The Nelson Touch While on shore leave in England , during the summer of 1805 ; Nelson told his friend , Lord Sidmouth , about his ideas for his next sea battle . This collection of ideas he dubbed The Nelson Touch . After Nelson ' s death , the phrase took on a broader meaning relating to his leadership style . Origins of the phrase . Nelson used the expression ' the Nelson touch ' on more than one occasion , and its origin has been the subject of debate amongst historians . A favourite suggestion is that it derives from a line in Nelson ' s favourite play , Henry V ( Shakespeare ) : ' A little touch of Harry in the night ' describing how the king would calm his soldiers on the eve of battle . Nelson also wrote in a private letter to Lady Hamilton about ' the Nelson touch , which we say is warranted never to fail ' . Seen in this context it is easy to see why some have seen it as a private sexual joke between the two lovers ( a little touch of Nelson in the night ) . Nelson ' s tactics . Traditionally a sea battle would be fought with the two opposing fleets drawing themselves up to form two lines of battle . This tactic did not favour what was perceived to be the faster , more accurate gunnery of the Royal Navy and would often bring about indecisive results , usually with the enemy escaping . Nelson ' s idea was to quickly bring about a melee in which , due to superior gunnery , the British would have a distinct advantage . Nelson planned to divide his fleet into three sections . The largest part would engage closely with one section of the enemy ' s fleet crushing it with greater numbers . The other ships , sailing in two columns , would cut the enemy line and prevent them from coming to the aid of their comrades . The enemy fleet could then be destroyed piecemeal . There is a tendency amongst some historians to attribute these tactics to Nelson alone . There was nothing new in his ideas however : Breaking the enemy line had previously been achieved by , amongst others , Admiral George Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes ( 1782 ) ; Admiral Adam Duncan had divided his fleet at Camperdown ( 1797 ) . Concentration on one part of the enemy fleet was a very old tactic and had already been used by Nelson at the Nile in 1798 . Nelson was innovative in one respect at least : rather than direct the battle as it was occurring , through the use of signals , he would gather his captains together prior to action and tell them his plan but would allow them great leeway in how they carried out their individual orders . In any event , conveying signals in this type of battle would have been difficult . The ease with which signals could be passed from one ship to the next was one advantage of fighting in a line of battle . Nelson also had his fleet cruise in the same order that they would go into battle . Nelson was at Hyeres when Admiral Hotham allowed the French fleet to escape while he wasted time getting his ships in order . Nelson ' s leadership . Nelson ' s talent for leadership and the way he fostered admiration and trust in his fellow officers was later also to become known as the ' Nelson Touch ' ; although Nelson never referred to it as such himself . He often spoke however , of his captains as his ' band of brothers ' and ' we happy few ' both references from Henry V . In the play Shakespeare portrays the King as someone who was loved by , and an inspiration to his men , and it seems that Nelson aspired to be like him . Emma Hamilton even called Nelson , ' Henry ' , a number of times in her letters to him . Creating trust amongst his officers was crucial to Nelson . It allowed him to rely on simple strategies rather than complicated battle plans , certain in the knowledge that his subordinates would support one another in achieving the overall objective and be confident enough to use their own initiative when required . Notes . a . Nelson ' s next battle was to be ' Trafalgar ' but for whatever reason , probably numerical , Nelson chose to divide his fleet into two .