My apologies for not posting last week. A confluence of factors made it so that something had to give, and, unfortunately, that was this post that you’re reading now. Hopefully, things will stay in order. This week, we’ll consider one of the most famous battles in naval history, Trafalgar.
If you're a little behind, or want to read more military history stuff, please feel free to check out the archive by clicking here.
The French Invasion of Britain
One of the common dynamics of the series of wars fought between the British and the French between the reign of Louis XIV and the Entente Cordial was the inability of either side to come to grips with the other. Britain, protected by a large fleet and the English Channel, prevented the French from invading, while the expense of the fleet prevented the British from building an army large enough to engage the French on land. Needless to say, the French hatched several attempts to try and cross the English Channel in force and land a large army on the British coast. A large French army would almost certainly prevail over the weak British army as it tried to defend a nearly unfortified countryside. However, the difficulties in moving a large force by sea in the face of the Royal Navy proved difficult. This limited the French to smaller measures, such as supporting rebellion in Scotland and Ireland.
Of course, the difficulties did not prevent the French from organizing an effort to cross the English Channel in the Wars of the First, Second or Third Coalitions. In 1798, believing the war against Britain would drag on for some time, the French Republic began organizing for the invasion of Britain. The plan to cross the Channel had evolved over the previous century, and, this time, the French opted for a plan that required control of the Channel for only a short time. Rather than rely on large transports- which needed large crews and a long time to load- the French opted for a variety of small vessels designed only to cross the English Channel. Starting in 1798, all along the French Atlantic coast, and in the Batavian Republic, shipyards and small ports began turning out a variety of boats. In the early 1800s, these sailing ships were supplemented by steam powered barges designed by Robert Fulton, the American designer of the first practical steam riverboat. Napoleon even appointed Sophie Blanchard to head a committee to investigate using hot air balloons to carry troops. While the Peace of Amiens stopped these preparations for a short time, they were renewed after Britain declared war in 1803. Napoleon moved his army to the coast to await an opportune moment.
In the end, however, the French could not open the English Channel by raw force. The British held too many advantages at sea- their sailors were better and more experienced, their officers were better leaders, and their admirals were, at the very least, too competent to make any dumb mistakes. Winning under such circumstances would require overwhelming force, which the French were not in a position to muster. Nor could the French rely on good weather- if the weather wasn’t favorable to the British keeping blockade stations, it wasn’t favorable for French action, either. The barges would swamp, and French men of war were more likely to suffer from the storm than British ships. Winds rarely blew that would both force the British off station and allow the French to escape- and even when they did, they typically did not come with enough warning to let the French prepare. If the French were going to pull this off, they needed to use deception.
The first plan the French devised in early 1804 involved coordinating the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets. The French in the Mediterranean would slip the blockade and sail for the Atlantic. While they were at sea, the French Atlantic fleet would break out and sail for open water. The French believed that the English Channel Fleet would pursue the French Atlantic Fleet to sea, and, while it was away, the French Mediterranean Fleet would sail up the Channel and escort the invasion fleet. This, however, required contradictory winds to work out, and was called off. The Second plan was rather complex. First, the French Mediterranean Fleet would break out and head for the Atlantic. Once there, part of it would sail for West Africa and invade Senegal. The rest of the Mediterranean Fleet would rendezvous with more ships in the Atlantic, and sail for the West Indies, capture some British and rebellious Dutch possessions, and then sail back. While all that was going on, the French Atlantic Fleet would break out, sail for the North Sea, around Scotland and land an army in Ireland, then sail around Ireland, meet up with the French forces sailing back from the West Indies, smash into the English Channel, and escort the Invasion Fleet across.
Needless to say, that plan got scrapped.
As 1804 turned to 1805, the strategic situation changed quite a bit. The Spanish joined the war against the British on the side of France, but Britain was taking steps to form what would be the Third Coalition. Given the fact that he might soon be at war with Austria, Napoleon didn’t want the bulk of his army in England when Archduke Charles smashed Bavaria with a quarter million men or whatever, so he ordered a different plan put into action. This time, the French would break out in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, sail for the West Indies, and raise hell. (This is actually a really good plan.) Part of the French Atlantic Fleet broke out and made it to the West Indies, but the French Mediterranean Fleet under Pierre de Villeneuve ran into bad weather and turned back for port. The British Mediterranean commander, Horatio Nelson, however, lost track of the French and spent a month and a half sailing to Egypt and back looking for them.
The Trafalgar Campaign
In March, 1805, Napoleon received a private assurance from the Austrians that they had decided against war. Believing himself free of danger for the time being, he renewed his efforts to invade Britain. With a fleet already in the West Indies, he hatched another plan. The French Atlantic Fleet would break out and sail for Ferrol, a port on the northwestern corner of Spain. There they would meet with Spanish ships, and make for the West Indies. Meanwhile, Villeneuve would break out of the Mediterranean, pick up some Spanish ships in Cadiz, and make for the Indies as well. The fleets would unite in the West Indies, sail back across the Atlantic, and then blast the Channel open for the invasion.
One leg of this expedition never got off- the French Fleet at Brest never got out of harbor. However, Villeneuve gave Nelson the slip once again, and broke out for the Atlantic. Nelson sailed around the Mediterranean for a month looking for him, but eventually got word that the French were in the Atlantic. Surmising they had sailed for the West Indies, Nelson set sail across the Atlantic in pursuit.
Villeneuve reached the Indies in May, 1805, and decided to wait for the French Atlantic Fleet, which wasn’t coming, unbeknownst to Villeneuve. Eventually, he was ordered to make a nuisance of himself for a month, then sail back to Brest, join up with the Atlantic Fleet and cover the invasion. In early June, he captured a small British Island and some British merchants. From the merchants, he learned that Nelson was a few day’s sail away in Barbados. Hearing this, Villeneuve bailed, and sailed back across the Atlantic on June 11th, 1805. Nelson sailed around for a month looking for him. He got word in mid July that the French had already left for Europe. Nelson believed that they were heading for Cadiz, and sailed for the south of Spain- the exact wrong direction.
However, Nelson had dispatched a brig with dispatches for the Admiralty. This ship just happened to stumble onto Villeneuve. The brig followed them for a few days, and determined they were sailing for France, not Cadiz. They then put on all sail and made for Britain as quickly as they could. With Nelson somewhere in the Atlantic and heading in the wrong direction, Lord Barham, First Sea Lord, dispatched a fleet under Robert Calder to intercept Villeneuve off Cape Finnistere, the westernmost point in Spain. On July 22, at about 1100, the fleets sighted each other, but didn’t come into range until 1745. Calder stayed in line ahead, and tried to close with the Franco-Spanish fleet, but poor winds and visibility prevented a decisive action. At 2045. Calder called off the action, hoping to try again in the morning. During the night, the fleets separated. Calder sailed into the Bay of Biscay, while Villeneuve turned south to Vigo, a move which enraged Napoleon. Napoleon ordered him to sail to Brest, but Villeneuve decided to head for Cadiz instead. Calder was recalled to Britain to face court martial for failing to destroy Villeneuve’s fleet.
With no chance to combine his fleets, and Austria about to declare war, Napoleon packed up his army and marched for Bavaria. For information about what happened on land after that, head to the archive and check out the Battle of Ulm. He also decided he had had just about enough of Villeneuve’s shit, and decided to send a replacement.
Meanwhile, Nelson made Gibraltar on July 19th, and, finding no French around, sailed back to England. Once word came that the French had been found, however, he sailed back south towards Cadiz, where Admiral Collingwood had found the French fleet, establishing a blockade.
The Battle of Trafalgar
Villeneuve received word that his relief was inbound, and so he decided to duck out of Cadiz before he could arrive. He took to sea 33 ships of the line, 18 French and 13 Spanish. Against this, Nelson had 27 of the line. Of course, as we have seen, the French and Spanish sailors and officers were not well trained or prepared for action, while the British were in top form. Also, during the blockade, Nelson had briefed his captains on his plan of action- and, many of those captains had served with Nelson before, and had a good idea of how he planned to do things anyway. Villeneuve’s last meeting with his captains had resulted in a vote not to go to sea, and he had little in the way of plans other than make Toulon.
Nelson’s plan was the same as Duncan’s at the Battle of Camperdown, more or less. He split his fleet into two columns, and planned to drive them right into the heart of the Franco-Spanish line. However, unlike Duncan, he planned to let the entire battle devolve into a melee of ship on ship duels. He famously told his captains that “No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy’s,” figuring that any British ship could whomp a Frenchman or two.
While sailing, Villeneuve kept his ships in three columns. However, late on the 20th, he sighted Nelson in pursuit. He then ordered the creation of a single line, and then returned to columns later. However, the poor shiphandling and formation keeping skills of his officers left the fleet a bit of a mess, which he had to try and fix overnight- which he was unable to do. At dawn, Nelson began to sail into the French line. At 0800, Villeneuve panicked, and ordered his ship to wear about and return to Cadiz. This required each ship to turn in its place in line, and reform. This action further degraded the French formation. It also put them into a contrary wind, which the inexperienced officers in Villeneuve’s fleet struggled to maneuver in. As a result, the French formation deteriorated further, turning into a disorganized mass as Nelson’s fleet closed.
At about 1100, Villeneuve ordered his ships to open fire. The British proceeded under fire for an hour to close with the French in the light winds. At 1145, Nelson made his famous signal, “England Expects Every Man Will do his Duty.” At 1200, Royal Sovereign, the fasted ship of the leading British column, crossed into the French line, and Nelson hoisted his final signal, “Engage the enemy more closely.” At 1245, his flagship, Victory, crossed the French line, came alongside a French ship of the line, and ripped it open with a double shotted broadside at half pistol shot.
Situation about 1300, artists’ conception.
As the rest of the British fleet crossed the French line, the whole battle quickly devolved into a melee of smoke, spars, sails and shot. Truthfully, it’s nearly impossible to completely reconstruct what happened. British ships charged into the loose French formation, found a dance partner, and went to work, firing quickly and launching several boarding actions, forcing the French and Spanish to surrender their ships. Superior British shiphandling in the light winds gave them a tremendous advantage, as did the skill of their gun crews in reloading and the bravery of their sailors and marines in boarding actions. At the end of the day, the British captured 11 French ships of the line, sank one French ship of the line, and captured 10 Spanish ships. 3500 French and Spanish sailors died, another 2000 were wounded, and 8000 surrendered. The British lost no ships, and only 450 men.
However, Nelson was one of them, and he never saw his decisive victory. Just shortly after he brought his flagship alongside his chosen victim, a nameless French sharpshooter put a musket ball through his chest, and Nelson fell to the deck. He was taken below, but, there was no point in medical treatment. He lingered for three hours, dying as what remained of the French fleet attempted to escape the battle. In the end, he was one of the ones who did their ultimate duty, and, in so doing, ended the threat of an invasion of the British Isles for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars.
