FOR GOD AND GLORY: Lord Nelson and His Way of War

Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson was a legend and a cult figure in his lifetime, an inspirational commander whose "band of brothers" knew that he would not ask them to do anything he would not undertake himself. Going to sea as a 12-year-old midshipman, he worked his way up and was enjoying semi-retirement with his wife Fanny when recalled to fight the French in the wake of the Revolution, culminating in the triumphant Battle of the Nile where not a single British ship was lost. His subsequent brutal persecution of revolutionaries in Naples was a low point, and by this time Nelson had embarked on his scandalous affair with Lady Emma Hamilton. Finally at Trafalgar in 1805 he defeated Napoleon decisively. This fascinating book examines Nelson's strengths and weaknesses as a commander and strategist. His patriotism was not of a jingoistic sort, but rather in line with Kennedy's famous words "ask what you can do for your country". He had a constant concern for the impact of war on his crews and on ordinary civilians. Nelson was not an effective commander in land or land-sea engagements, but he was a fast learner and rarely made the same mistake twice. He had initiative and moral courage, although the author wryly remarks that someone like Nelson with supreme self-confidence, upright (and sometimes uptight) ethics, insubordinate habits, a scandalous lifestyle, plus severe injuries and acute hypochondria, would never rise in the services to take senior command today. The author examines his strategic decisions in the context of the modern warfighting theory called Manoeuvre Warfare, where results are achieved by constant movement, as in the Battle of the Nile, rather than head-on confrontation. The Admiral's spiritual beliefs played an important role in his morale, and he often dismissed his enemies as atheistic mobs, particularly the French Revolutionaries. 250pp, paperback, glossary, orders of battle, illus.