Josh Provan joins me to talk about some of the most significant French naval commanders of the period, looking at the successes, failures, and arguably unfair criticisms that can be made of these often neglected seafarers.
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Every week a treat - this time the higher ranking officers of the French Navy are introduced. It starts to dim on me - how complicated Naval Warfare was and that one was in dire need of a complete Navy from top leadership down to skill of the seamen.
Though it is concluded that the Royal Navy just had superior training - I have the impression that the leadership - and here the top commanders were just better and could orchestrate full fleed manoeuvres and battles in contrast to the French. My impression about Royal Navy training got a dent listening to the 1812 podcase, and again just stressing the point that all hugh organisations are not a homogenous but a heterogenous mass.
must be in 1814 or later, note the white cockade
here a sailor of 1792 in splendid Revoutionary outfit
And of course, La Touche-Treville's name was the origin of the phrase "the Nelson touch" (see also the title of David Howarth's book on Trafalgar).