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The Battle of Sluys (; (:slœys)), also called Battle of l'Ecluse, was a sea battle fought on 24 June 1340 as one of the opening conflicts of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. The encounter happened during the reigns of Philip VI of France and Edward III of England, in front of the town of Newmarket or Sluis (French ''Écluse''), on the inlet between West Flanders and Zeeland. During the battle Philip's navy was almost completely destroyed, giving the English fleet complete mastery over the channel. However, by the end of Edward's reign the French had rebuilt their fleet and were to become a threat again. ==Background== When France's Charles IV the Fair died in 1328 leaving only daughters, his nearest living male relative was Edward III of England. The French establishment did not want the English king on the French throne, and chose Edward's cousin, Philip, Count of Valois, to be king of France instead. The English kings had become dukes of Aquitaine after Henry II of England married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, from which point the lands in Aquitaine were held in vassalage to the French crown. Edward III did not see himself as subordinate to Philip and was reluctant to be Philip's vassal. Philip confiscated the lands that Edward held in Aquitaine, on the grounds that Edward had breached his obligation as vassal, precipitating what became known as the Hundred Years' War in 1337. At the beginning of the war, the French had the advantage at sea. The vessels they had were ideal for swift passage across the Channel under sail or oars. Galleys had been used by the Mediterranean powers and the French adopted them for trade and combat. The galleys could penetrate shallow harbours and were highly maneuverable and ideal for raiding or ship-to-ship combat. The huge fleet of the French was supplemented by galleys from Genoa (some sources maintain that Castillian vessels were also part of the complement) as well as by various captured English ships including two of Edward's finest, the cogs ''Christopher'' and ''Cog Edward'' (also known as ''The Edward''). The French were able to disrupt English commercial shipping, principally the Gascon wine and the Flanders wool trades, as well as raiding the south and eastern coasts of England at will.〔Susan Rose. Battle of Sluys ''in'' Eric Groves. Great Battles of the Royal Navy. pp. 24–30〕 The English did not at that time have a purpose-built navy. What they did have was a merchant marine ship known as a cog. The cog had a deep-draught and round-hull that was driven by a single great sail set on a mast amidships. These ships were arrested from the merchant service and converted into warships by the addition of wooden "castles" at the bow and stern, and the erecting of crow's nest platforms at the masthead, from which archers could use bows or drop stones on to enemy craft alongside. The cogs weighed two or three hundred tons and were well able to carry many fighting men. Their high freeboard made them superior to the oared vessels in close combat, particularly when they were fitted with the castles. The king by common law was supposed to pay for the ships that he impressed into service. Edward assembled a combined fleet at Orwell and set up his headquarters on the ''Cog Thomas''. The ''Thomas'' set sail, with Edward on board, from the Orwell estuary on 22 June 1340, and was in sight of the roadstead at Sluys by the afternoon of the following day. Edward anchored at Blankenberge and in the evening of 23 June sent ashore Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir John Chandos, and Sir Stephen Lambkin to reconnoitre the French fleet. They found that the enemy vessels were ranged in three compact lines and included the captured English prize, the great cog ''Christopher''; the ships were crammed together tightly and anchored at the entrance of the Zwin (also: Zwyn) channel.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Sluys」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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