Its hulls shot through with cannon fire, its men dying in thousands from wounds and disease, the mightiest fleet ever assembled is mercilessly harried into fleeing north, at the mercy of the elements. As soon as it engages with the English fleet, its shortcomings are clear in the face of superior tactics and firepower. Their only hope lies in the English Navy.But Philip's Armada is doomed before it even leaves port. Watchmen strain their eyes to see over the horizon. Great warning beacons stand all along the coast of England torches and kindling lie to hand. Across the Channel the English are scraping together bands of barely trained men, many armed only with scythes, stakes or longbows. In wait in the Netherlands lies a battle-hardened Spanish army, ferocious professionals with a taste for rape, looting and atrocity. Obsessed by the dream of reclaiming England for the Catholic Church - and adding another country to his sprawling dominions - Philip II of Spain has assembled a fleet of huge, castle-crowned galleons that stretches for miles across the face of the ocean. 'Continual, destruction in the foretop, the pox above board, the plague between decks, hell in the forecastle and the devil at the helm.'It is the summer of 1588, and the fate and future of England hangs in the balance. Print The Confident Hope of A Miracle: The True Story of The Spanish Armada
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