Trafalgar and Waterloo: The Two Most Important Battles of the Napoleonic Wars

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: James McSorley

Over the course of its history, England has engaged in an uncountable number of battles, but a select few have been celebrated like the Battle of Trafalgar, one of the most important naval battles in history. Before the battle, Napoleon still harbored dreams of sailing an invasion force across the English Channel and subduing England, but that would be dashed on October 21, 1805 by a British fleet that was outnumbered and outgunned.

That morning, Admiral Horatio Nelson's fleet, 27 strong, bore down on the Franco-Spanish fleet, approaching at right angles in two columns. By the time the Battle of Trafalgar was finished, Nelson had scored arguably the most decisive victory in the history of naval warfare. The British took 22 vessels of the Franco-Spanish fleet and lost none, but as fate would have it, the man most responsible for the victory in one of history's most famous naval battles did not get to enjoy his crowning experience.

The impact of Trafalgar cannot be overstated, as it literally set the stage for the rest of the Napoleonic Era. Unable to invade England, Napoleon was limited to conducting war on the European continent, and while he spent the better part of a decade frustrating the British and their allies, he was eventually undone at Leipzig and then Waterloo nearly a decade after Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.

Trafalgar and Waterloo comprehensively covers the entire campaigns, analyzes the decisions made by the battles' most important leaders, and explains the aftermath of the two crucial English victories.

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

Interesting and informative

I have played these battles in the game Napoleon Total war although I have yet to win waterloo as Napoleon this has given me new insights into this battle.

Reads like a newspaper article

The story just retells the facts of the two battles. No real commentary, insights or impact to Napoleon's mechanations...