Ian Castle - Austerlitz: Napoleon and the Eagles of Europe

First published in Great Britain in 2005 by
Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Ian Castle 2005

ISBN 1-84415-171-9
PRINT ISBN: 9781844151714
EPUB ISBN: 9781844683291
PRC ISBN: 9781844683307

The right of Ian Castle to be identified as
Author of the Work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.

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For Nicola,
Who actively indulges my passion for times long ago and willingly accompanies me on the historical path that I tread.

List of Maps

Authors Note

While researching this book I spent much time working with German, French and Russian language texts. In an attempt to retain some of the flavour of a multi-national war, I have decided to retain the ranks of army officers in their relevant languages, when naming individuals. I have occasionally used abbreviations for some senior officer ranks. A table is given below detailing these rank definitions and abbreviations for the readers convenience.

In a similar vein, I also intended giving regimental titles in their respective languages. This has been relatively straightforward for the French and Austrian armies, examples of which are given below:

N.B. In addition to the above infantry abbreviations I have also used 1/4me Ligne and 2/26me Lgre to indicate 1st and 2nd battalions of particular regiments.

I hoped to operate a similar system for the Russian army (see examples below), but on reflection, it has been decided to use English translations of regimental titles, in order to simplify understanding of their roles.

Another anomaly in the Russian army is the occasional use of numerals after officers names. This system was introduced because a great number of officers serving in the army had the same surname. For instance, there were three officers with the name Essen on active service in 1805 and they were known as Essen I, Essen II and Essen III.

The spelling of Russian officers names varies considerably in primary sources, and in Napoleonic literature in general. For the sake of consistency, I have followed the spellings given in Alexander Mikaberidzes authoritative The Russian Officer Corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 17921815. This source has also been relied upon for regimental names.

Preface

I first visited the battlefield of Austerlitz in 1989 in the company of some 100 members of the Napoleonic Association, including in our number the late Dr David Chandler. Back then Czechoslovakia formed a Communist state and I remember our coaches being held at the border for five long hours while our paperwork was rejected and correct paperwork processed in its place. Later that year massive anti-government demonstrations led to the Velvet Revolution and the abandoning of former ties with the Soviet Union. Now Austerlitz lies in the Czech Republic (Czechia), member state of NATO and the European Union. When I visited Austerlitz again in 2000 it took less than five minutes to cross the border.

The battlefield is a rewarding place to visit as there has been little dramatic change to the terrain in the intervening 200 years. It is as simple to explore all the key geographical features of the battle today as it is to imagine the armies of France, Russia and Austria marching across them in 1805. This is made even easier on each anniversary of the battle, when Napoleonic re-enactors from all over Europe congregate in bleak, cold, December weather, to recreate this momentous battle: the hills and fields echoing once more to the blast of musketry and cannon fire. The battlefield has survived into the twenty-first century without any significant intrusive development destroying our link with one of the most famous battles of the Napoleonic era. It must therefore be hoped that increasing international opposition will defeat NATOs current plan to impose a highly visible radar station on the Pratzen Plateau, the key feature in Napoleons battle plan.

My first trip to Austerlitz and Dr Chandlers on-site lecture fuelled my interest in the battle and set me on a research path that has finally led to this book, some sixteen years later, published appropriately to mark the 200th anniversary.

In completing this work I have been amazed by the enthusiasm and generosity I have encountered from people all over the world, many of whom I know only through the medium of email. Without their willing responses to my regular requests for information and help this book would have taken a very different form. I therefore wish to extend my thanks to John Sloan, Steve Smith and Mark Conrad in the USA, who offered me sound advice on Russian sources. I received similar help from Alexander Mikaberidze and have used his excellent book,