As the British fleet headed towards its French and Spanish opponent on that sunny morning of October 21, 1805, would those on board the ships have known how significant the battle they were about to fight would be? Probably not.

The average British sailor of those times was not very literate, and often his world was encompassed by the ship he sailed in, sometimes for years at a time.

He fought because he was a pressed man, although sometimes a volunteer, and a sturdy warrior, following the traditions of centuries of warfare by the British against the country’s enemies.

These were often the French and the Dutch, but also the Spanish, who were defeated by the same type of doughty sailors in the Battle of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Now once again, the country would be saved from invasion, and the French army, like their Spanish predecessors, would be denied the opportunity to subjugate the British Empire.

For Nelson and his “band of brothers” - the command elite - it would have been somewhat different.

Nelson had proved himself to be a unique individual - a warrior who understood both tactics and strategy - and some of this was imbued into his followers.

They knew there was an invasion to be stopped, and a way of life to be preserved from the terrors of the French Revolution.

Nelson had demonstrated his mastery of strategy – and an understanding of international affairs – repeatedly.

An occasional diplomat, Nelson never lost sight of the “big picture” of victory against Napoleon Bonaparte, and was always one to rise against personal rivalry with fellow officers, and the inter-service rivalry which then as now was a pestilence upon campaigns.

Nelson was the supreme naval tactician In the 1797 battle of Cape St Vincent, fighting against the Spanish fleet and commanding HMS Captain, Nelson without orders put his ship across the advancing line of Spanish warships - his two-decker of 74 guns facing a four-decker of 136 guns - then the biggest ship afloat - with three-deckers behind. In this way he forced the Spanish ships to alter course, thus allowing others of the British vanguard to join the battle.

He was a man of courage, honour and action who suffered most terribly and often from wounds, paradoxically being not so much a man who loved combat, as one who stood back as demanded of a senior commanding officer crucial to the course of battle.

His wounds resulted from being quite willing to lead from the front if that was what it took to win an action.

His right arm was amputated after the battle of Santa Cruz in Teneriffe due to being hit by grapeshot. Nelson knew when to fight and when to seek peace.

Having defeated the Danish fleet at Copenhagen, he negotiated with Denmark’s Prince Royal afterwards, seeking to stop the Prince’s country from moving towards Bonaparte.

Trafalgar was to be a “decisive battle”, for it changed the future of Britain – and the world Britain dominated by its outcome. After Trafalgar, the Empire was hemmed in and its many enemies began circling their prey.

After the broken assault against Russia, the forces that Bonaparte had attacked and defeated on many occasions, rallied and together, began to combine to defeat Napoleon.

The Battle of Waterloo in 1815, which saw the Duke of Wellington and his Prussian allies triumph over Bonaparte for the final time, was not possible without Trafalgar.

On October 21, 1805, the British fleet, after months of pursuit, met the French and Spanish forces under Admiral Villeneuve at sea off Cape Trafalgar.

The British, in two lines according to Nelson’s instructions, sailed to cut the enemy’s line of battle.

In the late morning Nelson directed a signal be hoisted, exhorting his people to do their best. At 11.45am, the battle was even.

In Victory the band played Rule Britannia and Britons Strike Home as followed by Temeraire and Neptune she opened fire. The French and Spanish fought well but the British, ruling the seas after years of battle, were their master, and the fleet action, now joined on all sides, began to go against Villeneuve.

At 1.35pm, Nelson, pacing his quarterdeck amidst the crash of the broadsides, calm amidst the smoke that wreathed Victory, was giving his orders quietly and firmly, as always.

A French sharpshooter, stationed in the rigging of the Redoutable, took aim at the distinctivelyuniformed slight figure and fired. He died a little later in Victory’s cockpit, but not before he was brought news of the complete success of the battle.

References:

• Fenwick, Kenneth.
  HMS Victory. London: Cassell, 1960.
• Ireland, Bernard. Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail. London: Harper Collins, 2000.
• Lloyd, Christopher. Nelson and Sea Power. London: English Universities Press, 1973.
• Padfield, Peter. Broke and the Shannon. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1968.
• Southey, Robert. The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson. London: JM Dent, 1906.
• Thursfield, James R. Nelson and other Naval Studies. London: John Murray, 1920.

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