The January sortie and Villeneuve's resignation request

Napoleon's third scheme sent Villeneuve and the Toulon fleet toward a rendezvous with the Rochefort squadron in the Caribbean before a return to the Channel. The Rochefort squadron escaped in bad weather on 11 January 1805 with troops for the West Indies. Villeneuve sailed from Toulon on 17 January while the squadrons remained unaware that Napoleon had cancelled the scheme. Nelson searched the eastern Mediterranean, but weather damage had forced Villeneuve back to Toulon. Villeneuve then asked to resign, warning that continued service promised shame, confusion, and the prospect of becoming Europe's laughing-stock. Napoleon doubted his admiral's energy and used General Lauriston, commander of the embarked troops, as a military commissioner and shadow commander-in-chief. Neither Napoleon nor Decrès replaced Villeneuve with the more forceful commander they claimed to want.