Lieutenant-general Kienmayer, as soon as the columns arrived on the heights, in front of Austerlitz and Krzenowitz, where his troops were posted, marched by Pratzen, in front of Aujest, where he arrived at nine o'clock at night: his corps was then composed of twenty-two squadrons of Austrians, ten of Cosacks, and five Battalions of Croats. The head-quarters were at Krzenowitz. The enemy did not interrupt this movement, and even withdrew his out-posts as far as Tellnitz, Sokolnitz and Schlapanitz. The second column having arrived late on its point of formation, had no out-posts in its front. _During the whole night there was no chain of out-posts established in front of the position occupied by the combined army._ At one moment during the night, the enemy evacuated the village of Tellnitz, in which out-posts were placed by a half squadron of Austrian light cavalry of the regiment of O'Reilly: but two hours after, the French returned in force, and posted a regiment of infantry in this village, from the division of Legrand, forming a part of the right of Marshal Soult. The out-posts on the left of the allies sent, continually, patroles during the night, to their right, in order to establish a communication with the Russian advanced posts, but could never fall in with them. This offensive movement had been made by the army in open day, and in sight of the enemy, who, from the heights of Schlapanitz, and in front of Kobelnitz, had been able to remark it at his ease. The position occupied by the allies, at the moment when they crowned the heights between Aujest, Pratzen, and Holubitz, was a strong one. The enemy, had he been well observed, would have found it difficult to advance for the purpose of attacking these heights;[9] The defiles of Tellnitz, Sokolnitz, and Schlapanitz, which separated the two armies, offered the means of delay; and the very elevated points of these heights afforded strong means of defence. Here, as in the position, in front of Olmutz, the army was posted on a curtain, behind which massive columns might be posted, ready to act offensively. Its left was secured by the lakes of Menitz and Aujest, while the right was refused. But the taking advantage of this position was never thought of, any more than the possibility of being _attacked_ on these heights, or of finding the enemy on this side the defile. The French emperor took advantage, in a masterly manner, of the faults that were committed. He kept his troops concentrated in massive columns, ready to act according to circumstances. Marshal Bernadotte (who had joined the Emperor Napoleon the day on which the allies shewed themselves on the heights of Pratzen), had been posted in the first instance to the left of the high road. In the night the Emperor caused his corps to pass this road, and posted it in rear of the village of Girschikowitz, which was occupied in force. This corps, composed of the divisions of Rivaux and Drouet, formed the centre of the French army.