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Robert Goetz

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1805 Austerlitz: Napoleon and the Destruction of the Third Coalition Kindle Edition

by Robert Goetz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 73 ratings

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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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Goetz was awarded the esteemed 2005 History Grand Prize of the Fondation Napoléon on December 6, 2005 for his book 1805: Austerlitz; Napoleon and the Destruction of the Third Coalition (Greenhill Books, 2005). Awarded annually in Paris by the Fondation Napoléon, the Grands Prix are presented to the best works of Napoleonic literature. Gathering the award for the best non-French language book, Goetzs 1805: Austerlitz specifically highlights the Battle of Austerlitz a battle almost universally regarded as the most impressive of Napoleons many victories.

The Fondation Napoléon was founded in 1987 to promote interest and research on topics surrounding the Napoleonic era, both encouraging and supporting many different projects all with the same primary aims, namely, a deeper understanding of the period and the preservation and highlighting of the Napoleonic heritage. The Grand Prizes are selected each year by a jury composed of some of the world's best First and Second Empire historians.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B072K1NVHT
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Frontline Books (April 30, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 30, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 22095 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 527 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #646,677 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #59 in Napoleonic War History (Kindle Store)
- #210 in Napoleonic War History (Books)
- #404 in History of France

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4.5 73 ratings

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4.5 out of 5

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a reader

the new standard

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2005

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Well written by a first time amateur (in the best sense of the word) historian. Lucid description of the strategic and tactical context of the battle. Napoleon neither hustles to glory a la Connelly, nor envisions the perfect plan a la his bulletins. Rather he's prepared to retreat, plans to turn the Allied right, then takes advantage of the Allie's empty center.
Goetz is very concerned with precisely describing what actually happened. It becomes clear in the text or footnotes at many points in the narrative that Goetz has discovered a commonly repeated misconception. This was particularly apparent in the dramatic story of the clash between the Russian Cavalier Guard and the French Imperial Guard Grenadiers a Cheval. I cross referenced the 3 most accessible English texts. All 3 portray the Russian Guard as advancing on the center trying to restore the disastrous situation - Goetz points out the Tsar's brother was trying desperately to leave the field but remain in contact with the army HQ. All 3 have the Russian foot guard racing 300 yards up hill to attack, then cavalry clashes deciding the action; Goetz has the column's cavalry discovering and routing isolated French battalions, then battling the French guard cavalry to allow the foot to escape, an ultimately successful rearguard action. Night and day, and thoroughly convincing.
A must buy for anyone interested in the battle.

20 people found this helpful

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Loving Life More

Revisionist Viewpoint That Sets The Record Straight

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2015

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I used this book when working on a Napoleonic computer game of the 1805 campaign. I found this book to be a huge help. Not only does the author's revisionist ability help to get the numbers straight for the Allies at Austerlitz and destroy the myth that Napoleon was terribly outnumbered but he also inserts maps at his own expense (common in history books these days). The maps to me were worth the price of the book. Usually Napoleonic books have a dearth of maps and it leaves you having to constantly place the units on the maps mentally to get some sort of order out of where everyone was at a given time.

This remains my favorite book on the battle along with Scott Bowden's book on the campaign. A must have for all Napoleonic enthusiasts.

11 people found this helpful

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W. B. Smith

Thorough detailed account

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2008

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This is a very thorough and detailed account of perhaps Napoleon's greatest victory (and certainly the one he was most proud of). The author briefly writes of how the battle came about by the failure of the treaty of Aimens and the formation of the third coalition against France. The author covers the the pre battle tactical and polictical maneuvering and the major personalities involved, with both sides attempting to put their forces into position to ultimately acheive decisive victory. However, it was Napoleon that was able read his Russian & Austrian opponents rashness and enticed them to draw off the bulk of their forces to attack his right flank and leaving the dominant Pratzen heights vulnerable to attack by the French.

The battle itself is well covered off with the author detailing the movement of forces and blow by blow account of the battle. In fact the detail is such that it sometimes hard to take all in, but thankfully the author had the foresight to use maps to show the movement of forces at various places & times of battle so the reader can better visualise his narrative. Goetz also makes use of some first hand accounts that give weight to his own explaination of battle.

The author suggests that was perhaps the French tactical prowess in the field (after months of training at Camp Bologne in anticipation of the invasion of Britain)that gave the French the edge. 'This was demonstrated repeatly by the effectiveness of their musketry, their cool maneuvering under fire, effective coordination of combined arms operations and larger larger scale maneuvers, and a superb discipline produced by high morale and complete confidence in their commanders'. The French command & control system also had flexibilty enabling commanders to adapt & maneuver their forces to changing situations to acheive ultimate mission objectives (that is very similar to the German Army in the WWII in its Blitzkreig). The Russian and Austrian forces typically seemed to be locked and awaiting orders from above losing valuable time & few officers used their initiative. Having said that the Russian & Austrian forces fought hard and bravely and at times were able to throw the French back. In the end it was Napoleon's careful planning, use of detailed information about the enemy and the ability to acheive numerical superiority at a given point that led to his decisive victory.

9 people found this helpful

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Michael Foster

Great book on the Battle of Austerlitz

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2021

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"1805: Austerlitz" is a detailed account of the battle. This book is not a general historical overview but an assessment of the maneuvers of the battle hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute. This book is great for anyone who enjoys the minutiae of Napoleonic warfare.

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

His research is deep and the writing is clear and easy to follow

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2015

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Goetz's book is the most detailed account I've yet found of the Austerlitz battle. His research is deep and the writing is clear and easy to follow. The maps are the best I've seen yet for showing the details of the battle. If you want to understand Austerlitz, and aren't timid about some real depth and detail in the telling of the story, this is the book to read.

5 people found this helpful

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Tom Ferris

History brought Alive

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2016

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A well written detailed book including detailed maps showing troop position and movements. If your passion for battlefield details is a determining factor to completely understand a battle then you will not be disappointed with this book.I have toured this battlefield and took many pictures. Now with reading of this book I can put exactly who was where in these picture.

2 people found this helpful

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Lehigh History Student

A great addition to the history of the Napoleonic wars

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2006

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This book is a good overview of the diplomatic and military defeats of the Third Coalition by Napoleon. It outlines the troubles between Austria and Prussia and how the Russians failed to react in time to Napoleons drive. Napoleon's generals were simply able to outperform all of the participants involved. The prose is directed and easy to read. You do not really need any prior knowledge of Napoleon to read this book and for those who are knowledgeable in Napoleon this book may drag on a little at times. Overall though it provides good information and is a worthwhile addition to any Napoleonic library.

3 people found this helpful

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Robert Martin

Book

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2019

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I enjoyed the book . It was well packed and fast shipping . It was in the condition described . Thanks .

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Top reviews from other countries

Au

Few scratches on book cover!

Reviewed in Germany on March 6, 2023

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Book cover is scrached and dirty. Text pages are clean and untouched. Good to mention shipping was fast.

John

Only for the dedicated

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2020

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Easily the most detailed account of any of the battles of that period, in my experience. But really heavy going. I managed to read it right through, but keep it as a reference book only. I considered only giving 4 stars as the maps could be more plentiful and easier to tie in with the text, but was so impressed with the amount of work that must have gone into researching it, but kept to 5 stars with the warning that you really need to be an enthusiast !

Jorg Illi

An excellent account of the Battle of Austerlitz (1805)

Reviewed in Australia on July 23, 2023

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As the author stated at the beginning of his account of the Battle of Austerlitz, his view that deals not only with the French side but includes a considerable portion about the allied forces is an excellent point of view. It shows both parties with an equal (almost equal) measure. It is this dual view that is, the treatment of both combatants, that one expects from a good historian. Robert Goetz fulfils this objective in an excellent manner. I recommend this book to any one who is interested in the history of the Battle of Austerlitz and the history of the Napoleonic era in particular.

Amazon Customer

Prompt service

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2021

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Prompt and correct service, verry fast. Book in verry good condition

Fiske Harrison

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2015

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Very good