Battle of Schöngrabern

Battle context

Fought four weeks after Ulm and two weeks before Austerlitz, Schöngrabern sat at a critical juncture in the 1805 campaign. A Russian force of roughly 7,000–7,300 men under Bagration engaged a substantially larger French force numbering between 20,000 and 30,000 under Lannes, Murat, and Oudinot near Hollabrunn in Lower Austria. The engagement allowed the main Russian army time to withdraw northward before the decisive confrontation at Austerlitz. French casualties of 1,200–2,000 against Russian losses of 2,648–3,000 indicate Bagration's rearguard imposed a real cost despite the disparity in numbers. By delaying the French advance in the weeks immediately preceding Austerlitz, the action shaped the conditions under which Kutuzov's army entered that battle.