La Bataille D'austerlitz

by Karl von Stutterheim

Une description épique de l'un des conflits majeurs de la période napoléonienne, basée sur les récits des témoins oculaires et des sources d'archives militaires. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Genres: History

136 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2011

Reviews

[Mastersonmcvoidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An English translation of an account of the Battle of Austerlitz written by a participant, an Austrian general who saw the action first hand and writes from both his first hand experience and from the information he was able to acquire from elsewhere. The English translation is very readable and makes for good reading, there are notes by a French officer in the book that offer some French perspective.

The book covers only the Battle of Austerlitz and not the whole campaign, picking up from Napoleon's advance on Brünn and ending on the fourth of December, two days after the battle. Some excellent detail is given to the allied movements before the battle and the outpost warfare that occurred between them and the French, detailing several actions and marches around the area of Austerlitz. There are some inaccuracies, particularly regarding the French movements and a misunderstanding on why exactly Napoleon abandoned the Pratzen heights, some of these inaccuracies are corrected by the notes by a French officers.

The Battle of Austerlitz is covered in good detail and depth, remaining mostly objective and giving good information on the battle from the allied perspective as well as covering some obscure moments in the action, but ignoring some other noteworthy ones. A calculation is given on the allied forces that is not detailed in itself, but there is a detailed breakdown of the allied army.

After the Battle of Austerlitz, the book details the ceasefire agreements and the armistice, providing some detailed and obscure information on how the fighting concluded across Austria.

A good account of the battle, very useful for the Austrian view, but with some inaccuracies. The book is mostly objective besides the rather one-sided view from the Austrian perspective, which is partially offset by notes by a French officer. Considering that the author was an Austrian general who witnessed the disastrous defeat of his army first hand and even played some part in it, the objectivity and clarity with which he writes is to be applauded. The English translator refers to the book as something that can be regarded as official Austrian history of the battle, and it probably is the best source for the Austrian view, but the author explicitly outlines that he didn't intend to flatter a government or write an apologia, and he did indeed write an objective history.

An excellent source for the Austrian view of the battle that goes in-depth on the last days of the War of the Third Coalition ,though I would say that it has been rendered outdated by more modern works as far as a balanced view of the Battle of Austerlitzis concerned. A valuable insight into the Austrian viewpoint with much obscure information.

Final Rating: 7/10

[Eric Pecile · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic primary document concerning the Battle of Austerlitz. Provides some interesting and valuable perspectives on the Allied deployments and how they played a part in orchestrating their defeat by Napoleon.

[Shan]

Reading alongside War and Peace to try to get a better understanding of the events. It was written by an Austrian general who was there, only a year after the battle. His intent is to provide an honest account of what happened, not to put a spin on it. The language is clear and readable. I'm finding it a challenge to follow because I've never tried to read this type of military history before and I'm unfamiliar with the locations and the terminology. He includes some of his own commentary about decisions that might have gone better and the reasons things went so badly for the Russians and Austrians. There are occasional notes from an unnamed French officer clarifying or contradicting the author's remarks.