What do you think?
Rate this book
1805: Austerlitz: Napoleon And The Destruction Of The Third Coalition
This in-depth study of The Battle of Austerlitz, considered Napoleon’s greatest victory, won the Napoleon Foundation’s History Grand Prize. Sometimes called The Battle of Three Emperors, Napoleon’s victory against the combined forces of Russia and Austria brought a decisive end to The War of the Third Coalition. The magnitude of the French achievement against a larger army was met by sheer amazement and delirium in Paris, where just days earlier the nation had been teetering on the brink of financial collapse.In 1805: Austerlitz , historian Robert Goetz demonstrates how Napoleon and his Grande Armée of 1805 defeated a formidable professional army that had fought the French armies on equal terms five years earlier. Goetz analyses the planning of the opposing forces and details the course of the battle hour by hour, describing the fierce see-saw battle around Sokolnitz, the epic struggle for the Pratzen Heights, the dramatic engagement between the legendary Lannes and Bagration in the north, and the widely misunderstood clash of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard and Alexander’s Imperial Leib-Guard. Goetz’s detailed and balanced assessment of the battle exposes many myths that have been perpetuated and even embellished in other accounts.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2005
32 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 4, 2012
1805: Austerlitz: Napoleon and the Destruction of the Third Coalition is a detailed military analysis of one of Napoleon's most famous battles. It may not be an easy to read book with a free-flowing narrative but it is a well-researched and well-presented military study of a famous campaign.
The author has provided numerous footnotes through the book along with some decent maps to follow the action. He has also presented a number of points of views from previous books on the subject, highlighting differences and offering a likely scenario based on his research.
The book also has a number of first-hand accounts scattered throughout offering the perspective from those on the battlefield from both sides. The author has also provided the reader with some Biographical notes and some decent Order of Battle charts.
Overall a very good military history but maybe not as easy to get into as Christopher Duffy’s book; Austerlitz 1805, which is another very good account.
The author has provided numerous footnotes through the book along with some decent maps to follow the action. He has also presented a number of points of views from previous books on the subject, highlighting differences and offering a likely scenario based on his research.
The book also has a number of first-hand accounts scattered throughout offering the perspective from those on the battlefield from both sides. The author has also provided the reader with some Biographical notes and some decent Order of Battle charts.
Overall a very good military history but maybe not as easy to get into as Christopher Duffy’s book; Austerlitz 1805, which is another very good account.
January 2, 2026
An excellent study that really shows that the incompetence of the allied commanders probably would have resulted in a French victory even without the beautifully conceived trap laid by Napoleon. Ability in manoeuvre trumped confused bravery. The maps are excellent and of a good scale to follow the action hour by hour. Highly recommended.
December 28, 2009
Austerlitz can legitimately be described as one of the greatest of Napoleon Bonaparte's victories. The battle destroyed the coalition among Austrians, Prussians, and Russians. The Holy Roman Empire was finally (and mercifully) terminated. This volume looks at the actual nitty gritty details of the Austerlitz campaign. The author notes that (page 13): "The story of the 1805 Campaign and the stunning victory of Austerlitz is the story of the beginning of the Napoleon of history and the Grande Armee of legend."
Good features of this book: plenty of maps to lay out the progression of events, the order of battle, an estimate of the armies' strengths, an assessment of casualties in both armies. This book is also distinguished by providing great amounts of information from the allies' perspective, rather than just from the French and Napoleonic viewpoint.
The story begins with the start of hostilities between France and her adversaries after the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, which temporarily brought peace to Europe. The volume starts off with an assessment of the strength of the various allied armies as well as the French forces and the early maneuvering of the various forces. The destruction of the incompetently led Austrain forces at Ulm are described well. The Austrian General, Mack, completely failed against Napoleon.
After that defeat, the allies began gathering their troops together to continue the struggle against the French. Russian armies began the march from the motherland. Austrian forces begin to gather. Even Prussia was willing to enter on the side of the allies, although its forces would be unable to participate at Austerlitz.
Once the allies began to gather their horde, the movement of the French and allies began to lead to battle. Both forces ended up gathering near the village of Austerlitz. Napoleon began to develop alternative strategies, contingent upon what the allies did. The prime mover of the allied strategic choices, Weyrother, conceived an attack on the French right, without assuming that Napoleon might not just sit around waiting to be attacked. Indeed, Napoleon had already thought through what he would do if such an attack took place. The logistics of the allied forces moving to the offensive were strained; communication between Austrians and Russians (calling for translation) went awry.
Napoleon launched an attack on the crucial Pratzen Heights. While the fighting was at times fierce, he had hit the Russians when they were unprepared, as they moved to attack Napoleon's right. Once he had control of the Heights, his army had cut the allied forces in two. There begin the attack on the flank and rear of the allies attacking the French right. Things fell apart rapidly. While the Russians fought well, the game was pretty much up. Some allies, such as Bagration, fought well. Others appeared to be stupefied by what was happening. One nice aspect of the concluding discussion is the rating of the various major figures on both sides. Some, like Bagration, come off very well. Others, like Buxhowden, come off badly. Overall, the French leaders appear to have done a better job. As others note, it would have been helpful if there were a bit more information on the leaders as human beings.
In the end, perhaps Napoleon's greatest triumph. This led to a peace agreement that ended to "third coalition" of allies against France.
The book is written in excruciating detail. Keeping units and leaders straight is not easy. On the other hand, the detail provides as clear a sense of this critical battle as anyone could hope for.
Good features of this book: plenty of maps to lay out the progression of events, the order of battle, an estimate of the armies' strengths, an assessment of casualties in both armies. This book is also distinguished by providing great amounts of information from the allies' perspective, rather than just from the French and Napoleonic viewpoint.
The story begins with the start of hostilities between France and her adversaries after the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, which temporarily brought peace to Europe. The volume starts off with an assessment of the strength of the various allied armies as well as the French forces and the early maneuvering of the various forces. The destruction of the incompetently led Austrain forces at Ulm are described well. The Austrian General, Mack, completely failed against Napoleon.
After that defeat, the allies began gathering their troops together to continue the struggle against the French. Russian armies began the march from the motherland. Austrian forces begin to gather. Even Prussia was willing to enter on the side of the allies, although its forces would be unable to participate at Austerlitz.
Once the allies began to gather their horde, the movement of the French and allies began to lead to battle. Both forces ended up gathering near the village of Austerlitz. Napoleon began to develop alternative strategies, contingent upon what the allies did. The prime mover of the allied strategic choices, Weyrother, conceived an attack on the French right, without assuming that Napoleon might not just sit around waiting to be attacked. Indeed, Napoleon had already thought through what he would do if such an attack took place. The logistics of the allied forces moving to the offensive were strained; communication between Austrians and Russians (calling for translation) went awry.
Napoleon launched an attack on the crucial Pratzen Heights. While the fighting was at times fierce, he had hit the Russians when they were unprepared, as they moved to attack Napoleon's right. Once he had control of the Heights, his army had cut the allied forces in two. There begin the attack on the flank and rear of the allies attacking the French right. Things fell apart rapidly. While the Russians fought well, the game was pretty much up. Some allies, such as Bagration, fought well. Others appeared to be stupefied by what was happening. One nice aspect of the concluding discussion is the rating of the various major figures on both sides. Some, like Bagration, come off very well. Others, like Buxhowden, come off badly. Overall, the French leaders appear to have done a better job. As others note, it would have been helpful if there were a bit more information on the leaders as human beings.
In the end, perhaps Napoleon's greatest triumph. This led to a peace agreement that ended to "third coalition" of allies against France.
The book is written in excruciating detail. Keeping units and leaders straight is not easy. On the other hand, the detail provides as clear a sense of this critical battle as anyone could hope for.
August 28, 2012
This was an okay account of Austerlitz, if tediously one-dimensional. I was especially disappointed that the commanders involved (including Napoleon) were basically cardboard cutouts with names. If the author would have fleshed out the individual commanders even a bit, it would have added some much needed depth to the book. If you want to know which unit was where at a specific time and what it did while it was there, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for a gripping battle narrative, you'll need to look elsewhere. To give him his due, the author does a fine job of book-ending the battle with before- & after- sections that set the battle within the larger context of the campaign.
December 8, 2018
Titled 1805: Austerlitz, this book is essentially an in-depth history of the War of the Third Coalition. Goetz sets the scene well, describing both sides and why the conflict erupted.
This book excels at its highly detailed descriptions of strategy and tactics. Goetz tracks the movements of the armies through the initial Ulm campaign where the French encircled Mack's Austrians and forced the surrender of his entire army.
The main focus of the book is on the battle itself. The battle is related in excruciating detail. I found myself having to read slower than usual just so I could soak in all the names and troop divisions. I found the maps to be extremely helpful. There are twenty maps, many showing the same locations on the battlefield, but at different times. I've rarely found a book so rich in excellent maps, so this was a delightful surprise and essential to my comprehension.
In his introduction, Goetz declares that he decided to focus more on the Allies than the French, because most accounts of the battle of Austerlitz deal more with the French perspective and use French sources.
The strength of 1805: Austerlitz is, as many other reviewers have noted, is its thoroughness and depth of information. If you ever want to learn about which Allied regiments assaulted Sokolnitz and Tellnitz or other such minutiae then you'll want to read this book. The pages are filled with footnotes discussing the reliability of sources and other such information. The appendices also contain concise biographies of many personalities and the order of battle for the French and Allied armies.
This book was not an easy read, but the wealth of information it contains more than makes up for its lack of readability. I wouldn't recommend this as introductory book to Austerlitz or the Napoleonic pages, but I would imagine anyone seriously interested in this epoch would find this book valuable.
This book excels at its highly detailed descriptions of strategy and tactics. Goetz tracks the movements of the armies through the initial Ulm campaign where the French encircled Mack's Austrians and forced the surrender of his entire army.
The main focus of the book is on the battle itself. The battle is related in excruciating detail. I found myself having to read slower than usual just so I could soak in all the names and troop divisions. I found the maps to be extremely helpful. There are twenty maps, many showing the same locations on the battlefield, but at different times. I've rarely found a book so rich in excellent maps, so this was a delightful surprise and essential to my comprehension.
In his introduction, Goetz declares that he decided to focus more on the Allies than the French, because most accounts of the battle of Austerlitz deal more with the French perspective and use French sources.
The strength of 1805: Austerlitz is, as many other reviewers have noted, is its thoroughness and depth of information. If you ever want to learn about which Allied regiments assaulted Sokolnitz and Tellnitz or other such minutiae then you'll want to read this book. The pages are filled with footnotes discussing the reliability of sources and other such information. The appendices also contain concise biographies of many personalities and the order of battle for the French and Allied armies.
This book was not an easy read, but the wealth of information it contains more than makes up for its lack of readability. I wouldn't recommend this as introductory book to Austerlitz or the Napoleonic pages, but I would imagine anyone seriously interested in this epoch would find this book valuable.
May 29, 2021
One of the best Napoleonic Battle account. Detailed but not dry or boring. I hope mr Goetz writes more!
December 31, 2023
This book is very well researched but I found the narrative difficult to follow chronologically and I kept losing the position of where the armies were.
March 20, 2014
I thought I would write a review to justify the two stars I rated the book, as it is unfair to the author with no description. This book was to big of an undertaking for me with the background knowledge I had on the subject. This book I would not recommend to beginners. Information on the history of the armies involved, and the area these battles were fought would made this an easier read for me. Goetz goes to great lengths to describe the events of the war. He uses immense amounts of detail for the strategies used by the armies and their outcomes. I am sure this book would be a great read for readers who have an intermediate to advanced knowledge of the subject, and the Geographic location of the war. The hardest part I had was the town names, and locations used to describe the proceedings of the war. I found as I had no prior knowledge of the area it was hard for me to fully appreciate the grand strategy involved, and imagine each battle as they happened.
In the future I will read this again and update my rating accordingly, as the two stars is in no way a reflection of the authors work.
In the future I will read this again and update my rating accordingly, as the two stars is in no way a reflection of the authors work.
August 10, 2016
This book is for those who delight in the minutiae of military campaigns and battles. Austerlitz in December 1805 established Napoleon as the master of Europe from the Atlantic to Russia. Fought in Moravia (N E of Vienna), Napoleon decisively defeated a larger combined army from Russia and The Austrian Empire. The strength of this book is the analysis of the differences between the various armies engaged, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the reasons for this decisive victory and the results to Europe for approximately the next decade. As a negative, even though there are number of maps, at times following the details of campaign and battles is confusing.
July 15, 2013
This a really in-depth look at the battle of Austerlitz with troop movements and the reasons for victory and defeat. This is like blow by Blow desciption of a boxing match, round by round analogy.
Very informative and descriptive. The fast moving and interesting and intense account. Serious Military historians will love this book. Not for the casual reader This book has alot of unit movements and unit commanders its easy to get lost.
Very informative and descriptive. The fast moving and interesting and intense account. Serious Military historians will love this book. Not for the casual reader This book has alot of unit movements and unit commanders its easy to get lost.
January 7, 2016
Superb account to napoleons great battle
I had always thought the Austrian and Russian armies were far behind at the tactical level but this book shows they fought well and with skill at brigade level but were let down by a bad plan and were fighting the grand armee at its military peak of efficiency
I had always thought the Austrian and Russian armies were far behind at the tactical level but this book shows they fought well and with skill at brigade level but were let down by a bad plan and were fighting the grand armee at its military peak of efficiency
August 4, 2011
Pretty solid book. Alot of detail and more in depth looks at the Russian and Austrian sides. The narrative was readable and clear. Too many footnotes with information that could have been worked into the text.
November 1, 2012
Startling detail. As you read, the battle lines can be seen reflected in the sabers, the frost on the coats. Written with such concision the mind fills in only three or four pages and a pause is needed to ruminate on the lives involved.
December 28, 2013
good but not great. Looking for another book on this topic, which probably tells you this wasn't good enough for me.
October 11, 2016
A very thorough narrative and military analysis of the Battle of Austerlitz. Definitely one of the better books out there on the subject.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews