‘Oh, General Brereton!’: Nelson in 1805
John Terraine observes how the British and French fleets crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic three months before Trafalgar.
Twice in 1805, in January and again in March, Vice-Admiral Villeneuve, commanding the French fleet in Toulon, succeeded in bringing out his ships and throwing the British observation squadron, under Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson, entirely off his scent.
On each occasion his destination had been the West Indies. In January the French were immediately forced back into Toulon by a storm, while Nelson was looking for them at Alexandria; in March they made quickly for the Straits of Gibraltar while he was blocking their way [as he supposed] to Egypt.
It was on April 8th that Villeneuve passed the Straits and on the same day he entered the Bay of Cadiz, driving off a small squadron under Sir John Orde that was victualling there. In Cadiz a Spanish squadron of six ships of the line under Admiral Gravina was ready to come out, together with the French 74-gun Aigle. Villeneuve anchored in the Bay at 8 p.m.; at 10 p.m. the Spanish ships- and Aigle began to emerge; at 2 a.m. on the 9th the junction was completed, and the Combined Fleet immediately set sail for the West Indies.
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