Trafalgar: The Men, the Battle, the Storm - Book Review

A J Summersgill | August 16, 2005  | 0 comments  | Print  | E-mail

It is quotes like the above, liberally sprinkled throughout the main text, that bring home the awesome power, the might, the glory, and the pain and suffering of the battle. The reader is sucked into the story of the battle as if reading a novel. One feels every death as if one is there on deck, feeling the thunderous roar of the cannon, the splash of the waves and the roll of each ship as the battle unfolds from the points of view of those who fought.

Of course, the centrepiece of the book is the battle itself, but the wealth of information contained within this tome also covers the preparations for the battle, the orders given to both sides before that fateful day, and the hurricane force storm that followed, a storm which found dozens of half-wrecked warships in no fit state to sail, a disaster beyond comprehension for the survivors and their floating half-wrecks. As regards the storm, the book discusses Admiral Collingwood’s inexplicable decision to ignore Nelson’s final orders before he died -an order to anchor and ride out the storm that he knew was coming. Just why Did Collingwood refuse to anchor the remains of the fleet and what were the consequences of his failure to do so? You’ll have to read the book to find out. For this reason, and many others - I’d recommend this to anyone.

A J Summersgill

andrew@armchairgeneral.com

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