“Fifteen million [Britons] must give way to 40 million [Frenchmen},”Napoleon uttered in frustration.
He assembled a massive fleet of transports and an army of 100,000 soldiers at Boulogne. Over 100,000 troops were
readied elsewhere.
“Let us be masters of the Channel for six hours and we are masters of the world,” he declared.
But the date of invasion was delayed by the death of the admiral chosen to lead it, delaying departure just enough so that on Oct. 21, 1805, Nelson gained his astounding naval victory at Trafalgar against overwhelming odds—utterly shattering Napoleon’s plans for invasion.