October 31, 1639 · The Channel, off the English coast Theater
October 31, 1639
Spain's last great armada — a fleet carrying an army to Flanders — sheltered in English neutral waters in the Downs. Tromp blockaded it, waited for the fog, and then went in and destroyed it regardless of English neutrality, with the English fleet watching, unable to intervene. Over forty Spanish ships were sunk, burned, or taken.
Commanders