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. &Seealso; Napoleonic Wars.