Hundred Years' War: French Fleet Destroyed at Sluys!

June 24, 1340 - The English fleet of King Edward III crushes the French at the Battle of Sluys (left). In 1340, English King Edward III prepared to cross the Channel to assert his claim to the French throne. Assembling a fleet of 250-400 ships, his army embarked and sailed for Sluys, a port in Flanders, with the goal of eliminating the French fleet. Finding the enemy anchored in a defensive formation in the harbor, Edward prepared to attack. The French fleet was formed in two lines with the ships connected by boarding ropes. These allowed troops to move between the ships as fighting at sea in this period largely consisted of boarding actions. Approaching the French fleet in two lines, Edward's archers opened fire clearing the way for the men-at-arms to swarm aboard. Moving down the French lines, Edward was able to take ship after ship. Due to the boarding ropes, the French ships were unable to move reinforce the point of attack. By day's end, Edward had effectively destroyed the French fleet and secured English control of the Channel.

Photograph Source: Public Domain