Battle of Sluys
The Battle of Sluys, fought on June 24, 1340, was a significant naval confrontation during the early stages of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. King Edward III of England sought to thwart a French invasion by King Philip VI, who had amassed a fleet of over 200 ships at Sluys, intending to launch an assault on England. In response, Edward gathered around 160 ships and positioned them strategically for an attack.
The battle unfolded with the English fleet leveraging the wind and tide, attacking the French ships that were chained together in a defensive formation. Armed with longbows, the English gained a crucial advantage due to their superior range and rate of fire. The battle was marked by grappling and boarding tactics, resulting in the English capturing 190 French vessels after a fierce nine-hour engagement. This pivotal victory secured English naval dominance in the English Channel, laying the groundwork for subsequent campaigns in France. The Battle of Sluys underscored the importance of naval power in the broader conflict of the Hundred Years' War, although it also highlighted that maritime victories alone were insufficient for overall success in the war.
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Battle of Sluys
Type of action: Naval battle in the Hundred Years’ War
Date: June 24, 1340
Location: Netherlands coast
Combatants: British vs. French
Principal commanders:British, King Edward III (1312–1377); French, Hugh Quieret, Nicholas Behuchet
Result: English victory
In the spring of 1340, while King Edward III of England was assembling an army to invade France, King Philip VI of France sent more than 200 ships to Sluys (Sluis) on the Zwin Estuary to carry a French army for the invasion and conquest of England. Edward swiftly collected about 160 ships to carry his own army, and on June 23, this force anchored off the Blankenburghe coastal dike. A scouting party reported that most of the French ships (plus some Spanish and Flemish vessels) were chained together in a three-line formation blocking the three-mile-wide entrance to the estuary. Edward decided to attack the next day.
At midday on June 24, as a large crowd of Flemings on Blankenburghe dike watched, the English fleet advanced on the tide, with the wind advantage, and the sun at their backs. The French commanders, Hugh Quieret and Nicholas Behuchet, began detaching their chains to gain maneuverability. The boats fired on each other with arrows propelled by crossbow or longbow and with rocks delivered by mechanical stone throwers or hand. The basic tactic was to grapple (affix own boat to), board, and capture the other ship. The superior range and rate of delivery of the longbow gave an advantage to the English, and their superior organization proved decisive in the nine-hour battle, allowing them to capture 190 of the French ships.
Significance
Naval victories and predominance in the English Channel were necessary for the ongoing English campaigns in France during the Hundred Years’ War, but such victories alone could not win the war.
Bibliography
Burne, Alfred H. The Crécy War. Reprint. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1976.
Seward, Desmond. The Hundred Years’ War. London: Constable, 1996.
Sumption, Jonathan. The Hundred Years’ War: Trial by Battle. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991.