Battle of Sluys 1340
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1340 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Netherlands | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Hundred Years' War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 51.3500, 3.3750 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Sluys ( SLOYZ, Dutch: [slœys]), was a naval battle fought on 24 June 1340 between England and France. It took place in the roadstead of the port of Sluys, on a since silted-up inlet in the county of Flanders (between the current provinces of Zeeland in the Netherlands and West Flanders in Belgium). The English fleet of 120–150 ships was led by Edward III of England and the 230-strong French fleet by the Breton knight Hugues Quiéret, Admiral of France, and Nicolas Béhuchet, Constable of France. The battle was one of the opening engagements of the Hundred Years' War.
Edward sailed from the River Orwell on 22 June and encountered the French blocking his way to Sluys harbour. The French had bound their ships into three lines, forming large floating fighting platforms. The English fleet spent some time manoeuvring to gain the advantage of wind and tide. During this delay the French ships were driven to the east of their starting positions and became entangled with each other. Béhuchet and Quiéret ordered the ships to be separated and the fleet attempted to move back to the west, against the wind and the tide. While the French were in this disorganised state, the English attacked.
The English were able to manoeuvre against the French and defeat them in detail, capturing most of their ships. The French lost 16,000–20,000 men.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Sluys (revision 1380188804), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of Sluis (1603) 1603 · 2 km
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- Siege of Sluis (1587) 1587 · 9 km
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Other battles of the Hundred Years' War
- Battle of Cassel (1328) 1328
- Battle of Cadzand 1337
- Battle of Arnemuiden 1338
- Battle of Saint-Omer 1340
- Siege of Tournai (1340) 1340
- Battle of Auberoche 1345
- Battle of Bergerac 1345
- Battle of Blanchetaque 1346
- Battle of Caen (1346) 1346
- Battle of Crécy 1346
All 63 battles of the Hundred Years' War →
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