Hoche
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SLAVKOV U BRNA, Czech Republic - Thousands of men in 19th century uniforms, on horseback and on foot, battled on a snow-covered field in the Czech Republic on Saturday, re-enacting the Emperor Napoleon's triumph over Russia and Austria 200 years ago.
Sabers clashed and the pounding of cannon and gunfire shook the battlefield, but this time there were no 30,000 dead or injured as the French cemented their dominance over continental Europe.
Instead, tens of thousands of spectators from a largely unified continent watched excitedly from the sidelines of the recreated battle of Austerlitz, thrilling to the pageant.
Nearly 4,000 members of military history clubs from 22 countries, including the United States, Russia, Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria, joined "battle" about 150 miles southeast of Prague near what is now the town of Slavkov u Brna — known as Austerlitz in the 19th century when Czech lands were part of the Austrian empire.
It took the French force more than 10 hours to defeat the allies on Dec. 2, 1805.
But Saturday's soldiers had to fight for only 90 minutes, performed major stages of one of the bloodiest battles of the Napoleonic wars.
Braving the cold and the noise of fake ammunition, 5,000 spectators in makeshift stands, and 25,000 lining the field near the village of Tvarozna, applauded the skirmishes sometimes obscured by the smoke of the cannon fire.
The role of Napoleon went to 36-year-old American Mark Schneider, from Williamsburg, Virginia.
"For me, this is a great honor to be here ... to portray a great man who I admire very much, here on the actual battlefield for this anniversary. It's one of the greatest experiences of my life," he told The Associated Press hours before the re-enactment.
The French troops seemed satisfied with their chief commander.
"I don't mind (he's American) as long as he looks good," said Marc La Breole, a 25-year-old telephone operator from Paris.
Napoleon proved his military genius at Austerlitz, leading some 73,000 troops to victory over more than 85,000 fighting for Russian Czar Alexander I and Austrian Emperor Francis I.
The epic battle left more than 20,000 thousand dead or injured allied soldiers and some 30,000 captured, while 2,000 French died and 7,000 were wounded.
Four days after its defeat, Austria was forced to sign a truce at the castle of Austerlitz, and later the same month, a peace treaty in Pressburg — now the Slovak capital, Bratislava — which redrew the political map of Europe, with France as the dominating power.
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, who laid a wreath Friday at Zuran Hill, from where Napoleon directed the battle, said thousands of people had come from around the world "not to celebrate a war, but to commemorate those who died ... for their countries."
"Two hundred years later, those who were enemies become friends," she said. "Fights and rivalry in Europe were replaced with reconciliation and peace," she said.
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It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.
-Edmund Burke
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