Battle of Cadzand
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Battle of Cadzand | |||||||
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Part of the Hundred Years' War | |||||||
Battle of Cadzand (Jean Froissart, 14th century) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of England | County of Flanders | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Sir Walter Manny | Sir Guy de Rickenbourg | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
3,500 | Several thousand | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown, light | Almost total |
The Battle of Cadzand was an early skirmish of the
Background
For Edward, the war had not progressed as well as had been hoped at the start of the year as vacillation by allies in the Low Countries and Germany had prevented an invasion of
Cadzand
Cadzand was a poor, marshy island populated by fishing villages with little in the way of plunder or importance except that it was close to the wealthy Flemish port of
The garrison of Sluys, led by Sir Guy de Rickenbourg, the illegitimate son of Louis, Count of Nevers, could not let such acts occur so close to them without responding and so crossed the channel between Sluys and the island a few days later and attempted to confront Manny. The English commander was prepared for this and had his men formed up on the island in an ideal defensive position which allowed him to attack and destroy the Flemish force in a short, sharp action probably enabled by use of the longbow although no accounts of the fighting survive. Only a handful of the Flemish force were able to retreat across the channel, Guy of Flanders being captured with the other noblemen whilst the rank and file were all put to the sword. English losses were minimal.
Aftermath
The battle had few longer-lasting effects, as Manny abandoned the island to its surviving inhabitants shortly after the victory. The allies were suitably impressed by the show of strength and the border regions of Flanders were intimidated. King Philip VI was also greatly affected by this development, assuming that traitors amongst the Flemings had caused the defeat and responding by a wave of terror and executions which continued for the remainder of his reign and served to alienate many of his allies and supporters. Ten years after the battle, when England and Flanders had become allies following an uprising in the latter, Edward III was forced to apologize and make symbolic reparations for ordering this action. Sluys was later the scene of a highly significant naval battle in 1340.
References
- ISBN 0-571-13895-0