Although Nelson’s stunning victory at Trafalgar did not immediately win the war; it gave the Royal Navy the freedom to exploit the unprecedented seapower it had achieved. The threat from the French battlefleet was never entirely eliminated; but the rigorous policy of blockading the main bases meant that Napoleon’s navy was never able to mount a significant challenge to British supremacy. Thereafter British policy was to employ its seapower; first to defend the ever-increasing trade that paid for the war-effort; and second to strike back at the dominant military power of France and its satellite states whenever the opportunity arose. Often the two strategies were closely linked; as in the gradual takeover of the French Caribbean colonies and the elimination of Dutch power in the East Indies. The Navy also fought all around the periphery of Europe; and although not every amphibious operation was as successful as the 1807 assault on Copenhagen; the naval aspect was usually executed with skill and aplomb. Even Wellington admitted that the Navy’s support won him the Peninsular War. The period 1806-1814 witnessed continual naval warfare--against the Danes; the Russians; the Turks; and ultimately the Americans; as well as the French and their Dutch and Italian allies--and the ultimate defeat of Napoleon; this volume describes the naval aspect of that defeat in vivid detail.
#12377308 in Books Andrew Leith Hay 2013-03-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .79 x 5.51l; .99 #File Name: 1782821112356 pagesNarrative of the Peninsular War
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