📅 On This Day in Military History
1 event across history
Off Cape Trafalgar on the southwestern coast of Spain, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the British fleet in a bold perpendicular attack against the combined Franco-Spanish fleet. Breaking the enemy line in two columns, the British achieved a tactical masterpiece, capturing or destroying 22 of 33 enemy ships without losing a single vessel of their own. Nelson was mortally wounded by a French sharpshooter during the height of the battle and died below decks, his last words reportedly being 'Thank God I have done my duty.' His victory was decisive and absolute.
Trafalgar permanently ended Napoleon's hopes of invading Britain and established Royal Navy supremacy for the remainder of the century. It compelled Napoleon to abandon maritime ambitions and pivot to his Continental System strategy, ultimately contributing to his downfall.
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