The Spanish Armada planned to anchor in the Solent

Philip decided that an Armada would sail from Cadiz, and capture the Isle of Wight and Southampton, to establish a safe anchorage in The Solent. The Duke of Parma would be ready at Flanders with an invasion army. When he heard the Armada was safe at Southampton, he would load them onto barges and ships - then the Armada would sail to Flanders, and escort the army across the channel to attack London.

A raid on Cádiz by Francis Drake in April 1587 that “singed the King of Spain’s beard”, set Spanish preparations back by a year. The Armada finally set sail from Lisbon on May 28, 1588, led by The Duke of Medina Sidonia, and headed for the Solent. In Flanders, 30,000 soldiers were already assembled, with another 25,00 on the way. Preparations must have been made in Southampton.

The English fleet stood prepared at Plymouth, nearly 200 ships. Unlike the Spanish, who relied on boarding and close-quarters fighting to win battles at sea, the English flotilla was heavily armed with long-range naval guns.

A drawing of the engagement between the Birish Fleet and the Spanish Armada off the Isle of Wight on July 25, 1588

The Armada was sighted on July 29 (Gregorian Calendar), when it appeared off the Lizard in Cornwall.

The news was conveyed to Plymouth, where Drake was said to have been playing bowls. As the Armada approached, the English fleet was trapped in Plymouth by the incoming tide, but Philip forbade Medina Sidonia from engaging, and the Armada sailed on to the east. As the tide turned, the English ships set out after them.

At daybreak on July 31, the English fleet, led by Lord Howard of Effingham, engaged the Armada near Plymouth, but the distance was too great for cannon to be effective, and neither fleet lost a ship.

The Spanish moved up the Channel with the English in pursuit, and by August 2, were off Portland Bill. Here the battle was resumed, but again caused little damage to either side.

Painting of the discovery of the Spanish Fleet opposite the Lizard.

On August 4, the Armada had reached a position off the Isle of Wight. The English fleet launched a series of attacks which caused some injury to enemy vessels, but more importantly, they forced Medina Sidonia to abandon his plans to anchor in the Solent and sail on east, where there were no safe harbours on the English side.

On August 6, the Armada anchored off Calais. At midnight on August 7-8, the English launched eight fire ships into the Spanish fleet, forcing the Spanish to cut their anchors stand out to sea.

At dawn on the 8th, the English attacked the Spanish ships off Gravelines and the Spanish ships sustained serious damage and casualties. Three Spanish ships were sunk and others were badly battered.

Nevertheless, it was still expected that the invasion would go ahead. English troops gathered near the coast at Tilbury in Essex to ward off a land attack.

The English attacked the Spanish ships off Gravelines.

Queen Elizabeth gave a rousing speech to her troops. "I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field."

But by the morning of August 9, westerly winds drove the Spaniards eastwards, preventing them from ever joining Parma, and forcing them to make the passage back to Spain around the northern tip of Scotland. The long voyage home proved fatal to many of the Spanish ships; some foundered in the open sea, while others were driven onto the west coast of Ireland and wrecked.

Spanish ships in the waters to the west of Ireland.

Only 60 ships are known to have reached Spain, many of them too badly damaged to be repaired, and 15,000 men perished. The English lost several hundred, perhaps several thousand men to disease, but sustained negligible damage and casualties in action.

Jack Wilson is a tour guide with SeeSouthampton.co.uk .