Customer Reviews

Victory vs Redoutable: Ships of the line at Trafalgar 1805 (Duel)

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I bought the book on the premise that it would examine and discuss the various elements of BOTH the HMS Victory AND the French 74 'Redoutable.' This is NOT what this book is about! Instead, it is the same tired rendition of how wonderful the Royal Navy was of Nelson's time. Yes, we get it, and we have heard it many, many times. But there are TWO sides to every story, and certainly every battle, and it would have been very nice indeed if the authors had bothered to look a LITTLE bit into the French side, their naval architecture, a bit about their navy of the time, and at least, a bit about the actual ship 'Redoutable.' Such an investigation is not impossible, and certainly, there are TRUE experts in this field. What amazes me, beyond words, is that the author did not avail himslef of the services and expertise of that eminent scholar on all things relating to the historic French Navy, Jean Boudriot. Messieur Boudriot is famous for many things, and not the least for his MASSIVE four volume compendium on the 74-gun ship, titled (unsurprisingly) 'The 74 Gun Ship.' In it, every single element you can imagine is available, and certainly, at least SOMETHING of that could have been used in this book. At the very least, I would expect a DRAWING of a standard French 74 of the 'Redoutable' class, if not the 'Redoutable' herself. All in all, a very disappointing book, and for those who expect to see some sort of equal treatment fro both the French and British side, I say AVOID this book, as it is NOT what it proclaims itself to be!

The naval battle at Trafalgar was an important victory for the British Navy over the combined fleet of French and Spanish ships. With perhaps a bit of hyperbole, the author notes that (Page 5): ". . .on 21 October 1805 off the south-west coast of Spain, 60 such vessels [ships of the line] representing Britain, France, and Spain fought the greatest naval engagement in history."

The book provides ample detail on the structure of the opposing fleets (names of ships and number of guns (pages 9, 12, and 13), a schematic of HMS Victory (the flagship of the English fleet) and detail (but no drawing) of the French ship Redoutable (both on page 10), brief sketches of leaders of their respective fleets (e.g., Admirals Magon, Collingwood, Villeneuve, Gravina, and, of course, Nelson),specifications of ships of the line (the rating system, sails, masts, armament, etc.).

There is discussion of the respective fleets. The battle, though, is the centerpiece here. An illustration on page 41 outlines Nelson's rather interesting approach to battle. Ships of the line were so named because these large vessels would line up and fire broadsides from the "lines" thus formed. Nelson deployed his ships in two lines and attacked the French and Spanish fleet in perpendicular fashion rather than in line against the combined opposing fleet.

There is considerable detail on how navies fought at the time. There is a statistical analysis, indicating the bloodiness of the battle. Finally, the aftermath and ultimate impact of this battle on the course of the Napoleonic wars.

This is a slender volume, but serves as a nice introduction to the subject for an amateur like me.

Gregory Fremont-Barnes' VICTORY VS. REDOUTABLE: SHIPS OF THE LINE AT TRAFALGAR 1805 covers the combined British, French and Spanish fleets who clashed off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast in a duel of bravery. The action at Trafalgar comes to life in a series of studies of ships, crews, and naval warfare.