1805
Battle of Trafalgar
The setting
Atlantic Ocean off Cape Trafalgar, southwest coast of Spain
Open ocean engagement off a cape; no land feature involved in the fighting itself.
Reveal the outcome
Recorded sideBritain (Royal Navy)
Recorded resultdecisive victory; no ships lost
Decisive British victory; around 17-22 enemy ships captured or destroyed, no British ships lost
How the atlas explains it
Nelson abandoned the conventional parallel line and attacked in two perpendicular columns to cut the enemy line into segments, isolating the rear and concentrating force; superior British rate of fire and crew discipline then overwhelmed the divided enemy ships in detail.
What followed
Confirmed British naval supremacy for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars and removed any realistic threat of a French invasion of Britain, though the land war continued for another decade.