Napoleon's orders of 16 September told the fleet to leave Cadiz at the first favourable opportunity. It was to join seven Spanish ships of the line at Cartagena and carry troops to reinforce Naples. It should fight decisively if it met a smaller British fleet. These orders show that the invasion of Britain had already been abandoned for the immediate campaign. Trafalgar is then interpreted as preventing a later return to that ambition by destroying the naval strength needed to clear the Royal Navy from the sea.
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The allied fleet's orders to reinforce Naples
By September, Napoleon had redirected the fleet toward Mediterranean reinforcement.