'Trafalgar 21st. October 1805' dcb127

The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on 21st. October 1805 off the Cape of Trafalgar on the Spanish Coast.

This last great sea action of the era was fought btween the combined fleets of Spain and France and the Royal Navy. The battle itself was the culmination of a long and arduous campaign.

Napoleon had plans to dominate Europe but to achieve this he had to make sure the French controlled the English Channel. It was the task of the Royal Navy to ensure that this did not happen.Admiral Nelson brought his Captains together on the Victory to explain his plan of attack.

On 21st. October 1805 Nelson ordered an attack on the Combined Fleet. The success of Nelsons plan had been based upon strong winds powering his fleet between the enemy vessels. To the dismay of the whole fleet the winds dropped and this made the task of breaking through the enemy lines extremely dangerous.

Although in the ensuing battle Nelson lost his life at 4.30pm the British ships slowly gained the upper hand. Captain Hardy reported to Nelson that "the battle was won". Nelsons last words were "Thank God I have done my duty".

Casualties were high. The British lost 449 men killed and 1241 wounded. The French and Spanish Fleets lost 4408 men killed and 2545 wounded. The ultimate outcome of the victory was to secure the supremacy of the British Navy on the high seas for the next 100 years.