2nd Spanish Armada 1596. Spain and England had been at war for nearly twelve years with neither side gaining the upper hand. The result of the intervention of Philip II in the religious war in France in support of the Catholic League, meant that Spanish forces had established coastal garrisons along the French and Flemish coast by the late 1580s. These bases had a huge strategic value because they allowed England to be threatened by the Spanish fleet and troops. England on the other hand had also intervened in France, but in support of King Henry IV of France, as a result of
Alfonso Armada Alfonso Armada Divisional General Alfonso Armada Comyn, 9th Marquis of Santa Cruz de Rivadulla (February 12, 1920 – December 1, 2013) was a Spanish military officer involved in both the Spanish Civil War and the 1981 attempted coup d'état in Spain. Armada was born into an aristocratic and pro-monarchist family. He joined the Francoists in the Spanish Civil War and also participated in the Siege of Leningrad during World War II with the Blue Division. Armada rose in prestige over decades, eventually becoming a tutor, and then an aide, to Juan Carlos, and becoming part of the royal household when