England had heard about the Spanish Armada's attack on England. Queen Elizabeth ordered her men to get ready for battle against the armada. The generals of the English fleets were Lord Howard of Effingham, the Admiral of England, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Frobisher, Lord Henry Seymour, Sir William Winter, and most famously noted Sir Francis Drake ("The Spanish War"). Sir Francis Drake had already done his damage as his crew went to Spain and destroyed some Spanish ships as the Spanish were preparing an invasion. Drake was stationed in Plymouth during the attack. It was said that Drake responded to the armada by saying he needed time to finish his game of bowls. This may have been possible as Drake knew the sea very well, and knew that the tide of the water at Plymouth would not let Drake's ships out of the port. Whether or not this fact was true, when the Spanish Armada passed the English Channel, Drake and his men could not do any real damage to the Spanish ("The Spanish Armada").
The Spanish Armada had sailed in a crescent shape as it gave protection. This formation worked until the armada had to stop and pick up troops in Europe. There were no large ports around so the armada went to the harbor at Gravelines and waited for their troops to arrive. Drake created a plan as the Spanish Armada were sitting ducks. Drake had eight old ships loaded with anything that could burn and sent the ships on fire towards the Armada at night. When the armada had sighted these ships, individual ships tried to get out of the way as impact would mean certain defeat. This led to the Spanish formation to be broken, and the English attacked the Spanish Armada ("The Spanish Armada"). The Spanish had taken severe damage, but managed to survive and retreat. The armada was blocked off from the English Channel, so the armada went around Scotland. This led to ships running out of supplies and a terrible storm that damaged many ships (A Spanish Captain’s Account of the Events").
The battle led to English victory as figures showed over 20,000 Spaniards died in battle and only 67 ships of the original armada had returned safely to Spain, while England lost no ships and only 100 men in battle. In honor of the victory and his leadership, Sir Francis Drake became a famous war hero in England. Without his leadership, England may have not won the battle ("The Spanish Armada").
The Spanish Armada had sailed in a crescent shape as it gave protection. This formation worked until the armada had to stop and pick up troops in Europe. There were no large ports around so the armada went to the harbor at Gravelines and waited for their troops to arrive. Drake created a plan as the Spanish Armada were sitting ducks. Drake had eight old ships loaded with anything that could burn and sent the ships on fire towards the Armada at night. When the armada had sighted these ships, individual ships tried to get out of the way as impact would mean certain defeat. This led to the Spanish formation to be broken, and the English attacked the Spanish Armada ("The Spanish Armada"). The Spanish had taken severe damage, but managed to survive and retreat. The armada was blocked off from the English Channel, so the armada went around Scotland. This led to ships running out of supplies and a terrible storm that damaged many ships (A Spanish Captain’s Account of the Events").
The battle led to English victory as figures showed over 20,000 Spaniards died in battle and only 67 ships of the original armada had returned safely to Spain, while England lost no ships and only 100 men in battle. In honor of the victory and his leadership, Sir Francis Drake became a famous war hero in England. Without his leadership, England may have not won the battle ("The Spanish Armada").