Villeneuve did all that was possible; and several of the French ships fought with remarkable courage. But nothing could avail them against Nelson’s understanding that it was quite safe to take this risk of sailing end-on into them and then overwhelming a part of them with superior numbers. After some four hours’ fighting, eighteen of the enemy, including Villeneuve’s flagship, the _Bucentaure_, were captured, and the rest drew off. Nelson himself, within about twenty minutes of falling foul of the enemy, was mortally wounded by a musket shot from the tops of the _Redoubtable_. The losses to the allied Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in killed and wounded were extraordinarily heavy, averaging something like 300 or more per ship. In one, the casualties amounted to five in every six. This enormous loss was due to the raking broadsides of the English vessels, which wrought terrible destruction. Nelson’s last order had been to anchor. Collingwood, on whom the command now devolved, saw no object in this; to which is generally attributed the fact that most of the prizes were lost in a gale that followed the battle. Some were wrecked, some re-captured by the enemy off Cadiz, some destroyed to prevent re-capture. All told, only four of the eighteen prizes ever reached Gibraltar. These were the _Swiftsure_ (an ex-British ship), and three of the Spaniards, _Bahama_, _San Ildefonso_, and _San Juan Nepomuceno_. All were old and worthless. From the battle, Dumanoir had escaped with four French ships. With these he made for the Mediterranean, but being intercepted by Sir R. Strachan, was compelled to surrender his damaged ships after a short action. One of the captured ships, the _Duguay Trouin_, was renamed _Implacable_, and till quite recently was a training ship at Devonport. Although some considerable Franco-Spanish naval force still existed, it was now so scattered in different parts, and so blockaded, that danger from it was no longer to be apprehended. In December, however, two divisions of the Brest fleet, the first consisting of five ships of the line and three other vessels, under Vice-Admiral Leissegues, and the second of six ships of the line and four other vessels, under Rear-Admiral Willaumez, evaded the blockade. They were destined for the West Indies and the Cape respectively. On February 6th, 1806, off San Domingo, Leissegues was met by Sir John Duckworth, and seven ships. Three of the French were captured and two others were run ashore and destroyed. Willaumez eventually reached the West Indies also, but did not accomplish anything of moment, and having lost four ships, finally returned to France. In 1806, the British _personnel_ was 120,000. Estimates £18,864,341. Fleet 551 ships, of which 104 were of the line. This year was mainly remarkable for the extraordinary inaction displayed by the French, who lay sheltered in creeks and inlets along the coast. However, some of their frigates were captured by boat attack.