Editing Battle of Austerlitz (section)

==Forces==
{{see also|Order of Battle at the Austerlitz campaign}}

===French Imperial army===
Before the formation of the Third Coalition, Napoleon had assembled an invasion force called the ''Armée d'Angleterre'' (Army of England) around six camps at [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]] in Northern France. He intended to use this force, amounting to 150,000 men,{{sfn|Grehan|Mace|2013|p=17}} to strike at England and was so confident of success that he had commemorative medals struck to celebrate the conquest of the English.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1894|p=250}} Although they never invaded, Napoleon's troops received careful and invaluable training for any possible military operation. Boredom among the troops occasionally set in,{{sfn|Gallaher|2008|p=122}} but Napoleon paid many visits and conducted lavish parades to boost morale.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=323}}

The men at Boulogne formed the core for what Napoleon would later call {{lang|fr|[[La Grande Armée]]}}.{{sfn|Addington|1984|p=29}} The army was organized into seven [[corps]], which were large field units that contained 36 to 40 [[cannon]]s each and were capable of independent action until other corps could come to their aid.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=332}} A single corps (adequately situated in a solid defensive position) could survive at least a day without support.{{sfn|Wood|1997|p=16}} In addition to these forces, Napoleon created a [[cavalry]] reserve of 22,000 organized into two [[cuirassier]] [[Division (military)|divisions]], four mounted [[dragoon]] divisions, one division of dismounted dragoons and one of light cavalry, all supported by 24 [[artillery]] pieces.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=332}} By 1805, the {{lang|fr|Grande Armée}} had grown to a force of 350,000 men,{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=333}} who were well equipped, well trained, and led by competent officers.{{sfn|Kuehn|2015|p=93}}

===Russian Imperial army===
The Russian army in 1805 had many characteristics of [[Ancien Régime]] organization.{{sfn|Gerges|2016|p=171}} There was no permanent formation above the [[regiment]]al level,{{sfn|Wasson|2014|p=43}} and senior officers mostly belonged to aristocratic circles.{{sfn|Mikaberidze|2005|pp=xx–xxxi}} The Russian infantry was considered one of the hardiest in Europe, with fine artillery crewed by experienced professional soldiers.{{sfn|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|p=33}}

===Austrian Imperial army===
[[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]], brother of the Austrian Emperor, had started to reform the Austrian army in 1801 by taking away power from the {{lang|de|[[Hofkriegsrat]]}}, the military-political council responsible for the armed forces.{{sfn|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|p=31}} Charles was Austria's most able field commander,{{sfn|Uffindell|p=155}} but he was unpopular at court and lost much influence when, against his advice, Austria decided to go to war with France. [[Karl Mack]] became the new main commander in Austria's army, instituting reforms on the eve of the war that called for a regiment to be composed of four [[battalion]]s of four [[company (military unit)|companies]], rather than three battalions of six companies.{{sfn|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|p=32}}