The Napoleonic Wars are among the most significant conflicts in European history. The conflict encompassed the entirety of the European continent, from Portugal in the west to Russia in the east. Monuments and museums have since been built around several significant battlefields from the Napoleonic era to offer a fascinating experience for travelers interested in this period of European history. Read on to find out about what to see and do at four of the most interesting Napoleonic battlefields in Europe.
1. Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805 is widely regarded as Napoleon’s greatest battlefield victory. In his quest to defeat his Austro-Russian enemy in a single stroke, Napoleon feigned weakness by evacuating from the Pratzen Heights on the eve of battle, encouraging the Coalition army to take the offensive.
Napoleon deliberately weakened his right flank, drawing the Coalition army down the Pratzen Heights on the morning of December 2. The men of Marshal Davout’s III Corps, who arrived from Vienna in the early hours and were still taking up their positions, fought an effective defensive battle around the villages of Sokolnitz and Telnitz to tie up half the Coalition force. With the Pratzen sufficiently weakened, Napoleon sent General Soult’s IV Corps to seize the heights, surprising the enemy as the morning mist burned away to reveal the mass of French infantrymen marching up the hill.
Although there was much fighting to be done in the day, particularly as the Russian Guards advanced to contest the Pratzen, Napoleon’s bold tactical maneuver gave him control of the field and split the Coalition army in half, preventing it from coordinating its counterattacks against Napoleon’s army. By the end of the day the Coalition army was divided into three, with Prince Pyotr Bagration’s column in good condition but retreating towards the northeast, the remnants of the Allied center falling to the east, and the Allied left fleeing across the frozen Satschan Ponds in the south.
The Austerlitz battlefield is located to the southeast of Brno in what is now the Czech Republic. The dominant feature of the battlefield are the gently sloping Pratzen Heights, where a large bell-shaped monument known as the Cairn of Peace was built shortly before the outbreak of World War I. The Battle of Austerlitz Museum with exhibits and artifacts relating to the battle is located next to the memorial.
Several small monuments are dotted around the battlefield. Towards the north, near the E50 highway, stands the hill of Žuráň, which served as Napoleon’s command post during the morning of the battle. The hill offers a panoramic view of the battlefield and with a bronze map illustrating the dispositions of the two armies at the beginning of the battle.
Moving south along the French line, visitors can see the museum at Šlapanice at the old rectory, which served as Soult’s headquarters during the battle. Continuing on the road past Kobylnice, the village of Sokolnice boasts a small castle which served as a defensive position for Davout’s men on the French right and now functions as a retirement home.
On the eastern half of the battlefield, the Old Post House (Stará Pošta) near Kovalovice was the headquarters of Marshal Murat on November 28, a few days before the battle. When Napoleon abandoned the Pratzen, the building was taken over by Prince Bagration and served as his headquarters during the day of the battle. On the evening of the battle, Napoleon himself stayed at the Old Post House and conducted preliminary negotiations for an armistice with the Austrians. The building now serves as a hotel and restaurant and has a small exhibition area dedicated to the battle.
The small town of Slavkov u Brna, then known by its German name of Austerlitz, gave its name to the famous battle. The town itself was located behind Allied lines on December 2, 1805 and did not see any fighting. The town’s main attraction is the imposing Renaissance castle built by the Kaunitz family, whose most famous representative, Prince Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, served as chancellor of the Habsburg Empire for four decades during the second half of the 18th century.
Visitors can take a guided tour of the castle, where the preliminary armistice was concluded by Napoleon and Prince von Liechtenstein on December 6. The outbuildings at the front of the castle hosts an underground museum that rivals the battlefield museum on the Pratzen Heights.
2. Borodino
The Battle of Borodino on September 7, 1812 was the bloodiest single day of combat during the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon invaded Russia in June 1812, the outnumbered Russian army under Mikhail Barclay de Tolly fell back towards Moscow. Barclay’s strategy, though effective, made him unpopular among his subordinates, and in late August General Mikhail Kutuzov was appointed supreme commander with orders to defend Moscow.
Kutuzov took up a position on the Smolensk-Moscow road at Borodino, around 80 miles to the west of Moscow. He deployed the bulk of his army around the Moscow road. While Kutuzov ordered the construction of the Shevardino Redoubt to strengthen his vulnerable left flank, this was abandoned after a bloody skirmish two days before the main battle on September 5.
The Battle of Borodino began early on September 7, as Napoleon’s stepson Viceroy Eugene de Beauharnais launched an attack against the Russians in the village of Borodino. Napoleon’s main attack was directed against the Russian left under the command of Prince Bagration near the village of Semenovskoye, while General Poniatowski’s Polish Corps attempted to outflank the Russian left along the overgrown Old Smolensk Road further south.
During the bitter fighting around Semenovskoye, Bagration was mortally wounded while directing a counterattack against the enemy. As Kutuzov moved to strengthen his left, Eugene launched wave after wave against the Grand Redoubt in the Russian center, manned by General Nikolay Raevsky’s VII Corps. The French briefly occupied the Grand Redoubt before the young Russian artillery commander General Kutaisov led a successful counterattack at the cost of his own life.
By the early afternoon, the Russians fell back from Semenovskoe in some disorder. Napoleon was preparing to commit his Imperial Guard to the fray when he received news that Russian Cossacks had outflanked his left and were threatening his baggage train. Although the Cossack raid was easily beaten back by French infantry, it gave the Russian left valuable time to establish a second defensive line.
The withdrawal of the Russian left exposed the southern flank of the Great Redoubt, which was taken by French cavalry. With thousands of French cavalrymen swarming around the field behind the Redoubt, Barclay de Tolly gathered up cavalry reinforcements to countercharge the exhausted French horsemen. After an intense cavalry duel, the French retired to their lines.
The Battle of Borodino was a tactical draw, but owing to heavy casualties Kutuzov chose to withdraw from the field the following morning. While this allowed Napoleon to occupy Moscow, a week later, Napoleon’s failure to win a decisive victory at Borodino extinguished any faint hopes of a successful campaign.
The field of Borodino is dominated by the main battlefield monument constructed in 1839 on the Great Redoubt. Prince Bagration’s remains were transferred to a grave at the foot of the monument, which was destroyed during German occupation in World War II. The main Borodino battlefield museum is a short distance away.
The Borodino battlefield is full of other smaller monuments commemorating Russian units who fought in the battle. The only monument to the French army is at the Shevardino Redoubt, which served as Napoleon’s command post on the day of the battle. Kutuzov’s command post at Gorki to the east of Borodino village is marked by a granite monument topped by an eagle.
Another major landmark is the Spaso-Borodinsky Convent near Semenovskoye, founded by Margarita Tuchkova on the spot where her husband, General Alexander Tuchkov, fell in battle. A small memorial chapel was initially built on the site, which expanded to become a full monastic complex that remains active to this day.
The grave of General Dmitry Neverovsky lies a short distance beyond the convent. Neverovsky’s 27th Division saw considerable action around Semenovskoye and suffered heavy losses. While Neverovsky survived the battle, he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and buried in the German city of Halle. His remains were transferred to the Borodino battlefield as part of the centennial commemoration in 1912.
Borodino can be reached from Moscow by train to Mozhaisk and a short taxi ride. Travelers interested in Napoleonic history should also take time to visit the Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812 near Red Square and the Borodino Panorama Museum near Victory Park in Moscow.
3. Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig, fought over four days between October 16 and October 19, 1813, was the bloodiest battle in world history until the First World War more than a century later. It was one of the most decisive battles of the Napoleonic period and marked the end of the German Befrieungskriege (War of Liberation) of 1813.
Following Napoleon’s disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, an Allied Russo-Prussian army swept through northern Germany in spring 1813. Although Napoleon defeated the Allies at Lützen and Bautzen in Saxony and a summer armistice held for two months, the Austrians joined Russia and Prussia in the Sixth Coalition at the beginning of August.
The Sixth Coalition divided its forces between three armies: the Army of Bohemia under the Austrian general Prince Schwarzenberg, the Army of Silesia under Prussian Field Marshal Blücher, and the Army of the North under Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden, formerly Marshal Bernadotte. The Allies adopted the so-called Trachenberg Plan, whereby each of the three armies would maneuver to attack Napoleon’s marshals but avoid battle against Napoleon himself without enjoying overwhelming numerical superiority.
By applying the principles of the plan, the Army of the North defeated Marshal Oudinot at Grossbeeren on August 23 and Marshal Ney at Dennewitz on September 6, while the Army of Silesia emerged victorious over Marshal MacDonald at the Katzbach on August 26. However, after Schwarzenberg attacked Marshal Gouvion St-Cyr at Dresden on August 26, Napoleon brought his main army to reinforce St-Cyr and emerged victorious on the 27th.
The Army of Bohemia spent several weeks recovering from the defeat at Dresden but was ready to advance against Napoleon in October. By mid-October, the three main Allied armies were converging on Napoleon at Leipzig, setting the stage for the Battle of the Nations.
Napoleon’s plan at Leipzig hinged on defeating Schwarzenberg to his south before Blücher and Bernadotte could arrive in force from the north. Schwarzenberg’s attack on October 16 was delayed by unfavorable terrain and met stiff resistance from Napoleon and Poniatowski. The Allied line came under heavy pressure, and the opportunistic Marshal Murat led 5,000 cavalrymen in a daring charge against the Allied center. Murat’s troopers threatened to charge up the hill where the three Allied monarchs (Emperor Francis I of Austria, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, King Frederick William III of Prussia) were stationed. The charge lost momentum as it negotiated a ravine at the bottom of the hill, and a timely counterattack by Allied light cavalry forced Murat to withdraw.
Napoleon’s failure to defeat Schwarzenberg in the villages to the south of Leipzig on the first day of battle eliminated any chance of victory. In the northern sector, marshals Ney and Marmont held off the leading elements of the Army of Silesia. After a relatively quiet second day of battle, hostilities raged with higher intensity on the 18th. The Army of Silesia was now on the field in full force, and Bernadotte arrived in the afternoon. In a dramatic episode, several thousand Saxons defected from Napoleon’s cause and joined the Allies.
On the morning of October 19, Napoleon withdrew from Leipzig, leaving marshals Macdonald and Poniatowski to fight a rearguard action to cover his retreat. Under heavy pressure from the Allies, panicked French sappers destroyed the bridge across the River Elster and left a large contingent of their comrades stranded. A heavily wounded Poniatowski drowned while attempting to swim across the river.
Much of the Leipzig battlefield has been built over, and the surrounding villages that saw the most intense fighting have since been absorbed into Leipzig’s urban sprawl. However, the great battle was commemorated by the impressive Völkerschlachtdenkmal or Monument to the Battle of Nations, built near the site of Napoleon’s command post during the battle. Building work began in 1898 and was completed by the 100th anniversary of the battle in 1913. Standing at 91 meters, the monument features a viewing platform offering a panorama of the battlefield. A small museum is located at the base of the monument.
With the aid of battlefield accounts and maps, visitors to Leipzig also can get a sense of the action closer to the ground by visiting the southern suburbs of Markkleeberg, Wachau, Liebertwolkwitz, and Probstheida, the scene of the heaviest fighting on the first day of battle, as well as the northern suburb of Möckern, which saw heavy clashes involving the Army of Silesia on the first and third days of the battle.
4. Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo, fought near Brussels on June 18, 1815, was the last major battle of the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon returned to power in Paris on March 20, the Allied powers of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain responded by pledging 150,000 men each to defeat him. As large Russian and Austrian armies lumbered their way from the east, Napoleon formed the Army of the North and hoped to defeat the British and Prussian armies under the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Blücher respectively.
On June 15, Napoleon marched on Brussels via Charleroi, aiming to split Wellington and Blücher. Both Allied armies were deployed on a wide front, with Wellington fearful of an outflanking maneuver to cut off his supply lines to the North Sea and the Prussians equally concerned about protecting their communications to northern Germany.
The campaign began well for Napoleon, who joined Marshal Grouchy to defeat the Prussians at Ligny on June 16. Further to the west, Marshal Ney fought an inconclusive battle with Wellington at Quatre Bras, but the Prussian defeat forced Wellington to fall back. Leaving Grouchy to keep an eye on Blücher, whom he believed was retreating eastwards, Napoleon joined Ney to go after Wellington.
Contrary to Napoleon’s expectations, the Prussians retreated north to maintain contact with Wellington. Confident that Blücher would come to his aid, Wellington prepared to meet Napoleon at Mont-Saint-Jean to the south of Waterloo.
Heavy rain on the 17th delayed Napoleon as he took up his positions on a lower ridge line facing Wellington on the morning of the 18th. A diversionary attack by Napoleon’s brother Jerome Bonaparte against the farm of Hougoumont on Wellington’s right eventually drew in thousands of men on both sides throughout the day.
Napoleon’s main attack was targeted at Wellington’s center near the farm of La Haye Sainte. Wave after wave of French infantry were repulsed by British counterattacks at heavy cost to both sides while heavy fighting continued at Hougoumont and at La Haye Sainte.
By the early afternoon, an unidentified column of men appeared on the horizon on Napoleon’s right. To Napoleon’s horror, this was General Bülow’s Prussian IV Corps, which was in full strength after avoiding the carnage at Ligny. At around four in the afternoon, Bülow attacked Napoleon’s right flank at Plancenoit, forcing him to divert his scarce reserves.
As the evening approached, Marshal Ney desperately threw his cavalry against Wellington and was repulsed by British infantry squares. A combined attack by artillery and infantry proved more effective and the French captured La Haye Sainte at around six. While Ney sought to exploit the success by sending the Imperial Guard, this proved too little too late, as General Zieten’s Prussian I Corps linked up with Wellington’s left and allowed the latter to reorganize his lines, repulsing the attack from the Guard before signaling a general advance.
The battlefield of Waterloo attracts 300,000 visitors each year and is easily accessible by car or train from Brussels. The dominant feature of the battlefield is the Lion Mound, an artificial hill constructed in the early 1820s on the site where Prince William of Orange, later King William II of the Netherlands, was wounded during the battle. The mound offers an expansive view of the battlefield but makes the terrain appear flat.
A circular building at the foot of the Lion Mound houses the Waterloo Panorama, painted in 1912 and depicting one of the great French cavalry charges. Adjacent to the panorama is the underground museum curated to modern standards which opened in 2015 for the bicentennial commemorations.
There are plenty of monuments dedicated to specific units that fought in the battle, particularly at the crossroads near La Haye Sainte, which saw intense fighting as Napoleon attempted to crash through Wellington’s line. The farm itself is private property and not open to the public, though further afield the large farm complex at Hougoumont is accessible. There are several memorials to French and Prussian units at Plancenoit but no museums.
Napoleon’s last headquarters at Le Caillou is located to the south of Plancenoit on the main Charleroi-Brussels highway and hosts a small museum. Wellington’s headquarters, in the town of Waterloo itself to the north of the battlefield, is now home to the Wellington Museum. In addition to artifacts and exhibits from the battle, visitors can see the room where the British commander wrote his Waterloo dispatch the morning after the battle.
