Britain marks Battle of Trafalgar anniversary - 200th

AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/28/05 | Thomas Wagner - AP

[NormsRevenge]

PORTSMOUTH, England - Seventeen tall ships from five countries held a mock sea battle Tuesday off England's coast to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, Adm. Horatio Nelson's stunning victory at sea that gave Britain naval supremacy for a century.

To avoid appearing to gloat over the famous victory over Napoleon Bonaparte's warships from France and Spain, the organizers didn't have the historic tall ships carry out a precise re-enactment of the battle with a victor and a loser. Instead, they opted for a battle pitting an unidentified red navy against an unnamed blue one.

As tens of thousands of spectators watched from shore near Portsmouth harbor, the ships, including a replica 18th-century frigate portraying HMS Victory — the flagship that Nelson commanded — exploded gunpowder and used state-of-the-art pyrotechnics to simulate the clash.

The rout at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 contributed to Napoleon's eventual downfall and allowed Britain to dominate the oceans.

Earlier Tuesday, nearly 170 ships, including two modern aircraft carriers, from many different countries crowded the waters off Portsmouth on the south coast of England to commemorate Nelson's stunning victory.

In her role as Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II reviewed the fleet from aboard the icebreaker HMS Endurance, along with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

In a written message, the queen said the presence of such a large international fleet showed how highly other nations regarded Nelson, who is one of Britain's greatest military heroes.

"Admiral Lord Nelson's supreme qualities of seamanship, leadership with humanity and courage in the face of danger are shared among our maritime community today. He could wish for no greater legacy," the monarch said.

The fleet included 109 British vessels and 58 ships from 35 other countries, including Britain's Invincible and France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carriers and America's amphibious assault ship the USS Saipan.

In a grand finale after the re-enactment, 10,000 fireworks were fired from 35 pontoons and six barges in the waterway, and all the ships in the fleet illuminated with lights.

"I'm amazed to see that so many countries sent ships to help us celebrate the victory," said Dave Pullen, 30, a garbage collector from a nearby town who took the day off work to see the celebration with his wife and 11-month-old daughter.

"Given all the fighting going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's nice to see so many warships from so many countries that don't intend to destroy one another," he said. "It's a great sign of good will and peace."

During the famous battle, a bullet entered Nelson's shoulder, pierced his lung and came to rest at the base of his spine. But he didn't die until after the battle ended with a British victory, during which the Franco-Spanish alliance lost 22 ships and the British none.

France and Britain have long forged an alliance since the Battle of Trafalgar, but the British-French rivalry remains strong, as shown by their latest public feud over the European Union budget. The anniversary organizers worked hard to avoid touching it off.

That irritated Anna Tribe, 75, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Nelson and his famous lover, Emma Hamilton, the wife of a British ambassador.

"I am sure the French and Spanish are adult enough to appreciate we did win that battle. I am anti-political correctness. Very much against it. It makes fools of us," she said.

However, Britain's most senior naval officer defended the event.

"I thought in the summer, when it's good weather, we would have a large fleet review and get a lot of nations in, because that is the way we are employed around the world now, fighting terrorism, working with our close allies," First Sea Lord Adm. Sir Alan West told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"Nelson would have approved of that, to get the maritime back in the public eye."

French Vice Adm. Jacques Mazars, who is in charge of five vessels that are taking part, said the point of such a ceremony isn't to put British forces on one side, and French and Spanish ones on the other, or to rekindle a rivalry, but to have the strong allies today celebrate a moment in history when both camps showed bravery.

The mock battle kicked off a season of festivities in Britain marking the bicentennial of the Battle of Trafalgar, which took place Oct. 21, 1805, off Cape Trafalgar, a low headland in southwest Spain.

Nelson won a series of stunning naval successes against France and Spain that culminated in Trafalgar, during which he shattered the combined enemy fleet by taking it head-on. The victory arguably ended any hope of an invasion of Britain by Napoleon, enabling the British empire to grow. Napoleon's final defeat came on land at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

___

On the Net:

Royal Navy Trafalgar bicentenary Web site: http://www.trafalgar200.com/

[NormsRevenge]

HMS Endurance, bottom right, carrying Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, passes Tuesday June 28, 2005, through the vessels assembled off Portsmouth, England, during the Review of the Fleet. As well as warships from navies around the world, the gathered vessels include tall ships, lifeboats, cruise liners and representatives from all sectors of the maritime industry. The review marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, during which Adm. Horatio Nelson routed Napoleon Bonaparte's French and Spanish forces and ensured that Britain ruled the waves for more than a hundred years.(AP Photo/Chris Young/PA)

[NormsRevenge]

Traditional ships and naval vessels are anchored in the Solent off Portsmouth, Tuesday June 28, 2005, joining a massive gathering of the world's navies to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, during which Adm. Horatio Nelson routed Napoleon Bonaparte's French and Spanish forces. As well as warships, the gathered vessels include tall ships, lifeboats, cruise liners and representatives from all sectors of the maritime industry. Chris Young / PA.

[NormsRevenge]

Anna Tribe, Great Great Great Granddaughter and oldest living direct descendant of Lord Nelson, admires a portrait of Nelson in Portsmouth, England, Sunday June 26, 2005, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations. A flotilla of naval ships from 35 nations is gathering in the Solent off south England for the International Fleet Review ahead of Tuesday's 200th anniversary of the famous Battle of Trafalgar, which will take place in front of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on October 21, 1805, when Lord Nelson was killed aboard HMS Victory while commanding the British forces against the French.(AP Photo / Gareth Fuller, PA)

[NormsRevenge]

The HMS Victory, which was Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, is moored at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard in June 1994. Ships from across the world were gathering off the southern English coast as Britain prepared to host spectacular celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.(AFP/File/J. David Ake)

[Paleo Conservative]

So who won? The red team or the blue team?

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

To avoid appearing to gloat over the famous victory over Napoleon Bonaparte's warships from France and Spain, the organizers didn't have the historic tall ships carry out a precise re-enactment of the battle with a victor and a loser. Instead, they opted for a battle pitting an unidentified red navy against an unnamed blue one.

"Let's see, how can we celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Nelson's victory?"

"I know! Let's make him spin in his grave!"

[ZULU]

"To avoid appearing to gloat over the famous victory over Napoleon Bonaparte's warships from France and Spain, the organizers didn't have the historic tall ships carry out a precise re-enactment of the battle with a victor and a loser. Instead, they opted for a battle pitting an unidentified red navy against an unnamed blue one. "

What tripe!!
I agree with Nelson's great-great-whatever. Since 1066 the Frenchies have been the natural enemies of Britain. England should have joined the Kaiser to wipe them out in WW1. There would have been no WW2 and no Hitler and no Commies in eastern Europe.

[CondorFlight]

"Instead, they opted for a battle pitting an unidentified red navy against an unnamed blue one."

And do they intend telling everyone that it's only coincidence that the mock battle is taking place
on the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar?

How about removing the Union Jack and the Red Ensign
while they're at it
(oops! I guess they did that already. . .)

[Cheapskate]

hey now!!!talk like that can hurt feelings of the losers!

we can't have that now can we?

[Strategerist]

And do they intend telling everyone that it's only coincidence that the mock battle is taking place on the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar?

To be pedantic the anniversary is actually October 21.

[1066AD]

HMS Victory is a fine sight to see. It's amazing how small people were back then too.

Madame Tussaud's in London has (or maybe had) a mini re-enactment of the battle with smoke, sound effects etc.

Great stuff.

[91B]

Adm. Horatio Nelson, "You must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil himself" (at least according to the fictional Jack Aubrey).

Still words to live by.

[NormsRevenge]

Fireworks explode over tallships sailing in the Solent off the coast of Portsmouth, southern England, during events to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar June 28, 2005. Britain's Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday conducted the world's biggest naval review, off the southern English coast, to commemorate British naval hero Horatio Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar 200 years ago. REUTERS/Mike Finn-Kelcey

[David Hunter]

So who won? The red team or the blue team?

The team with the most French ships!