2 December 1805, 8 to 9 a.m.
Telnitz and Sokolnitz
At about 8 a.m. the allied advance guard attacks Telnitz, held by the French 3rd Line. Repeated charges drive the French out of the village and over the Goldbach. The first of Davout’s men arrive, throw the allies out of Telnitz and lose it again to hussars, and French artillery stops every further attack out of the village.
The battle of Austerlitz, painting by Joseph Swebach-DesfontainesWikimedia Commons, Joseph-François Swebach, Public domain (Battle of Austerlitz.jpg)
Langeron’s column attacks Sokolnitz, held by the 26th Light and tirailleurs. The first assaults fail, and Langeron bombards the village and takes it, while Przybyszewski’s column attacks the castle. The French retake the village and lose it again, until Friant’s division of Davout’s corps recovers it. The columns are late: Liechtenstein’s cavalry, crossing to the right wing, has run into Langeron’s column on its way and held it up.
On the Pratzen Kutuzov keeps the fourth column on the heights, but the Tsar orders it forward and it starts down the slope. At about 8:45 the mist begins to clear, and Napoleon sees the allied centre thinning. He asks Soult how long his men need to reach the heights, and Soult answers: “Less than twenty minutes, sire.”
Sources
- David G. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon (1966).
- Ian Castle, Austerlitz 1805: The Fate of Empires (2002).
- Scott Bowden, Napoleon and Austerlitz (1997).
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