67: Horatio Nelson & The Battle of Copenhagen 1801

Send me a messageThe battle of Copenhagen - or more correctly the First Battle of Copenhagen - was fought between Denmark and the British Royal Navy on the 2nd April 1801.Sandwiched between the Battles of the Nile and Trafalgar (both of which I have talked about in the past), it was yet another emphatic victory by, arguably, Britain’s greatest naval commander - Admiral Horatio Nelson.One which he, himself, declared the most terrible battle he had fought in.At one point Nelson was ordered to designate but famously put his telescope to his disabled eye and claimed that he couldn’t see the signal.And yet, in one of those sliding door moments in history, the battle could have been avoided completely if only news had travelled faster.This is the story of the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.Support the show