Confinement in Cadiz denied the combined fleet opportunities to practise sailing together, exercise its guns, and improve fleet manoeuvres. Political interference added to those difficulties. Villeneuve changed his mind about sailing after hearing that his replacement was approaching, using the departure of Louis's squadron as the argument that the British blockade had weakened. Weather and reluctant departures spread the allied ships out, while a chain of frigates kept Nelson informed without bringing his battle fleet close to shore. Villeneuve's intended four squadrons failed to become three columns and then struggled to form a single line. At 8 a.m. on 21 October, his order to wear together and return to Cadiz reversed the fleet's order and put Dumanoir's division in the van. Shifting winds and inexperienced crews helped turn the line into an irregular crescent nearly five miles long.
Chapter · 2:54:40-3:02:51
Why Villeneuve left Cadiz in poor order
Follow the political pressure, weak training, difficult weather, and disordered manoeuvring that shaped the allied fleet before contact.