In 1805 Tsar Alexander I led the Imperial Russian army into Austrian Galicia. There they would link up with the Imperial Austrian Army and prepare to do battle with Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France. These two members of the third coalition expected to roll over the upstart Corsican. This however would not come to pass. The Russian army was full of stalwart men, but incompetent officers. This army would be crushed by Napoleon due to its out dated practices and tactics. To understand the Russian Army, we must first understand what was happening in the rest of Europe. When the French Revolution began in 1789, Europe would never be the same. The French people over threw their King. This was followed by the execution of many nobles including the King and Queen. Due to the intermarriage and interrelations of many of the monarchs of Europe this infuriated the other monarchs. This led to the French Revolutionary wars. French people's armies swept across the Europe waging war against Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and eventually Russia. This is where Napoleon Bonaparte came in. Napoleon was a young and brilliant general. He led his army to victories against the Austrians in Italy. This sent his star rising. He led a disastrous campaign in Egypt, but was able to return to Europe to eject the Austrians from Italy again at the Battle of Marengo. He was eventually named Consul, a member of the triumvirate that would rule Revolutionary France. His genius and military prowess eventually won him the title of consul for life. In 1804, he took the big step. He crowned himself Emperor of France. (Dupuy 537) The Imperial Russian Army Background On the other side of Europe sat the Russian Empire. The Russian Tsars ruled over their people, accountable only to God. At the beginning of the French Revolution, Catherine the Great was the Tsarina. In 1796, Catherine the Great died. She was replaced with her son Paul I. Catherine had implemented reforms in the Russian army to bring it up to par with those of other European powers. Paul had his own regiment, which he chose to train, clothe and organize in the style of Fredrick the Great. The only problem was that style was 25 years out of date. What happened next is a situation unique to military history. Paul I, often referred to as the Mad Tsar, was an unstable ruler who absolutely despised his mother. Upon ascending to the throne, he repealed all the reforms implemented by his mother. The Army was given old style uniforms, out of date muskets, and forced to train in the linear tactics of Frederick the Great. Competent, forward thinking officers were replaced with those who would blindly follow the Tsar's orders. These anti-reforms set the Russian army back 25 years. (Haythornthwaite 3) In less than a year, the Russian court had had enough. A court conspiracy murdered Paul, and replaced him with his son Alexander I. Alexander was a young man, and began to reinstitution these reforms in 1801. The reforms were slow in progressing due to resistance from holdovers from Paul I reign. By the war with France in 1805, these reforms would only be partially implemented. (Haythornthwaite 3) The Army The Russian State was a vast land with a population of over forty million. With this massive populace, Russia had an inexhaustible supply of manpower. Most of this population was the quasi-enslaved serfs. A yearly levy would be but out. It would require nobles to send the Tsar anywhere from two to ten men out of five hundred to be enlisted in the army. The enlistment time in the army was 25 years. When a man was conscripted, his family and friends threw him a wake. Odds were, he would never see them again. Infantry The Infantry was the largest branch of the army. The average Russian soldier was an uneducated peasant. He was totally illiterate. He was usually between 18 and 40, small stature but hardy and strong. The Russian Infantryman was the worst off soldier of any European army. He was given terrible rations, was poorly equipped, poorly uniformed, atrociously paid, and treated like cattle. On top of this, he was maintained at the lowest cost. His uniform cost more than it cost to maintain a Russian Infantryman for a year. However, this is not saying he was a bad soldier. The Russian peasants were raised in utter unending misery and harsh conditions. This upbringing created a soldier that could endure hardships that would drive other armies to mutiny. The Russian soldier was deeply faithful to the Orthodox Church, his officers, and the Tsar. Harsh discipline made the Infantryman more afraid of his officers and NCOs than French musket balls. Russian troops would march silently in the to the thick of the fire and maintain unit cohesion where most European units would have fled the field. In hand to hand combat, the Russian soldier was tenacious. Some of the most glowing tales of Russian fortitude came from their French opponents. "We fired on the Russian line at 25 paces; they continued their march without replying. Every regiment filed passed without saying a word or slackening the pace for a moment. The streets will fill with the dying and wounded, but not a groan was heard, for they were forbidden," said a French officer named Marbot. JOSS. Stanhope said that a severely wounded Russian soldier would crawl eastward only for the reason of dying a few yards closer to home. Probably the biggest problem with the Russian Infantry was its poor caliber of officers, but I will cover that in another section. (Haythornthwaite 4 -5) Infantry Regiments were organized into three categories, Grenadiers, Musketeers, and Jagers. Musketeers were the basic line infantry that would supplied the bulk of the Infantry. Jagers were light infantries that could break down into skirmishers and fight individually between the main formations of the opposing armies. Grenadiers were the tallest and strongest men in their respective regiments. They were moderately bettered trained than their counterparts in the musketeers. From 1801 till the reorganization of 1811, the Russian army possessed not organized units larger than regiments. When going to war, regiments were lumped into organizations called columns. These columns had no experience working together. It caused great problems and command and control was atrocious. Napoleon had his Grand Army regiments organized into permanent divisions, of three to four regiments. These divisions were then placed into Corps who acted as a small independent army that had its own artillery and cavalry support. These units all had experienced interacting with the other unit's whit in their respective formations. The control these formations possessed ran circles around the Russian army. (Haythornthwaite 9-11) The Infantry wore a very basic uniform. It consisted of a dark green, waist length jacket and white pants. The jackets had a regimental facing color that was worn on the collar, cuffs, and the shoulder epaulets. In the summer, troops wore black shoes with white leggings, in winter, high black boots. They also wore a black, felt or leather, cylindrical shako that was slightly wider at the top. On the shako was an orange and black cockade, and toped off the shako with a pompom. Grenadiers also wore a flaming grenade badge, and a plume. The earlier plume, called bushes, was tall and very thick. Non Commissioned Officers usually carried a halberd. The gold lace around their collars also recognized NCOs. (Haythornthwaite 11) Cavalry The Russian cavalry had many of the same characteristics of their infantry. These fall in the line of characteristics of the soldiers themselves, how they were treated, payment, attitude, and the miserable conditions in which they existed. However the mounted arm did have some great differences. The Russian Army had a higher percentage of cavalry than any other European army did. This is due to the need for defense against the perennial enemy to the south, the Turks and their numerous mounted units. The Russian cavalry had superior mounts to their French opponents. The Russian steppes were possibly the best land for raising cavalry horses in the world. On top of this, the Russian cavalry was maintained at a remarkably cheaper rate than any others in Europe were. The Russians were organized into five categories, Cuirassiers, Dragoons, Hussars, Uhlans, and Mounted Jagers, also known as Chasseurs. The cavalry, like the infantry was organized into regiments, but cavalry also had subdivision known as a squadron. . (Haythornthwaite 5) The Cuirassiers were the heavy shock troops of the Russian army. They used to wear metal breastplates, but the Cuirassiers had not worn them since Tsar Paul I was in power. A Cuirassier wore a black leather helmet with a brass front plate. The Front plates had a double headed Imperial Eagle on it. A large plume in the regiment's particular color topped off the helmet. They usually wore white tunic and pants trimmed in their regimental color. On campaign they would occasionally wear gray coveralls and wear the tunics over them. High leather cavalry boots finished the Uniform. The weapon used was a vicious, 82-cm, German pattern, heavy cavalry sword. A secondary weapon was the carbine. A smaller pattern musket carried by the cavalry. Cuirassier purpose was to trample their enemies into the ground. The large horses and heavy swords were used to hack through tightly packed infantry formations, and to overpower opposing cavalry. These were things they did very well. (Haythornthwaite 8) The Dragoons were a lighter form of the Cuirassiers. They were medium cavalry. Their uniforms were much like that of the Infantry. Green tunic and white pants. The differences were that they wore the same kind of helmet as their brothers in the Heavy Cavalry, same gray overalls on campaign, and knee high riding boots. Dragoons had the double purpose of also being able to act as foot soldiers. They carried a full-length musket and bayonet to compliment their swords. Though they carried the musket, it was rare for Dragoons to take up the roll of infantryman. Dragoons were used to compliment massed charges of heavy cavalry. They were less expensive to maintain so more regiments could be mustered. Hussars were the beauties of the battlefield. Hussars filled the light cavalry role and they did it with style. Hussars wore a Shako with a broad plume, with braiding, and the Imperial cockade. The Hussar regiments had two colors. One was used for the main tunic. The tunic was also lined with lace and piping. The other color was used in the pelisse. The pelisse was a short fur lined jacket, which was either worn on, or just over the troopers left shoulder. This gave him better ability to slash with his sword arm. The Hussars were armed with a curved, light cavalry saber. Their role was used in scouring, a cavalry screen, or in pursuit of fleeing units. The Uhlans were light cavalry with lances. The only Russian Uhlan units, which existed prior to 1803, were a regiment of Polish Lancers. In 1805, the Imperial Army converted four regiments of Hussars to Uhlans. Uhlans wore the distinctive czapka hat in their regimental color. The uniforms were in regimental colors like that of the Hussars. Uhlans were armed with an 18 to 20 foot long lance. The length of the lance allowed the Uhlans to make contract with enemy cavalry before the enemy could strike back. When attacking formed infantry, the lance was used to break up the shoulder to shoulder ranks. Then the Uhlans would use sabers and act as light cavalry. (Haythornthwaithe 17) Mounted-Jagers or Chasseurs filled basically the same light cavalry role as the Hussars, but without the flamboyant uniforms. (Haythornthwaithe 18) Artillery The Russian artillery was in a similar situation to the cavalry. Russia had very proficient artillerists. The men were competent professionals. Being more of a science than an art, the Artillery received the most intelligent and educated of the officer corps. Russian artillery came in a variety of sizes. Russians had cannons capable of firing 3,6, 10, 12, 20 pound shot. Guns were organized into batteries of twelve pieces, supporting personnel, wagons, and limbers. These batteries dwarfed the French four gun batteries. The Russians had problems using the artillery to its maximum effectiveness. Batteries were usually spread evenly throughout the line to support as much of the battlefield as possible. This limited the amount of firepower you could bring to bear at crucial locations on the field. Though the Russians had excellent draft animals, the sheer number of vehicles that were needed made moving a Russian battery an arduous task. This lack of mobility would be exploited by the small, mobile, and expertly crewed French Artillery at Austerlitz. (Chandler 40-42) Cossacks The Cossacks were a curious entity exclusive to the Russian army. Descended from outlaws and brigands of the Don, Volga, Bug, and Dnepr regions of Russia, the Cossacks were formations of massed, irregular, light cavalry. Local chieftains and not military officers commanded them. Cossacks were notorious for being as dangerous to their allies as to their enemies. Cossacks were not usually employed in fixed battles. Their massed swarm techniques were used to envelop flanks, or to make hit and run raids against an enemy. Cossacks usually seemed more interested in looting the dead, or living, than fighting. Their horsemanship was second to none. The true effectiveness of the Cossacks would not be seen until the 1812, when they harassed Napoleon's retreating Grande Army as it fled Russia. (Haythornthwaithe 18-20) The Officer Corps The officers of the Imperial Russian Army were its weakest link. The average Russian officer was from Minor nobility or at least the upper strata of Russian Aristocratic society. They were the most ignorant officers in Europe. These officers were not trained in the arts of war. He entered the army not to serve but for a uniform to impress women. He rarely concerns himself with the needs of his men. He was more concerned with whoring and drinking and left training and administration to NCOs. He strictly adhered to the linear tactics of his forefathers. Though there are always exceptions to any rule, the majority of the Russian officers could not hold a candle to their self-made, highly motivated, battle hardened French counterparts. (Chandler 40-41) The Austerlitz Campaign The Ulm Offensive The Austerlitz campaign has its roots in the Third Coalition. The Third Coalition consisted of Great Britain, the Austrian Empire, and the Russian Empire. For this campaign the British were mostly responsible for financing the operation. The Austrians and Russians were going to come in from the East and attack French conquests and possessions in Italy and Napoleon's allies in the Confederation of the Rhine. The plan was supposed to be a series of offensives in the North in Hanover, the East, and from South in Italy. The massive scope of this plan and the fact that the Russian calendar was 12 days later than the Austrian was, led to delays and massive problems. (Bowden 157-180) Napoleon had other plans. Due to his network of spies spread throughout Europe, Napoleon got wind of the Coalition's master plan. The Russians and Austrians were coming at him, and the possibility existed that they may pull Prussia into their alliance as well. These forces greatly outnumbered the French Grand Army. The Emperor knew he only had one chance to succeed. He decided to go on the offensive and strike at the Danube. (Bowden 157-180) After pulling his forces out of the Channel ports, the Grand Army marched on their defensive positions on the Rhine River. These troops then crossed into Austria, and turned south. The French were moving at speeds never before achieved by an army. General Von Mack was in command of the bulk of the Austrian Army, about 60,000 men. His troops were positioned near the Austrian City of Ulm. Mack received reports that the French had crossed the Austrian frontier and were sweeping in behind him, cutting him off from the remainder of the Austrian and Russian Armies. (Bowden 157-180) The Grand Army swept in behind General Mack's forces. Napoleon's men encircled Mack and virtually laid siege to Mack's army. Even though Mack was one of the foremost reformers of the Austrian Army, he did not seem to realize that this was a new kind of war. Napoleon's forces did not line up across the field and wait for Mack's forces to give battle, as was the accepted Practice in the Era of Fredrick the Great. The French encircled Mack's army. Following a series of unsuccessful attempts to break out of Ulm, he desertion of his cavalry, and realizing that there were no friendly forces that would be able to lift the siege, Mack surrendered his Army to the French on October 21, 1805. When the defeated Austrian was presented to the French Emperor, he was introduced as "The Unfortunate General Mack", it would be the only name history would remember him by. (Bowden 157-180) Pursuit of the Russian army and Prelude to Austerlitz When the Russian General Kutusov discovered the fate of Mack and his Austrians, he decided to retreat. Kutusov knew that his force of 58,000 Russians and Austrians would not be able defeat Napoleon so the plan was to link up with Buxhowden's. Three days after the fall of Ulm, Napoleon's forces began to pursue Kutusov's Russians. Taking advantage of the average Russian soldier's incredible endurance French fatigue, and minor delaying actions the Russians moved east. This brilliant withdrawal prevented the French from destroying the allied army. Kutusov was able to avoid a major engagement and to get his army across the Danube to the Austrian village of Olmutz. There he linked forces with Buxhowden's army. Their Tsar Alexander the First of Russia, and Emperor Francis II of Austria joined the allied army. Napoleon, having learned of the successes of his forces in stopping the Austrians in Italy. There was also mounting evidence that Prussia would not be joining in the alliance. This gave him the information he needed to commit the Grand Army to destroying the Allies and not worrying about protecting the French frontier. Napoleon knew that his army was on the verge of collapse. His men had been campaigning for the better part of three months and they were 700 miles from the French border. His men were nearing exhaustion, and supplies were running low. Napoleon needed one great victory to bring the Allies to the negotiation table, and end the war. He and his marshals went looking for a field of their choosing on which to bring the Allies to battle. Now was when the Emperor laid he trap and called together his Eagles. He found his field outside the village of Austerlitz. There he would conduct the most brilliant and one-sided battle the world had ever seen. (Chandler 16-20) Napoleon had a simple plan. Feign weakness to the allies to lull them into a false sense of confidence. He would then bring them into his trap, and at the exact moment, destroy the allies. The field of Austerlitz was dominated by the Pratzen heights, a series of hills that would be the focal point of the battlefield. Located below the heights were several villages, the most important of these were named Telnitz, Sokolnitz, and Kobelnitz, In the In the fields, forests, and these villages themselves, the battle would hinge. There was also the Goldbauch Stream, a creek that wound through a narrow strip of woods. (Chandler 16-20) Here is where we come to the differences in the French and the Allies. The Allies had a very disorganized high command. Even though there were two Emperors, and a myriad of Marshals and generals, there was no real Commander in chief. This left the allied staff to argue amongst them. There were two trains of thought. The first was those who wanted to be cautious and stay out of a major battle against Napoleon. Kutusov and the Emperor Francis had both encountered Napoleon before and knew what his army was capable of. They also knew that the French army was fatigued and running low on supplies. If the allies could delay a battle for a while longer, Napoleon would be forced to leave due to logistical problems. (Chandler 16-20) The Russian Tsar Alexander led the opposition to this plan. Alexander accompanied by a group of Aristocratic, over confident, officers. They believed that due to their noble birth, and just plain over confidence that they could beat the upstart Corsican and his ragtag army of Frenchmen. They wanted to go on the offensive and put an end to Napoleon once and for all. The belligerent attitude of these "war hawks" won out. The Allies would go on the offensive and bring the French to battle. Napoleon knew what the attitude of the allied high command was. He knew they were over confident and looking for a fight. On November 28, 1805 he sent emissaries to meet the allied camp. These emissaries hinted at Napoleon's desire for an armistice. In reality they were surveying the allied camp to see how prepared they were for battle. To seal the Allies suspicion of Napoleon's weakness, he abandoned his posts on the Pratzen Heights. This bolstered the confidence of the war hawks even further. Little did they know they were playing right into Napoleon's master plan? (Chandler 16-20) The Eve of Battle The night before the battle, the allied high command had a difficult night. There were still arguments about what approach to take for the up coming battle. The final decision was to make a strong attack on their left flank, smash through the French right at the village of Sokolnitz and roll up their flank. While on paper this plan seemed to make sense, in reality it would be very difficult. The officers seemed to take little interest in the planning. Accounts say that only one Russian general even bothered to look at the map. The Tsar and the Emperor argued. The Russians annoyed and insulted the Austrians. The general Kutusov, sensing that his warnings were going unheeded, comforted himself with a great amount of alcohol. By the time daylight had come, there was only a basic plan. In some cases orders had not even been sent out to some units. Opposite them, Napoleon was well prepared, and his army was well aware of their tasks for the next day. (Chandler 40-45) Across the Goldbauch Stream there was a much different situation. Napoleon had ridden out to walk amongst his me. It was then that his soldiers realized that it was the one-year anniversary of Napoleon's coronation as Emperor of France. A spur of the moment celebration broke out. Met lit torches and cries of "Vive' Le l'Empereur!" Echoed through the valley. Napoleon was visibly moved by the affection of his beloved army and later was heard to comment, "This has been the finest evening of my life." In the late evening of December 1, Napoleon was greeted with a with an anniversary gift. It was Marshal Davout. Napoleon had ordered Davout to force March his corps from Vienna to Austerlitz to participate in the battle. These men had marched over 100 miles in two days. Even though the men had performed one of the greatest troop movements in military history, they were still ready for the battle the next morning. Their arrival helped swing the odds further into Napoleon's favor. (Chandler 40-45) December 2, 1805: The Battle of Austerlitz 6 AM The armies awoke around 4 am that day. Tensions were high on both sides of the valley. In the French camp Napoleon had to break up a duel between Marshals Lanes and Soult. On the allied side, General Kutusov snapped at the Tsar in a moment of stress. (Chandler 44-49) By 6AM the allied army had lined up and Buxhowden's first column had begun its assault on the French right flank. The poorly planned operation began to go wrong from the beginning. Energetic Austrian troops rushed towards the wooded stream, but were cut down in droves by French and Corsican Voltiguers. The Allied army was moving rapidly on the village of Telnitz. They encountered stiff French resistance but eventually drove the defenders out. Upon taking the village, the allies stopped. Messages were sent out saying the French were falling back. They decided to wait for the second column to arrive. Unfortunately for the allies, this column was stuck in gridlock below the Pratzen heights. The poorly planed operation had not specified which regiments or columns would move at what times. This oversight led to massive problems in moving their forces to the fighting. The Allies were still unaware that Davot's corps had reinforced the French the night before. (Chandler 44-49) Almost as soon as the messages trumpeting early allied successes were sent, 10,000 French troops under General Bouchier counterattacked. The attack sent the Russo-Austrian army falling out of Sokolnitz and Telnitz and back across Goldbauch Stream. In this section of the battle, 10,000 highly motivated, well placed, and superbly led Frenchmen through 50,000 Russians out of the villages and returned the initiative to the French. (Chandler 44-49) 9 AM In the center of the battlefield, across from the Pratzen Heights, Napoleon and his commanders stood ready. Hidden in the early morning mists was Napoleon's main striking force. Seeing his right would be able to hold, and that the Allies had pulled their troops from the heights, Napoleon prepared for he coup de grace. Only the Russian Imperial Guard and the command staff were left on the heights. At 9 am, Marshal Soutl's two reserve divisions crossed the Goldbauch and began to ascend the Pratzen Heights. As the French climbed the hill, the famous cadence pas de charge was beaten by French Drummers. Then to the horror of the Russian commanders atop the Pratzen, a Russian officer screamed, "My God! Look; Look there just below us! Those are Frenchmen!" Two divisions of French Infantry appear only a few hundred yards from the Russian General Staff. General Kutusov hastily sent out orders to recall his troops that had been dispatched towards other parts of the battlefield. He was only able to get four battalions due to confusion in the ranks and the traffic of other allied units moving forward. French troops also took this advantage to throw the Russians out of the village of Pratzen at the foot of the heights. They did not stop there however they continued to drive forward and establish themselves on the Plateau. The mobility of the French artillery was also shown when a 12 gun battery struggled up the hill and then poured murderous fire into the Austrians, causing they to retreat. The immobility of Russian guns was also painfully apparent. The Russians were unable to move their batteries in front of the French onslaught, and the guns fell to Soult's divisions. 11 AM By 11 am, Marshal Soult was in control of the Pratzen Heights, but Kutusov was gathering forces to retake the high ground. On the Northern flank, Marshal Lannes had beaten back a counter attack near the village of Blasowitz. His forces also managed to push forward and loot the Russian camps and baggage wagons. This secured the French left flank. The French was still holding strong in the villages of Sokolnitz and Telnitz. The allowed Napoleon to secure his gains on the Pratzen Heights. Napoleon sent his elite Imperial Guard and the Grenadier Division to the heights. On top the Pratzen was where the climactic action of the Austerlitz campaign would take place. General Kutusov and the Tsar had ordered his brother, Arch Duke Constantine to take the Russian Imperial Guard to retake the heights. The first guardsmen up the hill were Russian Grenadiers, looking like giants in the tall, brass fronted miter caps. They were followed by Russian Guard Cuirassiers. These Russians overran a French Regiment and sent them into a route. Napoleon was left in a dangerous position, when the 24th collapsed, it left a gap in his forces. He ordered the Chasseurs-a-cheval and Grenadiers-a-cheval, with supporting horse artillery, to plug the gap. The French found them nearly surrounded by some of the best troops the Russians could muster. A brigade of French infantry also was thrown in fray. This allowed a reprieve where the Emperor could send in more of his Guard cavalry. The Egyptian Mamelukes, and more of the Guard. What progressed was one of the most savage cavalry battles in the history of Europe. Eventually, the elite battle tested French cavalry won out over, the aristocratic, green Russians. The Grenadiers-a-cheval, which were nicknamed the Gods, broke the back of the Russian Imperial guard. Now Napoleon stood unchallenged on what 5 hours earlier had been the allied center. Now it was time to turn a victory in to absolute, triumph. It was 2 pm. Napoleon had a choice. Which flank of the allied army would he crush first? 2 PM Napoleon decided to crush the allied left flank. From at top the Pratzen Heights, his army wheeled right and began to march towards what were once three columns of Attacking Russians and Austrians. Due to the chaos of battle, and the weather, Buxhowden's and his soldiers had been oblivious to the loss of the Pratzen heights and the destruction of the Imperial Guard. To the horror of the Allies, the French came upon them like an indigo tide. These Allied soldiers had been engaged in the struggle for Telnitz and Sokolnitz for nearly eight hours. They were exhausted, bloodied, running low on ammunition, and with the appearance of a new French threat in their rear, and the defenders of the villages still holding strong, the troops could only think of one thing...retreat. Some allied units did make heroic stands in attempt to delay the French onslaught, but these were all eventually overrun and destroyed. Russian units broke and ran in all directions. The regiments who had been thrown off the Pratzen heights attempted to flee east. The soldier's of Buxhowden's columns were less fortunate. The French who came down from the heights had also swept in behind them. These troops had only one avenue of escape, across a frozen lake, the Satschan Mere. As these men fled, the French artillery turned their guns upon the ice. The barrage broke the ice and as many as 2,000 troops, and 38 artillery pieces and teams slipped away beneath the frigid water. The French victory was complete. Aftermath The victory that Napoleon had envisioned had come true. On the morning of December 2, he faced an army 100,000 strong commanded by two emperors. Eight hours later, that army had left 20 thousand killed, 30,000 prisoners had been taken including 20 generals, 120 pieces of artillery, and 40 standards. 6 million francs were distributed amongst the men of the Grand Army. For this massive victory the French lost 1,300 killed, and 7,000 wounded. The Battle destroyed the Austrian army, and left the Russian army in tatters. It also brought about a peace treaty that effectively ended the Third Coalition. The Peace treats of Pressbug resulted in Austria ceding many of its possessions. Napoleon gave the province of Hanover to the Prussian Empire as a thank you for not joining the Third Coalition. The Emperor also rewarded his Bavarian and Wurttemberger Allies with land taken from Austria. The Russians returned to their homeland. Their army was in tatters. Only 26,000 men were seen leaving Austria and Poland. Of these many were wounded or without weapons. Though defeated, the French had learned to respect the tenacity of the Russian soldier. Though defeated, the Russians would return to be crushed again in 1807. Russia would also suffer a French invasion in 1812. But there on the frozen Steppes, the Russian peasants, not its noble officers, would defeat the Great Army. The Tsar's soldiers would also play an interregnal part in the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. (Chandler 71-80) My Thoughts The Napoleonic period has fascinated me for years. I am quite fortunate to have a father and friends who also share my passions. As you can probably tell from this paper, I am a devoted admirer of the Emperor Napoleon. I have a small brass bust of him over my desk. I have seen that the main flaw in the Imperial Russian army of this time is its officer corps and organization. Russian officers were the privileged class who knew next to nothing of the art of war. Their French counterparts were men who had clawed their way to fame and Glory through years of fighting, and excellence during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Russians do not hold the complete blame for the disasters of the 1805 campaign. Their Austrian allies had made more than their share of blunders which resulted in the destruction of the bulk of their army without serious loss to Napoleon. The French army had another great advantage in its organization. The Grand Army had been training on the coast of France for the better part of two years. In that time, the grizzled veterans of countless campaigns became cohesive fighting units. They learned to interact within the corps and divisional levels. At Austerlitz the Allied army was hamstrung with an atrocious command and control system. The officers were unaware of the plans. The general staff was bickering amongst them when they should have been planning. Tsar Alexander took command of the army when the soldiering should have been left to competent professionals like Kutusov. I have had the luxury of relighting the Battle of Austerlitz in miniature. In that game I was a general commanding a column of Buxhowden's offensive on the left flank. Our general staff was made up of Army and Naval officers, West Point cadets, military historians, and educated men. We all had an intricate knowledge what had transpired at Austerlitz. Even with all these advantages, we were not able to formulate a plan in which the Allies could have defeated the French. The plain truth is that the French and Napoleon were just too good. His units could operate effectively and their officers could take the initiative and achieve great things. The Russian officers did not possess any of these luxuries. The Russians did eventually learn their lesson. In 1812, the Tsar let his Generals do the job they were paid for. The Russian army had been reorganized on the French model. Though they did eventually defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in 1814, by adopting the tactics and practices of the Emperor, Napoleon in someway, had triumphed. Back to Dispatch August 2002 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com