Osprey Campaign 101 : Austerlitz 1805 : The Fate of Empires (2002)

The Battle of Austerlitz is, after Waterloo, probably the most famous land battle of the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first campaign which Napoleon waged as Emperor of France and the first great test for his Grande Armée after years of preparation in the 'camps of Boulogne'. At the end of August 1805, even before Nelson's crushing defeat of the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar rendered the invasion of England impossible, Napoleon was issuing orders for his army to march into Germany. Reports had reached him from his spy network that Austria and Russia were preparing to take the field against him. In a masterpiece of strategic manoeuvre he isolated the Austrian army under General Mack around Ulm and forced it to surrender. Nevertheless, the forces confronting Napoleon remained formidable. He pressed on capturing Vienna and then proceeded to lure the Russian and Austrian armies into a carefully prepared trap using his own army as the bait. On 2 December 1805 on a cold, crisp winter's day on the field of Austerlitz the Emperors of Russia, Austria and France would all be present to witness one of the greatest battles of the age. This new edition of 'Austerlitz 1805' comes 10 years after the publication of the original book, during which time much more has been learnt about the battle. Text by Ian Castle with illustrations by Christa Hook.

Contents

• The Road to War
• Chronology
• Opposing Commanders
• Opposing Armies
• Opposing Plans
• Opening Moves
• The Battle of Austerlitz
• The Aftermath
• The Battlefield Today
• Bibliography
• Index