The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805
Napoleon's planned invasion
The French Emperor Napoleon, victorious all over Europe, wished to eliminate his most constant opponent: Great Britain. He devised an ambitious plan to invade southern England by crossing the Channel in a specially-constructed invasion flotilla. He attempted to concentrate his battle fleets in the mouth of the Channel to overwhelm the British defenders. His plan was thwarted by skilful moves by the Royal Navy and the combined French and Spanish fleets were forced to take shelter in Cadiz. A furious Napoleon abandoned his invasion plans. He turned his army around and marched on Austria.
The Nelson Touch
Napoleon ordered the combined fleet to sail into the Mediterranean to support his new campaign in Austria. However, the British had by then concentrated a large force outside Cadiz, commanded by Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson.
Nelson was one of the Royal Navy's most brilliant commanders at that time. He arrived to take command with a special battle plan, 'The Nelson Touch', which he shared with his excited captains. He aimed to bring overwhelming force to bear on one part of the enemy's line, to crush it as quickly as possible. To do this he planned to attack in two divisions, splitting his opponent's line into segments. One segment would be dealt with by half of the British fleet, while the other half kept the remaining enemy ships out of the battle.
The battle
The battle unfolded as Nelson had planned. The British attacked in two lines aiming at right angles to the allied (French and Spanish) line. One British division under Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood enveloped the allied rear, crushing it with superior gunfire. The other under Nelson smashed through the allied centre, cutting it in two and preventing the unengaged half of their fleet from helping their comrades. Of the 33 allied battleships that began the battle 18 were either captured or destroyed.
The death of Nelson
Nelson led one of the British lines in his flagship, HMS Victory. Having endured a hail of shot she became entangled with a smaller French battleship, the Redoutable, commanded by Captain Jean Lucas. A bullet was fired from her rigging. It struck Nelson at about 13.15 as he was pacing the quarterdeck with Captain Thomas Hardy. He was carried to the cockpit below the ship's waterline, where the wounded were treated in comparative safety. Nelson lingered long enough to learn that he had won a decisive victory. His last words were, 'Thank God I have done my duty'.
One of the largest-scale naval battles of the period, the Battle of Trafagar was also one of the most important victories ever won by the Royal Navy. It was a defining moment in British history and the final masterpiece of one of the greatest leaders Britain has ever produced: Horatio Nelson.