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Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar - Coggle Diagram
Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar
Why did England win the Battle of Trafalgar?
Nelson
His leadership was excellent and he was quick thinking
He inspired great loyalty among his crew, and he was a role model
He was very brave, and was always at the front. He led in the Battle of Trafalgar at the front, he was on HMS Victory at the front of one of the columns leading into the attack.
It is said that his final words were 'thank God, I have done my duty'
Training
The British were outnumbered by 41 to 33, but they had been trained better than the French and Spanish
The British gunners had been trained better than the inexperienced French and Spanish. This meant that they could fire quicker and much more accurately
Poor weather and rough seas, made conditions much more difficult. But the English had been trained in the bad weather, so they where more used to the weather
Tactics
The British were very aggressive
Their tactic was to use two different columns of British ships to break through the enemy line and engage small portions of the enemy fleet and defeat them one after another
Nelson was leading from the front, on board HMS Victory, giving them all courage
These were high risk, high reward tactics, as the leading British ships would be under fire for a long time
Causes and Consequences of the Battle
Causes
Napoleon formed an alliance with Spain, planning to invade England with them in 1805
Nelson was given the task of preventing this huge army from reaching the English Channel
At first, the French Admiral Villeneuve managed to evade Nelson
The two fleets met off Cape Trafalgar on the 21st October 1805
Consequences
There were mixed British emotions
Good
A great Naval victory- there were 22 ships captured
The threat of a French invasion was gone as they probably weren't going to invade again
The British Navy then continued to rule the seas for the next 100 years
Bad
But Napoleon still held much of Europe and the war still went on
The Death of the British hero Admiral Nelson caused widespread mourning over the whole of Britain
Why was he so successful
Leadership
The 'Nelson Touch'
Trusted his men
Shared his plans with his officers
He was very popular and inspired loyalty
Able to operate independently and effectively in the heat of the battle
He ensured that all his friends
Bravery
He always led from the front. For example HMS Victory, the ship that he was on in the Battle of Trafalgar, was the leading ship
He had high risk high reward tactics
The injuries that he sustained were very bad
In 1794- Corsica- Debris from a French shot got flung into Nelson's face, blinding him
In 1797- Tenerife- he lost his right arm because a bullet went through his artery, so his arm was immediately amputated
In the Battle of Trafalgar, a musket ball then passed through his left shoulder, puncturing a lung and going through his spine. He died three hours later, saying,' Thank God I have done my duty' . It is said that the shock to his spine from the musket ball, killed him.
Tactics
He first introduced this tactic in the Battle of St. Vincent
He fought as aggressively as possible
They attacked in columns giving an advantage to the better trained British gunners
Previous battles had been bloody but inconclusive. But in this battle, they knew who had won.
Their tactic was to go towards the enemy in two columns, and then break off and engage the enemy troupes in little groups
However this was a high risk high reward tactic as the front two ships would be under fire for a long time