Thus closed the first scene of the War of the Third Coalition.  Hasty preparations, rash plans, and, above all, Mack’s fatal ingenuity in reading his notions into facts—­these were the causes of a disaster which ruined the chances of the allies.  The Archduke Charles, who had been foiled by Massena’s stubborn defence, was at once recalled from Italy in order to cover Vienna; and, worst of all, the Court of Berlin now delayed drawing the sword.

Yet, even amidst the unstinted boons that she showered on Napoleon by land, Fortune rudely baffled him at sea.  When he was hurrying from Ulm towards the River Inn, to carry the war into Austria, he heard that the French navy had been shattered.  Trafalgar was fought the day after Mack’s army filed out of Ulm.  The greatest sea-fight of the century was the outcome of Napoleon’s desire that his ships should carry succour to his troops in Italy.  For this voyage the Emperor was about to substitute Admiral Rosily for Villeneuve:  and the unfortunate admiral, divining that resolve, sought by a bold stroke to retrieve his fortunes.  He put to sea, and Trafalgar was the result.  It would be superfluous to describe this last and most splendid of Nelson’s exploits; but a few words as to the bearing of this great victory on the events of that time may not be out of place.  It is certain that Villeneuve at Trafalgar fought under more favourable conditions than in the conflict of July 22nd.  He had landed his very numerous sick, his crews had been refreshed and reinforced, and, above all, the worst of the Spanish ships had been replaced by seaworthy and serviceable craft.  Yet out of the thirty-three sail of the line, he lost eighteen to an enemy that numbered only twenty-seven sail; and that fact alone absolves him from the charge of cowardice in declining to face Cornwallis and Calder in July with ships that were cumbered with sick and badly needed refitting.

Then again:  it is often stated that Trafalgar saved England from invasion.  To refute this error it is merely needful to remind the reader that all immediate fear of invasion was over, when, at the close of August, Napoleon wheeled the Grand Army against Austria.  Not until the Continent was conquered could the landing in Kent become practicable.  That opportunity occurred two years later, after Tilsit; then, in truth, the United Kingdom was free from panic because Trafalgar had practically destroyed the French navy.  For these islands, then, the benefits of Trafalgar were prospective.  But, for the British Empire, they were immediate.  Every French, Dutch, and Spanish colony that now fell into our hands was in great measure the fruit of Nelson’s victory, which heralded the second and vaster stage of imperial growth.