In the first of a potential new series Florian Richter presents color profile models of every ship on both sides in this epic battle. In a change to previous paper soldier titles, these ships can be cut straight out of the book to create the British, French and Spanish fleets.

The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, remains one of the defining moments in naval history. The decisive nature of the engagement, the death of Nelson and the outpouring of national grief in the aftermath have inspired a wealth of literature on the battle and many narratives have retold this famous action. However, until now no work has attempted to provide an in-depth history of each of the British, French and Spanish vessels that were at the engagement. Dividing the fleets into the relevant classes by their rating, this landmark book proceeds to provide a service history of each individual vessel, including specifications tables, list of commanders, casualty lists and refit histories. Each class of vessel is illustrated by original plans drawn specially by the author alongside contemporary and modern images of the ships. Vital contextual information is included, on design and construction, styles, relative merits between the British and Combined fleets, trends and developments in armament and fighting techniques, and a comparison of the pound-for-pound effectiveness of the rival fleets. This book is a complete, standard-setting guide to the essence of the greatest naval battle, the ships at Trafalgar.

An explosive chronicle of history's greatest sea battle, from the co-author of the forthcoming Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History (March 2018) In the tradition of Antony Beevor's Stalingrad, Nelson's Trafalgar presents the definitive blow-by-blow account of the world's most famous naval battle, when the British Royal Navy under Lord Horatio Nelson dealt a decisive blow to the forces of Napoleon. The Battle of Trafalgar comes boldly to life in this definitive work that re-creates those five momentous, earsplitting hours with unrivaled detail and intensity.

Harbron attempts to disprove many beliefs about the ineptness of the commanders and the poor quality of equipment attributed to the Spanish at Trafalgar. While the author describes the history of Spanish ship building and design, the case that would prove the ships were well led is not made.

The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on October 21, 1805, off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast, between the combined fleets of Spain and France and the Royal Navy. The last great sea action of the period, it established British naval supremacy and ended the threat of French invasion. The Trafalgar Companion not only chronicles the campaign and the battle itself in unprecedented detail, but it also charts Admiral Lord Nelson’s life and career as well as his death at the height of the battle. Providing a wealth of background details on contemporary naval life, seamanship, gunnery, tactics, and much else, the narrative is supplemented by informative sidebars, 200 color illustrations, and stage-by-stage battle diagrams.

An account of the most famous sea fight in history.

While there is a perennial interest in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars and in Nelson himself, there is no reference work that chronicles all the captains of his ships, their social origins, their characters and the achievements in their lives beyond their service under Nelson. This new book, researched and written by distinguished historians, descendants of some of Nelson's officers, and members of the 1805 Club, presents concise biographies of those officers who fought with Nelson in his three great battles, with superb colour illustration throughout. Nelson first gave the name of 'band of brothers' to the officers who had commanded ships of his fleet at the battle of the Nile (1798). This new volume will include 100 officers, ranging from lieutenants in command of gunboats at the battle of Copenhagen (1801) through captains of line-of- battle ships at the Nile and at Trafalgar (1805), to admirals in command of squadrons in his fleets. Of real significance are the specially commissioned photographs of all the monuments and memorials to Nelson's captains, descriptions with transcriptions of epitaphs, and clear directions to enable the readers to find them. Part travel book, part biography and moving testimony to Nelson's faithful captains, Nelson's band of Brothers presents the opportunity to rediscover 100 local heroes.