Not only was Austerlitz the first campaign Napoleon waged as Emperor of France, but also the first great test for his Grande Armee. The Emperor himself regarded it as his greatest victory and it undoubtedly won him a mastery of Europe that would remain unbroken for almost a decade. This volume chronicles the events that climaxed on the field of Austerlitz in one of the most famous battles of history. Most accounts of the campaign have until now been based almost exclusively on French sources, but following extensive research in the Austrian archives Ian Castle is now able to provide a far more balanced account.

The Battle of Austerlitz is, after Waterloo, probably the most famous land battle of the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first campaign which Napoleon waged as Emperor of France and the first great test for his Grande Armee after years of preparation in the 'camps of Boulogne'. At the end of August 1805, even before Nelson's crushing defeat of the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar rendered the invasion of England impossible, Napoleon was issuing orders for his army to march into Germany. Reports had reached him from his spy network that Austria and Russia were preparing to take the field against him. In a masterpiece of strategic manoeuvre he isolated the Austrian army under General Mack around Ulm and forced it to surrender. Nevertheless, the forces confronting Napoleon remained formidable. He pressed on capturing Vienna and then proceeded to lure the Russian and Austrian armies into a carefully prepared trap using his own army as the bait. On 2 December 1805 on a cold, crisp winter's day on the field of Austerlitz the Emperors of Russia, Austria and France would all be present to witness one of the greatest battles of the age.