Friday 11 April 2014

The Spanish Armada 1588 - Part Three - Battle at Sea

Welcome to our new viewers from Kenya, Hungary, Angola, Luxembourg, Mauritius and the Dominican Republic. Your flags have been added to the Hello World blog from April 2013:

http://www.baabaapinksheep.co.uk/2013/04/hello-world.html


The English, in the night,
Set some ships of theirs alight,
(These aren't "hellburners", but give the same illusion.)
The trick is all that matters.
Spain's defence now quickly scatters:
As sailors cut the anchors in confusion.

Their ships are well dispersed,
The weather does its worst.
A south-westerly is blowing, right on cue.
Not the strongest type of storm,
But the Spanish can't re-form,
In spite of all their efforts so to do.

Thus, in fortune's fickle tide,
The fates seem on our side,
Near Gravelines the English ships close in.
In a bloody eight hour fight,
We get our tactics right,
And, in battle, just about achieve a win.

In large part thanks to Drake,
We'd known that it would take,
Too long for all their guns to be re-packed.
The English do just fine:
Aim below the waterline -
Which weakens ships whenever they are whacked.

As each English shot connects,
Our foes are thinking "decks".
They plan to fight according to tradition.
It's a scheme that's badly flawed
For they cannot get on board.
This in part expains the failure of their mission.

With success within our reach,
Our monarch makes a speech.
Great victory her navy soon will bring.
A brave queen's at the helm,
Telling all, "Hands off my realm!"
That she has "the heart and stomach of a king."


Ⓒ Maggie Ballinger 2014


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