John Norreys - Marine Expeditions

Marine Expeditions

At the beginning of 1588, Norreys returned to England, where he was presented with the degree of Master of Arts at Oxford University.

Later in the year, when the Spanish Armada was expected, he was, under Leicester, marshal of the camp at West Tilbury when Elizabeth delivered the Speech to the Troops at Tilbury. He inspected the fortification of Dover, and in October returned to the Low Countries as ambassador to the States-General. He oversaw a troop withdrawal in preparation for an expedition to Portugal designed to drive home the English advantage following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, when the enemy's fleet was at its weakest.

In the following April, Norreys set out with Drake at the head of a 23,000 strong expeditionary force (which included 19,000 troops and is now termed the English Armada) on a mission to destroy the shipping on the coasts of Spain and to place the pretender to the crown of Portugal, the Prior of Crato, on the throne. Corunna was surprised, and the lower part of the town burned as Norreys' troops beat off a force of 8,000. Edward was badly wounded in an assault on Burgos, and his life was only saved by the gallantry of his elder brother. Norreys then attacked Lisbon, but the enemy refused to engage with him, and the expeditionary force returned to Plymouth having achieved little. This "English Armada", was thus an unsuccessful attempt to follow the defeat of the Spanish Armada and bring the war to the ports of Spain's northern coast and to Lisbon.

In 1591, and again in 1593, Norreys aided Henry IV of France in his struggle with the Catholic League, fighting for the Protestant cause in Brittany, where he led 3000 troops in 1591–1593. He took Guingamp and defeated the French Catholic League and their Spanish allies at Chateau Laudran. Some of his troops transferred to the Earl of Essex's force in Normandy, and Norreys' campaign proved so indecisive that he left for England in February 1592 and did not return to Brittany until September 1593, when he seized the great fortress of Crozon outside Brest, defended by 200 Spanish troops. This was his most notable military success, but he did lose 1,500 men and was himself wounded. He also broke the siege of Mechelen. His youngest brother, Maximilian, was slain while serving under him in this year. Having fallen foul of his French colleagues, Norreys returned from Brest at the end of 1594.