Austerlitz, Battle

Austerlitz, Battle of

(Dec. 2, 1805) First engagement of the War of the Third Coalition and one of Napoleon's greatest victories. In the battle, fought near Austerlitz in Moravia (now Slavkov u Brna, Czech Rep.), Napoleon's 68,000 troops defeated almost 90,000 Russians and Austrians under Russia's Alexander I and Mikhail Kutuzov. Also called the Battle of the Three Emperors, Napoleon's resounding victory forced Austria's Francis I to conclude the Treaty of Pressburg, ceding Venetia to the French kingdom in Italy and temporarily ending the anti-French alliance. See also Napoleonic Wars.