Text 8c

THE WAY OF GLORY

In the 1580s, Philip II of Spain, no admirer of Henry’s daughter, the Protestant Elizabeth I of England, launched what the Spaniards called the ‘Enterprise of England’, planning that the English fleet would be destroyed; a large expeditionary force would be landed on the shores of England to smash British armies and restore England to Catholicism under Philip’s careful guidance. The target date for the invasion was August 1587.

Elizabeth knew about the invasion plans, and authorized the expansion of her navy: eleven new ships were completed in 1586 and two more in 1587, each with the displacement of over 400 t. She also instructed her ‘gentleman adventurer’, Sir Francis Drake and other so-called ‘sea dogs’, Walter Raleigh, John Hokins, Martin Frobisher and Lord Howard, many of them being former pirates, already notorious for their practical activities against Spaniards, rehabilitated, ennobled and dubbed by Elizabeth, to launch a pre-emptive attack on the Spanish fleet. The result was the destruction or capture of 24 Spanish vessels right in the harbour of Cadiz that postponed the planned invasion until midsummer 1588 and gave Britain the opportunity to complete the preparations.

The Invincible Armada numbering 128 ships, 2400 cannons and 29000 complement of seamen and soldiers was opposed to 197 British ships with 1500 cannons and 16000 men of crew correspondingly. On the night of Sunday 26 July, the Spanish fleet having been damaged and scattered by a hurricane and trying to find a shelter in Calais was attacked by eight English fire-ships. The ‘Battle of Galleons’ went on for nine hours, until the English ran out of powder and shot. The defeat was really crushing. Only 67 ships managed to reach Spain with 9000 men on board, many of them being wounded or dying. It was the catastrophe, which the country never recovered from; it turned the tide of Spanish expansion.

Between the battle of Spanish Armada and the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy underwent a tremendous transformation. Other nations might match it in caliber of guns and quality of ship-building, but it was superior British tactics and discipline that won time and time again. Many other English kings (e.g., Charles II) also paid attention to the development of national fleet. The period of the 1600s-1700s is remembered for a series of great naval victories over France, Holland and Spain that tried to return its former position; colonial wars and bold pirate raids. The sailing era of the Navy culminated in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

The combined Franco-Spanish fleet of 33 ships (18 French and 15 Spanish correspondingly) was defeated by Admiral Nelson having 27 vessels. At the cost of his life, the celebrated sailor proved the superior British gunnery and ship-handling. At Trafalgar, the British lost some 450 men killed and 1100 wounded, as the combined enemy loss, both killed and wounded, was about 14000. The Napoleon maritime power was crushed once and for all.

A decade after the Battle of Trafalgar, while most senior officers were of the firm belief that Britain’s ‘wooden walls’ would rule the seas forever, the approaching of the age of steam and steel was likely to sweep them all aside before many more years had passed. The appearance of steel cruisers and dreadnoughts forever changed the face of naval warfare.

On the outbreak of WWI, Britain had 20 dreadnoughts and 12 more under construction, compared to Germany’s 15 and 6. Battlecruisers numbered 9 to Germany’s 5. Between the world wars, once the treaties limiting the tonnage and armament of warships were broken, the capacity of naval yards increased greatly and by the late 1930s Great Britain possessed the biggest Navy in the world though almost half of the ships were out-of-date or built in accordance with restrictive treaties. In spite of this during the WWII, the Royal Navy by right represented the most important world sea power.

After the WWII, the Royal Navy found itself facing a series of smaller conflicts or limited wars. It was there that the Royal Navy’s fleet carriers came into their own. The dangerous years of the Cold War produced a new set of problems, not the least of which was the deployment of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile submarines. Antisubmarine warfare became of paramount importance for the survival of millions.

Though having already lost its leading world position, the Royal Navy is still a significant military unit facing a new set of demanding tasks as it supports NATO, and peacekeeping tasks of the UN. This will certainly require new equipment and new tactics, so the history continues.

1. What was the task of the Invincible Armada?

2. What pre-emptive measures were taken by Britain?

3. Why can the Armada’s defeat be called a catastrophe?

4. What transformation did the Royal Navy undergo between the battle of Spanish Armada and the Napoleonic Wars?

5. What was the culmination of the sailing era of the Royal Navy?

6. Why could the Royal Navy be considered the most important world sea power before and during the WWII?

7. What are the possible future tasks of the Royal Navy?

Ex. 18. Summarize the unit information in the form of the oral topic.