In 1337, the Hundred Years’ War began when French King Philip IV died and English King Edward III claimed the throne. On June 24, 1340, Edward’s fleet won the first major battle of the war at the port of Sluys. Sluys was one of the biggest ports in Europe at that time (it is silted over now). The British fleet consisted of 120-150 merchant ships called cogs. They were small and propelled by a single mast and oars. Each carried a crew of 5-6 and 15-20 archers and men-at-arms. The cogs had been adapted for warfare by adding fore and after castles and crow nests. The French fleet combined French, Castilian, and Genoese galleys. Smaller than the British ships, they were more maneuverable. In anticipation of the British attack, the French fleet had foolishly abandoned its maneuverability advantage by tying their ships together to create a formidable defensive barrier. Edward’s tactic was to bombard the ships with longbowmen (the French used crossbowmen) and then board with his knights. He could pick which parts of the line to assault which meant the other French ships could not provide support. The British knights would clear one ship and then move on to the next. Few prisoners were taken, as anyone who did not look like they had some worth in ransoming, was tossed overboard. (After the battle, the British joked that the fish in the harbor would end up speaking French.) It was a complete rout with the French losing 190 ships (166 captured). The British lost only two ships. The French lost 16-20,000 men to the British 400-600. Edward was wounded in the thigh by a crossbow. No one wanted to break the news to French King Philip VI, so the court jester was given the task. Jester: “Our knights are much braver than the English.” King: “How so?” Jester: “The English did not dare to jump into the sea in full armor.” The result was there was no longer a French fleet to keep Edward from landing in France. This was very bad news for French peasants as chevauchees were in their future.
https://www.britishbattles.com/one-hundred-years-war/battle-of-sluys/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sluys
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