Battle of Trafalgar Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies, during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1796–1815). Twenty-seven British ships of the line led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships of the line under French Admiral Villeneuve. The battle took place in the Atlantic Ocean off the southwest coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar, near the town of Los Caños de Meca. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands Despite the failure of the Japanese ground offensive and the loss of "Yura", the rest of the Combined Fleet continued to maneuver near the southern Solomon Islands on 25 October with the hope of encountering Allied naval forces in battle. The Japanese naval forces now comprised four carriers, because had suffered an accidental, damaging fire in her engine room on 22 October that forced her to return to Truk for repairs. The Japanese naval forces were divided into three groups: The "Advanced" force consisted of the carrier , plus two battleships, four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and 10 destroyers,