Who knows the name of Spain's ace flagship during the Spanish Armada?

According to the following article, the commander of the Armada is the Duke of Medina appointed by Philip II, and his flagship is his "San Martin".

The destruction of the Spanish armada

1588 On July 30th, the British sentry stationed on an island in the south of England was taking a nap under a tree. When he opened his eyes in a daze, he was suddenly startled by what he saw. All the drowsiness suddenly disappeared-he saw the most powerful fleet ever. "Oh, my God, the Spanish Armada has finally arrived." Giant sailboats lined up and echoed back and forth, just like an island that suddenly appeared from the southern sea of the English Channel. No, it's more like a destructive storm at sea, pushing inexorably toward the strait.

The sentry woke up from the shock and remembered his duty. Bonfires on the British coastline were lit one after another. The seemingly powerful "Armada" was formed by King Philip II of Spain a year ago. It is aimed at Britain, especially Queen Elizabeth.

1586 On February 4th, Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scotland, was executed by Queen Elizabeth of England for treason. In Philip's view, Elizabeth is the real criminal, a murderer and a hateful Protestant.

/kloc-for 0/000 years, Catholicism has been ruling the land of Europe. Philip is a devout Catholic. He firmly believes: "To be a good monarch, you must first be a devout Catholic." But now, Catholicism has been greatly challenged by Protestantism in Northern Europe, especially from Britain. Elizabeth ascended the British throne with the support of Protestants and emerging nobles, and turned Britain into a Protestant country. This is really unbearable for Philip, who has always claimed to be the defender of the Catholic world order.

On the other hand, Spain was the largest power in Europe in the16th century, and its colonial power spread all over Europe, America, Africa and Asia. As the ruler of the most powerful country since the Roman Empire, Philip always expected to expand his territory like Charlemagne and become the overlord of Europe and even the world.

However, the 52-year-old queen with bright red hair and brown eyes became a stumbling block to his expansion. Through religious reform and bloody legislation, this woman not only turned Britain into a fortress of paganism, but also combined overseas trade with naked piracy, dared to indulge the navy to plunder Spanish ships to expand herself and challenge Spain's monopoly position.

What's more, she refused his proposal without mercy.

Previously, Philip married Elizabeth's sister Mary I. After Mary died, Philip proposed to Elizabeth. He sent diamonds and jewels, only to be bombarded and rejected. Over the years, this woman who may be his bride has become his biggest headache enemy.

New hatred and old hatred have already made Philip II hate her guts. At first, Philip II didn't want to resort to force. He colluded with the British Catholic forces in an attempt to help Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scotland, ascend to the British throne. However, Elizabeth saw through his plot to subvert the monarchy. 12 On a sunny morning in June, Elizabeth ordered Mary, Queen of Scotland, to be beheaded.

This decision greatly angered Philip. He vowed to conquer the arrogant and blasphemous English!

The Pope also supported him in the name of the Lord. The Pope never recognized Elizabeth as the legitimate monarch. Her religious reform is a bold challenge to the Catholic world, and they can't tolerate this situation to continue.

With the support of the Pope, Philip II declared war on Britain, a Protestant country. He said, "I will try my best to fulfill the will of the Lord." He ordered the formation of the world's largest naval fleet. Shipbuilders from Spain and Portugal spent nearly two years building 13 1 galleons, each weighing more than 200 tons.

Philip named this fleet "the luckiest fleet". Not long after, this fleet won the reputation of "invincible fleet" with unparalleled strength.

Philip made a bold invasion plan: the Armada crossed the English Channel, and the ground troops advanced into Calais in northern France. The two armies met there. The Armada will be like a crescent shield to protect the ground troops from crossing the English Channel.

Philip appointed the Duke of Medina, Spain's most outstanding military commander, to take charge of the expedition. This decision is full of risks, because Medina has never commanded a war at sea. Spain's greatest soldier tried to politely refuse the appointment. He said: "My body is not suitable for sailing at sea. My experience tells me that I will get seasick. "

But Philip thinks that Medina has many advantages besides rich experience: he has a noble title, an innocent reputation and is very religious. At Philip's insistence, Medina was ordered to take over the command of the Armada.

Medina carefully selected a group of people and immediately went to work. He plans to turn the Armada into a Catholic fortress at sea. This fleet was absolutely invincible at that time. There is enough food in it for several months, and there are hundreds of clergy in the Inquisition. Medina ordered all soldiers to abstain from sex, gambling and swearing.

Just three months after Medina took office, at the end of May, 1588, he raised the royal flag on the flagship "San Martin". The Armada was ordered to set sail from Lisbon and embark on a long journey of 800 miles. At this time, the "Armada" had 13 1 ship, more than 8,000 crew members and sailors, and the ship was full of 2 1000 infantry. The ship is equipped with heavy guns, which are very powerful. According to the traditional tactics of the Spanish navy, when fighting the enemy, we should get as close as possible to the enemy ship, attack the enemy ship with artillery fire, and then force the infantry to board the enemy ship and subdue the enemy.

On the day the fleet set out, everyone in the fleet received the Eucharist, and the whole country was praying for them. The bells of blessing echoed in every church in Philip's kingdom.

However, the powerful Spanish Armada encountered a violent storm after leaving Hong Kong for 20 days. /kloc-On the night of June 0/9, the Armada was hit by a storm in the northern coastal area of Spain and the fleet was blown away. Then, the drinking water of the fleet stinks, the food begins to rot, and the majestic momentum of the soldiers when they set off is completely gone, replaced by depression.

The fleet was forced to return before leaving Spanish territorial waters. On June 22nd, the flagship "San Martin" entered the port of La Coruna, Spain in frustration. Other lost ships need 1 month to return.

In the cabin, Medina has been praying to the cross and asking the gods for guidance. For the fleet, it takes time to repair damaged ships and supplies, which makes him miss the date of meeting with the ground troops. Nevertheless, he remained loyal to his duties and remembered the king's instructions: "If you fail, it is not God's will, and you will not fail."

In London, Queen Elizabeth was equally anxious. The moment Queen Mary was executed, she knew there would be a war. So she sent many spies to spy on the Spanish. She got the information that the "Armada" has left Spain, and it will appear on the British coast at any time.

At that time, the British navy was far less powerful than Spain, with only more than 30 warships, but Elizabeth had no choice but to fight boldly. In desperation, she ordered the recruitment of a large number of merchant ships and converted them into warships. In a hurry, it also formed a fleet of more than 100 warships. Although the absolute strength of these modified British warships is much worse than that of Spain, they are small, fast and maneuverable, and most of the guns equipped are shotguns with general power but long range. This kind of warship can not only avoid the bombardment of Spain's powerful but short-range heavy guns, but also fire at enemy ships from a long distance, so it also has certain winning advantages.

The British fleet was commanded by Lord Howard, and Francis was second in command. Duke Howard is a 60-year-old admiral. He is a noble and Protestant, and he has made great achievements in the past. Francis is a man who is good at naval warfare. His full name is Francis Drake, and he used to be a pirate. He accumulated rich combat experience by plundering Spanish merchant ships crazily, and became famous for it. In fact, the British navy is based on pirates. In order to develop her own economy, Elizabeth has always encouraged and connived at robbing Spanish merchant ships, and even promoted their rank of lieutenant general to soldiers according to their performance in robbery.

However, can such a hastily assembled pirate fleet compete with the invincible fleet built by Spain as a powerful country? The queen's heart is not so sure.

At this time, the deployment of the British navy is as follows: deploying 90 warships in Plymouth, hoping to intercept the Spanish fleet; In addition, there are more than 30 warships stationed in Downs in the northern part of the Strait, which are responsible for preventing Spanish ground troops from attacking from France. At the end of June, the restless queen finally received a report from a spy. According to reports, the ships of the Armada are currently scattered around the seaport in northern Spain for maintenance. In response, Queen Elizabeth immediately summoned her two important naval commanders.

The impatient Francis advocated taking the initiative to attack, and when the "Armada" was still resting in northern Spain, he poured all his troops and dealt a heavy blow. He thinks the earlier the attack, the better. However, Queen Elizabeth believes that if the fleet is blocked or hit hard by the weather, just like Spain, Britain is tantamount to opening its doors to the enemy, and the risk is too great. Finally she asked to wait and see.

Francis's bold attack plan failed, which enabled the Spaniards to escape and gain time. After nearly a month's rest, Medina's flagship "San Martin" led the fleet out of La Coruna and approached the English Channel. At this time, the fleet ships have been assembled after emergency repair, equipped with materials, and the weather is good and morale is high.

Standing at the bow of the flagship, looking at the still neat and huge fleet, Medina regained her courage and confidence. In order to boost morale, he stood at the bow with a command knife and shouted over and over again: "March in the name of the Lord!" " "

On July 30th, the Armada finally approached Plymouth Harbor.

Lieutenant General Francis was busy bowling nearby when the British coast was covered with dark clouds. It's hard to say whether he deliberately concealed his panic or whether he really had a plan. In short, it was not until the "Armada" was only 30 miles from the coast that he said calmly, "After this game, we will deal with the Spaniards again."

Surprisingly, the Spanish did not take the initiative. They still adhere to the strategy formulated by King Philip II, that is, to cross the English Channel first and protect the ground troops from crossing the sea after arriving in Calais. So they turned a blind eye to the British fleet hiding in Plymouth harbor.

At noon on July 3 1, the tide changed direction and 40 British warships left Plymouth harbor.

The British really have extraordinary courage. They dare to challenge a powerful armada with only 40 warships. Two hours later, they successfully inserted into the rear of the Spanish fleet. Duke Howard ordered the flagship of "Challenge" to fire at the Armada and formally declared war on the other side. In response, the Duke of Medina raised a Spanish flag on the main mast of the San Martin.

The "Spanish-English naval battle" began reluctantly in Medina.

Howard and Francis dared to take the initiative to attack with a small number of warships, mainly considering that the Spanish fleet has an unbreakable tight formation, and it is difficult to win a direct confrontation anyway. So they plan to break the Spanish ships one by one with flexible and fast warships. In Francis' words, it means "plucking their feathers one by one".

The first battle lasted four hours.

When the roar of shells gradually subsided and the smoke gradually dispersed, the British army's record was not ideal. Although it also hit several Spanish warships, it did little to weaken the strength of the other side. The crescent formation of the fleet is an impeccable maritime defense deployment. All warships are equipped with iron anchors weighing 1000 kg and powerful cannons. They are more like floating fortresses, approaching British warships and trying to subdue each other through hand-to-hand combat.

In contrast, British warships are flexible and fast, and can easily avoid the edge of the Armada. However, it is difficult to break the other side's fortress, so it is impossible to realize the tactics of divide-and-conquer. Therefore, the result of the first confrontation can basically be said to be a draw.

In the next four days, the Spanish still didn't pester the British, expecting to meet the ground troops in Calais in northern France, and then compete with the British fleet. But the British seem to see the Spanish intention, so the British ships tried their best to stop the armada, and took the initiative from time to time, but eventually failed.

The huge fleet is like a dark cloud hanging over Britain, oppressing the nerves of the British. After William the Conqueror invaded Britain 500 years ago, Medina will become another invader.

For Spain, as long as the formation is orderly, they can join the ground forces, go hand in hand with water and land, and occupy Britain at the end of the year. Everything is going well. On Saturday morning, August 6th, Medina saw the coastline of Calais, France.

At noon that day, the fleet broke down in Calais, but the ground troops disappeared. The news that Medina will not arrive until two weeks after the ground troops arrive.

Now Medina is panicking. He is now in a dilemma: there is a serious shortage of food reserves and ammunition is exhausted. At this time, he began to regret that when the British attacked his fleet, he should not let his men spare no effort to fight back. The Englishman can replenish supplies and ammunition at his port at any time, but he can't. Now the danger is approaching step by step, so he wrote a letter asking to send it to Philippe as soon as possible. He wrote: "I am trapped here and the enemy is next to me. They can fire at me at any time, and I can't cope at all. " But he knew in his heart that this letter would have no effect. Even if Philip received the letter and supported it as soon as possible, there was no time at all.

Maybe Medina can concentrate the last strength, take the initiative to attack the British fleet and defeat them in the shortest time, but it will take a lot of risks, and he is not completely sure. He thinks that the only thing to do now is to wait. He prayed that the British would not attack again.

When the Armada was stranded in Calais, the British fleet was resting. Their supplies are sufficient, their morale is high, and the soldiers are eager to try. They know that they are not only fighting for their own survival, but for the survival of the country.

At this time, Howard and Francis were deeply worried that when the Spanish fleet and the ground forces joined, they already knew that the Spanish ground forces had not arrived on time, and now might be their last chance to defeat the Spanish fleet. You want to attack? The Armada looks very powerful-the British don't know that their ammunition is running out.

On the morning of August 7, Howard, commander-in-chief of the British army, held an emergency meeting. After hours of arguing, Francis came up with a brilliant idea.

He bent over the conference table and knocked on the table with his fist excitedly. "Fire attack", he shouted. "Yes, we can set fire to the boat!"

In the middle of the night, there was no light on the moon and stars, and the clouds were heavy. There is a strong east wind blowing on the sea, and the Spanish crew has fallen asleep. Eight ancient English ships sailed for the Spanish fleet with a meteor-like wind. These ships are full of explosives and their hulls are covered with tar. Once the hull is ignited, the fragments of explosive syrup will carry the flame and rush to a place a mile away from Fiona Fang. In the night dream, the Spanish didn't know that "the fire of hell" was approaching.

British sailors sailed eight old ships. After approaching enemy ships, they lit them and left in small boats. I saw eight fireboats, like eight fire dragons, heading straight for the enemy fleet along the wind direction and current.

Medina was holding an emergency wartime meeting in the cabin when she was interrupted by shouts from the deck. He hurried to the deck and saw that his fleet had fallen into a sea of fire. The soldiers screamed, some fell into the sea and some were burned to death. After leaving Spain, the Armada became loose for the first time. The panicked captains cut the anchor chain and fled. In the chaos of escape, many ships collided with each other, sank and fell into the water ...

That night, several fireboats easily defeated the Armada.

The next morning, the warships of the Armada were scattered on the French coast. Medina became isolated. He drove the "Saint Martin" against the wind and sailed into the sea of Greenlaf in the northeast of Calais. At this time, only five ships accompanied him. The rest of the warships are scattered on the sea far away from him. At the same time, the British fleet is approaching. Medina, who was forced to be helpless, had to make a final resistance.

Francis finally ushered in the long-awaited moment. The battle of Greenlaf began, which was the most cruel and time-consuming battle in the whole war against Spain.

Francis saw Medina's flagship clearly and commanded the flagship "Revenge" to launch a fierce attack on the "San Martin" at close range.

Other 140 British warships also joined the battle, chasing and intercepting the Spanish ships that had fallen apart. The "San Martin" was bombed by more than 500 shells. Afterwards, a survivor described: "The ship was full of holes and terrible!" "San Martin" was completely shrouded in smoke. For more than an hour, people could see nothing in front of them.

The duke himself was injured in the leg, but he still insisted on staying on the deck. He would rather die than surrender or commit suicide.

On that day, he tried to regroup several times, but was dispersed by the British because the Spanish warship lost its anchor and could not break down. The battle of Greenlaf eventually turned into a crazy killing. Britain tried to destroy the powerful Spanish "Armada" in one fell swoop.

At about 6 pm, the sudden storm stopped the fighting. The damage of the two sides in this battle is very different: the British army lost 60 soldiers and none of the warships were damaged, while the Spanish side suffered heavy casualties, with 4,000 soldiers killed and 4,000 injured. The Armada was beaten to pieces, sank and disappeared countless times, the flagships of the two fleets were also hit hard, and the deputy commander of the fleet was captured. Fortunately, Medina's flagship escaped from the encirclement, but the deck was covered with blood.

This life-saving storm gave the Spanish fleet a chance to breathe, but after the storm, it was still besieged by the British fleet. The Spaniards were afraid of crossing the English Channel again, and Medina ordered all the remaining ships to bypass the whole British Isles and return to Spain.

During the stampede, Medina was lying in bed with a high fever and her consciousness was blurred. In this way, Spain's menacing challenge dissipated like the wind after being hit hard.

Three days later, King Philip heard the worst news of his life in Madrid. "I am sad to see so much time, money and effort wasted. And this is the sacred mission given to me by the Lord, and I don't know how to bear this pain. "

Spain is depressed, but Britain is celebrating.

In the most important speech in history, Queen Elizabeth said, "I am only a fragile woman, but I have the spirit and grace of a king. I dare say that the evil Spaniards will never invade my kingdom again. " Just as Britain celebrated all over the country, the remaining ships of the Armada were struggling in the North Sea, and the journey home was twice as long as when they came. Unfortunately, on the way back, the fleet was attacked by big storms twice in a row. Many ships sank and some drifted to unknown places.

Some people were washed up on the rugged Irish coast; Some people struggle to climb up the desert island in search of water and food. In order to prevent Spain from invading again, Queen Elizabeth ordered: "Arrest and execute all Spaniards found. Torture can be used during interrogation. " So few people survived.

It was not until June 1588 that the remaining ships of the Armada returned to Spain. /kloc-more than two-thirds of more than 30 warships were destroyed, leaving only 43 broken ships. Of the 30,000 soldiers, two thirds were killed.

Medina went through hardships and returned to Spain. King Philip forgave his failure, but the people could not forgive him. He can't forgive himself.

After a great victory in the Battle of the English Channel, Britain began to prosper. Britain seized control of the sea from the Spanish. Since Queen Elizabeth, Britain's national strength has been rising, from a small island country with a population of only a few million to the first colonial empire in the world, occupying one third of the world's land. Britain has built an empire bigger than Philip's, and maintained its position as the world's "first power" and "maritime overlord" for centuries.

Spain, on the other hand, was devastated by the collapse of the Armada and declined from then on.