the allied forces was a network of ponds, called Sychanske.They were not deep, and it is through them sent the retreating troops, General Dokhturov.When the Allies completed the crossing, it turned out to be beyond the reach of the French gunners, who decided not to pursue the enemy across the water hazard.
end of the third coalition
The French Battle of Austerlitz cost 12,000 lives, but military success in this battle was on their side, and they came out of it victorious.Crushing defeat the allies largely altered the balance of political forces in Europe.Henceforth, Napoleon dictated to the rulers of the major powers.Unable to recover from the defeat of Austria out of the war by signing the extremely unfavorable peace treaty.A third anti-Napoleonic coalition collapsed ignominiously.
When news of the defeat reached Russia, it shocked the entire editorial community.Over the 100 years since the tragic events of Narva, where Peter I have known the bitterness of defeat, the Russian army was considered invincible.The glorious Victorian era of the Empress Elizabeth and Catherine II approved of Russians believe in the invincibility of the army.However, as noted by contemporaries, the tragic news did not shake the patriotic spirit of any army nor the people.
summarize this military campaign, historians have tried to answer the question: What ultimately won and lost that in 1805 Napoleon?The Battle of Austerlitz, certainly recognized the triumph of his military genius, nevertheless did not allow him to achieve the main goal - the complete destruction of the armies of entering into a coalition hostile to him.At a certain period, Napoleon became dictator of Europe, but nevertheless every day inevitably brings him closer to Waterloo, where in 1815 was destined forever to roll star of the Corsican genius.
