Battle of Trafalgar | Greatest Battles

in 1805 Britain was on the brink of invasion Napoleon Bonaparte's grand army had gathered in northern France and only needed a fleet of ships to carry across English Channel and Great Britain would surely fall the British Royal Navy was talented locating interception the combined fleet to stop any chance of it reaching the Grand Army the Royal Navy was led by Horatio Nelson one of the most feared and respected naval commanders at the time Nelson had an unrivaled a bid to think his enemy tactically but his unorthodox methods carry great risk the French and Spanish nose were led by Pierre Charles vo nerve the French admiral had numerically stronger fleet at his disposal however is cautious nature meant he was blighted by indecision and a poorly coordinated command structure the Royal Navy's fleet had 27 ships and 2148 guns at its disposal its key vessels HMS Victory Nelson's famous first-rate flagship at 104 guns on three gun decks but its huge frame made maneuvering more difficult the Frenchmen splashed a visa combined fleet had 33 ships with 2630 guns the largest tip of the battle the Santino Trinidad was a huge first-rate vessel that for gun decks had more firepower and the British fleets flagship 140 guns both slower more unresponsive in light winds as a result the Royal Navy's key weapon was a 24 pound gun this hulking can of fine projectiles that could penetrate thick hulls with each one weighing three tons they were difficult to handle for the gun crew the key weapon for the French and Spanish was the chain shot a highly destructive ammunition ideal for taking up masts and rigging of ships but was only effective at close range at 6:30 a.m. the crew of the British ships prepared the gun decks of battle Nelson sends out a signal to entire fleet Inglot specs that every man will do his duty Vice Admiral Collingwood flagship Royal Sovereign holds fine till coming astern at the Santa Ana a full broadside from the Royal Sovereign cuts the way down the length of the Spanish ship killing hundreds of its crew the guns of the Royal Sovereign had been double shotted each loaded with both great shot and a bull to cause more devastating damage upon impact at first fainting to take on the Vanguard the fleet at the very front victory suddenly changes course to break the line between redoubtable and boo Center the French flagship unable to find a way through the densely packed ships victory rammed straight into a downpour now in deadly close quarters at the enemy Nelson exchanges broadside redoubtable boo Center and a Spanish flagship Santissima Trinidad seeing that the front third of its fleet is sailing north away from the battlefield Admiral Villeneuve sends out a command to recall them they respond but their progress against the wind is slow the captain of victory Thomas Hardy maneuvers to engage a smaller ship redoubtable drawing alongside it a fierce exchange of musket fire from the top decks of each ship begins to experience French Musketeers finding easy targets among the British sailors Marines and officers of victory with the muskets the redoubtable peppering victories top deck at 1:15 p.m. a shot strikes Nelson in the shoulder critically wounded and in extreme pain the Admiral was taken below deck returning belatedly to the battle the French leaves cordial and threatens to break the attack but a British group forms up in line to divert them the relentless broadside smash the French ships and they're forced to change course away from the thick of the battle between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. Hardy goes below deck to visit Nelson and inform him of the victory Nelson replies thank god I've done my duty before finally succumbing to his wound the friendship achilles heavy damaged during the fighting blows up at about 5:30 p.m. dramatically signalling the end of the battle so they have it one of the most critically important naval clashes of all time the Battle of Trafalgar I hope you enjoy the video and remember if you have any ideas for future battle map videos let us know in the comments below thanks for watching and see you next time you