From: "John Hurst", [EMAIL PROTECTED] By David Davis. The raid on Spain by the British navy in 1587 was, specifically, to burn, ruin, trash and or otherwise destroy all barrels and barrel-staves that could be found in the territories of Spain, which would be used for the purposes of Armada Stores. You may not know, but it those days, everything that went to Sea was stored in barrels. Not just water and wine, but even bread and meat and grain and gunpowder and anything you cared to name. Flour was in canvas sacks, but that was no good and was only meant to last about a week or so (Rats and mice.) The rest of the flour was in barrels (tons.) The tactical objective of Drake's raid was to burn or otherwise destroy all tactical-seagoing-storage facilities for the Armada. His ships and crews landed in several places, all got out safely too, and they burned/trashed by weapons the equivalent of all the oak-barrel-stave- production of the entirety of the Spanish Empire for two years (about 7 million staves. There were indeed some huge warehouse fires accordingly. this was a "Spetznaz raid" of the highest order.) The result was that nearly all supplies for the Armada, when it finally embarked, later than planned, were in NEW BARRELS. This meant that everything WENT OFF, especially the water (which was rendered undrinkable) and the meat (which was rendered inedible.) At least 45 ships thus foundered in Scotland and Ireland, with the loss of most or all hands, which would otherwise have been able to sail home, on existing supplies (which they thus did not have.) This turned a slight military defeat (we only sank 8 ships directly) into a massive Imperial Spanish Humiliation. We must also not forget the effect of the English Long Bronze Culverins (9-lb and 18-lb shot-weight.) Although we fired a "terrible weight of great shot without seeming result", all up the English Channel, we did indeed do mortal damage to the Spanish ships and especially at the Battle of Gravelines where we closed in to 25-30 yards at all times, after the "fireships" incident, without knowing it at the time. The English Balls were fired at such high velocity and with such accuracy that no visible damage could be discerned by us on the Armada's ships. There were no telescopes or binoculars or range-finders. In fact, the balls were passing right thorugh the Spanish ships, upending guns and men and stores on the way, wounding and killing and maiming and bloodying, and often right on the waterline, which was not inly much worse for them but invisible to us. The shot-holes, being only 4 inches wide, were not visible from the English ships. Sometimes they went right through the other side and BELOW the waterline, having been fired on the downroll (our downroll!), as has been found on wrecks excavated since. Spanish ship's-Carpenters, in the seas of the North of Scotland, later, without sound food or drinkable water or enough living and un-sick men to help, and in Gale-force winds, were unable to plug the holes sufficiently well in the gales of September in the Atlantic and the Irish Seas. Thus, for want merely of adequate sail-handling facilities (because the men had either been killed by shot or had died of hunger) most of the Armada grounded, leaking and foundering, on the shores of Western Ireland, and were cut up by the Irish, who asked the English for permission so to act, and it was granted. Less than half of the Armada's ships got home. Less than a third of their men got home. One ship rammed the dockyard at full-ahead and was sunk with all survivng hands, there not being anybody well enough to handle sail and wheel. This is nothing for us to be proud of; it was a terrible tragedy for Spain, a great and noble but ultimately un-libertarian Empire, which then died slowly, giving us in the end, Gibraltar. So we could save them from Hitler and, later, Franco, the next time. Out of evil comes good, always. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
