The Battle of Trafalgar

By the autumn of 1805, Napoleon’s plan to invade Britain depended on gaining temporary control of the English Channel. His strategy required the Franco-Spanish fleet under Vice-Admiral Villeneuve to break out of the Mediterranean, draw the British fleet to the West Indies, double back across the Atlantic, and secure the Channel long enough for the Grande Armée to cross from Boulogne.

The plan had already failed. Villeneuve, after a confused cruise to the Caribbean and back, had retreated to Cadiz rather than risk a confrontation with the Royal Navy in the Channel. Napoleon abandoned the invasion and marched east towards Ulm and Austerlitz. But Villeneuve, under pressure from Paris and facing replacement, put to sea on 19 October 1805 with thirty-three ships of the line, heading for the Mediterranean. Nelson, with twenty-seven ships, was waiting.

Nelson planned to break the enemy line in two places simultaneously, attacking at right angles with two columns of ships. His column, the weather column, would strike the enemy centre; Collingwood’s lee column would cut through the rear. This would isolate the Franco-Spanish van, which would have to reverse course against the wind to rejoin the battle, taking hours to return.

The approach would be dangerous: the leading ships in each column would be under fire for thirty minutes or more before they could bring their own guns to bear. Nelson accepted the risk because he knew his crews could fire two or three broadsides to every one from the enemy. Once alongside, the superior British gunnery would be decisive.

Before the battle, Nelson signalled the famous message: “England expects that every man will do his duty.”

Nelson was struck at approximately 1:15 in the afternoon by a musket ball fired from the mizzen top of the Redoutable. The ball entered his left shoulder, passed through his spine, and lodged below his right shoulder blade. He was carried below to the cockpit of Victory by Sergeant Secker of the Royal Marines and two sailors.

Dr William Beatty, the ship’s surgeon, attended him. Nelson was conscious and in great pain. He asked repeatedly how the battle was going. Captain Hardy visited him twice: on the second visit he informed Nelson that fourteen or fifteen enemy ships had struck their colours. Nelson replied: “That is well, but I bargained for twenty.”

His last recorded words, repeated several times, were: “Thank God, I have done my duty.” He died at approximately 4:30 in the afternoon, knowing the battle was won. His body was preserved in a cask of brandy for the voyage home.

Trafalgar ended any realistic prospect of a French invasion of Britain. The Royal Navy’s supremacy at sea was established beyond challenge for the next century. Napoleon could dominate Europe by land, but he could never cross the Channel.

The strategic consequences were immense. British command of the sea allowed the Peninsular War to be sustained by supply from the ocean. It protected British trade, funded the coalitions against France, and ensured that the war would ultimately be decided on land where Napoleon could be worn down by the relentless pressure of enemies he could defeat but never destroy.