The Battle of Arnemuiden was a naval battle fought on 23 September 1338 at the start of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It was the first naval battle of the Hundred Years' War and the first recorded European naval battle using artillery, as the English ship ''Christopher'' had three cannons and one hand gun. The battle featured a vast French fleet under admirals

Hugues Quiéret Hugues Quiéret ( 129024 June 1340) was a French nobleman, admiral and military commander. He was a knight, lord of Tours-en-Vimeu and of Hamicourt, both in Picardy. Before becoming an admiral, he was an advisor, Chamberlain, Grand Master of Fr ...

and

Nicolas Béhuchet Nicolas Béhuchet (1288 – 24 June 1340), also known as Colin Béhuchet, was a French admiral and financier. Together with Hugues Quiéret, he commanded the French fleet during the early phases of the Hundred Years' War. At the battle of Arn ...

against a small squadron of five great English cogs transporting an enormous cargo of wool to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, where

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

was hoping to sell it, in order to be able to pay subsidies to his allies. It occurred near

Arnemuiden Arnemuiden is a city of around 5000 people in the municipality of Middelburg in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. It is located on the former island of Walcheren, about 3 km east of the city of Middelburg. On the 23 September 1338, ...

, the port of the island of

Walcheren Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...

(now in the Netherlands, but then part of the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Yp ...

, formally part of the Kingdom of France). Overwhelmed by the superior numbers and with some of their crew still on shore, the English ships fought bravely, especially the ''Christopher'' under the command of John Kingston, who was also commander of the squadron. Kingston surrendered after a day's fighting and exhausting every means of defence. The French captured the rich cargo, took the five cogs into their fleet and massacred the English prisoners. The chronicles write:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnemuiden, Battle Of Naval battles of the Hundred Years' War Conflicts in 1338 1338 in Europe

Battle of Arnemuiden The Battle of Arnemuiden was a naval battle fought on 23 September 1338 at the start of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. It was the first naval battle of the Hundred Years' War and the first recorded European naval battle usi ...