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British experience of warfare c1790-1918 > What role did Nelson Play in shaping Britain’s Naval War with France? > Flashcards

What role did Nelson Play in shaping Britain’s Naval War with France? Flashcards

1
Q

What did the British Navy do?

A

Guarded the nation against invasion while protecting overseas trade and colonies.

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2
Q

What did the American War of Independence (1775-83) reveal?

A

Shortcomings of the navy

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3
Q

What shortcomings of the navy did the American war of independence reveal?

A

Many ships of the line were old and poorly maintained

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4
Q

Who, along with American privateers, enjoyed success against the Royal Navy?

A

French, Spanish and Holland

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5
Q

How many ships of the line did the British navy have in 1792 compared to 1802?

A

135 to 202

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6
Q

How many smaller frigates did the British navy have in 1792 compared to 1802?

A

133 to 277

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7
Q

How many soldiers did the British navy have in 1792 compared to 1802?

A

16,000 to 135,000

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8
Q

What admirals did the navy have?

A

Samuel Hood
Richard Howe
John Jervis
Horatio Nelson

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9
Q

When did Nelson die?

A

At Trafalgar in 1805 at the moment of his greater victory

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10
Q

What made Nelson the most successful naval commander of his generation?

A

His leadership, personal bravery and bold grasp of naval tactics

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11
Q

When did Nelson join the Navy?

A

at 12, with his uncle being his first ships captain

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12
Q

What happened in Nelson’s life in 1779?

A

After starting officer training as a midshipman, he got his first command

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13
Q

During the American War of Independence, where did Nelson command?

A

in the Caribbean

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14
Q

What was Nelson in command of when recalled to sea in 1793?

A

The 64-gun HMS Agamemnon in the Mediterranean

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15
Q

What were the problems with the Navy in 1793?

A

Logistics were strained, administration and supply, poor dockyards and shortages of timber due to ships being at sea for months on end

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16
Q

What did discontent among fleet sailors lead to?

A

Mutinies at Spithead (Portsmouth) and Nore (Thames)

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17
Q

Spithead Mutinies

A

In 1797, Portsmouth, about conditions

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18
Q

Nore mutiny

A

In 1797, in Thames, political as ringleaders demanded peace with france

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19
Q

What was used to force civilians to serve in the fleet due to experienced seamen being hard to find?

A

Press gangs

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20
Q

When did Nelson lose sight in his right eye and how?

A

in 1794 after being wounded by an exploding cannon shell during a battle with the French off Corsica

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21
Q

What did Nelson believe in as a commander?

A

Gunnery and boldness

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22
Q

How did Nelson train his naval forces?

A

For gun crews to fire faster and his boarding parties of armed sailors and marines to follow their officers into hand to hand fights on enemy vessels.

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23
Q

What did Nelson become famous for in 1797?

A

His part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent off Portugal

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24
Q

What did Nelson do in the Battle of Cape St Vincent?

A

Took his 74-gun ship HMS Captain out of line into close-quarters combat leading his men in battle on the enemy deck. Captured two Spanish warships

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25
Q

What happened to Nelson in 1797?

A

his right arm was short though when fighting ashore in an attack on a Spanish fort in the Canary islands and later had to be amputated

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26
Q

What threatened British power in the Mediterranean and India?

A

A French presence in Egypt

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27
Q

What happened after Nelson found the French fleet in Egypt at anchor in Aboukir Bay? (Battle of the Nile)

A

Launched a daring attack in fading daylight, French anchored in a line but Nelson slipped hall his forces between French shops and the coast.

28
Q

How did Nelson win the Battle of the Nile?

A

of the 17 French ships engages, he captured or destroyed 13, leaving most of Napoleons army stranded in Egypt.

29
Q

Where was Nelson in 1801?

A

In Action in the Baltic, leading British ships in an attack on the Danish city of Copenhagen.

30
Q

What was feared to swing the balance against Britain in 1801?

A

Denmark considering joining an alliance with France with Sweden, Russia and Prussia.

31
Q

What famous incident happened at the attack on Danish fleet in Copenhagen?

A

Nelson put a telescope to his sightless eye when signalled by commanding officer Hyde Parker to halt the attack, Nelson explained he couldn’t see the signal and it ended in a truce

32
Q

Why did the Peace of Amiens not last (1802-1803)?

A

The French refused to agree a trade deal with Britain and remained belligerent occupying Naples in Italy

33
Q

Why had peace talks started before the Copenhagen raid?

A

Because of Britains fear that the League of Armed Neutrality might be a danger to British maritime trade and the navy’s freedom to stop and search neutral ships on the high seas

34
Q

League of Armed Neutrality

A

Denmark, Sweden, Russia

35
Q

Why did the League of Armed Neutrality dissolve?

A

The Copenhagen attack

36
Q

Why did the Peace of Amiens not last?

A

French refused to agree a trade deal with Britain and remained belligerent, occupying Naples in Italy

37
Q

After the Peace of Amiens, when did Britain declare war?

A

18th May 1803

38
Q

What were the British doing that meant no French invasion across the Channel could succeed?

A

the British navy patrolled the Channel and blockaded French ports in the Atlantic and Mediterranean

39
Q

When and how did Spain join the war?

A

1804 as Frances ally

40
Q

Who was the new French naval commander?

A

Villeneuve

41
Q

What was done to Nelson’s flagship HMS victory?

A

Coppering (1780s innovation)

42
Q

Coppering

A

covering a ships wooden hull with copper sheets. Made warships faster and able to stay at sea longer

43
Q

What was Nelson’s favourite ploy?

A

Breaking the enemy’s line so his ships could fire in turn sending broadsides to rake enemy ships from bow to rear

44
Q

What did ammunition for the muzzle-loading guns include?

A

solid iron balls, chain shot and heated shot

45
Q

How did muzzle-loading guns fire?

A

at close range often point blank with ships touching

46
Q

What did British soldiers admire about the French?

A

Their shipbuilding and often captured French ships, repaired them, and reflag them as British

47
Q

How was naval strategy managed?

A

often a guessing game.

48
Q

What, in the Navy, watched the enemy?

A

Fast frigates and cruisers, reporting movements

49
Q

What made sailing ships movements unpredictable?

A

Their reliance on the wind

50
Q

When was Admiral Villeneuve’s fleet put to sea from Toulon?

A

January 1805

51
Q

Why did the French ships from Toulon soon return to port?

A

Deterred by rough seas and fear of Nelson

52
Q

What was Nelson ordered to do in April 1805 whilst still patrolling the Mediterranean?

A

To provide naval escort for General James Craig’s army expedition

53
Q

Why did General James Craig’s army need to be escorted by Nelson?

A

They were secretly en route to Gibraltar and Malta

54
Q

After Napoleon urged Villeneuve to be bolder, what did the French fleet do?

A

Finally broke out of the Mediterranean and escaped west across the Atlantic to the West Indies

55
Q

Why was the British government alarmed by the French fleet breaking out of the Mediterranean at the end of March 1805?

A

Feared a french attack on the valuable sugar trade

56
Q

How did the combined French and Spanish fleets reach port in Cadiz?

A

They survived a skirmish with the British under Admiral Calder

57
Q

In October 1805, how many ships of the line did Nelson have in comparison to France and Spain on the way to Italy?

A

27 ships of the line against the enemy’s 33

58
Q

Why were the French and Spanish sailing to Italy in October 1805?

A

Napoleon had ordered them to support his campaign against Austria

59
Q

When did Nelson catch up with Villeneuve?

A

Off Cape Trafalgar in southern Spain on 21st October

60
Q

Who led to two columns of British ships at the Battle of Trafalgar?

A

Nelson and Vice-Admiral Collingwood

61
Q

How did the Battle of Trafalgar start?

A

They broke through the Franco-Spanish line and fighting at close quarters started.
Nelson’s HMS Victory ran alongside the French Redoubtable and from both ships guns fired at point blank range.

62
Q

How did the Battle of Trafalgar progress?

A

HMS Temeraire joined in firing the other side of the French ship, losing 490 of 643 men, and Nelson remaining on deck on admirals uniform

63
Q

How did the Battle of Trafalgar end/ how did Nelson die?

A

He was shot by a French sniper positioned atop the mast of Redoubtable, the bullet pierced his lung and lodged in his spine. He was told of his victory before he died at 4:30pm

64
Q

What happened to Villeneuve after the Battle of Trafalgar?

A

He had been captured and his fleet was under Spanish command and returned to Cadiz.

65
Q

What did the turnout of the Battle of Trafalgar mean for the French?

A

They had lost hopes of challenging Britains sea supremacy and abandoned any thought of invasion.

British experience of warfare c1790-1918 (14 decks)

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