Although Britain emerged from Trafalgar as the dominant naval power, that alone was not going to defeat Napoleonic France. Napoleon had to be defeated on land and in particular on the European mainland; this was only finally accomplished when Britain operated in conjunction with its principal allies. Over fifty amphibious expeditions were launched during the wars. Despite this, the British army did not achieve meaningful success in the mainland European theatre until 1807 at Copenhagen, 1808 to 1814 in the Peninsula and 1815 at Waterloo. In addition there were numerous modest successes but there were also some monumental failures.

To accomplish these adventures large numbers of British troops and an immense support system had to be transported overseas, often at relatively short notice. This was generally followed by a constant relief and reinforcement programme to convey the seriously injured and prisoners of war back to England, to ship out fresh recruits to replace those killed and injured, and to replenish supplies. In 1793 the British army abroad numbered only 18,194 men, but between 1793 and 1801 at least 89,000 rank-and-file troops were shipped to the West Indies alone, and thousands more were shipped to the Netherlands, France, the Mediterranean and Egypt. In January 1805 there 144,500 rank and file overseas, rising to 180,991 in December 1813. These numbers increase by about 12½ per cent when sergeants and officers are included and possibly up to 30 per cent when officers’ staff, drummers, artillerymen, artificers, engineers, medical and commissariat staff and women followers are included. Of course horses, wagons, materiel, including ordnance and camping equipment, and provisions also had to be shipped to support the troops. Then when the theatre of war changed or evacuation was required the troops and equipment had to be repatriated.