Historical Note
Napoleon had present about 73,200 men and 139 artillery pieces while the Allied army nominally commanded by Tsar Alexander I and Emperor Francis II deployed 85,400 men and 278 artillery pieces. On December 1, the Russian army pressed forward and occupied the Pratzen Heights which the French had previously abandoned. Napoleon anchored his left flank with Lannes on the Santon hill. Soult's IV Corps held the villages near the Bosenitz and Goldbach streams. Davout's recently arrived division held the right flank. The front was nearly five miles long. Napoleon's cavalry, Guard, and reserves were hidden on the French left wing behind a hill. The Allied General Buxhöwden advanced 60,000 men south and west of the Pratzen Heights while 17,600 men attacked towards Santon hill in the north. The Russian Imperial Guard with 8,500 men was held as reserve in the center.
By 9:00am Napoleon ordered Marshal Soult's two divisions to attack southeast towards the Heights. He was supported by Bernodotte's corps on the left. Meanwhile a large cavalry action occurred in the north by Santon hill. At 10:30am the Allies attacked Soult's divisions, but they managed to hold by the strategic placement of artillery. At 1:00pm the Russian Guard routed Soult's troops from the hill. French cavlary then charged repulsing the Russian Guard. Bernadotte threw in a division to hold the center. The French Imperial Guard advanced southeast onto the Pratzen Heights and then turned southwest to envelop Buxhöwden's men. The Allied left flank was routed. The French had lost 8,300 men, while the Russian army lost 16,000 men, 11,000 prisoners, and 180 artillery pieces.
Historical Briefings and Orders of Battle
Tsar Alexander I and
Emperor Francis II (Nominal Commanders-in-Chief) :
The main weight of your attack is on the left flank, where 42 Russian battalions,
under Buxhowden, are to envelop the French right in the vicinity of Telnitz.
To the north, columns under Przybyszewski and Kollowrath are to force the line of the
Goldbach brook, while Prince John of Liechtenstein, with 82 squadrons of cavalry,
supported the right wing, where Bagration's advance guard is directed on Brno.
The Reserve, 10 infantry battalions and 18 cavalry squadrons, located near the
Allied headquarters at Krzenowitz, would support operations on the northern flank.
For a detailed Allied Order of Battle click HERE.
Emperor Napoleon I (Commander-in-Chief) :
Soult's Corps will begin the main effort, in the center -- an advance in echelons,
the right wing leading -- against the weakly defended plateau of Pratzen. Soult's task
will be to penetrate the Allied center, turning south to envelop the Allied left.
Murat's cavalry is positioned between Soult's left and Lannes, moving to the army's
center as Soult advanced. Lannes' Corps will remain under cover of the heights
in his sector. Behind this formation, Bernadotte's Corps would form a second line to
threaten the Allies' right wing, and their communications to Olmütz, while destroying
their left. Your own right is deceptively weak for Davout's Corps remained slightly
to the rear, inviting an Allied assault on Legrand's apparently isolated division
at Telnitz. For a detailed French Order of Battle click HERE.
Since the details of this battle are well known, the players were allowed to develop their own plans. The only requirement was that the Allies had to have an attack plan. The French had the hardest challenge as they had to try and obtain an historical outcome.
Austerlitz: After Action Report
Napoleon decided on an almost historical plan. He held the Goldbach Stream, with Soult holding from Bellantz to Jirschkowitz. On his right was Lannes who held as far as Kobelnitz. Then came Bernadotte to Sokolnitz and Davout held Telnitz. Oudinot was behind Lannes and Murat was behind him. The Guard was on Oudinot's right behind the Kobelnitz Pond. All units were to hold these positions pending orders to counter attack.
The Allies chose a conservative attack plan. With Bagration on the right and Langeron on the left, they would descend from the Pratzen Heights and take Jirschkowitz. From there they would cross the Goldbach and then press on to Lapanz Markt. Constantine would remain in reserve behind them. Miloradovich and Kollowrath would hold the Pratzen Heights behind Pratzen. Liechtenstein would remain in reserve behind them. Przybyszewski would follow Bagration and shake out on his right to cover his flank. Dokhturov would secure the Allied right by holding Bosenitz. Kienmayer would remain in reserve behind him.
Although the French had been in their positions long before dawn, the Allies only departed their camps at 6:00am, Langeron's troops arriving on top of the Prazen Heights by 6:30am and by 7:10am were deployed outside of Jirschkowitz.
Napoleon ended his command conference at 7:30am sending his Generals to their commands. Although the battlefield was covered with fog he told them that within 30 minutes the enemy would attack.
By 7:40am Bagration had deployed behind the Jirschkowitz Stream and Langeron's artillery had started to bombard the village. Thirty minutes later he ordered the 8th Jaegers to attack. Jirschkowitz was held by the Legrand's crack Tiraillieurs who put up a strong defense. The Jaegers were forced to fall back with a loss of some 300 men.
The fog was starting to lift in some areas by 8:00am and the French and Russian guns started pounding each other at Jirschkowitz, which was shortly ablaze. The regimental commander of the 61st Ligne Regiment noticed the Perm Infantry Regiment wavering and ordered his men over the Goldbach to attack them. The Russians had simply being dressing their ranks and let loose a heavy string of volleys that took down 300 French men and forced the 61st Ligne back over the stream.
Flushed with victory, Langeron ordered the Kursk Infantry Regiment to attack the village. Once again the Tiraillieurs held their ground and routed the Russians so badly that they took the St. Petersburg Dragoons with them.
By 9:00am the fire was so intense in Jirschkowitz that the French had to withdraw. Two Russian and one French battery had also been forced back due to counter battery fire.
The fog cleared at about 9:30am and Napoleon ordered Soult and Lannes to attack the Pratzen Heights. Oudinot and the Guard were to support Lannes. Bernadotte was to attack the southern part of the Pratzen Heights. Davout was to attack and clear the enemy south of the Pratzen. By 10:00am the French counter-attack was in motion.
Lannes saw the Perm Infantry Regiment was his first target and ordered the 30th and 51st Ligne Regiments with Walther's Dragoons to attack them. The Perm Infantry Regiment along with their supporting artillery proved they were up to the challenge. They delivered a series of vollies and the artillery cannistered the French. This was too much for the French, they broke, quickly falling back across the Goldbach.
The allies now aware of the French counter attack calmly maintained their original battle plan, only making a few minor adjustments.
The major French assault hit the Allies close to 10:20am and lasted about an hour, mostly between the Santon and Pratzen with very heavy fighting just past Jirschkowitz. Margaron was on the the left flank of the French army and spent all his time pushing Cossacks off the Goldback Heights. On his right Beaumont had a tougher time against Przybyszewski. Two regiments of Dragoons were forced back before he could make any headway. Beside him St. Hilaire also had two regiments forced back and the 36th Ligne Regiment was forced to surrender when Przybyszewski and Dokturov counter-attacked them south of Bosenitz. Next in the line was Vandamme who also had two regiments forced back but still managed to control the approach to the Pratzen Heights.
Przybyszewski's losses were small but he could clearly see that the French were slowly working their way around him on his right. Dokhturov was still holding his original position, but now he only had two regiments left in good condition. He was trying to rally three more regiments but he could see that another French assault might destroy him. Dokhturov could also see six fresh French regiments bearing down on his position.
Nansouty and Fauconnet had been ordered to charge up the Pratzen Heights in support of the main assault. Upon arrival Nansouty pressed his Carabiniers into action. They were quickly forced back down the heights by intense fire from Dokhturov's artillery.
Legrand's troops could not even get across the Goldbach as the artillery fire from Bagration's guns was too intense. The 3rd Ligne Regiment was almost wiped out and the 18th Ligne Regiment lost 50% of its men.
Oudinot's crack troops swarmed around the ashes of Jirschkowitz and started up the Pratzen at about 11:30am. Caffarelli and Suchet had been engaged in intense fighting with Langeron and Kollowrath all morning. By 11:30am, Caffarelli had two regiments still in good order. Suchet only had but one, but most of their troops were now starting to rally for another assault.
Langeron was reduced to three regiments and only two batteries were still in action. He had clearly taken the brunt of the French assault. At 11:10am, he quickly rode over to Kutuzov and begged him to send him reinforcements. Kutusov declined his request and told him to return to his command.
Although Kollowrath had managed to beat back Suchet his command had been reduced by 60%. His troops would not withstand another attack.
Drouet, Raffiniere, Kellerman, D'Hautpoul and Bourcier were now on the Allied left flank and were preparing to launch a massive strike before noon. Friant had taken and was holding Hostieradek and Aujust Markt without finding any Allied troops. He remained in these villages to protect the right flank of the army.
Although most of the Allies had still not seen any action or had been committed, it was clear that victory would elude them this day. Their losses had been heavy, both flanks were at risk and all along the line the French were preparing to attack again. Another massive attack could destroy what was left of the front line troops. At 11:30am Kutozov started to inform his commanders to withdraw.
ConclusionThe Allies had a tough situation, attack the French but didn't make the historical mistakes. The plan they chose was conservative. Although it allowed them to deal with the French from a strong position they were not able to execute a blow that would knock the French off balance. Their attack quickly ground to a halt and they found themselves on the defensive. They held their ground pushing back attack after attack but holding ground rarely wins battles. Interestingly, their plan could be considered more in line with an Allied plan then the historical one was.
Napoleon's plan was also conservative. He defended the Goldbach Stream in strength and held all his reserves in the center. When the French counter-attack was launched it was ferocious. They threw every regiment they could into every attack, units were shoulder to shoulder. The only thing that caused them any pause was a lack of fresh regiments.
The winner of this battle was a tough call as the Allies fought well and saved most of their troops. This was an outcome that was better then the historical one. But their plan had no effect on the French. The French get the nod for a marginal victory only because of their intense attacks with few actual losses and control of the battlefield. Also they were working on a plan that was ultimately designed to engulf the Allies where as the Allied plan had ceased to exist.
The real question is could either side have adopted a better plan that could have produced better results. So far, I think that question still remains open and perhaps another battle of Austerlitz in the future might answer this.
La Marche d'Austerlitz (1805)
