Napoleonic Wars
1803–1815
Britain went back to war with France in May 1803, and Spain joined France at the end of 1804. Napoleon gathered an army at Boulogne to invade England and needed his fleets to hold the Channel for a few days. Villeneuve led the Toulon fleet to the West Indies to draw the British away, with Nelson chasing him there and back. Calder caught him off Cape Finisterre on his return, and he went south to Cádiz instead of north to the Channel. In October he sailed again and met Nelson off Cape Trafalgar, where the Franco-Spanish fleet was destroyed and Nelson was killed. After Trafalgar Britain held the sea for the rest of the war. Its fleets seized the Danish fleet at Copenhagen in 1807 to keep it from Napoleon, attacked the French squadrons in their harbours with fireships at the Basque Roads, and fought frigate actions from Mauritius, where the French won their one victory at Grand Port, to the Adriatic, where Hoste beat a Franco-Venetian squadron at Lissa.
How the fleets moved
Click a route to see which ships made it, or a battle for its summary. Routes are approximate.
Loading map…
British movement
French movement
Battle (size: ships engaged)
Routes are approximate.
Major battles
The 4 biggest of the 9 battles covered here, by ships engaged.
22 July 1805
Battle of Cape Finisterre (Calder's Action)About 100 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain
British tactical victory; two Spanish ships taken, but Villeneuve got away
16
vs
19 (2 lost)
21 October 1805
Battle of TrafalgarOff Cape Trafalgar, Spain
Decisive British victory; 18 French and Spanish ships taken or destroyed
34 (1 lost)
vs
39 (18 lost)
6 February 1806
Battle of San DomingoOff Santo Domingo, Hispaniola
British victory; the whole French squadron taken or destroyed
11
vs
8 (5 lost)
11–24 April 1809
Battle of the Basque RoadsBasque Roads, off Rochefort, France
British victory; four French ships destroyed, but most of the squadron escaped
8 (23 lost)
vs
15 (5 lost)
Fleets
Each navy's ships in the war, from its biggest down.