Today In History

On this day began the Battle of Trafalgar


The Battle of Trafalgar
Great battles of history, the Battle of Trafalgar. The greatest sea battle in history, comes after Napoleon's attempt to ally with the Kingdom of Spain to distract the British fleet in the West Indies to 160,000 men landed on the coast British. Failing such an attempt and be defeated in the Battle of Finisterre, the Spanish fleet franc whose control is held by the French Admiral Pierre Villeneuve withdraws to Cadiz. Napoleon ordered Villeneuve to go to the Mediterranean to end the British ships harassed the French trade routes. Villeneuve ignores this order until you hear rumors of his dismissal, that's when he decided to leave port with all composed of 27,000 men and 33 ships (18 French and 15 Spanish) where he meets the English blockade Franco-Spanish fleet , a fleet commanded by Horatio Nelson made ​​up of 18,000 men, 27 ships and 4 frigates, combat was inevitable and naval superiority game was the next 100 years.

War Napoleonic Wars.
Battle: Battle of Trafalgar.
Date: October 21, 1805.
Location: Cape Trafalgar, Spain.
Outcome: British victory.
Key: Nefasta command of the Franco-Spanish fleet.
Low:
- Franco-Spanish: 3,240 dead, 2538 wounded, 7,000 prisoners, 22 ships.
- United Kingdom: 449 dead, 1,241 injured.

The Spanish fleet that had been years ago in very low hours is quite modernized including through the pockets of some senior officers who feared losing honor in combat due to the state of their ships. While this modernization was needed was not enough compared to the best superior to Spanish English ships, however the biggest problem Spanish fleet was not physical, but his crew. A yellow fever had decimated much of the Navy men so they had to resort to a cam composed of elders, inexperienced men, and even soldiers. Spain still had the possibly best commanders in the world. The problem is that at the Battle of Trafalgar, and took the reins of the Franco-Spanish fleet and had a good team to manage. Meanwhile the French ships could if compete in modernity with the British ships were manned by inexperienced people without experience in combat and led by inexperienced officers since most officers tanned were executed in the French Revolution for its aristocratic origin.
The English fleet considered the best in the world, was also the best boats and the crew was already a veteran, tanned in thousand battles, all united under his command to Admiral Nelson was a legend in England and author of great victories for English empire.



The Battle of Trafalgar begins at noon with a cannon on one of the English ships, the Franco-Spanish fleet was arranged in an arc. A column of British ships downwind training began to cut through its center wrapping the greatest enemy ships. Villeneuve sent to Cadiz withdraw all ships trying not to give battle, something not approved by Spanish commanders especially Churruca, a genius of the military arts should have borne the brunt of the fleet to the detriment of French. The shift to the port of Cadiz was conducted haphazardly, since chaos heavier boats were little more maneuverable and with little wind. Nelson take this disaster turn to split the Franco-Spanish fleet at 3. The vanguard away from the battle. In this situation the order was clear, turn and return to the center of the battle, which all those Spanish and some French boats, but the 4 largest ships were French vanguard ignore the signs and fled to France which days later they are captured by British ships.



The situation is totally unfavorable battle, and the Battle of Trafalgar seems that you have a clear winner, with part of the French rubbed flight, captured the largest ships and the Franco-Spanish fleet disorganized in small groups, few French ships are able to show an effective resistance and the Spanish ships operating struggle relentlessly but outnumbered. The Allied defeat is a matter of time. The best news of the battle for the Franco-Spanish alliance is Horatio Nelson's death the great English admiral who is killed by a shot that reached its spine, and living legend became the great English hero par excellence. As a curious note saying that his body was packed in a barrel full of brandy de Jerez to keep it down to London.

Four hours after the start of the Battle of Trafalgar, this had virtually come to an end, most Allied ships were captured, sunk or not shoot anymore. Most of the officers who had not fled were dead or badly wounded. Many boats were taken to Gibraltar and others fell by the wayside. The British victory at Trafalgar was the end of Napoleon's aspirations to control the sea and thus to invade England. I meant to end Spain as a colonial power. Spain was already a coming power was useless unless a significant portion of its fleet and would never again recover and reach the level of the seventeenth century and eighteenth century. Besides the best officers of the Spanish army were killed or sections of the army for life after the Battle of Trafalgar which at that time was also significant damage. Certainly the Battle of Trafalgar dictated the future of world domination

.

Nelson's Column monument in central London dedicated to Admiral Nelson