Trafalgar

  Today, 21st October, is the 215th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar, which was fought in 1805. It was a naval engagement fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the Napoleonic Wars. 

 Napoleon had a plan for his 'Grande Armée'  to invade England. The French and Spanish fleets under French Admiral Villeneuve sailed from the port of Cádiz in the south of Spain on 18 October 1805. They encountered the British fleet under Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson along the southwest coast of Spain, off Cape Trafalgar. 

 27 British ships of the line fought 33 French and Spanish ships. The greater experience and training of the Royal Navy overcame greater numbers. In the five hours of heavy fighting, the Franco-Spanish fleet lost 19 ships while the British lost none. But Nelson himself was shot by a French sniper, and died shortly before the battle ended. Nelson’s last words, after being informed that victory was imminent, were “Now I am satisfied. Thank God I have done my duty.”

 Villeneuve was captured along with his flagship Bucentaure. Admiral Federico Gravina, the senior Spanish commander, escaped capture with the remnant of the fleet. He died of his wounds five months later. 

 The British victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century. It was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy. Conventional battle practice at the time was for opposing fleets to engage each other in single parallel lines, in order to maximise fields of fire and target areas. 

 Nelson instead arranged his ships into columns sailing directly towards and into the enemy fleets’ line. He signaled a famous message from the flagship Victory: “England expects that every man will do his duty.” The tactics were dangerous, exposing the leading ships to the risk of heavy damage. But Nelson correctly counted on the superior training, discipline and initiative of his captains whom he had thoroughly imbued with his ideas. The result was that the combined French and Spanish line was broken. Its center and rear was exposed to overwhelming force, bringing a crushing victory. 

Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar ensured that Napoleon would never invade Britain. Nelson, hailed as the savior of his nation, was given a magnificent funeral in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. A column was erected to his memory in the newly named Trafalgar Square, and numerous streets were renamed in his honor. 

 Despite the British victory over the Franco-Spanish navies, Trafalgar had negligible impact on the remainder of the Napoleonic wars on the continent. Less than two months later, Napoleon decisively won the Battle of Austerlitz, forcing the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. Although Trafalgar meant France could no longer challenge Britain at sea, Napoleon proceeded to establish the Continental System in an attempt to deny Britain trade with the continent. However, Britain had by then established it empire in India, from where it was already reaping huge fortunes. The Napoleonic Wars continued for another ten years after Trafalgar, until the battle of Waterloo in 1815.