The of Trafalgar

When was the ? It happened on 21 October 1805 off on the coast of south west .

Who was involved? The battle was between the Royal and a force made up of Spanish and French . The , under the command of Horatio , had 27 ships. The French and Spanish forces, under Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve, had 33 ships.

Why did the battle take place? The French emperor Bonaparte was gearing up to invade . He had already taken over other parts of and wanted to expand his empire. The two sides were in hot pursuit of each other, then they met up at Trafalgar.

What happened at the battle? The French and Spanish ships were lined up in a row. Instead of lining up against them, Nelson decided to Nelson's , HMS Victory attack them by forming two columns of ships, with the aim of pushing through the enemy lines and separating their ships into smaller groups.

As the battle started, Nelson made a signal, using flags, to his men from his , HMS Victory. It said: "England expects that every man will do his duty'. He later followed that with: "Engage the enemy more closely'. The Royal Navy succeeded in piercing the enemy line. By 4.30pm, the battle was over as the last of the French and Spanish forces surrendered or were overwhelmed.

What happened to Nelson? It was a great victory for the Royal Navy, but they lost the man who had led the attack. Nelson was shot and died of his wounds in the closing stages of the battle. A total of 8,500 men were killed and wounded. A statue of Nelson was put up in London's , which was named after the victory. Many visitors Gun deck of HMS Victory still flock to see it today.