Why was the French navy unsuccessful?
For the same reason that their land armies were successful. The Revolution had led to purges of experienced officers in both the army and the navy, but revolutionary élan was of limited value when a man-of-war had to be manoeuvred. And Trafalgar? At this battle, Nelson’s genius lay in his decision to split the enemy fleet into three distinct sections by sailing directly at it in two columns of ships. Significantly, the French ships in the northern third of the fleet were then cut off from the battle because it would take them an hour or so to turn round and get back into action. This changed the odds in Nelson’s favour. In that vital hour, the British gunners inflicted appalling damage on the enemy ships they engaged. More than half of the combined French and Spanish fleet eventually surrendered under the relentless gunfire. Like Napoleon, Nelson excelled in organising his resources so that he had a local numerical superiority, even if he was outnumbered by the enemy overall. Why was N
