Q 01/05

Cape Trafalgar, which gave the 1805 battle its name, lies just outside the entrance to which strait?

A) Strait of Dover

B) Strait of Messina

C) Strait of Gibraltar

D) Strait of Bonifacio

Answer · why

C) Strait of Gibraltar

Strait of Gibraltar: the Franco-Spanish fleet was making for it, under orders to carry troops into the Mediterranean, when Nelson brought it to battle...

Q 02/05

By the time of Trafalgar, Nelson had already lost which limb in battle?

A) His left leg

B) His right arm

C) His left arm

D) His right leg

Answer · why

B) His right arm

His right arm, shattered by a musket ball at Tenerife in 1797 and amputated that night. Within half an hour he was issuing orders to his captains agai...

Q 03/05

Napoleon's invasion army, camped on the Channel coast, marched east in 1805 under which famous name?

A) La Vieille Garde

B) L'Armée d'Italie

C) La Grande Armée

D) L'Armée d'Orient

Answer · why

C) La Grande Armée

La Grande Armée had trained for two years to invade England. By the day of Trafalgar it was deep in Germany, where an Austrian army had surrendered to...

Q 04/05

Who commanded the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar?

A) Honoré-Joseph Ganteaume

B) Édouard de Missiessy

C) François-Étienne Rosily

D) Pierre-Charles Villeneuve

Answer · why

D) Pierre-Charles Villeneuve

Pierre-Charles Villeneuve had already wrecked Napoleon's invasion plan that summer: ordered north to the Channel, he turned south instead and took ref...

Q 05/05

From which port did the combined fleet put to sea before the Battle of Trafalgar?

A) Ferrol

B) Cartagena

C) Málaga

D) Cádiz

Answer · why

D) Cádiz

Cádiz became a trap: the survivors who struggled back in were blockaded there until 1808, when Spain changed sides and seized the French ships.