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2 December in military history: Battle of Austerlitz, 1805

Military history · 2 December · War of the Third CoalitionFull calendar

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Large battle painting: Napoleon in a plain green coat and black bicorne sits a white horse on the right among his staff, while from the left a general on a gray horse gallops up with captured enemy standards, prisoners and wounded men lying in the foreground and a stormy sky above.
The Battle of Austerlitz, 2 December 1805, painted by François Gérard in 1810: General Rapp brings Napoleon the captured standards and prisoners of the Russian Imperial Guard. Palace of Versailles. Public domain. Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, via Wikimedia Commons.
Quick answer

On 2 December 1805, the first anniversary of his coronation, Napoleon defeated the Russian and Austrian armies at Austerlitz in Moravia, today Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic. He let the allies attack his thin right wing, took the Pratzen Heights in their weakened center and cut their army in two. Within weeks Austria made peace.1

The Battle of Austerlitz, 1805: Napoleon's masterpiece

2 December 1805 · 220 years ago

Napoleon won his masterpiece at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805, luring the combined Austrian and Russian armies into attacking an apparently weak French position, then splitting them in two. Fought on the first anniversary of his coronation, it is the battle most often called his greatest.

Read the full story of The Battle of Austerlitz, 1805: Napoleon's masterpiece ›

Battle of Tirad Pass, 1899: Gregorio del Pilar's last stand

2 December 1899 · 126 years ago

A Filipino rear guard of about 60 men under General Gregorio del Pilar held Tirad Pass in northern Luzon against a far larger American force in the Philippine-American War. The defenders were overwhelmed and del Pilar fell, but their stand let Emilio Aguinaldo escape.

Read the full story of Battle of Tirad Pass, 1899: Gregorio del Pilar's last stand ›

Frequently asked questions

Who won the Battle of Austerlitz?

Napoleon. On 2 December 1805 his French army defeated the combined Russian and Austrian armies in Moravia, and Austria made peace soon afterward.

Why is Austerlitz called the Battle of the Three Emperors?

Napoleon, Emperor of the French, faced Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Emperor Francis of Austria, who were both with their army.

Where is Austerlitz today?

Austerlitz is the town of Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, near Brno. The fighting took place on the hills and in the villages west of the town.

Notes

A number in the text points to a note; each note names the works that paragraph draws on, listed in full under Sources.

  1. Fondation Napoléon, “Austerlitz, 2 December, 1805”; J. Holland Rose, “The Life of Napoleon I (Volume 2 of 2)”; Miroslav Jireček, PDF. ↩

Sources

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