The decisive naval battle of the
Napoleonic era occurred when a British fleet of 27 ships under
the commander of Admiral Horatio Nelson engaged a Franco-Spanish
fleet of 33 ships. Nelson devised a daring strategy to overcome
his opponents. He divided his force into two squadrons, which
attacked the center of the Allied fleet at right angles. Nelson
led one of the squadrons into action aboard the Victory.
The plan was a smashing success. The Allied fleet was crushed, losing twenty ships. The British didn't lose any ships, but a French sniper killed Nelson. This battle ended forever Napoleon's dream of invading Britain, and the Royal Navy would dominate the seas for the next century.
Resources:
I received some very useful suggestions and assistance from Prior Aelred Glidden, to whom I am grateful.
A search of the Internet and Magweb.com turned up some useful resources for wargaming Trafalgar.
Other:
- Cardboard Fighters: Patrick Crusiau's website for paper soldiers (http://users.skynet.be/gwindel/index.html)
- Broadside: Home of Nelson's Navy: website about Admiral Nelson and the British Navy (http://www.nelsonsnavy.co.uk/)
- Naval History in the Age of Sail: http://home.europa.com/~bessel/Naval/Navlinks.html
- Virtual Tour of HMS Victory: website by Peter Milford (http://www.stvincent.ac.uk/Heritage/1797/Victory/index2.html)
- HMS Victory: website with good article on the battle of Trafalgar: (http://www.voodoo.cz/victory/index.html)
- Warfare in the Age of Sail: a page on The Wargamer website ( http://www.wargamer.com/aos/manifest.asp)
- Trafalgar: A Scenario for Line of Battle" by John Cunningham, The Courier #84 (magweb.com)
- Free Wargame Rules: Pete Jones' website has a lot free rules for Napoleonic naval wargames (http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/), including: Simple Sails by Alan Young or on the Cheltenham Wargaming Association web site (http://www.cr005a0233.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/)
- As Per Margin: rules for the age of fighting sail by Prior Aelred Glidden, MWAN #99 (www.magweb.com)
More Battle of Trafalgar 1805
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© Copyright 2003 by Matt Fritz.
This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles covering military history and related topics are available at http://www.magweb.com