More than 130 ships, large and small, began to set sail in the harbor and sailed away.

A huge fleet of 13,000 sailors, including 2,000 oar-rolling slaves, and, of course, 10,000 elite Spanish troops who were about to land in the Netherlands.

That is, 23,000 people, in ships, consume enough food and fresh water per day to bankrupt a small country.

This vast combined navy, commanded by the young Admiral Nasidoni, sailed for the British Isles.

Hearing about such a huge number of navies, Hawkins, the joint staff officer of the Navy, couldn't help but open his mouth wide and said with emotion:

This will be the largest and strongest combined fleet ever created.

Although the combined fleets of Britain, Portugal and Nepal also reached the same number of ships, there was too much difference in tonnage.

Before the huge combined fleet sailed, Philip II named it Grandey Felicísima Armada (Lucky Fleet). Although historically it is just the opposite of the allegorical.

The so-called "Armada" is nothing more than the name of posterity.

Although there are many ships in the Armada, the quality is uneven. Among them were the most advanced large Galion ships of the time, as well as wrecked merchant ships that leaked at any time.

And in view of the situation, the Spaniards studied three strategies.

The first was a storm, gathering a mixed army of land and sea large enough to defeat both the English fleet and the English (as William the Conqueror did in the eleventh century); The second is a feint, using a fleet to feint Ireland to attract the main British army, and at the same time the Dutch army will land across the Channel; Finally, a surprise attack, without assembling battleships, with a well-kept secret and unprepared English fleet, loaded with flat-bottomed landing ships to quickly pass through the Channel overnight (the actions of Henry VII in the War of the Roses).

The fall of the elite of the Dutch army forced the naval commander Sidoni to choose a combination of the first and the third.

The Armada is a combination of nine fleets, which are chaotic and massive.

Castel detachment, commanded by Valdez.

Andrews detachment, commanded by Pidero.

Biskai detachment, commanded by Lee Kelde.

The Gupuzko detachment, commanded by Aquindo.

Italian detachment, commanded by Burtondora.

Roundboat detachment, commanded by Yu Angomiz.

Detachment of errand ships, commanded by Antonia.

Squadron of medium-sized sailing ships, commanded by Hugo.

Longship detachment, commanded by Diego.

At first, the Spaniards protested against Portugal's offer to support dozens of ships in England.

However, Portugal denied that this was an alliance that had been in place for a long time, not against Spain, and that Portugal had pledged not to support it again.

Unfortunately, at this critical moment, Portugal's huge navy made Spain dare not move, and could only hope to defeat this coalition force.

Moreover, the southern part of the Netherlands was in a state of scorching, with tens of thousands of Austrian soldiers fighting the English and gradually losing the upper hand, in urgent need of assistance.

The commander-in-chief of the navy, Sidoni, led a huge team and began to go to the Calais Sea, that is, the English Channel, to actively look for the Anglo-Portuguese alliance and crush the decisive battle with powerful forces.

At this time, the two armies were fighting, morale was the best, and Admiral James did not retreat in Portsmouth Harbor, but led a huge Anglo-Portuguese coalition army and began to have a one-on-one decisive battle with the Spaniards here.

At the Anglo-Portuguese Naval Command, James recruited Hawkins and other staff officers and began to plan how to conduct the battle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in this operation, we are facing the most powerful navy in the world, so this will be a battle recorded in history, I hope you will go all out!"

James looked at the staff of more than a dozen people, as well as the bright map of the English Channel, and said in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir!" All of them bowed their heads in agreement.

"Your Excellency, I think that in this battle, the Spaniards are outnumbered and the ships are strong, and they will definitely choose the broadside battle as a breakthrough point in order to defeat us in one fell swoop!"

John. Hawkins, as a staff officer invited in, chose to be the first to speak and put forward his own opinions.

Seeing General James nodding, he continued.

"And we, the tonnage of the ships is small, so the speed is fast, and the Spaniards use heavy cannons, although they are powerful, but the range is not as good as our light artillery, so the strategy we should adopt is to wander away from the periphery of the Spanish fleet and wait for the opportunity to move!"

"We can bring the Spaniards into the English Channel, and with their ubiquitous reefs and familiarity with the terrain, we can crush the huge Spanish fleet!"

As soon as this plan came out, it received warm applause, and everyone agreed with this conservative and safe way of playing, attacking each other's weaknesses with their own strengths, which is very in line with everyone's psychology.

That is, the huge Anglo-Portuguese combined fleet will play a game of eagle and chicken with Spain.

"Since everyone is in favor, then, three hundred yards away, all ships, need to keep a distance of three hundred yards from the Spaniards!"

James held up three fingers and warned the crowd that this was the best distance to prevent the cannon.

"But, Your Excellency, we in Portugal don't have English cannons!" Portuguese General Flores said with some embarrassment.

"Of course, Your Excellency, right now, all the Portuguese ships will be replaced with our English cannons, free of charge!" James smiled a little, as if he was confident about the naval battle that would come in about a week.

In this way, Flores was finally relieved.

The more than 30 Portuguese ships were basically light, and the largest tonnage was only 600 tons, and none of those over 800 tons came, and the consequences of the loss were too serious.

This time against Spain will still be a defensive counterattack, and it will still be too difficult to fight openly.

In 1568, on the tenth day of the fifth month, Spain's huge combined fleet was slowly sailing in the Calais waters of the English Channel.

Although at this time, three ships had been left behind or disappeared due to breakdowns and other reasons on the way, but it did not affect the overall situation.

Arriving in the waters of Calais, many captains of the Armada advocated going to the port to recuperate for a while, and they could also directly occupy the port of Calais and raid the Normandy Company.

But the naval commander Sidoni rejected this proposal, not to mention that the elite army is an important helper in the boarding war, let's just say that the current Netherlands is already 100,000 urgent, and by the time you walk from Normandy, the southern part of the Netherlands will have long been occupied.

But it is still possible to occupy Calais, get a foothold, and rest in the port for a while.

At a distance of several hundred nautical miles, the Anglo-Portuguese forces officially set off, the crew pulled the sails, and the navigator observed the sun (with a sextant) to determine the direction.

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