La Bataille de Prusse 1809

The Generals Reported that the Numbers of French were Vastly Superior

Each one of the generals reported that the numbers of French were vastly superior to the Russians and Austrians. Historians writing subsequent to the battle must have missed these reports, because only 70,000 French (with some of Davout’s troops coming late) were reported on the battlefield.

That the contemporary reports bely the subsequent history should not be too

surprising…as Dr. Reeve wrote in his journal shortly after Austerlitz,….”The disastrous results of the battle (for the Coalition) were due in part to the presence of the Emperor Alexander, who had been persuaded by his flatters that he could command an army and meet Napoleon on equal terms.” The Coalition planned by the present perception of the time, while Napoleon planned by how he knew the Coalition would be seduced by his moves and how he would use those

Coalition perceptions to fool the Russians and Austrians into thinking he was not up to the quality of the Coalition strategic prowess. The outcome at Austerlitz was clearly unexpected by the participants; proving once more that battles need to be won and not merely calculated. The beguiling news of the day was merely the trap into which the contemporary observers became ensnared during their mistaken evaluation of events. Despite all the reporting of the impending doom of the French, the fact remains that the French were at high tide in the fall of 1805, and Austerlitz was the masterpiece of Napoleon’s fertile career. Yet despite Napoleon’s masterful victory and the resultant Peace Pressburg signed on December 26, 1805, the Prussians were almost oblivious to what had just happened to Austria. The Austrians either deserved their defeat; the Russians were not worthy of battlefield consideration; or the Prussians were better because they were the successors of Frederick the Great. Any excuse for looking at French victory through some smoke filled prism was used. But as Doctor Reeve reported in his journal during his visit to Dresden; then Berlin and then finally Hamburg, the Prussians were not loved in Germany, and the French would be able to exploit German dislike of Prussian leadership for almost any reason.

Marshal Enterprises

Page 8 of 9