If ever there was an event in history that deserved superlatives when describing it, then the sea battle off Cape Trafalgar is the one. I know that natural disasters have wreaked more havoc and that there have been military engagements that have resulted in greater casualties, but in terms of ferocity and determination and just overall bravery, Trafalgar has to be up there at, or the very least next to, the top of the list.

Let's set the stage. Turn of the 19th Century. The British and French and Spanish generally don't like each other. Napoleon is running roughshod over Europe in the wake of the French Revolution. The British are a people that rely on imports from its colonies to survive as they aren't getting anything from continental Europe. Napoleon wants to conquer the British and begins to build invasion barges. Problem is, the French fleet isn't exactly world class. It isn't bad, but the first thing the Brits did when going to war with the French was to blockade the French fleet in its various ports.

France needed help in the nautical sense. Napoleon was a great army general, but didn't know anything about ships. He thought that he could make complex plans concerning fleet actions, not realizing that any one glitch would cause the plan to collapse. When dealing with ships of the time, one also had to deal with weather. This could becalm a fleet for weeks or trash a goodly number of ships in a gale. This would be a major factor later.

In the course of time, the Spanish came to the side of the French, bringing with it a rather impressive naval force. Now the combined French and Spanish fleets were larger than the Royal Navy. For the Allies, this was good. However, the French and Spanish distrusted each other at best and this was good for the British. Not only that, but being blockaded means you can't get out and do maneuvers to bring your crews up to snuff. Add to it an epidemic in Spain that decimated the population and you can see that the Allies were not exactly ready for a major campaign.

However, you fight with what you have.

There was a prelude to Trafalgar that is rather extensive. You are probably aware that Nelson managed to stumble upon the French Fleet after the French Army was put ashore in Egypt. The virtual destruction of the French ships meant that the army was stranded with no hope of retreat and no supplies. Not good for Napoleon.

Prior to Trafalgar, there were a few other smaller battles. One thing was that the split up forces of the Allies were in ports in France and Spain. They needed to get together so that they could draw away the Brits in order to send the majority of the combined fleet to the Channel to protect the invasion fleet. They knew that without decreasing the size of the British Fleet, an invasion was futile. This resulted in some of these fleets escaping the blockade and heading for the Leeward islands in order to draw away the British. This worked to some extent with Nelson chasing them and there were a few battles in the Leewards as a result. However, Nelson got back sooner than the Allies and was able to pull together enough ships to engage the combined fleet coming out of the port of Cadiz.

The British were highly motivated, ready for battle and sure that they would win. This was not the case with the Allies. Nelson's plans were generally very simple and relied on his ship captains to use initiative if unable to receive signals from the flagship.

Through inspired maneuvering, though at a ruinous cost, the British were able to carry out their plans to split up the larger Combined Fleet so that they could bring things to a more level keel. The fighting that went on was absolutely horrific. At one time, four major line ships were grappled together firing broadsides into each other at point blank range. The weather decks were a mass of rigging, blood and bodies as men fired rifles, tossed grenades and generally made things a pure hell for those on deck. Death was everywhere. Elsewhere, similar events were going on, and within a few hours, the sea was awash with bodies, debris, as well as burning and de-masted ships; some being towed out of battle by ships in almost as bad a condition.

On some ships, casualties exceeded 80% of the crew, most of those killed.

Among those was Nelson himself, shot by a stray bullet. He lived long enough to know that the battle was won. His ship, the Victory,  also had to be towed, trailing rigging and with bodies and debris being tossed over the side to help keep the ship afloat.

Needless to say, this event was the death knell of Napoleon's plans to expand his empire outside of continental Europe.

This was the last major combat between wooden ships in the age of sail. On both sides the general level of bravery was exemplary, though more so with the British.

Gregory Fremont-Barnes weaves the story as well as any I have every read. Often history is a bit dry, but I have to say that once I started reading, I was pretty well riveted to the book until it was done. I've read other accounts of this battle, but none that have the ability to put you in the midst of things like this one. The book is superbly illustrated by Christa Hook who is able to portray the heat of battle at such a level as to put you there. There are also illustrations from artists of the period, for Trafalar is THE sea battle of all time and the British are rightly proud of their accomplishments as well as those of Horatio Nelson, probably the most revered man in the long history of the isles. It is because of him that Britain was able to be the world's super-power and to expand and maintain her empire for another century.

Even if you don't have that much interest in the age of sail, this is a book that you really must read. It is that good.

September 2005

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