Nelson's decision Sealed his Fate: This Day In History

This naval battle was one of a series that was fought during the wars against France between 1793 and 1805, culminating in the Battle of Trafalgar.

Britain did not have a presence in the Baltic Sea under normal circumstances but in 1800, Czar Paul resurrected the League of Armed Neutrality. This comprised Russia, Sweden, Denmark and Prussia joining against Britain because of her "stop and search" tactics, intended to prevent trade with France.

Czar Paul detained British merchant ships in Russian ports; the British decided that an attack on Denmark would break up the League. Denmark was closer to Britain and therefore the most vulnerable to attack. It was decided that a fleet should sail for the Baltic under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, with Lord Nelson as second-in-command.

The expedition sailed from Yarmouth on 12 March, having embarked the 49th Regiment, two companies of riflemen and a detachment of artillery under Colonel Stewart. The Rt. Hon. Nicholas VanSittart went ahead of the fleet in an attempt to persuade the Danes to adopt a friendlier policy towards Britain. The fleet approached the Cattegat; dropping anchor to see what diplomacy could achieve. It is possible that the Danes would have seen reason if the envoy had appeared with the fleet behind him.

Instead, the fleet was out of sight. If Copenhagen was to be attacked, the approach could be made in more than one way. A Council of War was held which Nelson ended by saying

"I don't care a damn which passage we go, so that we fight them.� "

He was anxious to end the affair before the Russians could arrive.

At a further Council of War on the 31 March he offered to annihilate the Danes with ten sail of the line. After some further hesitation, Sir Hyde accepted Nelson's offer, but gave him two 50-gun ships as well, together with some frigates and other vessels, including bomb ketches and fireships, numbering twenty-four vessels in all. Sir Hyde Parker retained eight ships as a reserve, apparently to guard against the possible appearance of the Russians or Swedes.

The harbour, arsenal and docks of Copenhagen lay in the city of Copenhagen itself, the entrance being guarded by the formidable Trekroner Battery. There were other batteries lining the shore to the southward and the Danish fleet was drawn up in shoal water covering the city front. It comprised a number of two-decked men-of-war interspersed with rafts and other improvised batteries. While they remained intact the bomb-vessels were effectively kept out of range, as was at the Nile. This time Nelson was faced with an enemy fleet at anchor but this time he was outnumbered. The Danes would stand their ground; they could be reinforced from the shore, more men rowing off to replace the casualties.

However, the enemy fleet was at anchor, which made it possible for the attacking fleet to concentrate on a part of the enemy's line, leaving some of his ships without an opponent. Nelson decided to sail past Copenhagen by the Holland Deep and then attack from the south, engaging the weaker end of the Danish line. His squadron was in position by 1 April and the battle took place on the following day. Ironically, Tsar Paul had been assassinated on 25 March; his successor Alexander I adopted a different foreign policy and the Northern Alliance began to disintegrate before the battle took place.

On 2 April the British squadron moved into the attack. There was immediate disaster, the Bellona and Russell running aground and the Agamemnon failing to gain her proper position in the line. Nelson took the remaining ships into battle and was soon engaged with the Danish ships and floating batteries. After three hours of cannonade on either side the battle was still undecided.

Seeing this and finding that ships he sent to reinforce Nelson were making slow progress against the wind, Sir Hyde Parker signalled "discontinue the action" to the fleet as a whole. Each ship was obliged to obey the signal without waiting for the signal to be repeated from Nelson's flagship, the Elephant.

For the ships to have obeyed the signal would have been virtual suicide: placed opposite their opponents, they could not withdraw until the enemy's fire had been silenced. Withdrawal would have meant ceasing fire and sending the men to make sail, presenting each ship's stern to the enemy's guns and to a raking fire which would have redoubled when the Danes saw the British retreat. It would have involved appalling casualties and damage and would have allowed the Danes to claim a victory. It would have destroyed British prestige in northern Europe.

It is said that at this point of the battle, Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye, saying

"I really do not see the signal!"

He kept his own signal flying for closer action and the ships of the line all obeyed him and ignored the Commander-in-Chief. It was 12.30 p.m. when Nelson decided to ignore the signal, and the cannonade continued for another hour or so.

By then it was apparent that the British had won the battle as more and more of the Danish ships ceased fire or surrendered. By about 2 pm, the bombardment slackened and Nelson sent in a flag of truce, suggesting that hostilities should cease.

Simultaneously he wrote a letter addressed to the Danish government.

Amongst the demands in this letter, Lord Nelson promised that he would spare the captured Danish sailors, should the resistance and battle be brought to an end.

If not he would show no mercy and burn all the captured ships. Hereby leaving no chance of saving the defending sailors on board.

Nelson later on claimed the letter was written out of his human compassion. But in reality it was a clever trick.

In no other way could the lives of many Danes on board the floating batteries be spared. Firing died away and at 3.15 pm, Nelson's flagship hoisted a flag of truce. The battle was over.

There is no known account of how Sir Hyde Parker received Lord Nelson after the battle. He could have demanded a court-martial on Nelson for having disobeyed an order. Parker may have been aware that his own contribution to the victory had been negative and potentially disastrous.

His authority, such as it was, weakened from the moment he began to lead from the rear. However, the example made of the Danes, who had suffered very heavy casualties, was not lost on other potential antagonists.

Negotiations proceeded at Copenhagen and the truce turned into an armistice. News of the Tsar's death was officially confirmed and it was rumoured that the new Tsar would be willing to release all British ships that had been detained.

Soon afterwards orders arrived from the Board of Admiralty ordering Sir Hyde Parker to hand over his command to Lord Nelson and return to England. Once ashore, he was to stay there. Sir Hyde Parker was never employed again.

Nelson was now Commander-in-Chief in the Baltic. Once contact had been made with Alexander I, Nelson was assured that the embargo on British merchantmen would be lifted and that friendly relations would be resumed between Russia and Britain.

US Navy seeks to revive troubled ship program

(AP) Portland,Oregon The Navy is moving forward with construction of a new type of smaller, speedy warship after upending the program by canceling contracts last year, officials said.

The Navy's formal requests for proposals issued to General Dynamics Corp.'s Bath Iron Works and Lockheed Martin Corp. on Tuesday call for construction of three Littoral combat ships to be carried out over the next several years.

The Navy envisions a competition in which the winning bidder is awarded contracts for two of the ships while the other gets to build just one ship, Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Schofield said Wednesday.

The Navy, which hopes to build 55 Littoral combat ships, wants the smaller warships capable of operating in shallow, coastal waters to meet threats including modern-day pirates and terrorists. The ships are a key element of the Navy's goal of increasing the size of its fleet to 313 ships.

"The Navy, as it exists today, was designed mostly for fighting in the middle of the big blue ocean. The Littoral combat ship is designed to take the fight right up to the enemy's coastline, and into the country if necessary," said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute.

He described the program as the most significant Navy shipbuilding program over the last decade: "It is the one thing that the Navy is doing that is directly responsive to how the threats have changed."

But the shipbuilding program has been plagued by cost overruns, and the Navy's handling of the fast-tracked program has come under criticism.

Two competing versions of the ship are under construction at shipyards in Wisconsin and Alabama. But the Navy put the brakes on the program last year, canceling two additional ships, after costs of the original ships grew from early estimates of about $220 million (€141 million) to more than $300 million (€192 million) apiece.

The Navy now is operating under a congressional cost cap of $460 million (€294 million) per ship, a reflection that the original cost estimates for the ships were too low.

Lockheed Martin's LCS-1 is being built at Wisconsin's Marinette Marine Corp., while LCS-2, overseen by Maine's Bath Iron Works, is being built at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

Lockheed Martin's version resembles a traditional frigate or destroyer but features a sleek, semi-planing hull, while General Dynamic's version is an all-aluminum three-hulled vessel. But both are powered by steerable waterjets and can reach speeds of about 50 mph (80 kph).

The Navy envisions them chasing down terrorist speedboats, as well as engaging in mine removal and anti-submarine operations in nearshore waters.

The Navy took the unusual step of ordering one of both types of ships, instead of settling on a single design, and by having them built at smaller shipyards.

So far, production of the first two ships has fallen behind schedule, and it remains to be seen whether either design is capable of achieving the Navy's goals, said Winslow Wheeler, a defense analyst at the Center for Defense Information.

Wheeler questioned why the Navy insists on building more ships before the first two designs are put in the water and run through sea trials.

"The proof will be in the pudding when we see a system that passes operational testing ... for a reasonable price," he said. "That is a long way off."

Hosilities Heat Up Territorial Waters of Lebanon

Israeli military denies warship violated Lebanese waters earlier this week


The Israeli military has denied claims by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) that one of the Jewish state's warships violated Lebanese territorial waters earlier this week.

The denial was carried late Tuesday evening by several Israeli Web sites, including those of the Haaretz and Jerusalem Post newspapers.

In a statement issued Tueday, the LAF said an Israeli warship briefly entered Lebanese waters on Monday but was intercepted by an Italian ship operating as part of the naval component of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).



"An Israeli Saar-class warship entered Lebanese territorial waters at 7:30 a.m. yesterday morning before being intercepted by the Italian Navy's Bettica, which is part of UNIFIL," an LAF spokesman told AFP.

The Israeli vessel traveled 5 kilometers before leaving, according to the LAF statement.

Israeli jets regularly violate Lebanese airspace, but it is rare for warships to enter Lebanese territorial waters.

Yasmina Bouziane, spokeswoman for UNIFIL said an investigation was under way.

"We received a report saying a ship coming from Israel entered the maritime area of operation without proper procedures, violating Lebanese territorial waters," she said.

"UNIFIL is investigating this issue and UNIFIL command has contacted the Israeli Army."

The overflights, which are in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 have drawn criticism from Lebanese authorities and the international community.

Tensions have risen along the Lebanese-Israeli border since Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned that his group would "not remain silent" following the February 12 assassination of top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, which it blames on Israel. The Jewish state denies any involvement.

Wikipedia Info About These Forces




As usual peace keepers are targets. Use them to protect the general population in any capacity while the particular governments sort it out.

USS John S. McCain DDG 56 Rescues Korean Vessel

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...


YELLOW SEA (Mar. 10, 2008) - Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) assisted in the rescue of eleven crew members of a Republic of Korea (ROK) fishing vessel off the Korean Peninsula.

At approximately 6:10 a.m. McCain’s bridge watch team observed a fire on a ship in the horizon and in response, maneuvered towards the burning vessel. Upon observing a life raft with eleven people on board drifting in the vicinity of the burning ship, McCain crew members immediately launched a RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat)
to recover them from the raft.

The lifeboat occupants were then brought aboard the destroyer where they were provided blankets, hot food and beverages. A McCain Independent Duty Corpsman was on stand-by to provide medical assistance, but the Korean passengers reported no
injuries.

Following the rescue, several ROK vessels arrived on scene to extinguish the burning fishing vessel. The rescued crew members were then transported to an ROK Coast Guard vessel.

McCain had just recently completed participation in the U.S.-ROK exercise FOAL EAGLE and is assigned to Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 as part of the U.S. Navy’s forward deployed naval forces operating out of Yokosuka, Japan. USS John S. McCain is commanded by Cmdr. John Banigan.



Night Firing Missle Exercise aboard the USS John McCain DDG 56. Check it out. Some missle's have minds of their own.

Military Sees Fewer Sex Assault Reports

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reports of sexual assaults in the military declined last year, reversing a trend of significant increases over the past several years, according to draft documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

The number of sexual assaults reported by military members in 2007 was 2,688, compared with 2,947 in 2006, a decline of about 9 percent. Officials note, however, that some changes in the data-reporting make it difficult to compare numbers year to year. In 2005, there were about 2,400 sexual assaults reported.

The 2007 decline comes after sex assault reports jumped by about 24 percent in 2006 and nearly 40 percent in 2005 — increases military officials attributed in part to more aggressive efforts to encourage victims to come forward.

Information about the report was provided by officials on condition of anonymity because it was not scheduled to be made public until Friday afternoon.

This is the fourth year the military has compiled detailed statistics on sexual assaults. The reporting methods have changed each year, complicating efforts to evaluate progress, or to determine whether it is the actual assaults or the reporting that is going up or down.

The cases involved members of the military who were either victims or accused of the assaults. The military counts rape, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assault and attempts to commit any of those as sexual assault.

According to the documents, 1,516 reports involved the Army; 565, the Air Force; 394, the Navy; and 213, the Marines. The active duty Army, which is by far the largest service with about 518,000 soldiers, also saw the highest rate of reported sexual assaults.

The Army had 2.6 reports per 1,000 soldiers; the Air Force, 1.6 reports per 1,000; the Marines, 1.1 per 1,000; and the Navy, 1 per 1,000 sailors. The average was 1.8 sexual assaults reported per 1,000 military members.

Also, this is only the second full year in which the military has included in the totals sexual assaults that are filed under a program that allows victims to report the incident and receive health care or counseling services but does not notify law enforcement or commanders.

Of the 2,688 reports filed last year, 705 were initially made under that restricted program. But victims are allowed to change their minds and pursue an investigation later, and that was done in 102 of those cases, thus 603 remain restricted.

Under congressional pressure, Pentagon officials have moved in recent years to improve the way the services handle sexual assaults, which historically were largely underreported. Efforts have also been made to increase training and awareness of the issue, so that military members were more comfortable coming forward to report the assaults.

Some of the changes came after problems with sexual abuse at the service academies came to light, as well as ongoing problems in units stationed overseas.