A Description of The Battle of Trafalgar
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The Nelson Memorial in Exchange Flags, Liverpool city centre, during refurbishment.
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The Battle of Trafalgar (1805) is considered the most decisive naval battle in history. This is not just because it resulted in the destruction of French naval power and ensured the dominance of the British navy, or because it led to the death of Admiral Lord Nelson, but because it
destroyed Napoleon's plans to invade England and dominate Europe.
For most of the period 1793 to 1815 Britain and various allies (including Spain at one point), were at war with France, and lived under the shadow of possible invasion by Napoleon's forces. To attack Britain the emperor needed to gather a huge fleet of ships to attack the British
coast and carry thousands of soldiers across the Channel. This involved uniting the French fleets located at Toulon and Brest with allied Spanish ships from Cartagena and Cadiz.
The first part of the plan was initiated in early 1805 when Napoleon ordered the French and Spanish ships to break Nelson's blockade of Toulon and sail for the West Indies. By attacking British colonies and disrupting trade Napoleon hoped to disguise his true aim: the invasion of
Britain. The intention was then for the fleet to return to the Atlantic, crush the British fleet near Brittany, and then lead an invasion of Britain with 350,000 men.
On March 30th Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve's 17 ships escaped Nelson's blockade at Toulon, joined Admiral Gravina and the Spanish fleet from Cadiz, and together set sail for Martinique. Nelson was fooled, thought the French were sailing for Egypt, and set off in a southeasterly
direction. Once he realized his mistake the Admiral changed his course and raced towards the Atlantic. With Nelson hot on their heels the Franco-Spanish fleet could not attack the British colonies in the West Indies as planned so instead returned to Europe.
Villeneuve's journey was not without incident, and on 22 July 1805 the fleet met with a squadron of 18 British ships in fog off Cape Finisterre in northwestern Spain. Neither fleet was destroyed but Villeneuve lost two ships and had to sail to Cadiz for reinforcements.
With the early stage of his plan in tatters, Napoleon was dissuaded from invading Britain and instead focused on Austria. To protect his gains Napoleon ordered Villeneuve to unite with other French ships at Cartagena in the Mediterranean. However, Villeneuve was aware that a fleet of
29 British ships of the line was in the area and that the Franco-Spanish fleet would suffer losses if battle ensued. Napoleon accused Villeneuve of cowardice and on 19 October the French admiral attempted to set sail from Cadiz. Unfortunately for the Franco-Spanish fleet, but luckily
for the British, poor winds prevented their departure until the following day.
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The Nelson Obelisk in Springfield Park.
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In the meantime Nelson learnt of their plans and set sail for Gibraltar at the mouth of the Mediterranean. This prevented the Franco-Spanish fleet from entering the sea and instead forced them into battle off Cape Trafalgar in southwest Spain on 21 October.
Villeneuve had more warships than Nelson (33 to Nelson's 29) and hoped this would give him victory. He ordered his fleet to sail north in a single, irregular line. However, in a manner not seen before in naval warfare Nelson (in a prearranged plan) split his fleet into two squadrons
and attacked the centre of the Franco-Spanish line at right angles. This exposed the English ships to the massive broadsides of the enemy. At 11.50am Nelson, on board his flagship HMS Victory, signalled his famous message: "England expects that every man will do his duty." Then, when
the southern squadron, led by Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood on the Royal Sovereign, had engaged the enemy line, Nelson began to return fire against Villeneuve's ship, the Bucentaure.
The English ships broke through the enemy line and fired several broadsides of their own. By 1700 hours the battle was over and the Franco-Spanish fleet was shattered. Admiral Villeneuve was captured, 7,000 enemy crew were taken, around 20 Franco-Spanish ships were surrendered and
only 11 ships reached Cadiz, while no English ship was destroyed. Around 7,000 French and Spanish, and 1,500 British seamen were killed or wounded.
However, the English did suffer losses, the main being Admiral Nelson himself. At 1.15pm hours, while the Victory was engaging the Redoubtable, a sniper hit Nelson in the spine. He died at 4.30pm, knowing that the English had won the day.
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