Naval Battle Of Trafalgar, 1805

Book excerpt: Napoleon s naval plan for 1805 was for the French fleet of the Mediterranean and part of the Spanish fleet to break the British blockade and meet in the Caribbean. They would then return, assist the fleet in Brest to get out of the blockade, and together - about 50 ships of the line - would guarantee a safe passage for the French invasion fleet to Britain. Before the battle, French Admiral Villeneuve himself had expressed his conviction that Nelson would use some kind of unorthodox attack, speculating that he was going to go straight against his line. Imagining something different for the British maneuver is difficult, considering the fame obtained by Nelson. Therefore, we will try to test whether it would have been possible for Villeneuve, together with Gravina, to reverse the historic result, making it more worthy to include his name in the Arc de Triomphe.