Britain and the French Wars

There were 120,000 men
There were 135 ships of the line and 133 smaller frigates
People could be rectruited instead of recieving a punishment
They had daily prctice and could fire guns every 90 seconds
Punishments were severe

14th February 1797
French and Spanish ships heavily outnumbered the British
The Spanish were arranged in two columns, the British were arranged in lines
Nelson refused to back down, which led to the capture of two Spanish ships

1 - 3rd August 1798
Aboukir Bay, Egypt
Napoleon threatened British trading interest
Nelson attacked in the late afternoon - caught them off guard
Manoeuvred around the shore and surrounded them
Britiain had 23 battleships, france had 13

2nd April 1801
Britain attacked Denmark to counter the LoAN
The Danish opened fire at 10 05am and Britain were in line by 11 30am
They fought until one side gave up
The main Danish ship caught fire
Most Danish ships had surrendered by 2pm
Britain captured 12 ships but only kept 1

1802
Britain and france stopped fighting for a year due to funding

21st October 1805
Napoleon was asserting control over Switzerland and wasn't expecting war
britain sunk Spanish ships and Spain sided with France
Fleets were well matched
The battle lasted for hours but Nelson died and the french ship blew up

Nelson was famed for bold thinking and taking risks - led to many wins
His leadership earned him the loyalty of his crew
Present at many key battles

40,000 members - all voulenteers
They weren't paid much but recieved food and water
In 1974, aroung 18,000 soldiers were killed
They were trained strictly and could join the Army instead of recieving a punishment

30th August 1808
Portugal signed over
The French army were allowed to evacuate without any further conflict

August 1808
Wellington's first battle
France made an indirect threat on Spain
Wellington used the reverse slope tactic
Junot's troops pulled back to Lisbon

16th January 1809
Took plaace in North West Spain
Britain were escaping by sea but the french attacked them
They managed to escaoe
French tactical victory but British strategic success

27 - 28th July 1809
French began landing attacks in the morning
Fighting continued into the night and to the second day
France withdrew
Anglo-Spanish victory but both sides lost around 7000 men

Constructed in secret in 1810
Fortifications built by Wellington as a strategy to defend Portugal
There were three sections going from the Lisbon peninsula to the Tagus river
Caused 20,000 soldiers to starve
Was considered a success

3 - 6th May 1811
The French army was led to Fuentes de Onoro to confront Wellington
French launched an assault on the village, but Britian were defensive
French launched an attack on the southern British flank and they retreate
Wellington reestablishedd a strong line and the French cavalry were repulsed
The French couldn't make any gains and retreated

26 - 27th March 1809
Siege
Britian were alble to secure key supply lines as the french struggled to reinforce key defences

16th March 1812
Even tougher siege than Ciudad
GB suffered heavu casualties
Looting and disorder followed
Victory opened the way to central Spain

22nd July 1812
Major turning point for the war
Wellington used his tactics to outmanoeuvre the French
It forced the French to retreat from central Spain

12th June 1813
Final blow to French control in Spain
Wellington crushed French forces and causedd a full retreat
Britian pursued them to the Pyrenees

18th June 1815
Began after heavy rain. 11 30 am
French attacked the allies. The cavalry were unsuccessful
The Prussian arrival helped the Britsh to win
"nearest run thing you ever saw in your life" - Wellington
25,000 French soldiers killed and wounded, allies lost 15,000

Demand sped up the spread of technology
Boosed income for farmers
More sophisticated banking system set up
Need to replace imports boosed the UK's production

Cost of the war was massive (rose from 6% to 22% if national income)
National debt rose from £292 million to £862 million
A sixth of the male workforce was in the army - less worked in the country
Wages stagnated while food prices increaed
Significant losses of merchant ships