Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader will be lifting his glass today to toast Admiral Lord Nelson and the hearty tars of the Royal Navy as he celebrates the 204th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.
On this day in 1805, Lord Nelson led the fleet into combat against the combined French and Spanish fleets off Cape Trafalgar. By the end of the day the Franco-Spanish force was destroyed or driven to port. Any hope Napoleon had for invading Britain was dashed that day. The battle also resulted in about 100 years of complete naval supremacy by Britain over the seas of the world.
The late and very lamented hero of the hour:
Lord Nelson.
Nelson’s plan called for the fleet to be divided into two columns. The two columns would be sailed (under tremendous fire) into the Franco-Spanish line in a way that would bisect that line in two places.
You can see the plan in the illustration above. Or if you prefer you can click here for a nicer antique rendering of a similar image.
Before the battle Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, flew the following signal:
England expects that every man will do his D - U - T - Y.
And over the course of the day, every British sailor did his duty.
This last painting hangs in your Maximum Leader’s living room. (In case you cared.)
Of course, Nelson was killed by a sniper during the battle.
After the battle thousands of posters celebrating the victory were posted over the whole of the British Isles.
Your Maximum Leader has a similar poster that he needs to put up in his redesigned office. He wishes that he had a photo of it, because it is much cooler than the one depicted above.
Nelson’s body was preserved in rum and returned to a joyful nation who interred the hero in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Your Maximum Leader hopes that all you Anglophiles (and lovers of the fruits of the Anglo-Western tradition that we continue to enjoy in the US) will remember the great service done on behalf of civilization by Lord Nelson and the men of the Royal Navy over two hundred years ago.
Carry on.
