Knowing this, the English ships provoked Spanish fire while staying out of range, then moved in for the kill with repeated broadsides at close range. The English had observed the Spanish tactics of firing guns once and then for the marines onboard to jump to the rigging to prepare for boarding the enemy ships. The Battle of Gravelines changed the future of naval warfareĪfter the Spanish ships had scattered, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, commanding the Armada tried to regroup at a small port between Calais and Dunkirk called Gravelines in what is now Northern France. The Spanish Armada off the English coast, by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen 4. Meaning to make a cowardly retreat, the phrase “cut and run” that we use today originates from the navy and in literal terms means to cut the anchor line and sail downwind, leaving the anchor behind. Many of the Spanish ships had to “cut and run” to escape the English fire ships at Calais. The Spanish had to “cut and run” to save their fleet The Spanish Armada Driven out of Calais by Fire by Richard Brydges Beechey 3. In a surprise attack, the English sent eight fire ships downwind into the closely anchored Spanish vessels.Īlthough no Spanish ships were actually lost to fire, it caused them to scatter and break their defensive “crescent formation”, allowing the English to attack. Waiting for additional troops from the Duke of Parma’s army to join the invasion, the Spanish fleet lay at anchor off the Coast of Calais in northern France. No Spanish ships were lost to the English fire ships English ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588 2. But the Spanish threat lay in their firepower, which was 50% greater than the English. It might be surprising to discover that the English had a lot more ships-200 ships to the 130 of the Spanish. The English fleet significantly outnumbered the Spanish Armada Here’s our list of 10 surprising facts about the Spanish Armada.
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