The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-06-10
WHY THE ARMADA FAILED.
Captain Mahap, the Great Naval Tactician,
Discusses the Cause of the Disaster.

Discusses the Cause of the Disaster.
The armada entered the English chan.
mel on July 80 and on the 9th of August
anchored off Calais, having traversed the
channel successfully in week. Three
several actions had occurred None was
decisive, but all tended generally i'm favor
of the English, who utilized their advan.
tages of speed and artillery to hammer the
foe with their long guns, while keeping
out of range of his muskets and lighter
cannon. The Spanish losses In battle, by
a Spanish authority, were 600 killed and
800 wounded. The English loss from first
To last did not reach 100. Such discrep-
ancy tells its own tale, but IL Is to be re-
membered, moreover, that men slain
means sides pierced and frames shattered.
Shots that fly wide or that cut spars, sails
and rigging kill comparatively few. With
hulls thus damaged the Spaniards had to
confront the equinoctial gales of the At
lantic
At Calais, a friendly town, Parma might
possibly join, but there was no harbor for
big ships, and it was unreasonable to ex-
pect that he with the whole charge of tho
Netherlands on his hands, would be wait
ing there, ignorant when the fleet would
appear or whether il would come at all.
Medina Sidonia sent him word of his ar
rival, but IL could not be hoped that tho
English would allow the fleet to occupy
that unprotected position undisturbed
The wind being to the westward, they an
chored at a safe distance to windward and
on the night of Aug. z sent against the
Spaniards eight fireships The ordinary
means of diverting these failing, the Span
ish admiral got under way. In this opera
ton the fleet drifted nearer the shore and
the wind next day coming out strong from
the northwest and setting the ships bodily
on the coast, he, under the advice of the
| pilots, stood into the North sea. Had
| Flushing been in their possession, 1t
| might, with good pilots, have afforded a
refuge, but it was held by the Dutch. The
| enemy's ships, more weatherly, drew up
and engaged again, while the continuance
| of the wind and the clumsiness of tho
| Spaniards threatened destruction upon the
! shoals off the Flemish coast. The sudden
shifting of the wind to the south saved
them when already in only six or seven
fathoms of water. Here again was no bad
! luck, nor could 1t be considered a misfor-
tune that the southerly breeze, which car
ried them to the Portland Firth, changed
to the northeast as they passed the Ork'
neys and entered the Atlantic, being thus
fair for their homeward course.
The disasters of the armada were due
TO the following causes First, the failure
to prescribe the effectual gripping of the
English navy as condition precedent tc
any attempt at invasion; second, the neg
lect to secure beforehand a suitable point
for making the junction with the army
combinations thus intrusted TO chanc'
have no right to expect.succcss); third, TIT
several actions with the English failed be
cause the ships which could exert thei
power only close to the enemy, were nei
ther so fast nor so handy as the latte
(only those who have the advantage o
range can afford inferiority of speed
, fourth, the disasters in the Atlantic wer
due either to original unseaworthiness o
to damage received In action or to bai
Judgment in taking unweatherly ships to
I close TO the shores of Ireland, where stron
westerly gales prevailed and the coast wa
inhospitable. Alfred L. Maha
in Century For June.