Naval Battle of Gravelines
| date | July 29 jul. / August 8, 1588 greg. |
|---|---|
| place | English Channel and south coast of England |
| output | English victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 130 warships | 197 warships |
| losses | |
|
3 warships, 2,000 men |
a few hundred men |
The Battle of Gravelines took place on July 29th . / August 8, 1588 greg. in the English Channel between the Spanish Armada and the English fleet . It was the decisive battle of the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England .
prehistory
In The Hague , around 30,000 Spanish soldiers were waiting under the Duke of Parma to be transferred by the Armada for the invasion of England. With the English navy in pursuit, the Spanish commander Medina Sidonia decided to drop a few ships at Calais in order to put a messenger on land; he was to cause the Duke to prepare his troops for embarkation. When then next attack the English fleet with fire-ships of the Spanish Armada a Spanish ship on fire was set and one sunk. The remaining 137 Spanish ships were initially dispersed. The messenger, however, was put on the road and did his job.
The battle
Two days after this incident, the battle off Gravelines took place. The English managed to sink three more Spanish ships before the outgoing English ammunition ended the battle.
“You have to ensure,” King Philip had impressed on his Commander-in-Chief Medina Sidonia, “that your squadrons do not leave the battle formation and that no captains, driven by greed, pursue the fleeing enemy and make prizes .”
The Duke stuck to this order; the fleeing English ships were not followed and reached the Thames safely . About 2000 Spaniards and a few hundred English lost their lives in this fight. On the whole the battle was a draw, but the English had ultimately failed to achieve their goal of stopping the Armada. The invasion could no longer be stopped on its own.
The Spaniards sailing to The Hague got caught in a storm and decided to circumnavigate England and Scotland to escape the storm. Along the way, they lost 64 more ships in further storms. About 3000 Spaniards were stranded on the Scottish and especially on the Irish coast. Many were killed by the English, and some were able to go into hiding in Irish villages. In July and August 1588, Spain lost a total of 69 ships and at least 12,000 men. Philip II commented on this as follows: "I sent my Armada to fight against the English, not against the forces of nature."
The English, however, suffered heavy losses themselves; 6,000–8,000 seafarers died in the English fleet, mainly from diseases such as dysentery (dysentery) and typhus .