The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 was, perhaps, the most important Briti

Question

The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 was, perhaps, the most important British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. Before the battle, the people of England lived under constant threat of invasion by Napoleon's troops, but after the decisive victory of the British fleet under Admiral Nelson, French naval forces were never again strong enough to invade. As the battle loomed, however, such a victory may not have seemed such a foregone conclusion to the British. Their fleet was outnumbered and outgunned by the combined French and Spanish fleet; indeed, one Spanish ship, the   Santisima Trinidad  , was the most heavily armed ship in the world at the time. Furthermore, Nelson took a risk by employing an unorthodox battle plan. By approaching the opposing line of battle head-on, the British ships would be open to enemy broadsides without being able to return fire. The risk paid off, and the British were victorious, capturing or de-stroying twenty-two enemy ships without losing a single ship of their own. There was one significant loss for the British, though. During the battle, a French marksman shot Admiral Nelson, who died three hours later; upon learning this, King George III is said to have exclaimed, "We have lost more than we have gained."     1 
 Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.  
 
 1. Which of the following statements would the author of the passage likely agree with?

A. Acting contrary to conventional military wisdom may contribute to a victory in battle.
B. The loss of Admiral Nelson outweighed any strategic benefits gained by the British victory.
C. The British would have lost the Battle of Trafalgar had Admiral Nelson used more conventional tactics.

2 
 2. The author mentions the   Santisima Trinidad   in order to

A. suggest that it was the main target of Admiral Nelson's plan of attack
B. give an example of a common ship design of the era
C. show why the Spanish felt confident that they would be victorious
D. explain why Admiral Nelson thought that the British fleet would lose the battle
E. point out one difficulty the British fleet would need to overcome to win the battle

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. Which of the following statements would the author of the passage likely agree with?

According to the passage, Nelson’s tactics were unorthodox, so they could be described as  “contrary to conventional military wisdom.”  They’re also described as a risk that  “paid off,”  so the author must think that they contributed, at least in part, to the British victory.  (A)  is correct.

(B)  may seem tempting because it lines up with what King George III said in regard to Nelson’s death, but there is no way to know whether the author agrees with it, so it’s incorrect.

(C)  is incorrect because it’s too extreme; the author thinks that the unconventional tactics contributed to the victory, but again, there is no way to know whether she believes they were essential to the victory.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. The author mentions the     Santisima Trinidad     in order to

This Logic question asks why a particular detail was used. The Santísima Trinidad was mentioned in the middle of the passage as an example to support the point that the British fleet was outgunned and that victory did not seem certain.  (E)  is a good match for this prediction; the British may not have been confident of victory because of the more powerful enemy fleet.

(A)  is incorrect; all that was said about Nelson’s battle plan is that it was  “unorthodox.”

(B)  is contradicted by the passage; if this ship was a common design, then it wouldn’t be  “the most heavily armed ship in the world.”

(C)  may seem tempting, since the ship is used in support of the idea that the British weren’t certain that they’d be victorious; however, there’s no discussion of what the Spanish thought about their chances in the battle.

(D)  is too extreme; the British may not have been entirely confident that they’d win, but that doesn’t mean Nelson thought that they would lose. 
 
  Answer: E

The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 was, perhaps, the most important Briti

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards