The Spanish Armada set sail determined to enact and successfully execute its plans. In preparation for its arrival, the Dule of Guise and his forces attacked Paris, forcing the King to flee the capital. The attack eliminated any interference by the king when the Armada arrived, thus paving the way for Spanish forces to join Guise and launch their assault on the Huguenots. 

Unfortunately, the Spanish Armada failed to conquer the English. The English naval fleet, led by Francis Drake and Martin Frobisher, was comprised of lithe, easily maneuverable ships while the Armada was full of large, heavy, slow galleons with massive fore and aft castles crammed with infantry and artillery. While the English didn’t have as many guns or ships as the Spanish their guns had a longer range, and their ships could run circles around the Spanish. The English fired on the Armada from just beyond the reach of the Spanish guns. Adding to this calamity was the absence of the army in the Netherlands. Ultimately, the English guns and a series of providential storms destroyed the Spanish Galleons forcing the Armada to limp home with less than half their ships. 

The Spanish defeat thwarted the Duke of Guise’s plans. Ultimately the King ordered the assassination of the duke as revenge for staging a coup and the plans for destroying Protestants in France fell apart.