The Great Commanders - 104 - Horatio Nelson | FULL LENGTH | MagellanTV

[Music] throughout history the technology of war has continually changed but the art of war how a commander commands has remained more or less the same nations have gone out of existence because of their failure to understand what war is all about including its diplomatic economic and social elements a great commander one way or another always seems to understand how all these forces are interrelated [Music] on a bright October day in 1805 a few miles off cape trafalgar in southern spain the greatest naval fleets of the day finally faced one another the British commander Horatio Nelson was outnumbered and outgunned yet he was able to secure a victory that changed world history Admiral Nelson is without a doubt a great British national naval hero he has had an effect on how we say the country as a whole never mind just on the fleet's of his own day which is really truly staggering he isn't very many ways an entropy possessing little man he was short in stature he had 70 bits shot off him and there wasn't much left by the time of Trafalgar to get killed and yet this sort of domination he had over the willpower the thoughts even the prayers of his countrymen is a dramatic he had the magic ability to make his men not only respect him and actually to love him and that concepts has spread to the country as a whole and remains of now firmly embodied in British history [Music] Horatio Nelson was born in 1758 in Burnham Thorpe a small village on England's East Coast the son of the local rector he was brought up with his seven brothers and sisters amidst the modest respectability of a church family [Music] the young Nelsons who made it clear that he had no wish to follow his father's vocation he wanted to go to see his uncle Morris suckling was a famous captain in the Royal Navy and when Nelson was 12 he persuaded his father to write to him for help suckling replied what his poor Horatio done there was so weak that he should be sent to rough it out at sea well let him come and the first time we go into action a cannonball may knock of his head and provide for him at once [Music] his uncle agreed to take him on board his own ship anchored at Chatham docks near London Horatio is to be one of the captain's servants he was overjoyed though life afloat could be a grim experience months sometimes years in a damp dark ship living off rotten food and soiled water [Music] there were volunteers but more often than not the crews were made up of convicts or men abducted by the infamous press gangs [Music] the Navy played the vital role in maintaining and expanding British power overseas throughout the 18th century Britain was continually at war usually with France and Britain had been fighting on and off for hundreds of years for many reasons initially because of their kings rival claims then by the 18th century the European maritime nations were expanding into the world and they were fighting over trade which meant trade settlements abroad and that was this start of the empires so there was the beginnings then of the race for Empire and and we then naturally clashed with there was maritime nations and fought them one after the other Nelson gained experience onboard warships and in the Merchant Navy sailing throughout the world his natural skills and courage as well as his uncle's influence accelerated his career by the age of 20 he had already become a royal naval captain he had to keep the ship afloat and the crew aboard men would desert by any means that could do could feign by stealing boats sometimes even swimming ashore occasionally although not everyone could swim in those days that the captain has clearly had a very big problem here and many captains were very reluctant to let them in ever go ashore at all the seaman had no absolute right to any kind of shore leave he was only given us at the discretion of the captain some captains wouldn't allow any at all some captains were much more generous and they realized that if he did a lousy shot that some shore leave he could build up some kind of trust with them in and have them come back again in 1782 Prince William later King William the fourth met the young captain captain Nelson appeared to be the merest boy of a captain I ever beheld his Lancome powdered hair was tied in a stiff Hessian tale of an extraordinary length there was something irresistible pleasing in his address and conversation and an enthusiasm when speaking on professional subjects that showed he was no common being Nelson was mostly stationed in the West Indies until in 1787 Britain entered a period of peace the Navy was reduced by nine-tenths and Nelson was among those laid off for five frustrating years he was stranded at home and Burnham Thorpe wondering if his career was over war with France broke out again in 1793 and Nelson aged 34 was recalled this time to serve in the Mediterranean with her Spanish allies France continued to challenge Britain for supremacy in Western Europe in 1797 off Cape San Vincente on the western tip of Portugal the British force - which Nelson was attached unexpectedly ran into the Spanish fleet Nelson seized the initiative leading an assault on the enemy and managed to board not one but two of their ships a chance encounter had led to an exploit that was celebrated all over Britain I think every great commander must have luck without luck you know we're but the greatest of commanders are the ones that make their own luck by careful preparation and that is what Nelson did he was able to create situations where he could seize the initiative his great ability was knowing when to seize the initiative but he paid a heavy personal price for such valor by the end of 1797 he had lost his right arm in battle and badly damaged the sight in his right eye the 39 year old Nelson returned to Britain a half blind crippled opium sedated wreck he did not expect to return to see a left-handed admiral will never again be considered as useful his injuries were well cared for by his devoted wife Fanny and remarkably within a few months he was back on board ship in August 1798 he led an assault on the French fleet at anchor of the coast of Egypt the capture of one or two enemy ships had previously been considered a fine success Nelson captured 10 and was dubbed the hero of the Nile he enjoyed the public adulation man when the Sultan of Turkey presented him with a diamond spray mounted with a clockwork rotating star he wore it in his hat like a trophy his officers were much amused he looked more like a prince of the Opera than a conqueror of the Nile but his popularity was undiminished by his vanity one admirer was Sir William Hamilton the British ambassador to Naples where Nelson had his Mediterranean base Hamilton's wife Emma became his very public mistress they toured England and they got tremendous receptions in the Midlands in Wales West Country and normos crowds and he was a very much a popular hero but when they called at Blenheim Palace where the do Kimura was at the time they weren't received there they were they were they as one did in those days they went up to the front door and the butler came out and they announced who they were and those from them being at the height of his fame they assumed they would be given a splendid reception with the butler went in to see the Duke and came out and said that if they'd like to go in that carriage to a particular part of the park where there was a fine view of the lake they would send out some cold food to them a frightful snob and Nelson was so angry that he just um he simply drove away he wasn't gonna take that that he had another side and that was a ruthless streak never better sharing than in the very callous way that he treated his wife one can make all sorts of excuses one can point to the fact that it was a marriage of convenience that it was a marriage of his steam rather than of love and lust and that he had found in Emma Hamilton a woman that perfectly matched him in in every way and inspired him but even when those allowances are made the way that he treated poor Fanny Nelson was really very cruel one has to take that as part of the rich tapestry that makes up the man no one is in pub he's perfectly pure and wonderful and one of the great problems of the Victorian portrayal of Nelson was that they tried to twist this very human flawed man into this impossible hero one of the great things about modern scholarship is that we're learning that one doesn't have to be imperfect in order to be great and the great men inevitably have great weaknesses by now vice-admiral in 1801 he enhanced his reputation further with a resounding defeat of the Danish fleet at Copenhagen [Music] the sheer determination of Nelson I feel is well illustrated by the case of the Battle of Copenhagen when as a subordinate Admiral and hide Parker he was engaged with the Danish fleet when his Admiral had the signal of recall who he was too worried was hi Parker about the political implications of this particular operation and of course Nelson clapped his telescope to his blind eye and he was the immortal phrase I see no signal and continued to fight and indeed to win the battle that story I think shows that sheer determination of the man despite his successes the bitter enmity between France and Britain continued the French Emperor Napoleon increasingly successful on the continent now planned to invade Britain I think the English were very afraid of Napoleon classic case the nurses used to use bony as he was called as a means of frightening young children into being quiet or obedient that's always a good sign or bad sign and certainly they took his invasion threats very seriously so seriously in fact that in 1801 when the first major threat came they appointed Nelson to be in command of the ships and the channel generally known that I think in between all these great victories he was actually in command in the channel for some months of the small forces that were there on a daily basis watching Napoleon's growing invasion forces and it was the name of Nelson and this is why it was done it was the name of Nelson becalmed the fears in 1801 it was mainly a public relations appointment because people felt safe when he was there in fact he didn't have much to do and what he did the what he did generally failed he attempted a commando raid on the French invasion fleet at Berlin and it was a disaster but he by that time he was he was so famous and so loved that it was overlooked in 1803 Nelson was put in charge of the Mediterranean fleet he stationed himself on board the ship victory [Music] [Music] with 100 guns and a crew of over 800 captained by Thomas Hardy it was one of the finest ships in the Navy [Music] Nelson's task was to blockade enemy ports or destroy their ships his main target was the French fleet at anchor at the southern French port of Toulon for over a year and a half he patrolled the western Mediterranean hoping that the French would come out and fight but the French ships had no interest in confrontation they were waiting for orders to sail to the English Channel to assist the invasion of Britain Napoleon decided the moment had arrived in January 1805 viel nerve has ordered set sail avoided nelson and headed across the atlantic nelson distraught at his enemy's escape set chase as intended Ville Nev then headed back to Europe but the British still had too many ships guarding the English Channel and the French admiral returned against Napoleon's orders to Spain as for Nelson he sailed back exhausted at Gibraltar on his way back to Britain he sailed into harbour for the first time in two years he wondered if he would ever get the chance to fight and destroy his enemy in fact it was only a matter of weeks before that chance arrived and the future of Europe was decided in battle [Music] Trafalgar is undoubtedly the most famous and significant naval battle in British history it established a superiority at sea which over the next century was to play an essential part in the expansion of the British Empire a famous saying by historian runs about that line of battered ships upon which the Grand Army never cast its eyes which stood between Napoleon and the conquest of the world a little bit perhaps exaggerated in sentiment but nevertheless pointing to a basic truth Napoleon master war on land but he could never master it at sea he could not understand the limitations which Admirals faced by way of tides winds and baran directions and so forth he never fully appreciated this on the other hand his opponents such as Nelson were aware of all the subtleties of Ward C and what could be achieved there by the french admiral vill Neve had taken his feet south to join the Spanish fleet at Cadiz it was this combined franco-spanish force that Nelson was determined to annihilate [Music] [Music] after a short break in England Nelson in September 1805 rejoined his ships at sea stationed outside Cadiz he ordered that no signals be made to announce his arrival he did not want to scare the enemy into staying in port any longer than they intended then he withdrew virtually all his ships over the horizon out of sight some of the 17,000 British sailors were in poor shape having been at sea for months even years eating preserved food and drinking stagnant water daily Nelson worked in his cabin organizing fresh supplies we have been brought trousers for the use of the fleet under my command but instead of that being made of good Russian duck those sentiments tough and the price increased the issuing of such coarse stuff to the people will no doubt occasional murmur and discontent and may have serious consequences the contractor who furnished this stuff ought to be hanged though believing himself outnumbered he sent six of his 33 battleships to Tangier and Gibraltar to acquire rations healthy crews were fighting crews many of the ships have scurvy in them but onions and lemons I hope will eradicate that complaint and a site of the French at sea will cure all our complaints Nelson had to fight a very brave that it tough enemy at both the French and the Spanish were very good fighters both the French and the Spanish often build better ships and we did better materials better design and this was recognized at the time the difference was that once we achieved superiority at sea we blockaded them in their ports and Nelson and the British fleet was at sea and getting toughened being exercised trained rehearsing gun drill again and again and while the enemy was sitting in Port not getting experience unable to exercise their big guns and so when they met at sea we were far our ships were far and their ships companies were far better trained and they the rate of fire of gunfire between the two was remarkable I mean it has been said that our the British rate of far at sea was up to ten times that of the enemy it may not have been quite bad but it was certainly several times several times that the rate of the French and Spanish ships and that could be decisive Nelson understood the role that technology played a skilled commander will always take advantage of new developments one that the British had was the flintlock trigger which allowed for instant firing thus greater accuracy than the slow fuses used by enemy fleets Nelson's victories were the result of the most intensive and meticulous and careful preparation of his subordinates of his captains and through his captains all his Prue's down to the lowliest seaman before his battles and that is the clue to understanding that Nelson like so many great commanders perhaps like all great commanders understood war he understood its chaos its uncertainties and he understood that therefore once battle was joined it was too late for him to give detailed instructions it was too late for him to alter the direction he had given to his captains and that they must be clearly understanding what was required of them before the battle began I think it was quite right to say that the battle oh it actually was one before that the first gun was fired and the key to it was partly morale but much more than that is that at that time and before his other battles he had taken his captains not only into his confidence but he had briefed them so thoroughly that once action was joined he need give no more orders they knew exactly what to do [Music] traditionally opposing fleets lined up in parallel and fired at one another until one side was forced to surrender Nelson however decided to split his fleet into two columns which were to stare directly at the enemy line the leading French and Spanish ships would be cut off from the action and would take time to turn around thus with almost a third of their ships isolated Nelson's opponents would lose their numerical advantage but as the ships could only fire to the sides the risk was that while the two columns sailed directly towards the enemy they would be totally exposed it was a characteristically bold plan and his captains approved when I came to explain to them to Nelson touch it was like an electric shock some shed tears all approved it was new it was magic it was simple in any fighting force initiative is a very important quality it's something that no fighting force can do without there has to be a trust between the senior officers and the junior officers and that is quintessentially what Nelson achieved that is the lesson above all that he taught as a junior officer himself he claimed the right to question if that was necessary as a senior officer he embodied in his whole method in all his plans the idea that he would discuss his plans openly and freely with his junior officers around the dinner table onboard the victory those famous dinner parties before every battle that he would open his mind freely to them so that they understood him instinctively and he understood them and then in the heat of battle he would trust them they knew that he trusted them to do what was right they didn't let him down Nelson was still hoping that the enemy would sail out of port this time he was in luck an angry Napoleon told will nerve that the invasion of Britain had been abandoned and that he was to sail immediately to the Mediterranean by the evening of the 20th of October all 33 French and Spanish battleships had left Cadiz and were heading south as darkness fell the British fleet with all lights extinguished were already stalking their prey but by dawn the next day Nelson steering southeast to block ville nerves path into the Mediterranean realized that he was too far ahead he turned his ships around then spying the enemy fleet he turned southwards again keeping his ships just out of sight at a distance of only 10 miles but in position to attack at ten past six on the morning of the 21st of October 1805 Nelson signaled to the fleet to form their two columns and sail towards the enemy here at last was the moment he had been waiting for view nerve had escaped once before but he would not escape again no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship along that of an enemy and engages it in one-on-one combat at a TM Vil nerve suddenly decided to turn his 33 ships back to Cadiz the result was confusion just off cape trafalgar they stretched out in a ragged crescent shape but the franco-spanish fleet still had the advantage of six more ships than 500 and more guns the winds were so light that the fleet's crawled along it would be some hours before the first shot was fired [Music] Nelson now devoted his time to gearing his men up for battle with captain Hardy he walked through the ship offering encouragement to all Lord Nelson went round the decks and said my noble lads this will be a glorious day for England whoever lives to see it he made himself loved he did that by relating to the men under under his command as fellow human beings for example he insisted that the compensation which would be paid by the Admiralty to the families of men who were drowned at sea was exactly the same as that paid to the families the men killed in action which hadn't been the case before personally he could talk about himself with sailors as an equal after Copenhagen he went into the hospital at Great Yarmouth and saw a sailor who'd lost his right arm and he joked with him and pointing to his own the stump of his own right arm he said well Jack you and I are spoiled as fishermen so and and that kind of story got around and it was known that he could joke the people he could laughed himself a bit he could be very stern and ruthless too but there was a very human element there which there hadn't been in the other other other other ironic figures of the time Nelson could be as harsh as any other captain but he brought enormous confidence to his sailors they trusted him as a commander who led rather than simply sent his men into battle there's three ways of motivating human behaviour as I can see it one is punishment and that divide in my brother is not leadership at all when people do things merely out of fear that means they don't do them second is reward this is what people like Alex Amelie is it the chilly autumn metals and beauty and so for those who did well the third is by modeling you create an impression and image and other people like you so much they want to act like you do and Nelson use the last two not the first Nelson ordered the drums to start playing while the men readied themselves clearing decks laying sand to soak up any blood stirring furniture and animals priming weapons the men were variously occupied some were sharpening the cutlasses others polishing their guns as though an inspection were about to take place instead of our mortal combat whilst three or four as if you mere bravado were dancing his own ship prepared Nelson now sent a personal and unprecedented message of encouragement to the rest of the fleet England expects that every man will do his duty as it was relayed great cheers spread from ship to ship he followed it with the signal engaged the enemy more closely he uses very rare signals in the battle as a means of putting a new edge upon his men's metals there is simple straightforward signals but they were psychological more than tactical in their importance because every sailor on that fleet knew what they nelson represented he was the greatest sailor of his day they were proud to be in his fleet they were going to do their absolutely utmost to fight their particular ship or that particular gun to the very at the most and to win that individual engagements [Music] the two columns edge towards the enemy the victory leading one of them someone suggested that Nelson should transfer to a less dangerous ship behind but he refused replying that his position was at the front I've know of no no case in Nelson's life when he was not praised and I think he was just one of the one of those brave men and he was always concerned concerned about his men and he was going to lead lead them from the front and set an example and he knew they were looking to him and therefore that was a great spurt to do that bit more and he was therefore known as the man who who the officer who led from the front and he could be seen when he was ashore and that was if this this Admiral who'd lost an arm in action I think Nelson's courage is twofold he had physical courage he undoubtedly had physical courage and not necessarily the unthinking type although it is well attested well witnessed that he became exhilarated in battle that the adrenaline flowed and that he maybe a few days before having just been thoroughly seasick ill would be transformed into a kind of steely fighting machine and actually almost physically enjoy the danger so there's that part of his courage the other most important part which is not given to so many is that he had moral courage he had the courage of his own convictions he had the courage to disobey orders when he believed he was right he had the courage to take on vested interests in the West Indies when he believed he had the right of law behind him now it's the combination of moral with physical courage which makes him special he did things that in a lesser man would have been very risky indeed but he knew exactly when to take the risk it wasn't a case of recklessness they were very carefully calculated risks but they were always successful in Nelson's case if he'd been unsuccessful it'd have been total disaster for the British Navy at noon long-range firing began at 12:15 the first shots carried towards victory almost immediately Nelson's secretary standing with him on deck was struck down and killed but victory could not respond for another 15 minutes and suffered terrible damage [Music] at 12:30 both British columns finally engaged [Music] the victory sailed between Ville Neves flagship Vasanta and the ship ready tab everywhere as individual ships attacked the nearest enemy they could find cannon shot ripped into sales wood and flesh in naval warfare there was nowhere to hide from the carnage we were engaging on both sides every gun was going off a man should witness a battle in a three-decker from the middle deck free beckus all description it bewilders the senses of sight and hearing there was the fire from above besides the fire from the deck I was upon the gums recoiling with violence reports louder than thunder the decks heaving and the sides straining I fancied myself in the infernal regions where every man appeared a devil the cries of the wound had rang through all parts of the ship two of the boys stationed on the quarterdeck were killed a man who saw one of them killed afterwards told me that he's powered a quart fire and burned the flesh almost of his face our men kept cheering with all their might had shared with him or confess are scarce in er4 world the brave bosun was fastening a stopper on a back stay when his head was smashed to pieces by a cannonball a 1250 ax the victory was so close to the friendship ready table that their sales were interlocked in the confusion of battle Nelson stood out clearly from the men on the deck having insisted on wearing his distinctive uniform he was an obvious target for the French sharpshooters the captain of the French battleship was one of the few to have used his time and cadiz wisely his snipers were now highly trained the swell of the sea and the British defense hampered their efforts but at 1:15 a musket ball hit Nelson in the shoulder passing through a lung and lodging in his spine he was rushed below as the French prepared to board the victory at that moment another British ship the temeraire crashed into the ready table and unleashed a volley of shot which killed most of the French Marines and sailors poised to leap unto the Victory's deck the battle was now a series of do's that raged on between individual ships of the original 33 enemy ships 23 were either captured or destroyed by evening the British had suffered 449 fatalities but four and a half thousand Spanish and Frenchmen had been killed and 20,000 taken prisoner among them was veal nerve despite the scale of the success few in the British fleet felt like celebrating Nelson aged 47 had died at 4:30 that afternoon [Music] you [Music] it confirmed England absolutely as the leading sea power of the world fastened her eyes on the distant horizons rather than on Europe and so in many ways was responsible for that long period of empire that followed where Britain really almost abandoned Europe and looked to its empire beyond the seas Trafalgar had been a remarkable victory but back in Britain the relief enjoyed having beaten the French and Spanish was overshadowed by deep public mourning for Nelson in January he was given a hero's funeral and entombed in st. Paul's Cathedral in London [Music] his death at the moment of his greatest triumph secured his place as a national hero and every year on the 21st of October on British ships and naval bases throughout the world a ceremony is held in honor of Nelson's immortal memory the fact I think - of dying for his country at the moment of victory has a particular appeal to it certainly for the English in any case and that is another big factor in the reasons why his appeal comes down but perhaps the most important of them all is this way in which he could control he could inspire he could have have all lead very disparate kinds of people and make them all feel proud to be members of a team which was headed by I find Nelson a remarkably a modern man I can even I can even imagine him on a on a television talk show he he left so much of himself behind in marvellous letters which were kept because he was famous in his own lifetime and they were kept as souvenirs of his life he was somebody we could we can all identify with in some way he was Superman and every man he was a hero with human weaknesses and that even though very would none of us really can identify with the extraordinary actions of his we can identify anyway with some of his weaknesses he was I think he was our first real national hero our first pop figure if you like before Nelson the the Admirals and and what were thought of as he great national heroes were unknown to the mass of the people but Nelson was known to them through not only through the news of the day but bad caricatures which often laughed at him but in an affectionate way so he was a real pop idol if you like of his time I think there are really three qualities that make for good commanders the first is the ability to plan plan in detail planned to such an extent that every eventualities taken care of the problem with that type if that's all the qualities you have is you turn into somebody rather fussy rather like the First World War generals then there's a kind of commander that has that instinctive grasp that charisma that Flair such as Lawrence of Arabia the problem with that kind of commander is that they're very erratic and then there's the third and very rare type of commander which I would call the great commander which is who is able to combine both those and that's precisely the key in my opinion - Nelson's quality he had the ability to plan to the utmost degree he was able to talk to his captains and prepare for every eventuality so that whatever situation the fleet was found in they knew exactly what to do that is detailed planning but he also had that charisma that initiative and also that moral courage that enabled him in the heat of battle to tear up plans and go hell for leather for the opportunity that offered itself it's a very rare combination but Nelson certainly had it by destroying enemy fleets he secured for Britain a century of naval domination that allowed its empire to expand throughout the world idolized in his lifetime for his personality and his achievements he is still remembered 200 years after his death as a great commander [Music] Oh [Music]

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Length: 45min 1sec (2701 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 12 2018