THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (cont.)

Watching the British advance, Villeneuve ordered his fleet into a traditional line-ahead (historians suspect a lack-luster execution was made in spite of Villeneuve’s suspicion that Nelson might break his line).  The vacillating Villeneuve then made a last-minute attempt to reverse course back to Cadiz, turning his line to the north, still in the lee of the English.  This deteriorated the French line into an arc, concave to Nelson’s approach.  In a masterful tactical stroke, Nelson now directed his 11-ship column against the center of the French line while Collingwood led his 16 toward the windward end.  The nine men-o-war of the French van, to the leeward, were thus held out of the action by the wind.  At 1135 Nelson hoisted the immortal signal to his men, “England expects every that every man will do his duty,” followed around noon with his last, “Engage the enemy more closely.”  Moments later HMS ROYAL SOVEREIGN, 100, came within range, and FOUGUEUX’s, 74, broadside opened the battle.

ROYAL SOVEREIGN pierced the enemy line between SANTA ANA, 112, and FOUGUEUX, raking both with double-shotted broadsides, then fell upon the heavier SANTA ANA.  Collingwood’s division intentionally cut out the last 17 enemy ships to his 16, banking on superior British gun accuracy and a 2:1 greater rate of fire.  Over the next two hours of heated battle his confidence proved meritorious.

Meanwhile, Nelson kept his column charging headforemost against the full weight of the Franco-Spanish broadside.  Aboard VICTORY Nelson’s officers pleaded with him to cover his uniform and medals with a coat, making him less a target.  He dissented however, owning that his officers and men would be greatly encouraged to see him plainly.  VICTORY forced the center of the enemy line between Villeneuve’s flagship BUCENTAURE, 80, and REDOUTABLE, 74.  She was followed closely by HMS TRÉMÉRAIRE, 98, whose raking broadside left 200 dead aboard REDOUTABLE.  VICTORY fell in with REDOUTABLE and BUCENTAURE, and in the height of the ensuing carnage, a sharpshooter in REDOUTABLE’s fighting tops recognized Nelson, striking him with a musket ball that tore through his right lung and lodged in his spine.  He was carried below where he lingered several hours, long enough to learn of the total English Victory.

By robbing Napoleon of his fleet, Trafalgar completely thwarted the Corsican’s designs on England.  The success understandably propelled Nelson to immortality, while completely shaking the Admiralty’s confidence in the century-old Permanent Fighting Instructions.  As a result, Trafalgar is hailed today as the greatest victory in 500 years of Royal Navy history and the culminating battle of the Age of Sail.

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CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Rehabilitation Medicine

Bennett, Geoffrey.  Nelson the Commander.  New York, NY: Charles Schribner’s Sons, 1972, pp. 85, 250-82.

Callo, Joseph F.  “Lasting Lessons of Trafalgar.”  Naval History, Vol 19 (5), October 2005, pp. 16-22.

Herman, Arthur.  To Rule the Waves:  How the British Navy Shaped the World.  New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2004, pp. 360-94.

Nicolson, Adam.  Seize the Fire:  Heroism, Duty, and the Battle of Trafalgar.  New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2005.

Potter, E.B.  Sea Power: A Naval History, 2^nd ed.  Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1981, pp. 79-80.

Ross, Steven T. European Diplomatic History 1789-1815:  France Against Europe.  Malabar, FL: Robert E. Krieger, 1981, pp. 247-48.

Whipple, A.B.C.  The Seafarers:  Fighting Sail. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1979, pp. 135-70.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  The Battle of Cape Trafalgar serves to illustrate how minor a player was the American Navy during the Age of Sail.  Never did we possess a fleet of the size and scope of that of England, France, or Spain, and even our largest sail warship, PENNSYLVANIA, 120, was eclipsed by larger at Trafalgar.  The nearest we came to a “fleet” action occurred at the outset of the Revolutionary War, when an eight-ship squadron led by the 24-gun ALFRED (a converted merchantman) raided British shore stations in the Bahamas.

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                                    THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR

It was the fifth year of Napoleon Bonaparte’s fifteen-year empire-building reign in France.  Having already conquered Belgium, the Low Countries, Spain, and much of Italy, Napoleon’s next target was England.  He planned a cross-channel invasion and by 1805 had assembled a 150,000-man army at Boulogne in Northern France.  Blocking his way was the impenetrable “wooden wall” of the Royal Navy, whose grip on the English Channel Napoleon hoped to weaken by stirring up trouble in the British West Indies.

In March of 1805, French ADM Pierre Villeneuve slipped past the British blockade of Toulon and proceeded with 14 ships of the line to Martinique.  As the French hoped, British ADM Lord Horatio Nelson followed, thus taking his fleet out of Continental waters.  But when one of Nelson’s supply ships accidentally stumbled onto the French fleet escaping back to Europe, the British discerned the ruse.  Thus, when Villeneuve scurried back across the Atlantic to support Napoleon’s Channel crossing, he was met by ADM Sir Robert Calder off Ferrol, Spain, and was forced to turn south to Vigo.  Disheartened, Villeneuve abandoned the Channel operation on his own initiative and headed for the Mediterranean, landing on the way at Cadiz in southern Spain.  Nelson, who had pressed sail and recrossed the Atlantic, took up a position off Cadiz and waited.

Napoleon was furious and relieved Villeneuve!  Having been forewarned however, the French admiral put to sea on October 19^th, ahead of Napoleon’s message, with a combined French/Spanish fleet numbering 33 of the line.  This was the opportunity for which Nelson had long waited.  Though he could muster only 26 of the line, he put his faith in superior English gunnery and set off in pursuit.  By daylight on this day off Cape Trafalgar, Spain, the two fleets closed to within nine miles.

The Royal Navy of this day inviolately operated according to the “Permanent Fighting Instructions” that prescribed, without exception, how fleet commanders were to deploy their forces in battle.  These Instructions were considered by the Admiralty as the surest means to victory, and captains who had deviated from them in the past had been court-martialed and executed.  The Instructions required a “line-ahead” attack, cruising broadside-to-broadside with the enemy’s line.  In actuality, this tactic usually served to bring opposing fleets to a sort of parity, ordaining that many engagements of this era ended as draws.  Nelson, to his credit, appreciated the flaws of these Permanent Fighting Instructions and ordered his ships into two parallel columns that approached the French line perpendicularly, head-on.  Nelson’s bows were vulnerable to French broadsides during the critical early moments of their approach.  Regardless, Nelson led the northern column in HMS VICTORY, 100, while VADM Cuthbert Collingwood led the other in HMS ROYAL SOVEREIGN, 100. 

Continued tomorrow…

Bennett, Geoffrey.  Nelson the Commander.  New York, NY: Charles Schribner’s Sons, 1972, pp. 209-59.

Callo, Joseph F.  “Lasting Lessons of Trafalgar.”  Naval History, Vol 19 (5), October 2005, pp. 16-22.

Herman, Arthur.  To Rule the Waves:  How the British Navy Shaped the World.  New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2004, pp. 360-94.

Nicolson, Adam.  Seize the Fire:  Heroism, Duty, and the Battle of Trafalgar.  New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2005.

Potter, E.B.  Sea Power: A Naval History,2^nd ed.  Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1981, pp. 74-79.

Ross, Steven T.  European Diplomatic History 1789-1815:  France Against Europe.  Malabar, FL: Robert E. Krieger, 1981, pp. 244-48.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  The modern term “line Navy” originates from the classic line-ahead formation.  Like a chain, the line-ahead formation is only as strong as its weakest warship.  Should an enemy break the line, a general melee would ensue, for which the outcome was unpredictable.  Thus, only the strongest and most powerful warships were granted a position in the line-ahead formation, with only the best crews manning them.  The “line” Navy was the “business end” of an 18^th century navy, separate and distinct from naval administration, that later became known as the “staff Navy.”

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