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Trafalgar: The Nelson Touch (Great Battles)

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This book by David Howarth is one of two that portrays the great Lord Nelson. Nelson is portayed as a leader with uncommon touch for bold military strategy and even more uncommon touch for leading men with affection and raport. This was very unusual in 1800. This book also portrays the battle of Trafalgar in the terrible ways of naval battle with 800 men ships demolishing eachother at point blank range. The French loss was inevitable and Lond Nelson was the man who build the winning ways of the British Navy over a 30 year period. The background and mood of the times are compelling.

With the 200 year anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar approaching, several books have recently been released about the battle. "Companion" books are being published, books describing all of the roughly 73 vessels involved are being published, and while some of these may be good, I would be willing to bet that they don't compare to Howarth's.

In Trafalgar - The Nelson Touch, you get it all. The blockade. How and why the particular Navies were positioned where they were. The events leading up to the battle and why it was fought were it was fought. The character and moral of the Navy's as well as the character of the men involved.

You get insight into Napoleon's failed attempts to direct his Navy like he did his Army. Howarth describes the abilities (or lack of) of the Navies as well as the quality of the ships and armament. He describes the 'novel' strategy used by Nelson, and how although it appears to be a bad one on paper, given the circumstances, it was ingenious.

You get the betrayals, including Napoleon's ultimate betrayal of one of his Admirals that led to a suicide.

And finally you get the disastrous aftermath of the battle, including the storm which elevated the casualties of the battle.

...and you get all of this in 180 fact filled pages, as opposed to the 300 - 400+ pages of some of the more recent books.

The book does bog down a bit during the actual battle(s). This is not so much Howarth's fault as the subject matter. Due to the fact that he was outnumbered vessel-wise, Nelson wanted the battle to be a melee, in which he separated the French/Spanish fleet and then attacked the confused boats individually. This led to a series of engagements, and by the midway point, the battle consisted of two fleets of de-masted vessels floating around blasting any vessel that happened to float across her path.

The reader does get a great glimpse as to what it must have been like on board as the vessels blasted each other with their cannons, as well as the 'brotherhood' that the Navies demonstrated by helping to rescue each other during the ensuing storm.

So if you are interested in Trafalgar, and have a empty afternoon in front of you, pick up this book and give it a read.

You will not be disapointed..

I have just read this book for the first time, and it will not be the last. David Howarth brings Trafalgar and its period to life in a way that leaves me filled with admiration. This is a very fair assessment of the great battle, giving credit where credit is due. This is especially so where Admiral Villeneuve is concerned. His is a tragic story that is often overlooked because of the brilliance of Nelson. Villeneuve, a man of honor, was not without talent, but lacked the charisma that so set Nelson apart. He wasn't a coward, but a realist who knew the French navy was no match for the British. Napoleon was an army man who knew nothing about the navy, and issued impossible orders that no admiral could have carried out to satisfaction. Villeneuve faced up to Trafalgar, betrayed alike by his emperor and by so-called friends behind the scenes. Nelson was the admiral who died that day in 1805, but Villeneuve must have wished he had too. Within six months he was indeed dead, although whether by his own hand or assassination might never really be known.

For an account that conjures the battle in all its glory and horror, and that offers a considered judgment of both sides, this is the book to read. Again, and again, and again.

David Howarth is one of those great historical narrative writers 60s style. All of this books have been reissued a number of times and there is good reason why: his style is fast, intelligent, and he is able to give you a wide-sweep of history while at the same time concentrating on the intricacies of a single historical event (usually a battle -- such as in his books on Hastings, Trafalgar, and Waterloo). All in a format under 200 pages.

Writing like this is a lost art.

Howarth begins buy giving the strategic situation and rightly concludes that England had already won the strategic sea battle long before Trafalgar. Trafalgar was the ultimate forordained denouement: France could not sally into the seas for trade or battle in either the North Sea, the Atlantic, or the Mediteranean. No Invasion of England could be contemplated. Moreover French (and their reluctant Spanish Allies) had conceded superiority to the British long before Trafalgar. The last act -- battle -- merely tactically sealed the strategic truths.

Howarth still paints an intense picture of the motivations of the French and English. French and Spanish tars were less in training and commitment, but they did engage in equal ardour when it came time for the killing. Moreover Admiral Villeneuve is a very sympathetic figure and Howarth seems to have much the measure of the man for this slender volume... ironically there is more here on Villeneuve than in the longer standard versions of this battle (such as by Schom). Howarth has a special chapter on the Storm immediately following the battle, something that is either glossed over as an ending paragraph in much larger works or often omitted. My favourite part is when the ships are sailing close-hauled for their ultimate encounter. You can feel the tension build as they slowly close for battle.

Keeping all in mind this is a great place to start a study of the battle, or the general strategic situation surrounding the Napleonic Naval Wars.

There is a lot missing, Lady Hamilton represents three pages of dedicated text (quite enough for some readers), there is little review of the naval battles preceding Trafalgar, St Vincent, the Nile etc. and there is little on the long life of Nelson --- but all the essential elements are here!

All in all this is one ripping read and if you love the clash of tall ships in battle and the feeling of wind whistling through the rigging, then this is the book for you.

So many books about famous battles are written about the strategies used. They are very high level, like "this general moved his armies here and this general moved his armies there". David Howarth tells this story from the perspective of the men who actually fought the battles, which makes the battle so much more memorable and meaningful. A very compelling read!

In 1969, Monty Python's Flying Circus, the infamous British comedy show, had a skit entitled "Famous Deaths in History" where Mozart (don't try to understand) introduced the death of Genghis Khan, and followed it with the death of Admiral Nelson. A dummy in an early 19th century naval uniform then falls out of an office window yelling out "Kiss me, Hardy!".

It took this lovely little book, published in 1969 as well, to make me get the joke, viz that British school children are bombarded with tales of Trafalgar and of Nelson's death throughout their student career. He really did die shortly after asking his flag ship captain to kiss him, but this was at the end of one or two agonizing hours during which time a conscious Nelson knew he was dying. Satisfied he had done his duty and achieved a resounding victory, he nevertheless like all men shuddered at the immediate coming of death.

Howarth starts the book with economical portraits of the main characters. The genial and much loved adulterous admiral Nelson himself, the dour and diligent second-in-command of the fleed admiral Collingwood, and the French gentlemanly commoner admiral Villeneuve.

He then describes the state of both fleets, the day-to-day life aboard a British warship, the differences in tactics and ammunitions between the British and French naval forces. Perhaps the most important advantage the British had was their confidence that their superior ability and position would out-do the French.

And just as Howarth, in his later book on the Voyage of the Armada, blames the far away King Philip of Spain for the failed invasion of Elizabeth's England, here he blames the far away Napoleon for the French failure. While his exoneration of Villeneuve convinces us the French Admiral did all he could and more with what he had, Howarth's attack on Napoleon is less convincing. He merely sounds like yet another Brit putting down the French Emperor. His description of a micromanaging King Philip clearly shows his responsibility but while Napoleon's demands were unrealistic, he did not presume to do his admiral's job. Still, it's hard not to agree that Napoleon held his navy in contempt, as is natural of many battlefield commanders.

Finally, we are made witness to a blow-by-blow account of the battle itself. We follow the movement of British ships as they block off the disorganized French attempt at breaking out. In one fascinating account, we see a French ship surrendering to its British foe. The British ship leaves a few officers in command of the French ship to prepare it to be towed back to a British port as a war trophy. The laws of war at sea ensure that having struck their colours the French officers will not resist; they and their crew will obey British orders. However, the ship is sinking and the junior British officers cannot control the situation. In order to save the ship and themselves from drowning, the French officer decide to retake command and make for their home port, but only if the British officers left behind agree. Honour rules. They present their plan to the British officers who agree, provided they are given safe conduct back to the United Kingdom once in port.

The book of course also describes in detail Nelson's own battle, how he and Captain Hardy walked to and fro on the ship's deck in full view of enemy snipers on the mast of their opposing ship. One bullet ripped through Nelson's spine. He was taken down below but knowing he was done for, he ordered the surgeon to see to those men who could be saved and not waste time on him.

An excellent read.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo