. Drake and the Tudor navy, with a history of the rise of England as a maritime power. oprevent his other or seaward flank being turned. The masterly tactics of the English fleet should be amatter of no surprise. Manoeuvres for the wind were asold as the naval art; but the boldness of the determina-tion to uncover the threatened port deserves high praise,and stamps the stroke with genius. The Spaniards it isclear were completely outwitted, while the success of theconception fully justified its daring. As the night woreon the wind shifted more westerly, enabling Howard andDrake, as with the bul
. Drake and the Tudor navy, with a history of the rise of England as a maritime power. oprevent his other or seaward flank being turned. The masterly tactics of the English fleet should be amatter of no surprise. Manoeuvres for the wind were asold as the naval art; but the boldness of the determina-tion to uncover the threatened port deserves high praise,and stamps the stroke with genius. The Spaniards it isclear were completely outwitted, while the success of theconception fully justified its daring. As the night woreon the wind shifted more westerly, enabling Howard andDrake, as with the bulk of the fleet they stretched out tosea, to edge continually further to starboard. Thus beforedawn the whole of the fifty sail that had got out ofPlymouth the previous afternoon had weathered theArmada some two leagues to the west of the Eddy daylight they had gone about, and the first the asto-nished Spaniards knew of the manoeuvre, was to see themall to seaward stretched out in line-ahead, and heelingover on the port tack, as they bore down to attack. So 1 Duro, ii. THE FLEETS IN CONTACT 209 complete was the surprise, that at first it was believed tobe not the Plymouth fleet, but another that must havecome from Moreover, the impression that theships which they had been watching all night were thevanguard of the main fleet was now deepened. For thewind having got round to west-north-west some of thelargest of the queens galleons which hitherto had beenunable to get free of the Sound were seen coming Sidonia, seeing himself out-manoeuvred andthat it was impossible to avoid fighting, ran up the Koyalstandard at the fore, the signal for a general formation and movements of the two fleets atthis great trial of strength between the Northern and theSouthern schools, are questions of deep interest and ex-treme difficulty. So meagre are the accounts that havecome down to us, so ignorant were the chroniclers of themystery of nava
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectdrakefrancis15401596
