Tradition of London
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The Battle of Trafalgar 1805, The most decisive naval battle in history. In order to understand the importance of the battle of Trafalgar, we must first understand the grand strategy of Napoleon. With the onset of the War of the Third Coalition 1805-1807, it was the new French emperors goal to unite the French fleets located at Toulon and Brest with Spanish ships from Cartagena and Cadiz. Once this fleet was created in the Atlantic, Bonaparte would possess enough ships to seriously consider an invasion of England. In early 1805, Napoleon initiated this plan by ordering the French and Spanish fleets to break the British blockade and sail for the West Indies. The primary goal here was to ravage British colonial holdings, disrupt trade, and confuse the English of Napoleons true intentions. After reaching this goal, the fleet would return to the Atlantic, crush the British fleet near Ushant an island off the coast of Brittany, and then escort an invasion force of 350,000 men. Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve, escaping the English blockade at Toulon led by Admiral Horatio Nelson, achieved the first stage of this plan on March 30th by joining Admiral Gravina and the Spanish fleet from Cadiz, and with this new fleet of 20 ships, sailed for Martinique. Meanwhile, Admiral Nelson erroneously set a course for the south east, believing that the French were heading towards Egypt. Once he realized his error, Nelson and his 10 ships altered their course and raced towards the Atlantic.