Chasing the Austerlitz Ideal: The Enduring Quest for Decisive Battle

Authors

Gregory A. Daddis, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2006

Abstract

"Austerlitz would become one of the French emperor’s most acclaimed battles. It reaffirmed the lessons of his earlier campaigns, that military victory could bring enormous political results. In one day, Napoleon had effectively annihilated the army of his allied enemies and smashed the Third Coalition. In contrast with the preceding era of limited warfare, when battles rarely achieved dramatic political gains, annihilation of the enemy’s army seemed once more a realistic means to achieve a strategic goal. As Russell Weigley noted, 'The Austerlitz battle, the thunderstroke victory that destroyed the enemy army in a single clash of arms, became almost every general’s hoped-for means to the goal.'"

Comments

This article was originally published in Armed Forces Journal, volume 143, issue 9, in 2006.

Recommended Citation

Daddis, Gregory A., "Chasing the Austerlitz Ideal: The Enduring Quest for Decisive Battle," Armed Forces Journal 143, no. 9 (April 2006), http://armedforcesjournal.com/chasing-the-austerlitz-ideal/.

Copyright

Armed Forces Journal