Known to history as "The Nelson Touch," the battle plan that the British commander devised broke with traditional naval practice. Standard tactics of the time called for enemy ships to form opposing parallel lines and blast one another with the cannon that lined the sides of their ships. Nelson formulated a different approach. He would divide his fleet into two parallel lines aimed directly at the middle of his opponent's force with the objective of splitting that force into two sections. With the enemy's ships split into two sections, Nelson would concentrate his attack on the isolated rear section.