Chapter 572 Strategy
More than 130 ships, large and small, began to set sail in the port and set sail away.
The huge fleet has a total of 13,000 sailors, including 2,000 slaves rowing oars, and of course, 10,000 Spanish elite troops who are about to land in the Netherlands.
That is to say, 23,000 people are in the ship, and the daily consumption of food and fresh water is enough to bankrupt a small country.
This huge joint navy, commanded by the young General Nasidoni, sailed to the British Isles.
Hearing such a large number of navies, Hawkins, the naval joint staff officer, couldn't help opening his mouth wide, and said with emotion:
This will be the largest and strongest combined fleet since the creation of the world.
Although the joint fleets of Britain, Portugal, and Nigeria have also reached the same number of ships, the tonnage is too different.
Before the huge combined fleet sailed, Philip II named it Grandey Felicísima Armada (Lucky Fleet). Although the history is just the opposite of the moral.
The so-called "Invincible Fleet" is just the name of it by later generations.
Although there are many ships in the Armada, their quality varies. Among them were the most advanced large Garion ships at that time, and dilapidated merchant ships that leaked at any time.
In view of the situation, the Spaniards studied three strategies.
The first is a storm, which consists of landing a mixed force of land and sea sufficient to both defeat the English fleet and conquer it (as William the Conqueror did in the eleventh century); Ireland, attracting the main force of the British army, and at the same time the army of the Netherlands landed across the strait; the last was a surprise attack, without gathering warships, under the premise that the secrecy was good and the English fleet was unprepared, the army was loaded on a flat-bottomed landing ship overnight and quickly Through the Channel (action of Henry VII in the Wars of the Roses).
The fall of the elite of the Netherlands Army forced the naval commander Sidoni to choose the combination of the first and the third.
The Armada is composed of nine fleets, messy and huge.
Castres detachment, commanded by Valdez.
Andrews detachment, commanded by Pedro.
Bies sent a team, commanded by Rickerd.
Gupzike detachment, commanded by Akundo.
Italian detachment, commanded by Burton Dora.
Arkboat Detachment, commanded by Yu Angomiz.
The dispatch ship detachment, commanded by Antoine.
Medium sailing detachment, commanded by Hugo.
Longboat Detachment, commanded by Diego.
At the beginning, the Spaniards protested against Portugal's initiative to support dozens of ships in England.
But Portugal shirks that this is a covenant that it has long ago, it is not aimed at Spain, and Portugal promises not to support it.
Helpless, at this critical moment, Portugal's huge navy made Spain dare not act rashly, and could only hope to defeat this coalition force.
Navy Commander-in-Chief Sidoni led a huge team and began to go to the Calais waters, that is to say, the English Channel, actively looking for the Anglo-Portuguese coalition forces, and crushing the decisive battle with powerful forces.
At this time, the two armies were at war, and the morale was high. Secretary of the Navy James did not retreat in Portsmouth Harbor. Instead, he led the huge Anglo-Portugalian coalition forces and began a one-on-one decisive battle with the Spaniards here.
British-Punisian Naval Command, James summoned Hawkins and other staff officers, and began to plan how to conduct this battle.
"Gentlemen, we are facing the most powerful navy in the world in this battle, so this time, it will be a battle recorded in history. I hope everyone will go all out!"
James said in a deep voice, looking at the staff of a dozen people and the bright map of the English Channel.
"Yes, sir!" All the people bowed their heads and agreed.
"Your Excellency, I think that in this battle, the Spaniards are numerous and powerful, and the ships are strong and the guns are strong. They will definitely choose the boarding battle as a breakthrough point, in order to defeat us in one fell swoop!"
John Hawkins, as the invited staff member, chose to be the first to speak and put forward his own opinions.
Seeing General James nod, he continued.
"As for us, the tonnage of the ships is small, so the speed is fast. Although the Spaniards use heavy cannons, although they are powerful, their range is not as good as our light artillery. Therefore, the strategy we should adopt is to move around the periphery of the Spanish fleet and wait for opportunities!"
"We can introduce the Spaniards into the English Channel, and rely on the ubiquitous reefs and familiarity with the terrain to defeat the huge Spanish fleet!"
As soon as this plan came out, it received warm applause. Everyone expressed their approval for this conservative and safe style of play. Using one's own strengths to attack the other's weaknesses fits everyone's psychology very well.
That is, the huge Anglo-Portuguese combined fleet will play a game of eagle and chicken with Spain.
"Since everyone agrees, then, at a distance of 300 yards, all ships need to keep a distance of 300 yards from the Spaniards!"
James raised three fingers and warned everyone that this is the best distance to prevent cannons.
"But, Your Excellency, we do not have English cannons in Portugal!" Portuguese General Flores said with some embarrassment.
"Of course, Your Excellency, right away, all Portuguese ships will be replaced with our England-specific long guns, free of charge!" James smiled, as if he was confident about the naval battle that would come about a week later.
So, Flores finally felt relieved.
The thirty or so Portuguese ships are basically light-weight, with the largest tonnage of only 600 tons. None of the ships with a tonnage of more than 800 tons came. The consequences of the loss were too serious.
This time against Spain will still be a defensive counterattack, and it is still too difficult to fight openly.
The time came to 1568, on the tenth day of May, the huge Spanish combined fleet was already slowly sailing in the Calais waters of the English Channel.
Although at this time, 3 ships have fallen behind or disappeared due to failures and other reasons on the way, but it does not affect the overall situation.
Came to the waters of Calais, many captains of the Armada Fleet advocated going to the port to recuperate for a while, and they could also directly occupy the port of Calais and raid the Duchy of Normandy.
But the navy commander Sidoni rejected this proposal, not to mention that the elite army is an important helper during the boarding battle, but the current Netherlands is already in a hurry. When you walk from Normandy, the southern Netherlands has long been occupied.
But it is still possible to occupy Calais, gain a foothold, and rest at the port for a while.
On the sea hundreds of nautical miles away, the Anglo-Portuguese coalition forces officially set off, the crew pulled the sails, and the navigator observed the sun (using a sextant) to determine the direction.
(end of this chapter)