Austerlitz
December 2nd, 1805
In late 1805, during the War of the Third Coalition, Napoleon’s Grande Armée executed a rapid advance into Central Europe, capturing Vienna and threatening the Allied forces of Russia and Austria. The Allies, seeking to engage Napoleon decisively, assembled their armies near the town of Austerlitz in the Austrian Empire (now Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic). Napoleon, aware of the Allies’ intentions, prepared to confront them on terrain of his choosing.
On December 2, 1805, the battle commenced with the Allies attacking Napoleon’s right flank, aiming to envelop the French forces. Anticipating this move, Napoleon had deliberately weakened his right to lure the Allies into a trap. As the Allies advanced, Napoleon launched a massive counterattack against the weakened Allied center on the Pratzen Heights, a strategic position they had earlier occupied. This maneuver split the Allied army, leading to a decisive French victory.
The Battle of Austerlitz, often hailed as Napoleon’s greatest victory, effectively ended the Third Coalition against France. The Austrian Empire signed the Treaty of Pressburg, ceding territory and paying reparations. This triumph solidified Napoleon’s dominance over Europe, leading to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the establishment of the Confederation of the Rhine under French influence.
Belligerants
France
Command 4*
Leaders 2*
Austria & Russia
Command 4
Leaders 3
Scale
One Space = ~ 700 meters
One Unit = ~ 4000 infantry / 2000 cavalry / 50 guns
Starting deployment
Special rules
Artillery Efficiency – Due to the large scale of the battlefield, the range of the guns is reduced from 3 to 2 spaces. In addition, the fog that envelops the battlefield from dawn prevents accurate firing, so the “firing artillery” result on the fire dice is ignored. When a player performs a Rally, roll a die: with a result of 5-6 the fog has cleared for the day and the “firing artillery” result is again to be considered a success.
Bonaparte – Napoleon is in command of the French army. Once per game the French player can decide to place an available Order token on the ‘Coup de Foudre’ (‘lightning strike’) space to distribute the Activation markers as desired and activate units of choice (as if it were a ‘Leader action’ extended to all the battlefield). The Order token placed on the ‘Coup de Foudre’ space is not recovered when a Rally is performed.
Breakthrough – The battlefield is divided by the two larger roads into three ‘wings’. Getting control of them could be vital for encircling the enemy army and closing its retreat routes. Therefore, every time a player performs a rally, the opponent gets 1 Victory point, plus 2 additional points for each wing in which the player controls all four Objective markers.
Faq & Errata
- The map and battle board show two different dates for the battle. The correct one is shown on the board (2 December). This is a rather stupid mistake, and the absurd thing is that it also happened on another map (Rivoli).