3rd Spanish Armada fleet. Howard immediately sent the fleet out to hunt the Spanish, most of whom had arrived back at port. Any remaining Spanish ships were rounded up and captured along with their soldiers and crew. Philip took much of the blame for the failure by the Armada commanders, particularly Padilla. The Armada was the last of its kind that the Spanish would execute under Philip II before his death. The war with Spain and England had been going on for nearly twelve years and both sides had achieved little in their goals. The result of the intervention of Philip II in
3rd Spanish Armada the English fleet under Robert Devereux the 2nd Earl of Essex as it returned from the failed Azores expedition. When this was achieved, the Armada would go on to capture either the important port of Falmouth or Milford Haven and use those places as a base for invasion. When the Spanish arrived in the English Channel, however, they were dispersed by a storm which scattered their fleet. Even so, some ships did push on and even landed troops on the English and Welsh coasts. The returning English fleet, which had been scattered by the same storm, were unaware that the