Read Online Final Voyage by Jonathan Eyers - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jonathan Eyers
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By the end of January the Halifax Relief Commission had organised the repair of nearly 3,000 houses. Temporary housing for those who needed it most was being constructed so quickly that new apartments were completed at the rate of one an hour. With so many families left bereaved if not homeless, the Halifax Relief Commission became important to almost every community in the city. They handled rehousing, pensions, claims for damages, as well as supplying money, clothes and furniture to the most needy. Only in 1976 was the Commission finally disbanded.
4 War at Sea
From the Spanish Armada to the
Bismarck
The defeat of the Spanish Armada by an outgunned English fleet in 1588 came to set a pattern for the merciless sea battles that would follow in subsequent centuries. The King of Spain, Philip II, mustered the full might of his empire at its peak to invade England, overthrow Queen Elizabeth I, bring the English back to the Catholic fold, and ensure that Spain would become the dominant naval power in both the Atlantic and the Pacific for generations to come. It would end with less than half of his ships and only a third of his men ever making it back home. Englandâs decisive victory helped generate the idea â which arguablywouldnât be true for another 300 years â that Britannia ruled the waves.
Less than 20 years before, Philip II had secured a stunning naval victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto, and he probably hoped to repeat his success when he sent 151 ships, manned by 8,000 sailors and ferrying nearly 20,000 men, to Gravelines, Flanders, the closest part of his empire to England. There the fleet would pick up an additional 30,000 soldiers and carry them across the Channel to invade England. The Armada was so big that it had taken over two days for every ship to get out of the harbour at Lisbon, Portugal. Though the English sent 200 ships to intercept the Spanish fleet at Gravelines, combined they only had half the firepower of the whole Armada.
Sacrificial vessels were loaded with tar, brimstone, pitch and gunpowder, set on fire and directed towards the enemy.
Yet the English were victorious. They sent several fireships â sacrificial vessels loaded with tar, brimstone, pitch and gunpowder, set on fire and directed towards the enemy â into the midst of the Armada, driving the Spanish ships from their anchorage before the extra 30,000 soldiers could board at Gravelines. As the Spanish scattered, the English ships took advantage of their own greater manoeuvrability and speed to come in on the attack and then get out of the firing line before the ships of the Armada could counterattack. The Spanish wanted to use hand to hand fighting techniques, getting close enough for soldiers to board enemy vessels, which had been so successful for them in the past. The English kept their distance, and in the course of the Battle of Gravelines used up every last piece of ammunition they hadbrought with them from Plymouth. In the end they were firing lengths of chain at the Armada.
But the English decision to fight a defensive battle worked. The Pope had seen the invasion of Protestant England as a holy crusade, so the Armada carried more priests than it did gunners. Inexperienced infantrymen expecting to march across countryside to arrest Queen Elizabeth found themselves firing guns at fast English ships they could barely see in the distance. The Spanish realised they were losing.
The invasion routed, the Armada began its retreat. With the English in control of the Channel the Spanish fleet would have to go the long way home, up into the North Sea and then around Scotland and Ireland. Though victorious, the English did not want to let the Spanish return home to King Philip, most of his fleet intact and able to try again sometime later. So the English pursued the Armada for over a thousand miles, and it was during their retreat that 20,000 Spaniards lost their lives. Beset by stormy
By the end of January the Halifax Relief Commission had organised the repair of nearly 3,000 houses. Temporary housing for those who needed it most was being constructed so quickly that new apartments were completed at the rate of one an hour. With so many families left bereaved if not homeless, the Halifax Relief Commission became important to almost every community in the city. They handled rehousing, pensions, claims for damages, as well as supplying money, clothes and furniture to the most needy. Only in 1976 was the Commission finally disbanded.
4 War at Sea
From the Spanish Armada to the
Bismarck
The defeat of the Spanish Armada by an outgunned English fleet in 1588 came to set a pattern for the merciless sea battles that would follow in subsequent centuries. The King of Spain, Philip II, mustered the full might of his empire at its peak to invade England, overthrow Queen Elizabeth I, bring the English back to the Catholic fold, and ensure that Spain would become the dominant naval power in both the Atlantic and the Pacific for generations to come. It would end with less than half of his ships and only a third of his men ever making it back home. Englandâs decisive victory helped generate the idea â which arguablywouldnât be true for another 300 years â that Britannia ruled the waves.
Less than 20 years before, Philip II had secured a stunning naval victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto, and he probably hoped to repeat his success when he sent 151 ships, manned by 8,000 sailors and ferrying nearly 20,000 men, to Gravelines, Flanders, the closest part of his empire to England. There the fleet would pick up an additional 30,000 soldiers and carry them across the Channel to invade England. The Armada was so big that it had taken over two days for every ship to get out of the harbour at Lisbon, Portugal. Though the English sent 200 ships to intercept the Spanish fleet at Gravelines, combined they only had half the firepower of the whole Armada.
Sacrificial vessels were loaded with tar, brimstone, pitch and gunpowder, set on fire and directed towards the enemy.
Yet the English were victorious. They sent several fireships â sacrificial vessels loaded with tar, brimstone, pitch and gunpowder, set on fire and directed towards the enemy â into the midst of the Armada, driving the Spanish ships from their anchorage before the extra 30,000 soldiers could board at Gravelines. As the Spanish scattered, the English ships took advantage of their own greater manoeuvrability and speed to come in on the attack and then get out of the firing line before the ships of the Armada could counterattack. The Spanish wanted to use hand to hand fighting techniques, getting close enough for soldiers to board enemy vessels, which had been so successful for them in the past. The English kept their distance, and in the course of the Battle of Gravelines used up every last piece of ammunition they hadbrought with them from Plymouth. In the end they were firing lengths of chain at the Armada.
But the English decision to fight a defensive battle worked. The Pope had seen the invasion of Protestant England as a holy crusade, so the Armada carried more priests than it did gunners. Inexperienced infantrymen expecting to march across countryside to arrest Queen Elizabeth found themselves firing guns at fast English ships they could barely see in the distance. The Spanish realised they were losing.
The invasion routed, the Armada began its retreat. With the English in control of the Channel the Spanish fleet would have to go the long way home, up into the North Sea and then around Scotland and Ireland. Though victorious, the English did not want to let the Spanish return home to King Philip, most of his fleet intact and able to try again sometime later. So the English pursued the Armada for over a thousand miles, and it was during their retreat that 20,000 Spaniards lost their lives. Beset by stormy
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