Editing Napoleon (section)

====War of the Third Coalition====
{{main|War of the Third Coalition}}
[[File:Napoleon in Coronation Robes by François Gérard.jpg|thumb|upright|''Napoleon in his coronation robes'' by [[François Gérard]], {{circa|1805}}]] By September 1805, Sweden, Russia, Austria, Naples and the Ottoman Empire had joined Britain in a coalition against France.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rosenberg |first=Chaim M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a34yDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA168 |title=Losing America, Conquering India: Lord Cornwallis and the Remaking of the British Empire |date=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-6812-3 |page=168 |access-date=18 October 2018 |archive-date=27 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227171737/https://books.google.com/books?id=a34yDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA168#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|p=190}} In 1803 and 1804, Napoleon had assembled a force around [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]] for an invasion of Britain. They never invaded, but the force formed the core of Napoleon's ''[[Grande Armée]]'', created in August 1805.{{sfnp|Conner|2004|p=96}}{{sfnp|Palmer|1984|p=138}} At the start, this French army had about 200,000 men organized into seven [[corps]], artillery and cavalry reserves, and the élite Imperial Guard.<ref>{{harvp|Chandler|1966|p=332}}</ref>{{sfnp|Palmer|1984|p=138}} By August 1805, the {{lang|fr|Grande Armée}} had grown to a force of 350,000 men,<ref>{{harvp|Chandler|1966|p=333}}</ref> who were well equipped, well trained, and led by competent officers.<ref>Michael J. Hughes, ''Forging Napoleon's Grande Armée: Motivation, Military Culture, and Masculinity in the French Army, 1800–1808'' (NYU Press, 2012).</ref>

To facilitate the invasion, Napoleon planned to lure the Royal Navy from the [[English Channel]] by a diversionary attack on the [[British West Indies]].<ref>{{harvp|McLynn|1997|p=321}}</ref> However, the plan unravelled after the British victory at the [[Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)|Battle of Cape Finisterre]] in July 1805. French Admiral [[Pierre-Charles Villeneuve]] retreated to [[Cádiz]] instead of linking up with French naval forces at [[Brest, France|Brest]] for an attack on the English Channel.<ref>{{harvp|McLynn|1997|p=332}}</ref> Facing a potential invasion from his continental enemies, Napoleon abandoned his invasion of England and sought to destroy the isolated Austrian armies in southern Germany before their Russian ally could arrive in force. On 25 September, 200,000 French troops began to cross the Rhine on a front of {{convert|260|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref>Richard Brooks (editor), ''Atlas of World Military History''. p. 108</ref><ref>Andrew Uffindell, ''Great Generals of the Napoleonic Wars''. p. 15</ref>

[[File:Ulm capitulation.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|alt=Colored painting depicting Napoleon receiving the surrender of the Austrian generals, with the opposing armies and the city of Ulm in the background |Napoleon and the {{lang|fr|[[Grande Armée]]}} receive the surrender of [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] [[Karl Mack von Leiberich|General Mack]] after the [[Battle of Ulm]] in October 1805.]]

Austrian commander [[Karl Mack von Leiberich]] had gathered most of the Austrian army at the fortress of [[Ulm]] in [[Swabia]]. Napoleon's army, however, moved quickly and outflanked the Austrian positions. After some minor engagements that culminated in the [[Battle of Ulm]], Mack surrendered. With 2,000 French casualties, Napoleon had captured 60,000 Austrian soldiers through his army's rapid marching.<ref>Richard Brooks (editor), ''Atlas of World Military History''. p. 156.</ref> For the French, this spectacular victory on land was soured by the decisive victory that the Royal Navy attained at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] on 21 October. After Trafalgar, the Royal Navy was never again seriously challenged by Napoleon's fleet.{{sfnp|Glover|1967|pp=233–252}}

[[File:La bataille d'Austerlitz. 2 decembre 1805 (François Gérard).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz'', by [[François Gérard]], 1805.]]

French forces occupied [[Vienna]] in November, capturing 100,000 muskets, 500 cannons, and the intact bridges across the Danube.{{sfnp|Chandler|1973|p=407}} Napoleon then sent his army north in pursuit of the allies. Tsar [[Alexander I of Russia]] and Francis I decided to engage Napoleon in battle, despite reservations from some of their subordinates.<ref name="Warfare">{{cite book |author=Adrian Gilbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZoO7SIwMVIC&pg=PA133 |title=The Encyclopedia of Warfare: From Earliest Time to the Present Day |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-57958-216-6 |page=133 |access-date=11 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729052159/https://books.google.com/books?id=MZoO7SIwMVIC&pg=PA133 |archive-date=29 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> At the [[Battle of Austerlitz]] on 2 December, Napoleon deployed his army below the Pratzen Heights. He ordered his right wing to feign retreat, enticing the allies to descend from the heights in pursuit. The French centre and left wing then captured the heights and caught the allies in a [[pincer movement]]. Thousands of Russian troops fled across a frozen lake to escape the trap, and 100 to 2,000 of them drowned.<ref name=Warfare/>{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|pp=204-05}} About a third of the allied forces were killed, captured or wounded.{{sfnp|Palmer|1984|p=18}} The disaster at Austerlitz led Austria to seek an armistice. By the subsequent [[Peace of Pressburg (1805)|Treaty of Pressburg]], signed on 26 December, Austria left the coalition, lost substantial territory to the [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]] and Bavaria, and was forced to pay an indemnity of 40&nbsp;million francs. Alexander's army was granted safe passage back to Russia.<ref name="Schom2">{{harvp|Schom|1997|p=414}}</ref>{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|p=209}} Napoleon went on to say, "The battle of Austerlitz is the finest of all I have fought".<ref name="Schom2" /> [[Frank McLynn]] suggests that Napoleon was so successful at Austerlitz that he lost touch with reality, and what used to be French foreign policy became a "personal Napoleonic one".<ref>{{harvp|McLynn|1997|p=350}}</ref> [[Vincent Cronin]] disagrees, stating that Napoleon was not overly ambitious for himself, "he embodied the ambitions of thirty million Frenchmen".{{sfnp|Cronin|1994|p=344}}