Battle of Austerlitz in the Napoleonic Wars

Battle of Austerlitz in the Napoleonic Wars The Battle of Austerlitz was fought December 2, 1805, and was the deciding engagement of the War of the Third Coalition (1805) during the Napoleonic Wars (1803 to 1815). Having crushed an Austrian army at Ulm earlier that fall, Napoleon drove east and captured Vienna. Eager for battle, he pursued the Austrians northeast from their capital. Reinforced by the Russians, the Austrians gave battle near Austerlitz in early December. The resulting battle is often considered Napoleons finest victory and saw the combined Austro-Russian army driven from the field. In the wake of the battle, the Austrian Empire signed the Treaty of Pressburg and left the conflict. Armies Commanders France Napoleon65,000 to 75,000 men Russia Austria Tsar Alexander IEmperor Francis II73,000 to 85,000 men A New War Though fighting in Europe had ended with the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, many of the signatories remained unhappy with its terms. Increasing tensions saw Britain declare war on France on May 18, 1803. This saw Napoleon revive plans for a cross-channel invasion and he began concentrating forces around Boulogne. Following the French execution of  Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien, in March 1804, many of the powers in Europe became increasingly concerned over French intentions. Later that year, Sweden signed an agreement with Britain opening the door to what would become the Third Coalition. Mounting a relentless diplomatic campaign, Prime Minister William Pitt concluded an alliance with Russia in early 1805. This came about despite British concern over Russias growing influence in the Baltic. A few months later, Britain and Russia were joined by Austria, which having been twice defeated by the French in recent years, sought to exact revenge. Napoleon Responds With threats emerging from Russia and Austria, Napoleon abandoned his ambitions to invade Britain during the summer of 1805  and turned to deal with these new adversaries. Moving with speed and efficiency, 200,000 French troops departed their camps near Boulogne and began crossing the Rhine along a 160-mile front on September 25. Responding to the threat, Austrian General Karl Mack concentrated his army at the fortress of Ulm in Bavaria. Conducting a brilliant campaign of maneuver, Napoleon swung north and descended on the Austrian rear. After winning a series of battles, Napoleon captured Mack and 23,000 men at Ulm on October 20. Though the victory was dampened by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelsons triumph at Trafalgar the next day, the Ulm Campaign effectively opened the way to Vienna which fell to French forces in November. To the northeast, a Russian field army under General Mikhail Illarionovich Golenischev-Kutusov had gathered and absorbed many of the remaining Austrian units. Moving towards the enemy, Napoleon sought to bring them to battle before his lines of communication were severed or Prussia entered the conflict. Allied Plans On December 1, the Russian and Austrian leadership met to decide their next move. While Tsar Alexander I wished to attack the French, Austrian Emperor Francis II and Kutuzov preferred to take a more defensive approach. Under pressure from their senior commanders, it was finally decided that an attack would be made against the French right (southern) flank which would open a path to Vienna. Moving forward, they adopted a plan devised by Austrian Chief of Staff Franz von Weyrother which called for four columns to assault the French right. The Allied plan played directly into Napoleons hands. Anticipating that they would strike at his right, he thinned it to make it more alluring. Believing that this assault would weaken the Allied center, he planned on a massive counterattack in this area to shatter their lines, while Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davouts III Corps came up from Vienna to support the right. Positioning Marshal Jean Lanness V Corps near Santon Hill at the northern end of the line, Napoleon placed General Claude Legrands men at the southern end, with Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soults IV Corps in the center. Fighting Begins Around 8:00 AM on December 2, the first Allied columns began hitting the French right near the village of Telnitz. Taking the village, they threw the French back across Goldbach Stream. Regrouping, the French effort was reinvigorated by the arrival of Davouts corps. Moving to the attack, they recaptured Telnitz but were driven out by Allied cavalry. Further Allied attacks from the village were halted by French artillery. Slightly to the north, the next Allied column hit Sokolnitz and was repulsed by its defenders. Bringing in artillery, General Count Louis de Langà ©ron commenced a bombardment and his men succeeded in taking the village, while a third column assaulted the towns castle. Storming forward, the French managed to retake to the village but soon lost it again. Fighting around Sokolnitz continued to rage throughout the day. One Sharp Blow Around 8:45 AM, believing that the Allied center had been sufficiently weakened, Napoleon summoned Soult to discuss an attack on the enemy lines atop Pratzen Heights. Stating that One sharp blow and the war is over, he ordered the assault to move forward at 9:00 AM. Advancing through the morning fog, General Louis de Saint-Hilaires division attacked up the heights. Reinforced with elements from their second and fourth columns, the Allies met the French assault and mounted a fierce defense.  This initial French effort was thrown back after bitter fighting. Charging again, Saint-Hilaires men finally succeeded in capturing the heights at bayonet point. Fighting in the Center To their north, General Dominique Vandammes advanced his division against Starà © Vinohrady (Old Vineyards). Employing a variety of infantry tactics, the division shattered the defenders and claimed the area. Moving his command post to St. Anthonys Chapel on the Pratzen Heights, Napoleon ordered Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadottes I Corps into the battle on Vandammes left. As the battle raged, the Allies decided to strike Vandammes position with the Russian Imperial Guards cavalry. Storming forward, they had some success before Napoleon committed his own Heavy Guards cavalry to the fray. As the horsemen battled, General Jean-Baptiste Drouets division deployed on the flank of the fighting. In addition to providing refuge for the French cavalry, fire from his men and the Guards horse artillery forced the Russians to retreat from the area. In the North At the northern end of the battlefield, fighting began as Prince Liechtenstein led Allied cavalry against General Franà §ois Kellermanns light cavalry. Under heavy pressure, Kellermann fell back behind General  Marie-Franà §ois Auguste de Caffarellis division of Lannes corps which blocked the Austrian advance. After the arrival of two additional mounted divisions allowed the French to finish off the cavalry, Lannes moved forward against Prince Pyotr Bagrations Russian infantry. After engaging in a hard fight, Lannes forced the Russians to retreat from the battlefield. Completing the Triumph To complete the victory, Napoleon turned south where fighting was still raging around Telnitz and Sokolnitz. In an effort to drive the enemy from the field, he directed Saint-Hilaires division and part of Davouts corps to launch a two-pronged attack on Sokolnitz. Enveloping the Allied position, the assault crushed the defenders and forced them to retreat. As their lines began to collapse all along the front, Allied troops started to flee the field. In an attempt to slow the French pursuit General Michael von Kienmayer directed some of his cavalry to form a rearguard.  Mounting a desperate defense, they helped cover the Allied withdrawal. Aftermath One of Napoleons greatest victories, Austerlitz effectively ended the War of the Third Coalition. Two days later, with their territory overrun and their armies destroyed, Austria made peace through the Treaty of Pressburg. In addition to territorial concessions, the Austrians were required to pay a war indemnity of 40 million francs. The remains of the Russian army withdrew east, while Napoleons forces went into camp in southern Germany. Having taken much of Germany, Napoleon abolished the Holy Roman Empire and established the Confederation of the Rhine as a buffer state between France and Prussia. French losses at Austerlitz numbered 1,305 killed, 6,940 wounded, and 573 captured. Allied casualties were massive and included 15,000 killed and wounded, as well as 12,000 captured.

Purify Alcohol or Denatured Ethanol Using Distillation

Purify Alcohol or Denatured Ethanol Using Distillation Denatured alcohol is toxic to drink and may be unsuitable for some lab experiments or other purposes. If you need pure ethanol (CH3CH2OH), you can purify denatured, contaminated or impure alcohol using distillation.   Alcohol Distillation Materials Balance100-mL volumetric flask or graduated cylinderDistillation apparatus250-mL beaker (or another container to receive the distilled alcohol)Hotplate or another flameless heat source (to avoid igniting the ethanol)Boiling chips200-mL impure ethanol (e.g., 70% denatured alcohol) You can also  make  a distillation apparatus if you dont already have one or arent sure what one looks like. Alcohol Distillation Procedure Put on appropriate safety gear, including goggles, gloves and protective clothing.Weigh the volumetric flask or graduated cylinder and record the value. This will help you determine your yield if you care to calculate it.Add 100.00 mL of alcohol to the volumetric flask. Weigh the flask plus alcohol and record the value. Now, if you subtract the mass of the flask from this value, you will know the mass of your alcohol. The density of your alcohol is the mass per volume, which is the mass of the alcohol (the number you just obtained) divided by the volume (100.00 mL). You now know the density of the alcohol in g/mL.Pour the ethanol into the distillation vessel and add the remaining alcohol.Add a boiling chip or two to the flask.Assemble the distillation apparatus. The 250-mL beaker is your receiving vessel.Turn on the hotplate and heat the ethanol to a gentle boil. If you have a thermometer in the distillation apparatus, youll see the temperature climb and then stabilize when it reache s the temperature of the ethanol-water vapor. Once you reach it, do not allow the temperature to exceed the stable value. If the temperature starts to climb again, it means the ethanol is gone from the distillation vessel. At this point, you could add more of the impure alcohol, if it didnt all fit in the container at the start. Continue distillation until you have collected at least 100 mL in the receiving beaker.Allow the distillate (liquid you collected) to cool to room temperature.Transfer 100.00 mL of this liquid into the volumetric flask, weigh the flask plus alcohol, subtract the weight of the flask (from earlier), and record the mass of the alcohol. Divide the mass of the alcohol by 100 to get the density of your distillate in g/mL. You can compare this value against a table of values to estimate the purity of your alcohol. The density of pure ethanol around room temperature is 0.789 g/mL.If you want, you can run this liquid through another distillation to increase its purity. Keep in mind, some alcohol is lost during every distillation, so youll have a lower yield with the second distillation and even less final product if you do a third distillation. If you double or triple distill your alcohol, you can determine its density and estimate its purity using the same method outlined for the first disti llation. Notes About Alcohol Ethanol is sold in the pharmacy sections of stores as a disinfectant. It may be called ethyl alcohol, ethanol or ethyl rubbing alcohol. Another common type of alcohol used for rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol or isopropanol. These alcohols have different properties (notably, isopropyl alcohol is toxic), so if it matters which one you need, be sure the desired alcohol is listed on the label. Hand sanitizer gels also often use ethanol and/or isopropanol. The label should list which type of alcohol is used under the active ingredients. Notes About Purity Distilling denatured alcohol will remove enough impurities for may lab applications. Further purification steps could include passing the alcohol over activated carbon. This would be especially helpful if the point of the distillation is to obtain drinkable ethanol. Be very careful distilling ethanol to drink using denatured alcohol as a source. If the denaturing agent was simply an additive intended to make the alcohol bitter, this purification might be fine, but if toxic substances were added to the alcohol, a lesser degree of contamination may remain in the distilled product. This is especially likely if the contaminant had a boiling point close to that of the ethanol. You can reduce contamination by discarding the first bit of ethanol that is collected and the last portion. It also helps to tightly control the temperature of the distillation. Just be aware: distilled alcohol is not suddenly pure! Even commercially produced ethanol still contains traces of other chemicals.