England Expects

The Battle of Sluys in 1340 was one of the first major clashes of the Hundred Years’ War and a decisive struggle for control of the Channel. Edward III sailed against a French fleet concentrated near the Flemish port of Sluys, where the opposing ships were packed into defensive lines. Corrigan explains how English tactics, experienced fighting men and the confined anchorage turned a naval encounter into a brutal series of boarding actions.

Victory destroyed much of France’s available fleet and reduced the immediate danger of invasion, giving Edward greater freedom to move troops and resources between England and the Continent. Corrigan restores Sluys to the wider story of the war, showing why command at sea was essential to the later campaigns that produced the better-known victories at Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt.