At dawn on the 21st the fleets were in visual contact. Nelson anticipated his enemy's every move. In fact his 33 ships of the line faced 27 British vessels. Thus under pressure Villeneuve, believing Nelson's fleet to be weaker than his own, put to sea on 19 October.
Nelson's arrival unsettled Admiral Villeneuve, who was already being bullied by Napoleon, who wanted his fleet to support an attack on Naples. If the enemy put to sea Nelson wanted to be able to annihilate them completely, ending the need for Britain to stand on the defensive.
His very presence electrified the men under his command, while his new battle plan, explained at his table on HMS Victory, was key to decisive combat. Nelson joined the British fleet off Cadiz in late September. Nelson explains his plan for the forthcoming Battle of Trafalgar He understood that invasion by France was the least of Britain's worries - the real threat was the destruction of her global commercial system. Nelson used this combination of strategic flair and practical management to help Britain survive the 22 year struggle with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. He did so by taking the command system of Admiral Sir John Jervis, the tough old officer who taught him how to keep a fleet efficient, and melding it with the genius for battle and strategy he developed while serving under Admiral Lord Hood. Nelson developed the art of war at sea to the new, terrible form he characterised as 'annihilation' to counter the war effort of Napoleonic France. Nor did Bonaparte disagree - he kept a bust of Nelson in his private quarters. His elevated conception of war ensured that every battle he fought was used to solve major strategic problems, and his many successes ensured he was the only contemporary to rival Bonaparte as ultimate exemplar of total war. It guaranteed Britain's control of the oceans, the basis of her global power for over a century.īy 1805 Nelson was already a national hero, and considered the ultimate naval commander.
Little wonder the battle transcended the mundane calculation of ships and men, victory and defeat. During the engagement at Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805, the Royal Navy annihilated the greatest threat to British security for 200 years, but lost Britain's national hero in the process.
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