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THE BATTLE

What

The Battle of Trafalgar was probably the naval battle which changed the outcome of the napoleonic war the most. At the time, Britain, France and Spain were probably the three biggest naval powers and the only thing stopping Napoleon from crossing the English channel and taking Britain was the British Navy.

Who

The British fleet was commanded by Nelson and contained 27 ships of the line, 5 frigates and a schooner. The combined Spanish and French fleet was commanded by Admiral Villeneuve and contained 33 ships. However just after Villeneuve sailed a messenger rode down to Cadiz carrying a message that would remove Villeneuve and replace him with Admiral Rosily.

Where

As the battles name suggests it happened at Cape Trafalgar 50 miles from Cadiz.

When

The battle took place on the 20th of October 1805.

How

Prior to this battle nearly every naval battle fought between two large fleets at sea had involved the two fleets sailing in a singl line parallel to each other until one retreated. Hence no complete victory could be taken many times. Nelson however drew up ground breaking tactics which involved him splitting his fleet into two sections and then sailing them perpendicular to the enemy's lines. This tactic worked with great success and allowed the British ships to rake¹ their counterparts.

The outcome

Although the British had suffered heavy losses not a single ship had been captured or sunk and the French/Spanish fleet was in tatters. However, although the victory was immense it was in some way over shadowed by Nelsons death after he was shot by a sniper.

Stats

British ships/casulties