Trafalgar, Battle of

Trafalgar, Battle of, naval battle fought on October 21, 1805, the Battle of Trafalgar was one of the last fleet actions of the age of sail, as well as the greatest victory of the British naval hero, Admiral Lord Nelson. Witnessing the near total destruction of a large Franco-Spanish fleet, it confirmed the eclipse of Spain as a naval power, opened the way to Latin American independence, and to all practical purposes set the seal on British control of the seas in the struggle against Napoleon (see Napoleonic Wars).

The events that led to Trafalgar began on March 30, 1805 when, in response to orders from Napoleon, the French Mediterranean fleet put to sea from Toulon, and headed west for the Atlantic under Admiral Pierre Villeneuve. In brief, the plan was for it to rendezvous with the French Atlantic fleet and then clear the way for a French invasion of Britain. However, in the event the plan miscarried, five months of complicated manoeuvring that took Villeneuve to the West Indies and back eventually ending with the Toulon fleet under British blockade in Cádiz.

Counting the Spanish squadron stationed there, Villeneuve had 35 ships at Cádiz. Out at sea, meanwhile, was a British force that, while slightly smaller, was more than sufficient to guarantee a Franco-Spanish defeat (possessed of far more experience than their enemy counterparts, who had spent most of the past few years cooped up in port, Britain’s sailors were schooled in tactics that were far more effective than those of the French navy, while they were also faster and more accurate in their gunnery). Furthermore, in charge of the British fleet was Lord Nelson, a man universally reckoned as the greatest naval commander of his age. Left to himself, Villeneuve would doubtless have stayed put—a cautious commander, he was well aware of the odds against him—but fresh orders now arrived from Napoleon, who was facing war against Austria, Russia, Naples, and Sweden and had therefore abandoned his invasion of Britain. In brief, Villeneuve was to sail for southern Italy, disembark the troops attached to him on the coast of Naples, and then head for Toulon. However, to Napoleon’s fury a variety of factors delayed the project, and it was not until October 19 that Villeneuve put to sea.

The battle that followed was a foregone conclusion. Rapidly closing in on the French, early on October 21, Nelson’s 27 battleships caught their 33 French and Spanish counterparts off Cape Trafalgar. Rather than let his fleet be overwhelmed piecemeal, as must have occurred had he continued on his course, Villeneuve ordered it to turn back towards Cádiz. Meanwhile, arrayed in two divisions, Nelson’s ships bore down on the flustered French and Spaniards at an angle of 90 degrees. Initially this placed them at a disadvantage: the enemy was in a position to rake the leading ships with gunfire from stem to stern before they had a chance to reply, and a number of vessels suffered heavy casualties. However the French and Spanish gunners were not good enough to stop Nelson, and very soon the British were in among their prey. There followed a savage mêlée. Obscured by banks of smoke, the rival fleets fought it out bulwark to bulwark amid a thunderous cannonade. In such a contest the French and Spaniards had no chance. Firing had begun just before noon and within five hours it was all over. Eighteen French and Spanish ships had surrendered, while yet another, the Achille, was burning out of control. As for the survivors, many of them were rounded up over the course of the next few days. However, the cost had been heavy. While fewer than 2,000 British seamen and marines had fallen, among the dead was Nelson, who had been mortally wounded by a musket ball on the quarterdeck of his flagship, HMS Victory. “We know not,” said The Times, “whether we should mourn or rejoice.”

Perhaps. Yet the battle proved a decisive blow in the struggle against Napoleon. Though the emperor did not abandon his naval ambitions—the following years saw a sustained campaign to build new fleets—in the short term it was clear that the sea would have to be defeated by the power of the land. Thus emerged the Continental Blockade against Britain, and with it the ever more frenzied attempt to gain control of the whole of Europe’s coastline that was ultimately to lead Napoleon to disaster in Russia. Furthermore, fuelled by dissatisfaction at the poor performance of her navy, thus too emerged the desire to turn Spain into an effective ally that was ultimately to lead the emperor to disaster in the Iberian Peninsula (see Peninsular War). The war, in short, was lost.