Perspective and Background Regarding the Ultimate Effects of this Battle
In what is widely regarded as the greatest victory achieved by Napoleon, the Grande Armée of France defeated a larger Russian and Austrian army led by Emperor Alexander I and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. At this battle, providence was in his favor as we shall see in this post. Had he been satisfied with this victory and his additional continued victories throughout 1809, there would have finally have been peace, leaving him the master of most of Europe for many years. However, Napoleon made a fundamental mistake of invading Russia at which point the same providence that originally supported him began to cause his undoing. See The Battle of Waterloo where a victory would have been likely had he been able to catch any breaks, but providence decided to put an end to the Napoleonic wars and conspired against him. However, although providence denied Napoleon any breaks that he needed in the battle of Waterloo; he should not have been in such weak position in the first place. There is a common adage that states that God helps those who help themselves, and perhaps the opposite can be stated as well that those that harm themselves, God helps them be harmed. The only reason why Napoleon was in a weak position at Waterloo was due to his appetite for more and more wars. This led to the disastrous invasion of Russia from which Napoleon never recovered.
In summary, then, the acts of providence that led to his victory in Austerlitz accomplished two results: 1. Provided an opportunity for peace in the form of Napoleonic- controlled Europe. 2. Provided a temptation for Napoleon to continue initiating wars. However, #1 and #2 were mutually exclusive. If Napoleon would choose to continue initiating wars, then the peace that the providence willed to take place would be with him out of the picture.
We will now list some of the acts of providence that led to the victory at Austerlitz. It is noteworthy that the same acts of providence that helped him here conspired against him at Waterloo. (Three examples are: 1. The weather helped him here but was devastating at Waterloo. 2. The ability of the French army to stave off defeat at the last minute when at Waterloo the exact opposite occurred where the British staved off defeat. 3. The location of the battlefield which was so favorable for the French at Austerlitz was incredibly favorable for the British at Waterloo. The reader is directed to The Battle of Waterloo for more details regarding that battle and the acts of providence therein.)
Acts of Providence that Led towards this Victory
1. One major break was the very fact that the Allies led by the Russians engaged him in battle at the location and time that best suited Napoleon instead of postponing the battle and moving it further away from the French stronghold. In actuality, the extremely competent general Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov commander-in-chief of the combined Russo-Austrian force, was not the cause of any of these mistakes; but his plans were overruled time and again by Tsar Alexander. (See
Napoleon’s Campaign Against Russia where in a later act of providence, Kutuzov was appointed commander of the Russian defense against the French invasion; and this time, he disregarded the orders from the Tsar to engage Napoleon in battle, and his tactics – along with many other acts of providence – led to the disastrous French defeat.)
As soon as Kutuzov was appointed, he immediately arrived at the battlefield, and quickly contacted Francis I of Austria and his courtiers to discuss strategy and logistics. Under pressure from Kutuzov, the Austrians agreed to supply munitions and weapons in a timely manner. Assessing the situation, Kutuzov realized that Napoleon needed to do battle immediately in order to win, but that the Russian forces were not in a good position. Therefore, instead of clinging to what he called the “suicidal” Austrian defense plan, Kutuzov decided to retreat. However, the Tsar and his immediate entourage were lured by Napoleon’s feigned weaknesses and pushed hard for a battle. Although Kutuzov had support from Emperor Francis of Austria for his plan to postpone the battle and retreat to a location much more difficult for the French;[34] the pressure to fight from the Russian nobles and the Austrian commanders, was too strong. The Russian Tsar rudely stripped the authority of Commander-in-chief M. I. Kutuzov and gave it to Franz von Weyrother. In the battle, Kutuzov could only command the IV Corps of the Allied army.
2. A second, fatal mistake by Tsar Alexander was not allowing Kutuzov to retain the strategic ground of Pratzen. Napoleon deliberately retreated from that strategic position on the Pratzen Heights in order to fake weakness and lure the allies into battle. Meanwhile, Napoleon’s main force was to be concealed in a dead ground opposite the Heights.[38]According to the plan, the French troops would attack and recapture the Pratzen Heights, then from the Heights they would launch a decisive assault to the center of the Allied army, cripple them, and encircle them from the rear.[23][37] Just like Napoleon, Kutuzov realized the importance of Pratzen and decided to protect the position. This would have jeopardized the entire French plan because if they couldn’t retake the Pratzen Heights, they wouldn’t be able to launch the assault on the allied army. But again, the Tsar overruled Kutuzov, and expelled the IV Corp from the Heights in order to throw more troops at the alleged weak French position. This act quickly pushed the Allied army into her grave.
Archibald Alison in his History of Europe (1836) offers the first recorded telling of the apocryphal story that when the Allies descended the Pratzen Heights to attack Napoleon’s supposedly weak flank, “The marshals who surrounded Napoleon saw the advantage, and eagerly besought him to give the signal for action; but he restrained their ardour, . . . ‘when the enemy is making a false movement we must take good care not to interrupt him.’” [58]
Ironically, the Tsar laid all the blame for the loss on Kutuzov! Wikepedia states clearly that this was completely false:”it is clear that Kutuzov’s plan was to retreat farther to the rear where the Allied Army had a sharp advantage in logistics. Had the Allied Army retreated further, they might have been reinforced by Archduke Charles’s troops from Italy, and the Prussians might have joined the coalition against Napoleon. A French army at the end of her supply lines, in a place which had no food supplies, might have faced a very different ending from the one they achieved at the real battle of Austerlitz.[65] This essentially was Kutuzov’s successful strategy in 1812, after the Battle of Borodino.” See
Napoleon’s Campaign Against Russia
3. The weather was perfect for Napoleon’s army. The army was cloaked by dense mist during the early stage of the battle, hiding them from enemy view. However, if the mist lingered too long, Napoleon would be unable to determine when the Allied troops had evacuated Pratzen Heights, preventing him from timing his attack properly.[39]
However, as they went up the slope, the legendary ‘Sun of Austerlitz’ ripped the mist apart and encouraged them forward.[42] Russian soldiers and commanders on top of the heights were stunned to see so many French troops coming towards them.[44] Thus, the mist worked to perfection. Additionally, the weather allowed for a march of French troops, Davout’s III Corps, of 110 km in only 48 hours. To support his weak right flank, Napoleon ordered them to support the extreme southern flank that would bear the heaviest part of the Allied attack. Their arrival was crucial in the success of the French plan. Had the weather been poor, a march at this speed would have been impossible.
4. The fact that the French managed to overtake the heights was very fortunate and only happened at the last moment. After St. Hilarie’s unit had approached the heights, Allied commanders moved some of the delayed detachments of the fourth column into this bitter struggle. Over an hour of fighting destroyed much of this unit. The other men from the second column, mostly inexperienced Austrians, also participated in the struggle and swung the numbers against one of the best fighting forces in the French army, eventually forcing them to withdraw down the slopes. However, gripped by desperation, St. Hilaire’s men struck hard once more and forced the Allies out of the heights.
