Editing War of the Third Coalition (section)

===Setting up the opposing forces===
When Napoleon crowned himself Emperor on December 2, 1804, Austria and Prussia may have been alarmed, but the annexed Italian city-states of Genoa, Parma and Piacenza and his coronation as King of Italy left no doubt as to Napoleon's intentions. On January 21, 1805, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger presented a treaty of alliance with Russia and Austria. The demands of this treaty were the restoration of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the withdrawal of French troops from Italy, the dissolution of the Batavian Republic and the restoration of Switzerland's independence. In the event of Napoleon's refusal, England would support the coalition forces financially. After all difficulties had been resolved, Great Britain, Austria and Russia signed a treaty on August 9, 1805, forming the third coalition against Napoleon. Prussia remained neutral.{{sfn|Schneid|2005|pp=83–87}}
On the other side, Napoleon built an alliance of various southern German members of the Holy Roman Empire. These included Württemberg, Bavaria and Baden, which benefited from the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of February 25, 1803. These enlarged states were in line with Napoleon's calculations. They were to weaken Austria, but were themselves too weak to pose a threat to France.{{sfn|Gotthard|2003|p=160}}