Unit 35.2 - The British experience of warfare, c1790-1918
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Summary British War - Napoleonic Wars
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Unit 35.2 - The British experience of warfare, c1790-1918
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PEARSON (PEARSON)
Written by a Cambridge Law student with an A* at history A-level.
Outlines British successes and failures across the Napoleonic wars, including the tactics and leadership of Nelson and Wellington, all major battles including Cape St Vincent, Aboukir Bay, Trafalgar, the Peninsular War, the Lines...
Unit 35.2 - The British experience of warfare, c1790-1918
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Napoleonic Wars
NELSON
The success of the Royal Navy was due to the leadership of
Nelson
FOR
Leadership
- Strong grasp of tactics
Cape St Vincent 1797
o attacked the main Spanish group (consisting of 18 ships) on initiative to
prevent the group from reuniting with the smaller group and pooling
their strength, and giving rest of British naval force time to isolate and
destroy the small group consisting of 9 ships)
Aboukir Bay 1798
o Exploit French weakness in attacking from shore side as well as port side
(had not prepared cannons)
o Ordered assault in evening (unexpected + French caught unprepared) +
established system of identifying lanterns to reduce risk of friendly fire
Trafalgar 1805
o Made straight for enemy flagship with own flagship Victory + ordered
another ship (Royal Sovereign) to race ahead of the fleet and disrupt the
French and Spanish lines (allowing ships following them to exploit gaps
, created in lines in order to out position enemy ships and also manoeuvre
close to them to exploit superior gunnery)
o Ordered the British to attack in two lines to give them greater mobility,
and rightly assumed that enemy commanders would not exploit British
ships’ increased vulnerability to being raked (due to poor leadership,
tactical sense + mistrust of own sailors)
- With his men + raised morale
C St V
o rammed into Spanish ship + forced surrender of the officers before
proceeding onto next ship + forced surrender of officers Hugely
unusual for officer of Nelson’s rank to board enemy ship in battle (not
been done for over 250 yrs)
Aboukir Bay + Trafalgar
o His flagships led from front (HMS Vanguard + HMS Victory)
1797, Nelson led doomed assault on Spanish Island of Tenerife + hit in right
arm by musket ball had to get arm amputated but issuing orders just half
an hour later
- Relationships + trust in captains
Went to great lengths to establish strong personal relationship with captains (eg
by inviting them to dinner)
Also gave them written instructions to read (clearly outlined wat to do in
situation AND thought process) AND ensured well acquainted with ideas before
Battles
Very important as Nelson’s leadership relied heavily on the instincts of the
captains
o Eg Battle of Trafalgar captains did almost everything on initiative,
including big tactical manoeuvres like outflanking ships, raking and
doubling even though Nelson incapacitated at Trafalgar, still crushing
victory
Also allowed Nelson to give minimal instructions rather than numerous
detailed orders and signals, preventing matters from becoming overly
complicated
o Aboukir Bay, arrange selves in ‘most convenient manner’
o Battle of Trafalgar, only msg was ‘England expects that every man will do
his duty’
, AGAINST
- Poor enemy luck
Aboukir Bay
o After a series of close encounters between the two sides (completely as a
result of luck) the British finally appeared a month after the French had
landed at Egypt, by which time the French had inevitably let down their
guard and were unprepared for an attack
70% of the crew were on land and did not participate in the battle +
French forces disorganized (shore side cannons left unprepared +
ships not tied together with cables allowing infiltration) French
commander Brueys forced to fight anchored battle
Direction of wind also towards shore, contributed to decision to fight
disadvantageous
- Poor Enemy Leadership
Aboukir Bay
o Brueys mistakenly assuming that British would not attack until morning
next day (French therefore not as prepared as they could have been +
forced to fight anchored battle at last minute)
Trafalgar
o French + Spanish commanders did not cooperate well, if at all, in trying to
destroy Victory and Royal Sovereign as soon as they sped ahead of other
British ships before they could disrupt lines
o Some of French Captains even disobeyed Admiral Villeneuve’s orders that
the second line of ships was meant to fill the main line if it was broken
(they simply joined back of line)
- Superiority of British sailors
Cape St Vincent, British organised line much more quickly than the Spanish due
to superior teamwork + experience, causing two groups of Spanish ships to form
a gap between the two groups to be created, which was exploited
Cape St Vincent, Aboukir Bay + Trafalgar, faster + more endurable rate of cannon
fire (held up for hours) (much better disciplined, trained + experienced)
Discipline + resolve of sailors much better than adversaries, eg after battle of
Trafalgar, enemy captain observed how the English sailors set to work winding
up sails + restoring order to the ship, in stark contrast to the enemy sailors who
were all either “drunk or disabled”
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