1805 - Tsar Alexander's First War With Napoleon : The Russian Official History

The official history of the first war between Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon in 1805, using original military and diplomatic documents and the testimonies of witnesses and participants from the war.

First published in 1844, the history describes the causes of the war and the state of the opposing armies before tracking the march of Kutusov’s corps into Austrian territory and the concurrent Austrian disaster at Ulm. It then looks at the Tsar’s diplomatic efforts: Emperor Alexander’s journey abroad; Prussia’s changing relationship with Napoleon; the Treaty of Potsdam; and the Tsar’s relations with Britain and Sweden. Returning to the Danube theater the history covers: Kutuzov’s retreat from Braunau to Krems, the actions at Lambach and Amstetten, the Battles of Krems and Dürnstein; Kutuzov’s march from Braunau to Znaim; Bagration’s march to Hollabrun; and the action at Schöngrabern.

After a consideration of operations in the Tyrol and Italy, the narrative shifts to the arrival of Buxhoeveden’s corps and the Austerlitz campaign including the action at Wischau and the pre-battle maneuvering and dispositions. Austerlitz itself is then considered in detail: Napoleon’s dispositions; initial operations by Dokhturov, Langeron and Przhibyshevsky; the defeat of the coalition center; Kamensky’s battle; the exploits of Prince Volkonsky; the actions of the coalition cavalry; the defeat of the Russian Guard; Bagration’s operations; the defeat of Langeron and Przhibyshevsky; Dokhturov’s exploits; the coalition withdrawal; casualties of the coalition and French armies.

The narrative of the primary theater of war concludes with the arrival of Essen’s corps, the Tsar’s return to Russia, the Peace of Pressburg, and the march of the Russians through Hungary and Galicia. However, details are also included of subsidiary operations in Hanover under Tolstoy in conjunction with the British and Swedes, and in the Mediterranean under Lacy at Naples and Corfu.

Born in Russia in 1789, after the death of his father, Alexander Ivanovich Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky used his inheritance to study in Göttingen from 1808-11, on returning to Russia he became a civil servant. During the War of 1812, he joined the militia and participated in the Battle of Borodino, after which he served in the Quartermasters Department and was present at many battles from 1813-14. From 1815-20, he was head of the General Staff library but returned to military service until 1832, when he was commissioned to write Russia’s official military histories. He died in 1848 during a cholera epidemic in St. Petersburg.



Alexander Mikaberidze is an assistant professor of history at Mississippi State University. He holds a law degree from the Republic of Georgia and a Ph.D. in history from Florida State University, where he worked at the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution. He serves as president of the Napoleonic Society of Georgia.