At the Nile and Trafalgar he contented himself with general plans, to meet cases which he could only foresee in broad outlines; the method of application he reserved to the moment of battle, when again he signified the general direction of the attack, and left the details to his subordinates.
Here at Copenhagen he had been able to study the hostile dispositions.
Consequently, although he could not mark with precision the situations of the smaller floating batteries, those of the principal blockships were known, and upon that knowledge lie based very particular instructions for the position each ship-of-the-line was to occupy.

The smaller British vessels also had specific orders.
Taking the Trekroner as a point of reference for the Danish order, there were north of it, on the Danish left flank, two blockships.
South of it were seven blockships, with a number of miscellaneous floating batteries, which raised that wing of the defence to eighteen--the grand total being therefore twenty.

This was also Nelson's count, except that he put one small vessel on the north wing, reducing the southern to seventeen--an immaterial difference.

South of the Trekroner, the Danes had disposed their seven blockships--which were mastless ships-of-the-line--as follows.

Two were on the right flank, supporting each other, two on the left, the three others spaced between these extremes; the distance from the Trekroner to the southernmost ship being about a mile and a half.