Napoleon's Wars: The Third Coalition

The greatest campaign in military history!

Napoleon and Francis I after the Battle of Austerlitz, by Antoine-Jean Gros (1812)

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Having defeated the Second Coalition, Napoleon was now the uncontested ruler of France. But the peace with Europe would not last long. Britain declared war on France in 1803, and was joined by Austria and Russia in 1805. 

Trafalgar 

The French Navy was destroyed by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar in October of 1805. Napoleon’s one consolation was that his mortal enemy, Admiral Horatio Nelson, was shot dead in the battle. 

Ulm

Without a navy, France could no longer challenge the British Empire outside of mainland Europe. As the European Allies prepared another war on Napoleon, the brilliant French general lured them into Central Europe for a battle. In Ulm, located in southern Germany, Napoleon faced off against his European enemies. Known as the Ulm Campaign, it would be one of the greatest campaigns in all of military history. 

Here was Napoleon’s strategy: Napoleon sent a diversion force, led by Joachim Murat, to the west. The Austrians were tricked into going west. Then, Napoleon’s lightning-fast calvary outmaneuvered the enemy, destroying them from behind. Bonaparte did this all before Russian reinforcements could arrive. Then, he struck and defeated the Russians. This brilliant strategy allowed the Frenchman to pick off the two armies one at a time. It was a decisive victory for Napoleon! 

Austerlitz 

Defeated, the Austrians and Russians regrouped several weeks later at the town of Austerlitz. During the fateful Battle of Austerlitz, fought on December 2, 1805, Napoleon clashed against a combined Russo-Austrian army. This clash is sometimes called the Battle of the Three Emperors—referring to Tsar Alexander, Austrian Emperor Francis I, and Napoleon himself. Once again, Napoleon simply routed his European foes on the battlefield, to incredible effect. 

It was a colossal success for our French hero! He inflicted tons of casualties against the enemy, and took many prisoners. This was all done with minimal French casualties. Austerlitz represented the high point of Napoleon’s career. The myth of Napoleon as an invincible conqueror had now reached unseen heights. 

Having defeated both Austria and Russia in one single blow, Napoleon ceded the Treaty of Pressburg from his vanquished enemies. This ended the War of the Third Coalition. Austria was forced to cede its territories in Italy and Bavaria, thus ending the Holy Roman Empire. France reorganized the German lands to the east, into what was called the Confederation of the Rhine. 

By the end of 1805, Emperor Napoleon now ruled supreme over Europe. To commemorate his glory at Austerlitz, Bonaparte constructed the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris.