Of the many campaigns in the long history of Britain, naval and otherwise, there have been few more momentous than the campaign in the Mediterranean in 1804-5 culminating in the battle of Trafalgar. They spawned a national hero in the figure of heroic lord Nelson, one-armed and blind in one eye, dying at the moment of his greatest victory over a more numerous enemy. However, the story of the battle, much less the campaign, was more complex than the story of one man, however great. It is this web of sailings, counter-sailings, orders, alliances, courage and genius that Corbett elucidates with his great naval knowledge and lucid text. Sir Julian Corbett wrote this most important of studies, drawing on not only his comprehensive archive material at the Royal Naval college, but also important sources from French and Spanish sources. He was a prolific author and authority on British warfare, and more particularly the naval aspects, as well as a lecturer in history to the Royal Naval College. Author — Sir Julian Stafford Corbett, LLM. (1854-1922) Illustrations – 8 maps and plans.

Søgeord: 1805; Søkrigsslag; Pitt; Villeneuve; Collingwood; Vestindien; Brest; Calder; Cadiz; Nelson's Memorandum.

Trafalgar, the most famous and most strategically significant victory in the age of sail, was not an isolated event. Rather it was the culmination of a campaign that began as soon as war was resumed in May 1803 and aimed ultimately at the invasion of Great Britain. To this end Napoleon attempted by ruse and elaborately disguised manoeuvres to bring his scattered and blockaded squadrons together for long enough to give him command of the Channel, which he fondly believed was all that was necessary to ensure a successful landing. Therefore, this period becomes a perfect demonstration of the workings of seapower and reveals that, however great a strategic genius on land, Napoleon never really grasped the principles of British maritime defense, gleaned as it was from over two hundred years’ experience. This is not to say that the invasion threat was treated lightly, although some of the rumored devices belong to the world of science fiction’ on the other hand the anti-invasion operations included the first use of such futuristic weapons as torpedoes and rockets. Little of the naval warfare of this period is not in some way connected with the main campaign, and this volume is devoted to the great wars of 1793-1815, charts all the major naval events of 1803 to 1805, including America’s first full-bloodied naval war, with the Barbary States.

Presents the battle of Trafalgar in it's historical scope and context. Quotes extensively from journals and sources and brings to life the whole story of the British-French conflict, at sea and on land, at the dawn of the nineteenth century.

Napoleon s naval plan for 1805 was for the French fleet of the Mediterranean and part of the Spanish fleet to break the British blockade and meet in the Caribbean. They would then return, assist the fleet in Brest to get out of the blockade, and together - about 50 ships of the line - would guarantee a safe passage for the French invasion fleet to Britain. Before the battle, French Admiral Villeneuve himself had expressed his conviction that Nelson would use some kind of unorthodox attack, speculating that he was going to go straight against his line. Imagining something different for the British maneuver is difficult, considering the fame obtained by Nelson. Therefore, we will try to test whether it would have been possible for Villeneuve, together with Gravina, to reverse the historic result, making it more worthy to include his name in the Arc de Triomphe.

In the first of a potential new series Florian Richter presents color profile models of every ship on both sides in this epic battle. In a change to previous paper soldier titles, these ships can be cut straight out of the book to create the British, French and Spanish fleets.

While there is a perennial interest in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars and in Nelson himself, there is no reference work that chronicles all the captains of his ships, their social origins, their characters and the achievements in their lives beyond their service under Nelson. This new book, researched and written by distinguished historians, descendants of some of Nelson's officers, and members of the 1805 Club, presents concise biographies of those officers who fought with Nelson in his three great battles, with superb colour illustration throughout. Nelson first gave the name of 'band of brothers' to the officers who had commanded ships of his fleet at the battle of the Nile (1798). This new volume will include 100 officers, ranging from lieutenants in command of gunboats at the battle of Copenhagen (1801) through captains of line-of- battle ships at the Nile and at Trafalgar (1805), to admirals in command of squadrons in his fleets. Of real significance are the specially commissioned photographs of all the monuments and memorials to Nelson's captains, descriptions with transcriptions of epitaphs, and clear directions to enable the readers to find them. Part travel book, part biography and moving testimony to Nelson's faithful captains, Nelson's band of Brothers presents the opportunity to rediscover 100 local heroes.

With the hindsight of a century, Julian S Corbett argues that the 1805 Trafalgar campaign was 'the crowning chapter in the history of naval warfare'. He takes it beyond merely using it as a valedictory encomium of Admiral Nelson, who died at Trafalgar; instead he explains the military side of the campaign and the decrees from Parliament which shaped the war. Corbett contrasts first-hand correspondence from Napoleon and other commanders with the rational orders of Pitt, Castlereagh and the English commanders. Before the account of the battle at Trafalgar, Corbett analyses the memorandum sent by Nelson that laid out what was to be done and by whom. The battle reinvigorated the British navy and gave them confidence in their superiority, yet Napoleon became 'dictator' of Europe in spite of the destruction of his own naval power. Corbett, the English narrator of the story, is partisan, using "our" and "us" frequently, and the tone is patriotic and proud of the naval and military might of what was then the bastion of the British Empire, which was beginning its century of subjugation to other European powers. The prose is full of florid phrases and emotional recollections of the past. Especially impressive are the descriptions of the campaign's key characters, including Barham, Allemand, Cornwallis, Ganteaume, Rochefort, Villeneuve, Gourdon, Calder, Gravina and Decrès. Corbett also illustrates the perils of seafaring in the early nineteenth century: scurvy, surprise counter-attacks and ships burning at sea all feature in the campaign. Above all, the discipline and daring of the campaign is evident in a masterful history of a conflict that is a key moment in European history, Julian S Corbett (1854-1922) was a naval historian and geo-strategist. He qualified as a lawyer and also wrote historical fiction before becoming a lecturer at the Royal Naval College. His works on naval history include a biography on Francis Drake and England in the Seven Years' War. Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

Battles, blockades, convoys, raids: An “impressive” account of how the indefatigable British Royal Navy ensured Napoleon’s ultimate defeat (International Journal of Military History). Horatio Nelson’s celebrated victory over the French at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 presented Britain with an unprecedented command of the seas. Yet the Royal Navy’s role in the struggle against Napoleonic France was far from over. This groundbreaking book asserts that, contrary to the accepted notion that the Battle of Trafalgar essentially completed the Navy’s task, the war at sea actually intensified over the next decade, ceasing only with Napoleon’s final surrender. In this dramatic account of naval contributions between 1803 and 1815, James Davey offers original and exciting insights into the Napoleonic wars and Britain’s maritime history. Encompassing Trafalgar, the Peninsular War, the War of 1812, the final campaign against Napoleon, and many lesser known but likewise crucial moments, the book sheds light on the experiences of individuals high and low, from admiral and captain to sailor and cabin boy. The cast of characters also includes others from across Britain—dockyard workers, politicians, civilians—who made fundamental contributions to the war effort, and in so doing, both saved the nation and shaped Britain’s history.