11/14/2023 0 Comments The spanish armada spanish naval![]() ![]() These burning vessels caused the Spanish to panic, with further crashes and losses. Eleven days earlier, English fireships had attacked the Spanish fleet while it was waiting off France for its rendezvous with Parma’s army. ![]() Yet by the time she did so, the Armada were already staring defeat in the face. ![]() ![]() Elizabeth had come up with the plan to address the troops while the Spanish were still in the Channel. The thinking was that God intervened and the windy weather was a sign that God was on Elizabeth’s side.The idea that Elizabeth, Drake and underdog pluck defeated a practically invincible Armada is now firmly established at the heart of England’s conception of itselfīut this involves a tweaking to the timing of events for dramatic effect. The lack of a secure port where the Spanish could take shelter meant that the Spanish ships were buffeted by the wind. The design of the Spanish cannon meant that they could only fire over short distances and were slow to re-load. The English ships had cannon they could fire at a safe distance and could be reloaded quickly. Spanish ships were slower and less equipped for the bad weather than the English ships. Spanish tactics were to get close enough to English ships to board them, whereas the English tactic was to attack from a safe distance. The Spanish plan relied on stopping to pick up the Duke of Parma’s army to boost their numbers, but the fleet was unable to anchor and so never picked them up. The strength of the Spanish fleet came from its crescent formation plan – but when the English broke this up with their fire ships, the Spanish became vulnerable and exposed to attack. The Duke of Medina Sidonia led the Spanish fleet, but he was inexperienced in naval battle and so made some fatal errors in his planning and tactics. Quote It was bad luck, bad tactics and bad weather that defeated the Spanish Armada Robert Hutchinson, Historian - BBC History Magazineīad weather was certainly one factor that contributed to the Spanish defeat, but there were other factors too: Leaders ![]()
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