Editing Battle of Trafalgar (section)

===Supply situation===
Nelson's fleet badly needed provisioning. On 2&nbsp;October, five ships of the line, {{HMS|Queen|1769|6}}, {{HMS|Canopus|1798|2}}, {{HMS|Spencer|1800|2}}, {{HMS|Zealous|1785|2}}, {{HMS|Tigre|1795|2}}, and the frigate {{HMS|Endymion|1797|6}} were dispatched to [[Gibraltar]] under [[Thomas Louis|Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis]] for supplies.<ref>James p. 22.</ref>{{citation not found|date=August 2020}}

[[File:Battle Of Trafalgar By William Lionel Wyllie, Juno Tower, CFB Halifax Nova Scotia.jpg|upright=1.35|left|thumb|''Battle of Trafalgar'' by [[William Lionel Wyllie]], Juno Tower, [[CFB Halifax]], Nova Scotia, Canada]]

These ships were later diverted for convoy duty in the [[Mediterranean]], although Nelson had expected them to return. Similarly, {{HMS|Superb|1798|6}} under Captain [[Richard Goodwin Keats]] had been sent to the dockyard for a re-fit after four years at sea, including the chase of Villeneuve, and was expected to return to the fleet where Keats was to be Nelson's second, but the ship was not released in time.{{Sfnp|Hannah|2021|page=120–124}} Other British ships continued to arrive, and by 15&nbsp;October the fleet was up to full strength for the battle. Nelson also lost Calder's [[flagship]], the 98-gun {{HMS|Prince of Wales|1794|2}}, which he sent home as Calder had been recalled by the Admiralty to face a court-martial for his apparent lack of aggression during the engagement off Cape Finisterre on 22&nbsp;July.

Meanwhile, Villeneuve's fleet in Cádiz was also suffering from a serious supply shortage that could not be easily rectified by the cash-poor French.{{sfnp|Lee|2005|p=278}} The blockade maintained by the British fleet had made it difficult for the Franco-Spanish allies to obtain stores, and their ships were ill-equipped. Villeneuve's ships were also more than two thousand men short of the force needed to sail. These were not the only problems faced by the Franco-Spanish fleet. The main French ships of the line had been kept in harbour for years by the British blockade with only brief sorties. The French crews included few experienced sailors, and, as most of the crew had to be taught the elements of seamanship on the few occasions when they got to sea, gunnery was neglected.{{sfnp|Hannay|1911|p=154}} The hasty voyage across the Atlantic and back used up vital supplies. Villeneuve's supply situation began to improve in October, but news of Nelson's arrival made Villeneuve reluctant to leave port. His captains had held a vote on the matter and decided to stay in harbour.

On 16&nbsp;September, Napoleon gave orders for the French and Spanish ships at Cádiz to put to sea at the first favourable opportunity, join with seven Spanish ships of the line then at [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]], go to [[Naples]] and land the soldiers they carried to reinforce his troops there, then fight decisively if they met a numerically inferior British fleet.{{sfnp|Hannay|1911|p=153}}