168 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1806 



tiousncss began to manifest them- 

 selves, so that it was resolved to 

 abandon the position in front of 

 QJmutz, for the purpose of attack- 

 ing tlie enemy. 



The grand French army, which 

 had passed the Danube, and ad- 

 vanced into Moravia, consisted of 

 the corps under prince Murat, mar- 

 shals Soult, Lanncs, and Bernadotte. 

 The last of these corps had been op- 

 posed to the archduke Ferdinand, 

 and joined the main army only the 

 day before the battle of Austerlitz. 

 Mai-shal Davoust, who, as has been 

 already said, had proceeded with 

 his corps to Presburgh, joined the 

 main army about the sanye time. 

 This force was composed of eight 

 divisions, each of which was about 

 7000 strong. In addition to this 

 was a corps de reserve, composed 

 of the imperial guards, under mar- 

 shal Bessiercs, and a body of grena- 

 diers under general Duroc, making 

 together 13,000 men. 



The combined forces immediately 

 opposed to them consisted of 104 

 battalions, 20 of which were Aus- 

 trians, and 159 squadrons, 54 of 

 which were Austrians, and 40 of 

 Coasacks, which might be computed 

 at about 72,000 men. The Rus- 

 sians were commanded by genera! 

 Koutousoff, the Austrians by prince 

 John of Lichtenstein. The infan- 

 try of the latter were chiefly raw 

 recruits, who had not been embo- 

 died above a moiith. 



Such was nearly the state of the 

 two armies immediately before the 

 |jattlc of Austerlitz. 



As the allies had determined upon 

 rc:;umin5 offensive operations, and 

 ^f, immediately giving battle, wc 

 t^ljall (irst statg the dispositions made 

 ^y them for the attack. 



On the lit. of December, there 



was a good deal of firing, during the 

 morning, along the whole chain of 

 advanced troops ; the Austrian ge- 

 neral Kenmeyer's out-posts on the 

 left were at Sitchen, and near 

 Menilz, a village which had been 

 abandoned by the F.rei),ch, He 

 ■was reinforced towards the evening 

 by five battalions of frontier troops, 

 under major general Cameville ; the 

 left of the coRibiiH-d army, com- 

 manded I)y general Buxiioevden, 

 and the centre by the gerieral in 

 chief Koutonsolf, after having dined, 

 moved lorward in five columns in 

 the following manner. 



The first column, under lieutenant 

 general Docktorow, composed of 

 24 ba'talions of Russians, took up 

 a position in two lines on the heights 

 near a village called Ilortieradeck, 

 and a regiment of chasseurs was 

 posted at Aujut, between the foot 

 of the mountain and (he lake of 

 Menifz. , 



The second column, commnndcd 

 by lieutenant general Langeron, 

 consisting of IS battalions of Rus- 

 sians, took up a position 0!i the 

 heights of i''ratzon. also in (wo line?, 

 on the right of the first column. 



The third column, commanded by 

 lieutenant general Przybyszcwsky, 

 composed of 18 battalions of Rus- 

 sians, took up a position on the 

 heights to the right of the village of 

 Pratzen. 



The fourth column, commanded 

 by the Austrian general Kollowrath, 

 was composed of I'ii battuHons of 

 Russians, under lieutenant general 

 Miloradowitsch, and of 15 of Aus- 

 trians, who MTiTc in the rear of this 

 column. This corj)s intersected the 

 road from /Nusterlitz to pjrunn, and 

 took post in two lines behind the 

 third column. 



The fifth column, rcrnposcd <;f 



cavalry 



