-
Armada signted out at sea
A fast ship went back to pass on the news; a series of beacons where lit to pass the news as quickly as possible along the coast -
Armada sighted off Cornwall's coast
English fleet sailed out of
Plymouth. -
Armada got into its fighting formation.
English fleet behind the Armada -
The Armada anchored at the port of Calais. The Spanish began by pushing the fireships out of the way with long hooks but the guns that had been left on board began to explode and they panicked, all trying to get out of the way.
Reinforcement ships had arrived to
join the English and it was decided
to act quickly before the Duke of
Parma could arrive with his army.
A number of old ships were stuffed
full of things that would burn and
then they were set alight and sent
into Calais. -
The Spanish ships tried to regroup while the fighting continued but they were being blown along the coast towards the port of Gravelines in the Netherlands and the ships were almost wrecked on some sandbanks.
The English attacked fiercely,
sailing close to the Spanish so
that they didn't waste their
ammunition. At this point it was
not clear whether the Armada
had been defeated and Hawkins
continued to ask for more food
and ammunition. -
The wind continued to blow against the Armada, preventing them from sailing back to the English Channel.
The English followed at a distance
- they didn't really have enough
ammunition to attack. Once it
became clear the Spanish were
leaving, the English returned to
port.