Spanish Armada Expedition against England

Timeline

1. 1588Lisbon · PortugalKing Philip II of Spain ordered the Duke of Medina Sidonia to lead a grand fleet of about 130 warships and over 27,000 men from Lisbon, planning to join forces with the army led by the Duke of Parma in the Netherlands and then land in England, destroying the Protestant English regime in one stroke.
2. 1588English Channel · English ChannelAfter the Spanish fleet entered the English Channel, it was subjected to sustained bombardment by the fleet led by Lord Howard of Effingham and his second-in-command Sir Francis Drake. The English used small, fast ships to maneuver and harass the heavy Spanish warships, and at the Battle of Gravelines they deployed fireships to scatter the Spanish formation, damaging many warships and completely ruining the plan to join up with the Duke of Parma's army.
3. c. 1588North Atlantic and the Irish coast · North AtlanticThe Spanish fleet was forced to sail north around Scotland and Ireland to return home, encountering violent storms along the way; about half the ships ran aground or capsized off the Irish coast, and thousands of soldiers drowned or were captured and executed. In the end only about 67 warships returned to Spain; the expedition ended in complete failure, Spanish maritime supremacy declined from its peak, and England's Protestant regime was secured.