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2.3. ‘Battles of Britain’

2.3.1. The Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)

2.3.2. Fighting the German Lufta!e (1"#$)

2.3. %&att'es of &ritain

 

 The Norman Conquest was the last great invasion of England. That does notmean that there were no subsequent attempts at invading England throughoutthe centuries to come. Two of the most notable such attempts that ended infailure for England’s enemies will be presented below.

 

2.3.1. The Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)

In the 15!s"15#!s$ %nglo"&panish relations had become particularl' tense. (nthe one hand$ &pain ruled over the )rotestant Netherlands that fought forindependence and England supported the *utch )rotestant rebels. (n the otherhand$ &panish ships were s'stematicall' +harassed’ b' English ,privateers-+pirates’ uno/ciall' supported b' 0ueen Eliabeth I2 e.g.3 4rancis *rae$ 6artin4robisher$ 7alter 8aleigh9. %s a result$&pain refused to allow England to tradefreel' with the &panish %merican colonies.

In addition$ the con:ict between the two countries was fuelled b' religiousdi;erences3 &pain was a Catholic power$ whereas England favoured)rotestantism. (n that account$ the English queen Eliabeth I wase<communicated b' )ope )ius = in 15! and lo'al Catholics were urged to

depose her.

In the earl' 15#!s$ )hilip II of &pain prospered3 he anne<ed )ortugal 15#!9 andthe %ores 15#>"?9. &o$ he a;orded to have a great :eet built$ an ,%rmada-e<ceeding in sie the combined :eets of England and theNetherlands. @e decidedto conquer England before he would be able to defeat the *utch inthe Netherlands.

(n the )rotestant side$ the assassination in 15#A of the *utch leader$ 7illiam of(range$ created panic among English politicians who feared that Eliabeth Imight fall victim too.

 The events of the ne<t 'ear B 15#5 B made the &panish even more condent thatthe' would triumph over their English rivals. )hillip II intended to seie all Englishships in Iberian ports. Eliabeth I responded b' sending the Earl of Deicesterto @olland with an arm'$ but Deicester was defeated.

 The rst +sign’ that the English might +turn the tables+ on the &panish was thesuccessful attac on and partial destruction of the &panish %rmada b' 4rancis*rae in the Cadi harbour 15#9.

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In 15##$ the re"built &panish %rmada the largest that had ever gone to sea$ butless faster than the English ships9 carr'ing mainl' soldiers few ships carriedcannons and medium guns9 aimed at conquering England and controlling theEnglish Channel$ so that subsequentl' &panish troops could have easier access tothe Netherlands. @owever$ the &panish %rmada was defeated b' the Englishweather and b' the English guns. &ome &panish ships were sun$ but most were

blown northwards b' the wind$ man' being wreced on the roc' coastsof &cotland and Ireland. In %ugust 15##$ )rotestant England celebrated withpra'ers and public thansgiving. The war with &pain continued until Eliabeth I’sdeath 1!?9$ but the Fritish Isles did not become the scene of a foreign invasion.

 

2.3.2. Fighting the German Lufta!e (1"#$)

In &eptember 1G?G Herman' invaded )oland$ and Fritain entered the war. Thene<t 'ear 6a'"une 1GA!9$ the Herman arm' invaded the Netherlands$ attacedand defeated the 4rench. 4rance capitulated within 11 da's on une 1!$ 1GA!.

 The Fritish arm' was driven into the sea and was saved b' thousands of privateboats which crossed the English Channel at *unir.

(ver the ne<t months summer B autumn 1GA!9$ the Herman air forcesDuftwa;e9 launched a maJor bombing and raiding campaign over Fritain. Theirtargets were coastal shipping convo's$ shipping centres$ 8o'al %ir 4orce 8%49airelds and infrastructure$ aircraft factories and ground infrastructure. 4inall'$the Dufwa;e resorted to attacs on strategic town areas which culminated in theserial bombing of Dondon that illed thousands of civilians and destro'ed most ofcentral Dondon.

In this time of terror$ )rime 6inister 7inston Churchill brilliantl' managed topersuade a nation ,on its nees- that it would win.

 The failure of Herman' to achieve its obJectives of destro'ing Fritain’s airdefences$ or forcing Fritain to negotiate an armistice or an outright surrender isconsidered both its rst maJor defeat and one of the crucial turning points in thewar. If Herman' had gained air superiorit'$ %dolf @itler might have launched(peration &ealion$ an amphibious and airborne invasion of Fritain.