Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar, naval battle fought on October 21, 1805, by a British fleet and a combined French and Spanish fleet. It is one of the most celebrated naval engagements in European history. The battle took place off Cape Trafalgar on the southern coast of Spain, pitting a British fleet of 27 ships under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson against a slightly larger combined fleet of France and Spain, commanded by Vice Admiral Pierre Charles de Villeneuve of France.

The French admiral was under orders from Napoleon I to slip out of Cádiz, Spain, which was under British blockade, to land troops in southern Italy, where the French were fighting. Leaving port on October 19 and 20, Villeneuve's fleet was intercepted by Nelson's fleet on the morning of October 21. Villeneuve formed his ships into a single battle line, south to north. Nelson, however, surprised his adversary by ordering his ships into two groups, each of which assaulted and cut through the French fleet at right angles, demolishing the battle line; this bold strategy created confusion, giving the British fleet an advantage. The battle began shortly before noon; when it ended, in the late afternoon, some 20 French and Spanish ships had been destroyed or captured, while not a single British vessel was lost. Villeneuve himself was taken prisoner, along with thousands of his sailors. The British suffered about 1500 casualties, among them Admiral Nelson, who was mortally wounded. The overwhelming British victory destroyed Napoleon's plan to invade England and helped secure the supremacy of British naval forces for the rest of the 1800s.