Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar
Part of the Trafalgar Campaign
The Battle of Trafalgar, as seen from the starboard mizzen shrouds of the Victory by J. M. W. Turner (oil on canvas, 1806 to 1808)
Date 21 October 1805 Location Cape Trafalgar, Spain 36°17′35″N 6°15′19″W / 36.29299°N 6.25534°W / 36.29299; -6.25534Coordinates: 36°17′35″N 6°15′19″W / 36.29299°N 6.25534°W / 36.29299; -6.25534 Result Decisive British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	French Empire Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
Horatio Nelson † Cuthbert Collingwood	Pierre-Charles Villeneuve (POW) Federico Gravina (DOW)
Strength
33 ships (27 ships of the line and six others)	41 ships (France: 18 ships of the line and eight others Spain: 15 ships of the line)
Casualties and losses
458 dead 1,208 wounded Total: 1,666	France: 10 ships captured, one ship destroyed, 2,218 dead, 1,155 wounded, 4,000 captured Spain: 11 ships captured, 1,025 dead, 1,383 wounded, 4,000 captured Aftermath: Apx. 3,000 prisoners drowned in a storm after the battle Total: 13,781

33 ships

41 ships

(France: 18 ships of the line and eight others

458 dead
1,208 wounded

France:
10 ships captured,
one ship destroyed,
2,218 dead,
1,155 wounded,
4,000 captured

Spain:
11 ships captured,
1,025 dead,
1,383 wounded,
4,000 captured

Aftermath:
Apx. 3,000 prisoners drowned in a storm after the battle

The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies, during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).

Twenty-seven British ships of the line led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships of the line under the French Admiral Villeneuve in the Atlantic off the southwest coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar, in Caños de Meca. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without a single British vessel being lost. It was the most decisive naval battle of the war, conclusively ending French plans to invade England.

The British victory spectacularly confirmed the naval supremacy that Britain had established during the eighteenth century and was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from the prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy. This involved engaging an enemy fleet in a single line of battle parallel to the enemy to facilitate signalling in battle and disengagement, and to maximise fields of fire and target areas. Nelson instead divided his smaller force into two columns directed perpendicularly against the enemy fleet, with decisive results.

Nelson was shot by a French musketeer during the battle and died shortly after, becoming one of Britain's greatest war heroes. Villeneuve was captured along with his ship Bucentaure. Admiral Federico Gravina, the senior Spanish flag officer, escaped with the remnant of the fleet and succumbed months later to wounds sustained during the battle. Villeneuve attended Nelson's funeral while a captive on parole in Britain.

...
Wikipedia