The battle of Austerlitz begins at about…

December 1805 CE

The battle of Austerlitz begins at about 8 a.m. with the first allied lines attacking the village of Telnitz, which is defended by the 3rd Line Regiment.

This sector of the battlefield witnesses heavy fighting in this early action as several ferocious Allied charges evict the French from the town and force them onto the other side of the Goldbach.

The first men of Davout's corps arrive at this time and throw the Allies out of Telnitz before they too are attacked by hussars and re-abandon the town.

Additional Allied attacks out of Telnitz were checked by French artillery.

Allied columns start pouring against the French right, but not at the desired speed, so the French are mostly successful in curbing the attacks.

Actually, the Allied deployments are mistaken and poorly timed: cavalry detachments under Liechtenstein on the Allied left flank have to be placed in the right flank and in the process they run into and slow down part of the second column of infantry that is advancing towards the French right.

At the time, the planners think this slowing was disastrous, but later on it will help the Allies.

Meanwhile, the leading elements of the second column are attacking the village of Sokolnitz, which is defended by the 26th Light Regiment and the Tirailleurs, French skirmishers.

Initial Allied assaults prove unsuccessful and General Langeron orders the bombardment of the village.

This deadly barrage forces the French out, and at about the same time, the third column attacks the castle of Sokolnitz.

The French, however, counterattack and regain the village, only to be thrown out again.

Conflict in this area ends temporarily when Friant's division (part of III Corps) retakes the village.

Sokolnitz is perhaps the most fought over area in the battlefield and will change hands several times as the day progresses.

While the allied troops attack the French right flank, Kutuzov's IV Corp stops at the Pratzen Heights and stays still.

Just like Napoleon, Kutuzov realizes the importance of Pratzen and decides to protect the position, but the young Tsar does not, so he expels the IV Corp from the Heights.

This act quickly pushes the Allied army into her grave.

By battle's end, Allied casualties stand at about thirty-six thousand out of an army of eighty-nine thousand, which represents about thirty-eight percent of their effective forces.

The French lose around nine thousand out of an army of sixty-six thousand or about thirteen percent of their forces.

The Allies also lose some one hundred and eighty guns and about fifty standards.

The great victory will be met by sheer amazement and delirium in Paris, where just days earlier the nation had been teetering on the brink of financial collapse.

The Emperor provides two million golden francs to the higher officers and two hundred francs to each soldier, with large pensions for the widows of the fallen.

Orphaned children will be adopted by Napoleon personally and will be allowed to add "Napoleon" to their baptismal and family names.

This battle is one of four for which Napoleon never awards a victory title, the others being Marengo, Jena, and Friedland.