Why was the Armada difficult to attack in a crescent shape?
Unlike the English, the Spanish had ships not designed or equipped to fire broadsides. Many of the guns were mounted to fire more or less ahead or astern, which is effective if (as Spanish naval tactics dictated) you are chasing an enemy with the intention of boarding, or being chased by an enemy with the same idea.. This meant that the ships could best cover each other when spread out in, approximately, line abreast. The crescent allowed captains to see each other beyond the nearest ship, and exchange what information their rudimentary signalling system allowed. The English ships were lower in the water, smaller, and mounted guns along the sides. They could, then, bring much more firepower to bear and most importantly, destroy without approaching closely. They could cover each other best in a line ahead formation. The tactic was so successful that it was widely copied, and for the next 250 years most naval battles were fought by ships firing broadsides, deployed in a follow-my-leader
