ninme

But it too got results.

Telegraph - We can’t afford to forget Trafalgar By John Keegan

Trafalgar was not only almost the last great battle fought by sailing ship fleets. It was also by far the most decisive. French and Spanish ships outnumbered the British 33-27. Nevertheless, 17 of the enemy were captured, striking their colours to bring the terrible slaughter inflicted by the British gunners to an end. Twelve of the captured ships foundered or ran ashore in the great gale that sprang up as soon as the battle ended. One French ship blew up during the battle. Four survived as British prizes. Only 16 survived to sail again under French or Spanish colours. By contrast, no British ship was lost, either to the enemy or the weather…

Nelson’s victory was not accidental, but carefully planned. Trafalgar was not only a great victory but also a revolutionary battle, in which Nelson cut the enemy off from escape by sailing his fleet between the enemy lines and the door of flight downwind. The enemy was trapped and forced to fight until battered into submission.

All that bellicosity, and yet somehow the world survived.

We forget today that Britain still depends for its livelihood and, indeed, its day-to-day survival, on the sea. But the Royal Navy is now pitifully small and has been reduced in size by the current Government, seeking economies to finance its social programmes. Fine while there is no threat to our security. But what use would schools and hospitals be if we could not protect our imports?

The Government, while reducing the fleet to its smallest size since the middle of the 18th century, is committed to building two large aircraft carriers. The plans for these ships have got no further than the paper stage. The two should be launched by 2012. Until they appear, our shores are defended by the veterans of the Falklands and with fewer naval aircraft than we flew then. The cost of the carrier programmes is £5 billion for the hulls alone, twice that for their weapons and aircraft. Should financial difficulty afflict the nation in the next seven years, it is only too easy to guess where the Treasury’s axe will fall. Gordon Brown shows no enthusiasm for defence expenditure.

Charity begins at home. This week’s events at Portsmouth should remind the British people that our future and our survival as a nation do not depend upon winning the approval of moribund pop stars and unthinking television producers but on our ability, with the assistance of our allies, to defend ourselves.

In 1805, the British depended on nobody but themselves. We cannot return to those days. The Americans, however, are unlikely to go on providing us with a naval umbrella if we make no effort to join the effort of common defence. Nelson is still a hero to American sailors. Let us pray the day does not come when his name is forgotten by our transatlantic allies. England should expect that New Labour remembers its duty.