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Nelson's Battles
'Nelson's Battles' looks at the whole subject of naval warfare, the equipment, the men, the tactics and strategies, but also provides much biographical information on Nelson himself.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1965
About the author
Nicholas Tracy
39 books2 followersNicholas Tracy Adjunct Professor of History at University of New Brunswick.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 5, 2017
Except for the extremely tiny print, which is further reduced when quotations are inserted, this was a well written and documented account of Nelson's last three battles. It includes many anecdotes regarding relationships between senior officers, life and death in the t'ween decks and the extent of Nelson's superstar status. The author manages to get a large amount of information with a genuine flavor of life in the Royal Navy in the early 19th century in a rather small book. I think I will recommend the book and keep my copy.
June 5, 2025
informative but very technical
The book is informative and contains a lot of information about Nelson as a person and the intricacies of tactics in battles between opposing fleets. It shows vividly the carnage these battles wrought. However, there are so many undefined technical terms used throughout the descriptions, that I found it difficult to follow as a general reader.
The book is informative and contains a lot of information about Nelson as a person and the intricacies of tactics in battles between opposing fleets. It shows vividly the carnage these battles wrought. However, there are so many undefined technical terms used throughout the descriptions, that I found it difficult to follow as a general reader.
July 7, 2023
As its title implies the book concentrates on the sea fights in which Horatio Nelson took part. While some details of his life outside the navy are mentioned these are very much by the way as far as Warner is concerned as they did not impact on Nelson’s conduct at sea. Warner contends that it was Nelson’s victories that made the winning of the Napoleonic Wars possible. Without British sea superiority Napoleon could have threatened India or even invaded Britain. He certainly had plans to do so if the Royal Navy were to be neutralised. Though Warner does not mention it the prosecution of the Peninsular War would also have been impossible without British control of the seas.
Nelson first made his tactical acumen known at the Battle of Cape St Vincent where he moved his ship out of the battle line without orders as he realised to do so and make direct for the nearest Spanish ships would disorganise the opponent and - somewhat paradoxically - allow his commander’s ultimate intentions to be fulfilled. To naval men the line of battle “was sacred” so this unparalleled (and never repeated) leaving of the line without a direct order was a court-martial offence and meant probable disgrace, the more so since that commander, Jervis, was an extreme disciplinarian. Two other ships joined Nelson’s move however, and Jervis received him afterwards “with the greatest affection.” (He had after all won a victory due to it.)
Nelson’s next major encounter was the Battle of the Nile (more strictly of Aboukir Bay) where he split his force in two to attack both sides of the French fleet simultaneously, not as hazardous an endeavour as it might have been since the French ships were at anchor - at least at the battle’s start - and consequently unable to manoeuvre effectively. The result was confirmed when the French flagship L’Orient blew up spectacularly.
Nelson was famously to repeat disobedience at the Battle of Copenhagen. (“I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes.”) His Commander there, Parker, fully expected Nelson to ignore his signal to break off, though, if that was the correct course. However, others in the fleet of necessity obeyed it; to their cost. In many respects - the Danish ships were at anchor, and under the cover of shore guns - this was similar to the Nile, though Nelson’s tactics were slightly changed. This time he asked his ships to line up against their counterparts one by one, starting at the fifth Danish ship, the next two going on to the Danish 6 and 7 while others took on ships 4 to 1. In this way the least supportable part of the Danish fleet could be overwhelmed before the rest of it could affect the outcome. More remarkably the time elapsing between these orders being issued and their execution was extremely short. The victory cemented Nelson’s reputation.
Trafalgar was an altogether different affair; a full sea battle, one Nelson had sought for a long time. His plan was to cut the French and Spanish line in three (in the event only two such incursions were made) by the use of columns of British ships and so ensure a pell-mell battle in which he was convinced – correctly as it turned out – he would be victorious.
The details of the sea fighting of the times are gruesome. The casualties and wounds inflicted by cannonballs and splinters from wooden hulls pierced by them horrific. There was little shelter on the gun decks and no barriers to shot barrelling through them from one end to the other if raked by a broadside. On the open deck sailors and the soldiers the ships carried were even more exposed, Nelson himself felled by a rifle shot, and his national hero status thus guaranteed. Britain’s naval supremacy was not to be seriously challenged for over one hundred years.
Whatever the faults in his private life (mercifully little of which does this account deal with) Nelson’s effect on his subordinates - not to mention the ratings - was inspiring.
Nelson first made his tactical acumen known at the Battle of Cape St Vincent where he moved his ship out of the battle line without orders as he realised to do so and make direct for the nearest Spanish ships would disorganise the opponent and - somewhat paradoxically - allow his commander’s ultimate intentions to be fulfilled. To naval men the line of battle “was sacred” so this unparalleled (and never repeated) leaving of the line without a direct order was a court-martial offence and meant probable disgrace, the more so since that commander, Jervis, was an extreme disciplinarian. Two other ships joined Nelson’s move however, and Jervis received him afterwards “with the greatest affection.” (He had after all won a victory due to it.)
Nelson’s next major encounter was the Battle of the Nile (more strictly of Aboukir Bay) where he split his force in two to attack both sides of the French fleet simultaneously, not as hazardous an endeavour as it might have been since the French ships were at anchor - at least at the battle’s start - and consequently unable to manoeuvre effectively. The result was confirmed when the French flagship L’Orient blew up spectacularly.
Nelson was famously to repeat disobedience at the Battle of Copenhagen. (“I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes.”) His Commander there, Parker, fully expected Nelson to ignore his signal to break off, though, if that was the correct course. However, others in the fleet of necessity obeyed it; to their cost. In many respects - the Danish ships were at anchor, and under the cover of shore guns - this was similar to the Nile, though Nelson’s tactics were slightly changed. This time he asked his ships to line up against their counterparts one by one, starting at the fifth Danish ship, the next two going on to the Danish 6 and 7 while others took on ships 4 to 1. In this way the least supportable part of the Danish fleet could be overwhelmed before the rest of it could affect the outcome. More remarkably the time elapsing between these orders being issued and their execution was extremely short. The victory cemented Nelson’s reputation.
Trafalgar was an altogether different affair; a full sea battle, one Nelson had sought for a long time. His plan was to cut the French and Spanish line in three (in the event only two such incursions were made) by the use of columns of British ships and so ensure a pell-mell battle in which he was convinced – correctly as it turned out – he would be victorious.
The details of the sea fighting of the times are gruesome. The casualties and wounds inflicted by cannonballs and splinters from wooden hulls pierced by them horrific. There was little shelter on the gun decks and no barriers to shot barrelling through them from one end to the other if raked by a broadside. On the open deck sailors and the soldiers the ships carried were even more exposed, Nelson himself felled by a rifle shot, and his national hero status thus guaranteed. Britain’s naval supremacy was not to be seriously challenged for over one hundred years.
Whatever the faults in his private life (mercifully little of which does this account deal with) Nelson’s effect on his subordinates - not to mention the ratings - was inspiring.
August 6, 2008
Riveting book that captures the essence of Nelson's genius and capacity for bringing out the best in those around him (the "Nelson touch"). It also vividly evokes the characteristics of that era's sea battles - "clumsy, stubborn, protracted and grim beyond belief."
As I read Nelson's last signal to the fleet prior to engaging the combined French-Spanish forces at Trafalgar ("England expects that every man will do his duty"), I heard in my mind echoes of similar exhortations by Pitt, Wellington, Lloyd George and Churchill. What quality resided on a little island that produced such men, who built one of the greatest empires in history? Whatever it was, Nelson possessed it.
Regarding the book itself, it suffers from too few maps with which to follow the course of developments. Also, the battle descriptions at times were confusing, but I'm not sure anything in static print could have done better (imagine how confusing it must have to be in the battles themselves). I think computer modeling of how battles evolve can bring an understanding and verisimilitude that a book could never do. I look forward to when that becomes available for all the great battles of history.
As I read Nelson's last signal to the fleet prior to engaging the combined French-Spanish forces at Trafalgar ("England expects that every man will do his duty"), I heard in my mind echoes of similar exhortations by Pitt, Wellington, Lloyd George and Churchill. What quality resided on a little island that produced such men, who built one of the greatest empires in history? Whatever it was, Nelson possessed it.
Regarding the book itself, it suffers from too few maps with which to follow the course of developments. Also, the battle descriptions at times were confusing, but I'm not sure anything in static print could have done better (imagine how confusing it must have to be in the battles themselves). I think computer modeling of how battles evolve can bring an understanding and verisimilitude that a book could never do. I look forward to when that becomes available for all the great battles of history.
October 10, 2008
Warner does a great job at balancing the information that has been available about Nelson, from his contemporaries to other historians. He is objective enough to note when there appears to be conflicting information or opinion. He also is willing to evaluate Nelson's failings in the light of Nelson's demi-god position in the British Naval History.
I was fascinated to find that Nelson was an Admiral as a young man, this may have lent itself to the "Nelson Touch", and his boldness of action. Nelson's leadership was, without doubt, a great value to the service...
I was fascinated to find that Nelson was an Admiral as a young man, this may have lent itself to the "Nelson Touch", and his boldness of action. Nelson's leadership was, without doubt, a great value to the service...
May 25, 2017
What I had originally thought to be a coffee table book turned out to be an extremely in-depth account, not only of Nelson’s battles, but also a very geeky history of the entire “line of battle” system, it’s evolution from the late 17th Century to its peak in during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th C, theoretical and practical changes, specific battles that either were effected by (or resulted in) updates in tactics, publications, and the development of naval signal systems in both French and English navies.
March 18, 2011
An absolute classic, readabl, informative, it reads more like liturature than dry old history. Shows Nelsons flaws of character as well as his strengths and leaves me amazed that such a man truly existed. Top draw.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews