This is the true story of the Battle of Trafalgar, Britain''s
most significant sea battle, as seen through the smoke-hazed
gunports of the fighting ships. In an atmosphere of choking fumes
from cannon and musket fire, amid noise so intense it was almost
tangible, the crews of the British, French and Spanish ships did
their best to carry out their allotted tasks. For over five hours
they were in constant danger from a terrifying array of iron and
lead missiles fired from enemy guns, as well as the deadly wooden
splinters smashed from the ships'' hulls by the cannon-balls. While
the men manoeuvred the ships and kept the cannons firing, the women
helped the surgeons tend the sick or helped the boys - the ''powder
monkeys'' - in the hazardous job of carrying gunpowder cartridges
from the central magazine to the gun decks. Trafalgar set the seal
on British naval supremacy, which became the mainspring for the
growth of the British Empire, and in the short term not only
prevented Napoleon from invading Britain, but also enabled Britain
and its Continental allies to mount the campaign that would
eventually defeat the French Emperor: without Trafalgar there would
be no Waterloo.
關於作者:
Roy Adkins is an historian and archaeologist. He is also a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.