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<v Speaker 1>Hello and Welcome to Western SIV, Episode six hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>six Austerlitz. In May eighteen oh three, the uneasy piece

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<v Speaker 1>that had held Europe together for barely a year collapsed

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<v Speaker 1>into war once again. The Treaty of Aimes, the fragile

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<v Speaker 1>pause between Britain and revolutionary of France, was broken. Britain

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<v Speaker 1>declared war on Napoleon Bonaparte, and the world was plunged

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<v Speaker 1>into what would become more than a decade of conflict. Here, folks,

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<v Speaker 1>is where we actually be in the Napoleonic Wars. This

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<v Speaker 1>today is going to be the story of those first

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<v Speaker 1>furious years conflict, of the storms in Europe, the clashes

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<v Speaker 1>at See, the armies on the March, and of course

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<v Speaker 1>everything revolves around a single young emperor, Napoleon, who is

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<v Speaker 1>going to stake his destiny and honestly the future of

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<v Speaker 1>Europe and to a degree, the Western world, on one

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<v Speaker 1>single throw of the dice. Austerlitz. So, the Treaty of Ames,

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<v Speaker 1>signed in eighteen oh two, had promised peace between Britain

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<v Speaker 1>and France after nearly ten years of revolutionary struggle, but

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<v Speaker 1>peace with a guy like Napoleon was never meant to last.

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<v Speaker 1>Britain had agreed to withdraw its forces from the Mediterranean,

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<v Speaker 1>and France had promised to restrain its ambitions. However, within

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<v Speaker 1>mere months, Napoleon's actions betrayed his true intentions. He reorganized

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<v Speaker 1>the states of Italy, he played placed his relatives on

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<v Speaker 1>various thrones. He tightened his grip over Holland and Switzerland,

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<v Speaker 1>nations that Britain regarded as essential to Europe's balance of power.

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<v Speaker 1>When Napoleon annexed Piedmont and occupied Dutch ports. The British

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<v Speaker 1>government at that time, led by Prime Minister Henry Addington,

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<v Speaker 1>soon replaced by the hawkish William Pitt the Younger decided

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<v Speaker 1>enough's enough, and so on May sixteenth, eighteen oh three,

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<v Speaker 1>Great Britain once again declared war on France. Napoleon responded furiously.

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<v Speaker 1>He saw Britain as quote a nation of shopkeepers end quote,

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<v Speaker 1>but also the lynchpin of every single coalition that had

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<v Speaker 1>ever been arrayed against him. He wasn't totally wrong about that.

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<v Speaker 1>If France was to dominate Europe, he believed Britain had

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<v Speaker 1>to be defeated, or at the very least humbled, and

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<v Speaker 1>so began One of Napoleon's most audacious plans an invasion

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<v Speaker 1>of England itself. For the next two years, the coast

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<v Speaker 1>of northern France became the staging ground of an enormous enterprise.

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<v Speaker 1>Napoleon assembled the Army of England, over one hundred thousand

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<v Speaker 1>men at blown on the Channel coast. He drilled them incessantly,

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<v Speaker 1>not just as soldiers but as sailors. They practiced loading

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<v Speaker 1>onto flat bottom barges, disembarking, firing in ranks, and charging

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<v Speaker 1>across sand to do a kind of D Day style invasion,

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<v Speaker 1>but a little over one hundred years before that was

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<v Speaker 1>really realistic. Napoleon himself wrote among the tents daily inspecting, motivating,

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<v Speaker 1>and imagining what could be. The invasion plan was really

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<v Speaker 1>simple on paper, as most plans are, but almost impossible

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<v Speaker 1>in practice. To cross the Channel, Napoleon would need control

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<v Speaker 1>of the sea at least long enough for his transports

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<v Speaker 1>to slip past the Royal Navy, and that meant he

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<v Speaker 1>had to neutralize Britain's fleet. To do this, he turned

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<v Speaker 1>to two admirals, Latouche Trevet, commanding at Toulon and later Villeneux,

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<v Speaker 1>who would both take up the challenge. Their mission really

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<v Speaker 1>was just to try to lure the British fleet away

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<v Speaker 1>from the Channel, maybe to the Caribbean, and then race back,

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<v Speaker 1>unite the French and Spanish squadrons, and sees a fleeting

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<v Speaker 1>window for invasion. Napoleon believed that if his army ever

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<v Speaker 1>got a foot on English soil, quote in three weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>I shall be master of London. But standing in his

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<v Speaker 1>way was the Royal Navy and the man who truly

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<v Speaker 1>was it's beating heart, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson had become

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<v Speaker 1>a national hero after the Battle of the Nile in

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<v Speaker 1>seventeen ninety eight, where he had shattered Napoleon's fleet in Egypt.

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<v Speaker 1>Now in eighteen oh three, he'd returned to the Mediterranean,

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<v Speaker 1>commanding the British Blockade. The British strategy was relentless to

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<v Speaker 1>choke France's ports, destroy its trade, and prevent its fleet

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<v Speaker 1>from ever joining forces. The blockade was exhausting months at sea, storms,

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<v Speaker 1>scurvy and monotony, but it strangled French ambitions. Napoleon's invasion

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<v Speaker 1>army drilled and waited, but without control of the Channel,

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<v Speaker 1>they could not move, and months slowly turned into years. Meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>across Europe, Napoleon sought to isolate Britain diplomatically. He pressured

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<v Speaker 1>Spain into alliance, bellied smaller states, and in eighteen oh

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<v Speaker 1>four crowned himself Emperor of the French, a gesture that

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<v Speaker 1>shocked monarchs all across the continent. In Vienna and Saint

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<v Speaker 1>Petersburg and London, Napoleon's enemies began to stir once more.

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<v Speaker 1>In eighteen oh five, a new Grand Alliance formed, the

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<v Speaker 1>Third Coalition, uniting Britain, Austria, Russia, and Sweden against France.

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<v Speaker 1>Their plan was sweeping. While Britain struck at French colonies

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<v Speaker 1>in trade, Austria and Russia would advance into Germany and Italy,

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<v Speaker 1>liberating the territories Napoleon had overrun. But before Napoleon could

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<v Speaker 1>meet them on land, he had to deal with a

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<v Speaker 1>unified struggle at seas. His fleets, French and Spanish, were

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<v Speaker 1>finally in motion. Napoleon's orders to Admiral Villen Nuevo were ambitious,

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<v Speaker 1>even grandiose. Sail from Toulon a veiled Nelson's blockade, acrossed

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<v Speaker 1>the Atlantic, unite with other French squadrons in the Caribbean,

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<v Speaker 1>and then race back to the Channel to clear the

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<v Speaker 1>way for an invasion. Villain Neuvu, a cautious man, did

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<v Speaker 1>as he was told, at least partially. He slipped past

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<v Speaker 1>Nelson in the spring of eighteen oh five cross to

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<v Speaker 1>the West Indies, lingered uncertainly and then turned back. Nelson

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<v Speaker 1>pursued but couldn't catch him. When villain U reached European

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<v Speaker 1>waters again, he joined with Spanish ships at Caddith, but

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<v Speaker 1>instead of heading north toward the Channel, he hesitated. Reports

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<v Speaker 1>that a British fleet waited for him in the Bay

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<v Speaker 1>of Biscay, and his own lack of confidence made him

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<v Speaker 1>turn back. Napoleon was furious his dream of invasion was

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<v Speaker 1>slipping away. He wrote an exasperation, what a navy, what

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<v Speaker 1>an admiral? All lost because of one man's cowardice. The

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<v Speaker 1>dream of crossing to England was abandoned. The Army of

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<v Speaker 1>England would instead become the Grand Army, a continental force

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<v Speaker 1>eastward toward Austria and Russia. Still, the unfinished naval struggle

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<v Speaker 1>quickly reached its climax off the coast of Spain, in

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<v Speaker 1>a place called Trafalgar. Admiral Nelson finally cornered villain News

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<v Speaker 1>combined Franco Spanish fleet near Cape Trafalgar on the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>first of October eighteen five, the British fleet, thirty three

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<v Speaker 1>ships strong, sailed into battle in two columns, cutting directly

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<v Speaker 1>through the enemy line, a bold and very unconventional tactic.

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<v Speaker 1>As the ships closed, Nelson aboard his flagship the victory

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<v Speaker 1>signaled his now immortal words England expects that every man

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<v Speaker 1>will do his duty. The victory crashed through the line

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<v Speaker 1>between villain News Buquetirne and the massive Spanish sent to

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<v Speaker 1>Misa Trinidad, unleashing broadsides after broadside had virtually point blank range,

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<v Speaker 1>cannon smoke, fire splinters filled. The air men were ripped

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<v Speaker 1>apart by iron shot, Masts fell, and decks bursts into flames.

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<v Speaker 1>Nelson himself paced the quarterdeck calmly, wearing his admiral's coat,

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<v Speaker 1>metals glittering. At one fifteen PM, of French sniper aboard

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<v Speaker 1>the redoubtable fired from the rigging. The bullet struck Nelson

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<v Speaker 1>in the shoulder and lodged in his spine. He was

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<v Speaker 1>carried below decks as the battle raged above. He murmured,

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<v Speaker 1>they have done for me at last, But I have

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<v Speaker 1>done my duty by evening, the Franco Spanish fleet was shattered.

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<v Speaker 1>Nineteen enemy ships were captured or destroyed. Not a single

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<v Speaker 1>British ship was lost. Nelson died at four thirty pm

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<v Speaker 1>the same day, knowing that his victory had been complete.

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<v Speaker 1>Travolgar forever ended Napoleon's hopes of challenging British mastery at sea.

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<v Speaker 1>The invasion of England was officially dead, but even as

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<v Speaker 1>the guns fell silent off Spain, Napoleon's armies were already

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<v Speaker 1>marching toward glory in the heart of Europe. In late

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<v Speaker 1>August eighteen oh five, Napoleon shifted his focus east. The

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<v Speaker 1>Grand Army, now nearly two hundred thousand men strong, poured

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<v Speaker 1>out of the Bolong camps and began the long march

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<v Speaker 1>across the Rhine into southern Germany. Their speed and organization

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<v Speaker 1>astonished Europe. Moving in self sufficient corps, each a miniature

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<v Speaker 1>army of infantry, cavalry and artillery, they advanced with precision

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<v Speaker 1>and discipline. Napoleon called it la Marche and Avant the

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<v Speaker 1>March Forward. I would personally say Europe hadn't seen anything

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<v Speaker 1>like it since the Leege of Rome Austria under General

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<v Speaker 1>Karl Mack had moved first, occupying Bavaria and expecting Russian reinforcements,

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<v Speaker 1>but Napoleon struck well before the Russians could arrive. His

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<v Speaker 1>strategy was classic, surround and destroy one enemy before the

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<v Speaker 1>others could unite. The campaign that followed would be a

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<v Speaker 1>master class in maneuvering and warfare. Max Austrian army, about

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<v Speaker 1>seventy thousand strong, was positioned around the town of Ulm

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<v Speaker 1>on the Upper Danube River. He believed that Napoleon would

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<v Speaker 1>attack head on from the west. Instead, Napoleon swung his

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<v Speaker 1>army in a vast arc to the north, crossing the

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<v Speaker 1>Rhine at multiple points and sweeping down behind the Austrians

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<v Speaker 1>from the east. This maneuver, known as strategic envelopment, cut

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<v Speaker 1>Max lines of communication and encircled his forces without a

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<v Speaker 1>major battle. By mid October, the Austrians were totally trapped

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<v Speaker 1>as the French corps tightened the ring. Small engagements flared

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<v Speaker 1>at Wurtemberg, Gutensenberg and Elkshen, each tightening the noose. Marshall

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<v Speaker 1>Michael Nay stormed bridges under heavy fire. Joe Kim Murrat's

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<v Speaker 1>cavalry cut off retreat routes. Mac realized way too late

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<v Speaker 1>what was happening. On October the nineteenth, Surrounded and hopeless,

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<v Speaker 1>he surrendered his entire army, nearly thirty thousand men, without

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<v Speaker 1>a decisive battle. Napoleon wrote back to Empress Josephine that night,

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<v Speaker 1>in fifteen days, we have finished a campaign. I have

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<v Speaker 1>destroyed the Austrian army by marches alone. The victory at

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<v Speaker 1>Um was one of the most brilliant strategic feats in

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<v Speaker 1>modern warfare. It opened the road to Vienna, shattered Austrian morale,

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<v Speaker 1>and left the Russians dangerously Napoleon marched on relentlessly. By

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<v Speaker 1>mid October, French forces entered Vienna, the Austrian capital. The

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<v Speaker 1>city fell without resistance. The imperial family fled eastward toward

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<v Speaker 1>the advancing Russians. Napoleon crossed the Danube at the captured

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<v Speaker 1>Taber Bridge, famously stopping an Austrian attempt to destroy it

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<v Speaker 1>by bluffing his way past the guards. Soldiers, Would you

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<v Speaker 1>destroy your bridge in the face of the Emperor of France,

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<v Speaker 1>he cried, and the men hesitated just long enough for

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<v Speaker 1>his troops to seize it. Vienna's fall was a stunning

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<v Speaker 1>humiliation for Austria, but Napoleon knew the real test lay ahead.

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<v Speaker 1>The Russian army under generals Kutsov and Boxden. I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>sure that I'm getting those right, was closing in behind them.

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<v Speaker 1>Loomed the figure of Alexander the First of Russia, determined

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<v Speaker 1>to avenge the loss at and defend his Austrian ally,

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<v Speaker 1>would come down on the frozen plains of Moravia at

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<v Speaker 1>a small village called Austerlitz. By early December eighteen oh five,

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<v Speaker 1>the two armies were maneuvering for position near Bruneau in

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<v Speaker 1>modern day Czech Republic. Napoleon's force numbered about seventy three thousand.

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<v Speaker 1>The allies, Russians and Austrians combined over eighty five thousand.

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<v Speaker 1>Napoleon knew he was outnumbered, but he also knew how

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<v Speaker 1>to make the enemy play his game. He feigned weakness,

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<v Speaker 1>deliberately thinning his right flank to lure the Austrians into

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<v Speaker 1>attacking it. If they believe I am retreating, he told

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<v Speaker 1>his marshals, they are lost. On December the first, the

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<v Speaker 1>day before the battle, Napoleon surveyed the field from the

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<v Speaker 1>prots and heights, a gently rising ridge that dominated the landscape.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he withdrew his men from it, a calculated deception.

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<v Speaker 1>That night, his soldiers camped in frost and missed. Fires

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<v Speaker 1>flickered across the valley. Napoleon rode amongst them, speaking softly,

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<v Speaker 1>promising victory. His words spread through the ranks. Remember, soldiers,

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<v Speaker 1>your emperor watches over you. Then came one of the

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<v Speaker 1>most famous moments in the Napoleonic legend, the dawn of

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<v Speaker 1>December the second, eighteen oh five, the anniversary of his coronation,

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<v Speaker 1>As the morning mist was lifted, sunlight breaking through the

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<v Speaker 1>sun of Austerlitz, as his veterans would forever call it.

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<v Speaker 1>At dawn, the Allied army began its attack, just as

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<v Speaker 1>Napoleon had hoped. Believing his right flank weak, they sent

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<v Speaker 1>their main force, over forty thousand men against the French

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<v Speaker 1>positions near the villages of Telns and Skolinst. The French right,

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<v Speaker 1>commanded by martial Devout, was hard pressed but held firm.

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<v Speaker 1>His third Corps had marched more than seventy miles in

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<v Speaker 1>two days to join the battle. They fought desperately against

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<v Speaker 1>superior numbers, buying time for Napoleon's trap to close. On

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<v Speaker 1>eight thirty in the morning, as the Allied center thinned

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<v Speaker 1>to reinforce the assault, Napoleon turned to Marshal Sout, commanding

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<v Speaker 1>the fourth Corps. How long will you need to reach

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<v Speaker 1>the heights, he asked, Less than twenty minutes, Sire Salt replied.

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<v Speaker 1>Napoleon waited a moment longer, then raised his hand. One

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<v Speaker 1>sharp blow, and the war is over. Advance Salt's divisions

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<v Speaker 1>surged forward through the mist, up the slopes of the

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<v Speaker 1>Prots and Heights. The battle's balance shifted in an instant.

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<v Speaker 1>French columns smashed into the weakened Allied center, driving them

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<v Speaker 1>back in confusion. Napoleon himself rode with the advance, directing

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<v Speaker 1>artillery fire and urging on his men. By midday, the

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<v Speaker 1>Prots and Heights, the key to the battlefield, were in

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<v Speaker 1>French hands. From that vantage point, French guns now poured

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<v Speaker 1>fire down on the Allied in planks below. On the

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<v Speaker 1>southern end, near the frozen ponds of Sachin, chaos erupted

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<v Speaker 1>as the Allied left tried to retreat. French artillery raked

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<v Speaker 1>the ice. Contemporary accounts claimed that hundreds drowned as the

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<v Speaker 1>surface shattered under cannon fire, though later historians suggest that

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<v Speaker 1>the number was a lot smaller. Still, the image of men,

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<v Speaker 1>horses and wagons crashing through the ice became part of

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<v Speaker 1>the Napoleonic legend. By afternoon, the battle was decided. The

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<v Speaker 1>Allied army was shattered thirty six thousand casualties to the

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<v Speaker 1>French nine thousand. The emperors of Austria and Russia fled

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<v Speaker 1>the field. Napoleon rode amongst his troops as they cheered, shouting,

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<v Speaker 1>vived Emperor. That night, from the captured Frats and Heights,

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<v Speaker 1>Napoleon dictated his report to Paris soldiers. I am satisfied

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<v Speaker 1>with you on this day. You have justified all my expectations.

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<v Speaker 1>You have crowned yourselves with immortal glory. The victory at

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<v Speaker 1>Austerlitz ended the Third Coalition in one stroke. Austria sued

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<v Speaker 1>for peace immediately. The resulting Treaty of Presburg forced heavy

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<v Speaker 1>territorial concessions. Austria seated lands in Italy and Germany, recognizing

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<v Speaker 1>Napoleon's control over the new Kingdom of Italy, and paid

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<v Speaker 1>him a massive indemnity. Russia retreated eastward, humiliated but not broken,

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<v Speaker 1>written isolated once again continued the war at sea, but

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<v Speaker 1>now alone. In just two months, Napoleon had destroyed one army,

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<v Speaker 1>captured a capital, and annihilated a coalition on the field

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<v Speaker 1>of battle. The map of Europe was now his to

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<v Speaker 1>a redraw. By the end of eighteen oh five, Napoleon

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<v Speaker 1>stood at the height of his power, from the Atlantic

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<v Speaker 1>to the Carpathians. His empire dominated the continent. The Grand Army,

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<v Speaker 1>once posed on the Channel coast, was now the most

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<v Speaker 1>formidable military force in the world. Soldiers veterans of the

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<v Speaker 1>Battles of Bologne, whom and now Austerlitz, believed that they

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<v Speaker 1>were invincible. In Paris, the bells of Notre Dame rang

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<v Speaker 1>out in celebration. The French Senate declared that peace is

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<v Speaker 1>restored to Europe, though few, if anyone, believed it would last.

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<v Speaker 1>From London, William Pitt looked down upon the news of Austerlitz. Grimly.

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<v Speaker 1>He said to have been remarked, roll up that map

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<v Speaker 1>of Europe. It will not be wanted these ten years.

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<v Speaker 1>But even Pitt underestimated Napoleon's ambition. The peace of eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>o five would soon give way to new wars against Prussia.

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<v Speaker 1>Against Russia again and eventually against the world. Still in

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<v Speaker 1>that moment, beneath the bright winter sun in Moravia, for

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<v Speaker 1>that moment, at least, Napoleon Bonaparte stood supreme, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>almost co