Coastal artillery, fleet movement, and the invasion threat

Carel Hendrik Ver Huell moved Dutch ships toward northern France in 1805 by hugging the coast. Forts and land-based artillery protected the slow passage and made close British interception hazardous. The discussion treats Camperdown as at least as dangerous as Trafalgar because a Dutch victory would have left fewer ships between the enemy fleet and London, recalling the threat demonstrated by the Chatham Raid. Ver Huell's ships could contribute to the force intended to cover an invasion of Britain. Trafalgar mattered because it prevented the separate fleets from assembling into that invasion force.