A British invasion of Spain was cancelled because all the soldiers got so drunk that they had to go back home!
In 1625, a plan by the British to invade Spain turned into a day of excessive drinking for the soldiers, who did not particularly want to be on a mission to invade Spain anyway.
It was probably the most embarrassing and poorly executed military campaign in English history.
It began as an idea of two English military commanders, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and Sir Edward Cecil.
They argued the invasion of Spain would weaken the Spanish Empire and bring glory to England, but all they were really after were the treasure laden Spanish ships returning from the Americas. Somehow they got permission for the ‘invasion.’
The British ships encountered bad weather and on 24 October 1625 they landed near Cadiz in a pitiful state. Cecil saw the fortifications and decided to steer his men in an opposite direction towards a local village in the wine-producing region of Andalusia.
There was so much of the local product available, that the soldiers got completely sloshed on wine from cellars and other places—wherever they could find it! The men became so utterly useless that the invasion idea was abandoned and they were herded back onto the ships.
In December Cecil’s ship landed on the south coast of Ireland after getting lost. That brought an end to the most unfortunate expedition of the British Empire!
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