Editing Battle of Trafalgar (section)

===Combat===
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2017}}<!--many paragraphs have no citations-->
[[File:England expects...retouched.jpg|thumb|Nelson's signal, "[[England expects that every man will do his duty]]", flying from ''Victory'' on the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar]]
[[File:England Expects Signal.svg|thumb|Nelson's signal.<ref name=SignalWasFamous/>]]

The battle progressed largely according to Nelson's plan. At 11:45, Nelson sent the flag signal, ''"[[England expects that every man will do his duty]]"''.<ref name=SignalWasFamous>{{cite web |url=http://www.aboutnelson.co.uk/england%20expcts.htm |title=England Expects |publisher=aboutnelson.co.uk |access-date=16 September 2006 |archive-date=23 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223162755/http://www.aboutnelson.co.uk/england%20expcts.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{blockquote|His Lordship came to me on the [[Poop deck|poop]], and after ordering certain signals to be made, about a quarter to noon, he said, "Mr.&nbsp;[[John Pasco|Pasco]], I wish to say to the fleet, ''<nowiki/>'England confides that every man will do his duty'<nowiki/>''{{-"}} and he added "You must be quick, for I have one more to make which is for close action." I replied, "If your Lordship will permit me to substitute 'expects' for 'confides' the signal will soon be completed, because the word 'expects' is in the vocabulary, and 'confides' must be spelt," His Lordship replied, in haste, and with seeming satisfaction, "That will do, Pasco, make it directly."<ref name="NS">{{cite web |title=England 'expects' |publisher=The Nelson Society |url=http://www.nelson-society.org.uk/html/body_england_expects.htm |access-date=24 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050324080325/http://www.nelson-society.org.uk/html/body_england_expects.htm |archive-date=24 March 2005 }}</ref>}}

The term "England" was widely used at the time to refer to the United Kingdom; the British fleet included significant contingents from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Unlike the photographic depiction above, this signal would have been shown on the [[mizzen]] mast only and would have required 12&nbsp;lifts.

As the battle opened, the French and Spanish were in a ragged curved line headed north. As planned, the British fleet was approaching the Franco-Spanish line in two columns. Leading the northern, [[windward]] column in ''Victory'' was Nelson, while Collingwood in the 100-gun {{HMS|Royal Sovereign|1786|2}} led the second, leeward, column. The two British columns approached from the west at nearly a right angle to the allied line. Nelson led his column into a feint toward the van of the Franco-Spanish fleet and then abruptly turned toward the actual point of attack. Collingwood altered the course of his column slightly so that the two lines converged at this line of attack.

[[File:Trafalgar-Auguste Mayer.jpg|thumb|left|Artist's conception of {{HMS|Sandwich|1759|6}} fighting the French [[flagship]] {{ship|French ship|Bucentaure|1803|2}} (completely dismasted) at Trafalgar. ''Bucentaure'' is also fighting {{HMS|Temeraire|1798|6}} (on the left) and being fired into by {{HMS|Victory}} (behind her). In fact, this is a mistake by [[Auguste Mayer]], the painter; HMS ''Sandwich'' never fought at Trafalgar.<ref>{{cite web |title=Auguste Mayer's picture as described by the official website of the Musée national de la Marine (in French) |website=Musee-marine.fr |url=http://www.musee-marine.fr/cartel2.php?id=55 |access-date=6 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526163947/http://www.musee-marine.fr/cartel2.php?id=55 |archive-date=26 May 2010}}</ref>]]

Just before his column engaged the allied forces, Collingwood said to his officers, "Now, gentlemen, let us do something today which the world may talk of hereafter."{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} Because the winds were very light during the battle, all the ships were moving extremely slowly, and the foremost British ships were under heavy fire from several of the allied ships for almost an hour before their own guns could bear.

At noon, Villeneuve sent the signal "engage the enemy", and {{ship|French ship|Fougueux|1785|2}} fired her first trial shot at ''Royal Sovereign''.{{sfnp|Fraser|1906|pp=114, 211–213}}{{sfnp|Corbett|1919|p=440}}{{sfnp|Thiers|1850|p=45}} ''Royal Sovereign'' had all sails out and, having recently had her bottom cleaned, outran the rest of the British fleet. As she approached the allied line, she came under fire from ''Fougueux'', {{ship|French ship|Indomptable|1790|2}}, ''San Justo'', and ''San Leandro'', before breaking the line just astern of Admiral Alava's flagship {{ship|Spanish ship|Santa Ana||6}}, into which she fired a devastating [[double-shotted]] raking broadside. On board ''Victory'', Nelson pointed to ''Royal Sovereign'' and said, "See how that noble fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action!" At approximately the same moment, Collingwood remarked to his captain, [[Edward Rotheram]], "What would Nelson give to be here?"<ref name="Heathcote41">{{cite book |last=Heathcote |title=Nelson's Trafalgar Captains |page=41}}</ref>

[[File:Trafalgar 1200hr.svg|thumb|Artist's conception of the situation at noon as {{HMS|Royal Sovereign|1786|2}} was breaking into the Franco-Spanish line]]

The second ship in the British lee column, {{HMS|Belleisle|1795|2}}, was engaged by {{ship|French ship|Aigle|1800|2}}, ''Achille'', {{ship|French ship|Neptune|1803|2}}, and ''Fougueux''; she was soon completely dismasted, unable to manoeuvre and largely unable to fight, as her sails blinded her batteries, but kept flying her flag for 45&nbsp;minutes until the following British ships came to her rescue.

For 40&nbsp;minutes, ''Victory'' was under fire from {{ship|French ship|Héros|1801|2}}, [[Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad (1769)|''Santísima Trinidad'']], {{ship|French ship|Redoutable|1795|2}}, and ''Neptune''; although many shots went astray, others killed and wounded a number of her crew and shot her wheel away, so that she had to be steered from her tiller belowdecks, all before she could respond. At 12:45, ''Victory'' cut the Franco-Spanish line between Villeneuve's flagship ''Bucentaure'' and ''Redoutable''; she came close to ''Bucentaure'' with her guns loaded with double or treble shots each, and her 68-pounder carronades loaded with 500 musketballs, she unleashed a devastating treble-shotted raking broadside through ''Bucentaure''{{'s}} stern which killed and wounded some 200–400 men of the ship's 800-man complement and dismasted the ship.<ref>{{Citation |author=Drachinifel |title=HMS Victory – The Original Fast Battleship |date=3 July 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8udR6Hyr60 |access-date=2023-03-26 |language=en |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314162236/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8udR6Hyr60 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2023|reason=Drachinifel makes some interesting videos, but he's not a reliable source}} This volley of gunfire from the ''Victory'' immediately knocked the French flagship out of action. Villeneuve thought that boarding would take place, and with the [[French Imperial Eagle|Eagle]] of his ship in hand, told his men, "I will throw it onto the enemy ship and we will take it back there!" However, ''Victory'' engaged the 74-gun ''Redoutable''; ''Bucentaure'' was left to the next three ships of the British windward column: {{HMS|Temeraire|1798|2}}, {{HMS|Conqueror|1801|2}}, and {{HMS|Neptune|1797|2}}.

[[File:Fall of Nelson.jpg|thumb|left|Painter Denis Dighton's imagining of Nelson being shot on the quarterdeck of ''Victory'']]
A general mêlée ensued. ''Victory'' locked masts with the French ''Redoutable,'' whose crew, including a strong infantry corps (with three captains and four lieutenants), gathered for an attempt to board and seize ''Victory''. A [[musket]] bullet fired from the [[Top (sailing ship)|mizzentop]] of ''Redoutable'' struck Nelson in the left shoulder, passed through his spine at the sixth and seventh thoracic vertebrae, and lodged two inches below his right scapula in the muscles of his back. Nelson exclaimed, "They finally succeeded, I am dead." He was carried below decks.

[[File:The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805- Beginning of the Action RMG BHC0548.tiff|thumb|Painter Nicholas Pocock's conception of the situation at 1300h]]

''Victory''{{'}}s gunners were called on deck to fight boarders, and she ceased firing. The gunners were forced back below decks by French [[grenade]]s. As the French were preparing to board ''Victory'', ''Temeraire'', the second ship in the British windward column, approached from the starboard bow of ''Redoutable'' and fired on the exposed French crew with a [[carronade]], causing many casualties.

At 13:55, the French [[Jean Jacques Etienne Lucas|Captain Lucas]] of ''Redoutable'', with 99&nbsp;fit men out of 643 and severely wounded himself, surrendered. The French ''Bucentaure'' was isolated by ''Victory'' and ''Temeraire'', and then engaged by ''Neptune'', {{HMS|Leviathan|1790|2}}, and ''Conqueror''; similarly, ''Santísima Trinidad'' was isolated and overwhelmed, surrendering after three hours.

[[File:Trafalgar2.jpg|thumb|left|Painter Nicholas Pocock's conception of the situation at 1700h]]

As more and more British ships entered the battle, the ships of the allied centre and rear were gradually overwhelmed. The allied van, after long remaining quiescent, made a futile demonstration and then sailed away.{{sfnp|Hannay|1911|p=154}} During the combat, Gravina was wounded, while [[Dionisio Alcalá-Galiano]] and [[Cosme Damián Churruca]] – commanders of the ''Bahama'' and {{ship|Spanish ship|San Juan Nepomuceno||2}}, respectively – were killed after ordering their ships not to surrender.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ocampo Aneiros |first=José Antonio |title=Biografía de Cosme Damián Churruca y Elorza |url=https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/12143/cosme-damian-churruca-y-elorza |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=[[Real Academia de la Historia]] |archive-date=16 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716145320/https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/12143/cosme-damian-churruca-y-elorza |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=O'Donnell y Duque de Estrada |first=Hugo |author-link=Hugo O'Donnell, 7th Duke of Tetuan |title=Biografía de Dionisio Alcalá-Galiano y Alcalá-Galiano |website=[[Real Academia de la Historia]] |url=https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/6053/dionisio-alcala-galiano-y-alcala-galiano |access-date=2022-08-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808022215/https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/6053/dionisio-alcala-galiano-y-alcala-galiano |archive-date=8 August 2022 }}</ref> Gravina died from his wounds months later.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Benítez Martín |first=Manuel |title=Biografía de Federico Carlos Gravina y Napoli |website=[[Real Academia de la Historia]] |url=https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/11283/federico-carlos-gravina-y-napoli |access-date=2022-08-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813234321/https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/11283/federico-carlos-gravina-y-napoli |archive-date=13 August 2022 }}</ref> The British took 20&nbsp;vessels of the Franco-Spanish fleet and lost none. Among the captured French ships were ''Aigle'', {{ship|French ship|Algésiras|1804|2}}, {{HMS|Berwick|1775|2}}, ''Bucentaure'', ''Fougueux'', {{ship|French ship|Intrépide|1800|2}}, ''Redoutable'', and {{ship|French ship|Swiftsure||2}}. The Spanish ships taken were ''Argonauta'', ''Bahama'', ''Monarca'', ''Neptuno'', {{ship|Spanish ship|San Agustín||2}}, ''San Ildefonso'', ''San Juan Nepomuceno'', [[Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad (1769)|''Santísima Trinidad'']], and ''Santa Ana''. Of these, ''Redoutable'' sank, and ''Santísima Trinidad'' and ''Argonauta'' were scuttled by the British. ''Achille'' exploded, ''Intrépide'' and ''San Augustín'' burned, and ''Aigle'', ''Berwick'', ''Fougueux'', and ''Monarca'' were wrecked in a gale following the battle.

As Nelson lay dying, he ordered the fleet to anchor, as a storm was predicted. However, when the storm blew up, many of the severely damaged ships sank or ran aground on the [[shoals]]. A few of them were recaptured, some by the French and Spanish prisoners overcoming the small prize crews, others by ships sallying from Cádiz. Surgeon [[William Beatty (surgeon)|William Beatty]] heard Nelson murmur, "Thank God I have done my duty"; when he returned, Nelson's voice had faded, and his pulse was very weak.{{sfnp|Hibbert|1994|pp=376–377}} He looked up as Beatty took his pulse, then closed his eyes. Nelson's chaplain, [[Alexander John Scott|Alexander Scott]], who remained by Nelson as he died, recorded his last words as "God and my country."<ref name="Hayward 63">{{harvp|Hayward|2003|page=63}}</ref> It has been suggested by Nelson historian Craig Cabell that Nelson was actually reciting his own prayer as he fell into his death coma, as the words 'God' and 'my country' are closely linked therein. Nelson died at half-past four, three hours after being hit.{{sfnp|Hibbert|1994|pp=376–377}}

Towards the end of the battle, and with the combined fleet being overwhelmed, the still relatively un-engaged portion of the van under Rear-Admiral Dumanoir Le Pelley tried to come to the assistance of the collapsing centre. After failing to fight his way through, he decided to break off the engagement, and led four French ships, his flagship the 80-gun {{ship|French ship|Formidable|1795|2}}, the 74-gun ships {{ship|French ship|Scipion|1801|2}}, {{ship|French ship|Duguay-Trouin|1800|2}} and {{ship|French ship|Mont Blanc|1793|2}} away from the fighting. He headed at first for the Straits of Gibraltar, intending to carry out Villeneuve's original orders and make for Toulon.<ref name=Adkin530>{{harvp|Adkin|2005|p=530}}</ref> On 22&nbsp;October he changed his mind, remembering a powerful British squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis was patrolling the straits, and headed north, hoping to reach one of the French Atlantic ports. With a storm gathering in strength off the Spanish coast, he sailed westwards to clear [[Cape St. Vincent]], prior to heading north-west, swinging eastwards across the [[Bay of Biscay]], and aiming to reach the French port at [[Rochefort, Charente-Maritime|Rochefort]].<ref name=Adkin530/> These four ships remained at large until their encounter with and attempt to chase a British frigate brought them in range of a British squadron under [[Sir Richard Strachan]], which captured them all on 4&nbsp;November 1805 at the [[Battle of Cape Ortegal]].<ref name=Adkin530/>

====Cosmao and MacDonnell sortie====
[[File:Trafalgar, ships scattered.jpg|thumb|The gale after Trafalgar, depicted by [[Thomas Buttersworth]].]]

Only eleven allied ships escaped to Cádiz, and, of those, only five were considered seaworthy. The seriously wounded Admiral Gravina passed command of the remainder of the fleet over to Commodore [[Julien Cosmao]] on 23 October. From shore, the allied commanders could see an opportunity for a rescue mission. Cosmao claimed in his report that the rescue plan was entirely his idea, but Vice-Admiral [[Antonio de Escaño|Escaño]] recorded a meeting of Spanish and French commodores at which a planned rescue was discussed and agreed upon. [[Enrique MacDonnell]] and Cosmao were of equal rank and both raised commodore's pennants before hoisting anchor.{{sfnp|Clayton|Craig|2004}} Both sets of mariners were determined to make an attempt to recapture some of the prizes.{{Sfnp|Clayton|Craig|2004}} Cosmao ordered the rigging of his ship, the 74-gun {{ship|French ship|Pluton|1805|2}}, to be repaired and reinforced her crew (which had been depleted by casualties from the battle), with sailors from the French frigate {{ship|French frigate|Hermione|1804|2}}. Taking advantage of a favourable northwesterly wind, ''Pluton'', the 80-gun ''Neptune'' and ''Indomptable'', the Spanish 100-gun {{ship|Spanish ship|Rayo|1749|2}} and 74-gun {{ship|Spanish ship|San Francisco de Asis|1767|2}}, together with five French frigates and two brigs, sailed out of the harbour towards the British.<ref name=Yonge-p335>{{harvp|Yonge|1863|p=335}}.</ref><ref name=Fremont-Barnes-p81/>

====The British cast off the prizes====
Soon after leaving port, the wind shifted to west-southwest, raising a heavy sea with the result that most of the British prizes broke their tow ropes, and drifting far to [[leeward]], were only partially resecured. The combined squadron came in sight at noon, causing Collingwood to summon his most battle-ready ships to meet the threat. In doing so, he ordered them to cast off towing their prizes. He had formed a defensive line of ten ships by three o'clock in the afternoon and approached the Franco-Spanish squadron, covering the remainder of their prizes which stood out to sea.<ref name=Fremont-Barnes-p81>{{harvp|Fremont-Barnes|2005|p=81}}</ref><ref name=Fremont-Barnes-p82>{{harvp|Fremont-Barnes|2005|p=82}}</ref> The Franco-Spanish squadron, numerically inferior, chose not to approach within gunshot and then declined to attack.<ref>{{harvp|Pocock|2005|p=175}}.</ref> Collingwood also chose not to seek action, and in the confusion of the powerful storm, the French frigates managed to retake two Spanish ships of the line which had been cast off by their British captors, the 112-gun ''Santa Ana'' and 80-gun {{ship|Spanish ship|Neptuno|1795|2}}, taking them in tow and making for Cádiz.<ref name=Yonge-p336>{{harvp|Yonge|1863|p=336}}.</ref> On being taken in tow, the Spanish crews rose up against their British prize crews, putting them to work as prisoners.{{sfnp|Thiers|1850|p=45}}<ref>{{harvp|TB staff|2004}}</ref>

[[File:Retour a Rota Mayer.jpg|thumb|left|Painting depicting the French [[frigate]] {{ship|French frigate|Thémis|1799|2}} towing the re-taken Spanish [[first-rate]] [[ship of the line]] ''Santa Ana'' into [[Cádiz]]. [[Auguste Mayer]], 19th&nbsp;century.]]

Despite this initial success the Franco-Spanish force, hampered by battle damage, struggled in the heavy seas. ''Neptuno'' was eventually wrecked off [[Rota, Andalusia|Rota]] in the gale, while ''Santa Ana'' reached port.{{sfn|Adkin|2005|pp=524–529}} The French 80-gun ship ''Indomptable'' was wrecked on the 24th or 25th off the town of Rota on the northwest point of the bay of Cádiz.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} At the time ''Indomptable'' had 1,200 men on board, but no more than 100 were saved. ''San Francisco de Asís'' was driven ashore in [[Cádiz Bay]], near Fort Santa Catalina, although her crew was saved. ''Rayo'', an old three-deck vessel with more than 50 years of service, anchored off [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda|Sanlúcar]], a few [[league (unit)|leagues]] to the northwest of Rota. There, she lost her masts, already damaged in the battle.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} Heartened by the approach of the squadron, the French crew of the former flagship ''Bucentaure'' also rose up and retook the ship from the British prize crew but she was wrecked later on 23&nbsp;October. {{ship|French ship|Aigle|1800|2}} escaped from the British ship {{HMS|Defiance|1783|6}}, but was wrecked off the [[El Puerto de Santa María|Port of Santa María]] on 23&nbsp;October; while the French prisoners on ''Berwick'' cut the tow cables, but caused her to founder off Sanlúcar on 22&nbsp;October. The crew of {{ship|French ship|Algésiras|1804|2}} rose up and managed to sail into Cádiz.{{sfnp|Thiers|1850|p=45}}

Observing that some of the leewardmost of the prizes were escaping towards the Spanish coast, ''Leviathan'' asked for and was granted permission by Collingwood to try to retrieve the prizes and bring them to anchor. ''Leviathan'' chased {{ship|Spanish ship|Monarca|1794|2}}, but on 24&nbsp;October she came across ''Rayo'', dismasted but still flying Spanish colours, at anchor off the shoals of Sanlúcar.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} At this point the 74-gun {{HMS|Donegal|1798|6}}, en route from Gibraltar under Captain [[Pulteney Malcolm]], was seen approaching from the south on the [[larboard]] tack with a moderate breeze from northwest-by-north and steered directly for the Spanish three-decker.<ref>James (Vol. IV) pp. 89–90.</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=April 2021}} At about ten o'clock, just as ''Monarca'' had got within little more than a mile of ''Rayo'', ''Leviathan'' fired a warning shot wide of ''Monarca'', to oblige her to drop anchor. The shot fell between ''Monarca'' and ''Rayo''. The latter, conceiving that it was probably intended for her, hauled down her colours, and was taken by HMS ''Donegal'', who anchored alongside and took off the prisoners.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} ''Leviathan'' resumed her pursuit of ''Monarca'', eventually catching up and forcing her to surrender. On boarding her, her British captors found that she was in a sinking state, and so removed the British prize crew, and nearly all of her original Spanish crew members. The nearly empty ''Monarca'' parted her cable and was wrecked during the night. Despite the efforts of her British prize crew, ''Rayo'' was driven onshore on 26&nbsp;October and wrecked, with the loss of 25&nbsp;men. The remainder of the prize crew were made prisoners by the Spanish.<ref>James (Vol. IV) p. 91.</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=April 2021}}

====Casualties====
[[File:Battle of Trafalgar Casualties.svg|thumb|none|upright=2|Casualties % by ship.{{Efn|(referenced in [[Battle of Trafalgar order of battle#Franco-Spanish fleet| § Franco-Spanish fleet]] and [[Battle of Trafalgar order of battle#British fleet| § British fleet]])}} The number is the order in the line.<br />{{legend0|#ffff00|{{HMS|Africa|1781|6}}}} • {{legend0|#91ef91|British weather column, led by [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]]}} • {{legend0|#c0c0c0|British lee column, led by [[Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood|Collingwood]]}} • {{legend0|#0000ff|French}} • {{legend0|#ff0000|Spanish}}]]

====Aftermath====
In the aftermath of the storm, Collingwood wrote to the [[British Admiralty]] on November 1805:

{{blockquote|The condition of our own ships was such that it was very doubtful what would be their fate. Many a time I would have given the whole group of our capture, to ensure our own... I can only say that in my life I never saw such efforts as were made to save these [prize] ships, and would rather fight another battle than pass through such a week as followed it...{{sfnp|Tracy|2008|p=249}}}}

On balance, the allied counter-attack achieved little. In forcing the British to suspend their repairs to defend themselves, it influenced Collingwood's decision to sink or set fire to the most damaged of his remaining prizes.<ref name=Yonge-p336/> Cosmao retook two Spanish ships of the line, but it cost him one French and two Spanish vessels to do so. Fearing their loss, the British burnt or sank ''Santísima Trinidad'', ''Argonauta'', ''San Antonio'', and {{ship|French ship|Intrépide|1800|2}}.{{sfnp|Thiers|1850|p=45}} Only four of the British prizes, the French ''Swiftsure'' and the Spanish ''Bahama'', {{ship|Spanish ship|San Ildefonso||2}} and ''San Juan Nepomuceno'' survived to be taken to Britain.<ref name=Yonge-p336/> After the end of the battle and storm only nine ships of the line were left in Cádiz.<ref name=Yonge-p335/>{{sfnp|Ward|Prothero|Leathers|1906|p=234}}

Spanish military garrisons and civilians set out to rescue survivors from the numerous shipwrecks scattered along the Andalusian coast. British prize crews were captured and given good treatment. On 27&nbsp;October, Collingwood offered the governor of Cádiz to put his Spanish wounded prisoners ashore and set them free. The governor and Gravina offered in exchange to release their British prisoners, who boarded the British fleet. The French later joined this humanitarian agreement.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rodríguez González |first=Agustín Ramón |date=20 October 2015 |title=El epílogo de Trafalgar |newspaper=Espejo de Navegantes |url=http://abcblogs.abc.es/espejo-de-navegantes/2015/10/20/el-epilogo-de-trafalgar/ |access-date=21 October 2018 |url-status=live |language=es-ES |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021151311/http://abcblogs.abc.es/espejo-de-navegantes/2015/10/20/el-epilogo-de-trafalgar/ |archive-date=21 October 2018 }}</ref>

The disparity in losses has been attributed by some historians less to Nelson's daring tactics than to the difference in fighting readiness of the two fleets.{{sfnp|Nicolson|2005|pp=9–10}} Nelson's fleet was made up of ships of the line which had spent a considerable amount of sea time during the months of blockades of French ports, whilst the French fleet had generally been at anchor in port. However, Villeneuve's fleet had just spent months at sea crossing the Atlantic twice, which supports the proposition that the main difference between the two fleets' combat effectiveness was the morale of the leaders. The daring tactics employed by Nelson were to ensure a strategically decisive result. The results vindicated his naval judgement.