On this day in 1805, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, defeated the combined Austrian-Russian armies at the Battle of Austerlitz. Napoleon's victory had enormous ramifications on Europe. It ended the Third Coalition. It led to the end of the thousand year old Holy Roman Empire and set Germany on the path to unification. It is also considered one of the tactical masterpieces of military history.
Napoleon deliberately deployed his army on low ground in front of Pratzen Heights, and overextended his right flank. Davout's corps was approaching the battlefield from that direction and Napoleon was counting on him arriving in time. When the Austro-Russian army arrived they immediately saw the weak right flank and planned to make they're main attack there.
The next day, Dec. 2nd, the Allies launched a secondary attack against the French left to hold the main part of the French army in place while their main attack was made against the French right. The French right fought hard and valiantly, but were simply outnumbered and began to fall back. Seeing this, the Allies moved more troops from the center to their left to add more weight to the main attack. By now Davout had arrived to reinforce the French right. This is what Napoleon was waiting for.
Soult's corp in the French center stormed the weakened Allied center on Pratzen Heights and split the army in two. Soult's corps then wheeled right to roll up the Allied left flank, while Bernadotte's corps poured through the gap, wheeled left and rolled up the Allied right flank. The Allied army disintegrated. Two days later, the Austrian Emperor surrendered unconditionally to Napoleon.
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