บท 205: Chapter 206 The war against Britain continues to fail
However, in the previous war in the Netherlands, the French army had clearly inflicted enough pain on the British to make them hesitant to deploy their army against the French again. This time, although the British would not directly send troops, they were still very active in financially supporting the organization of the anti-French coalition and had deployed a naval fleet in the Baltic Sea.
Austria was thoroughly provoked into joining the alliance after Napoleon occupied the ancient region of Lombardy, crowned himself King of Italy in Milan Cathedral in May, and annexed the Ligurian Republic on June 4th.
On the other hand, after identifying Britain as the main culprit behind the anti-French coalition, Napoleon was constantly thinking of ways to eliminate this formidable enemy. He was an extremely ambitious man who always wanted to conquer Europe and even the entire world. However, reality kept him far from his goal.
He blamed the British for this. If it weren't for their interference, he would have already achieved his long-desired control over the German regions. The loose German Confederation and the Austrians alone wouldn't have been able to stop him. But the British had thwarted him by deploying a large number of troops to the west of France, preventing Napoleon from fully focusing his efforts on the east.
The other nations weren't fools either. Instigated by the British, they temporarily set aside their differences and formed an alliance to counterbalance France, much to Napoleon's fury.
Determined to defeat Britain and trample the proud Anglo-Saxons underfoot, Napoleon began devising various plans for crossing the Channel and defeating the British navy. However, each attempt was abandoned for various reasons.
Napoleon's first plan to invade Britain might have been his best: Admiral Villeneuve was to lead a fleet of ten ships from Toulon to the Atlantic, rendezvous with the Spanish fleet, and then proceed to Boulogne. The plan was to attack the British while they were preoccupied with the American rebellion. However, the death of Admiral Latouche on August 14, 1804, before the plan could be executed, caused it to be abandoned.
Napoleon could only console himself by saying, "Changes are inevitable in any major event."
But since then, it seemed that the goddess of fortune had not favored Napoleon. His subsequent plans grew increasingly disastrous. To Roland, Napoleon's battle plans were nothing short of a mess.
Perhaps Napoleon forgot the law of the shortest distance between two points. He chose the long route instead and considered many factors in his military operations that he shouldn't have. What's worse, on September 29th, when he announced the second plan, he appointed Villeneuve to replace Latouche. Villeneuve was undoubtedly a complete incompetent, but he was very good at flattery, which earned him Napoleon's favor and led to his appointment. It must be said that sometimes the power of flattery is indeed formidable, even for someone like Napoleon, who is a great man, could not avoid it. Even though Villeneuve made such a huge mistake in the Battle of Dunkirk, he was still reinstated by Napoleon, solely due to his smooth talk. It seems that everyone still likes to be flattered, even a great man like Napoleon.
However, after Villeneuve took on the responsibility again, his inadequacies soon became apparent. Relying on Napoleon's favoritism, he began to meddle in the operational plans. Consequently, the second plan also embarked on the road to failure.
On October 12th, following Napoleon's orders, Villeneuve set sail from Toulon to Cadiz to take command of the Spanish fleet there. He then headed to South America and Suriname, landing a force of 5,600 troops, before continuing to Martinique to meet up with a small fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Missiessy from France. Along the way, he was to attack some British islands and land additional troops. Meanwhile, another small fleet would set sail from Toulon towards the African coast to destroy British trade ports there, with the ultimate goal of capturing the tropical island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic.
This was the strategy devised by Napoleon and Villeneuve. Napoleon ordered the French navy to attack British territories everywhere, thereby threatening the British.
"This is a perfect tactic. The British will find themselves under attack in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Our navy's frequent assaults on their global trade routes will leave them vulnerable and unable to defend themselves. This will make the British panic, perhaps even scare them into wetting their pants," said Napoleon boldly as he watched the departing French navy.
This was undoubtedly a bold plan, intending to land 190,000 troops on both sides of the Atlantic. This would undoubtedly bring unforeseen disasters to the people of those regions.
And somehow, Villeneuve managed to completely gain Napoleon's trust, even convincing him to let the talented Trewloow stay.
Napoleon, blinded by optimism, held high hopes for success. However, the unforeseen happened once again: on October 8th, Napoleon received reports that the British had intercepted his entire plan. Consequently, the entire operation had to be declared null and void.
As the new year arrived, the massive naval fleet under Villeneuve's command remained hesitantly anchored at Toulon harbor. He expressed opposition to Napoleon's entire venture and candidly informed Decrès that he no longer wished to remain in such a perilous command position. However, due to events in October 1804 when three Spanish merchant ships were intercepted by Admiral Cornwallis's British fleet, with one ship sunk, Spain declared war on Britain on December 12, 1804. During these two months, Napoleon felt immense pressure. Consequently, on January 4th, 1805, Talleyrand and the Spanish envoy in Paris, Don Federico Gravina, signed a Franco-Spanish defense pact. Spain sent envoys to Paris, promising to "employ all its enthusiasm" to support its new ally, France, a promise they fulfilled. From then on, the Spanish fleet joined France wholeheartedly in the war against Britain.
On January 16th, Napoleon revised the entire operational plan: the fleet under Missiessy's command sailed to the Caribbean, while Villeneuve's Toulon fleet transported troops to reinforce the landing in Martinique. Additionally, fleets from Brest, Rochefort, and El Ferrol, Spain, were dispatched to reinforce. Their objective was to retaliate against British colonies and then return to Europe or the Canary Islands according to orders from Bruix.
On January 18th, Villeneuve finally set sail from Toulon with a fleet consisting of 10 transport ships and 7 fast-sailing battleships, carrying over 6,000 troops. However, three days later, his fleet returned to Toulon, having been battered by a storm at sea and fearing fierce interception by the British, he saw no alternative but to retreat.
Thus, Napoleon was forced to once again abandon the plan of January 16th and replace it with a new plan dated March 2nd.
Multiple failures also wore down Napoleon's patience, and at this moment, although Villeneuve remained commander of the Toulon fleet, he was demoted to deputy commander, with his old friend Ganteaume replacing him as commander-in-chief.
Subsequently, Napoleon ordered Villeneuve to lead his fleet to Martinique, while Ganteaume commanded a larger fleet from Brest to El Ferrol, where they would rendezvous with the combined French and Spanish fleets. However, the ultimate objectives of the fleets remained the same.
On March 22nd, just as Villeneuve was preparing to set sail eight days later, the unpredictable Napoleon overturned his own fifth plan, formulated only twenty days earlier: Villeneuve would no longer sail to Martinique but would instead head directly to Ireland and then return to Bruix, with Ganteaume going to Martinique and then returning to escort Bruix's fleet.
However, this sixth revised plan was modified again on April 13th: Napoleon decided that Villeneuve would not only go to Martinique but would also, after joining forces with Missiessy's and Ganteaume's fleets, assume overall command as the supreme commander.
Imagine the confusion that such constant changes could cause in an era when naval communication relied entirely on fast-sailing ships. Orders often failed to arrive on time, and even the best naval commanders felt uncertain about Paris's instructions. For instance, Missiessy only received the third set of orders and on March 28th was sailing from Martinique to La Rochelle in France as instructed. Two days later, Napoleon's fifth set of orders arrived, commanding him to stay in Martinique and await the rendezvous, but by then, Martinique's harbor was empty. On the same day, Villeneuve departed for the West Indies.
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