Mêlée (warfare)
Mêlée (French for 'turmoil') is the tactic or situation in a sea battle. It is characterized by the abolition of the clear order of battle , e.g. B. driving in formation during the battle. The battle between fleet and fleet dissolves into ship-to-ship battles at short range up to boarding combat.
History of the Mêlée
In the early days, the mêlée often resulted from the inability of the fleets to perform maneuvers in large groups. The first to make the mêlée a tactic were the Romans, who specifically increased the close combat strength of their ships by equipping them with a corvus (boarding bridge) and strengthening the crew with close combat infantry.
Nevertheless, the predominant tactic in the Mediterranean for a long time remained the targeted ramming, which is only possible with fast and wind-independent ships such as triremes or galleys .
In Northern Europe, the mêlée again developed into the predominant tactic in the Middle Ages, as the rowing ships of the Mediterranean Sea were not able to cope with the harsh conditions of the North and Baltic Seas and the robust sailing ships of the Northern Europeans were too sluggish in combat to be able to ram properly. For this purpose, high forts were built fore and aft in order to be able to fight the enemy from a superior height.
With the advent of artillery at the end of the Middle Ages, this tactic changed little, since the first guns, often loaded with pebbles, iron shot or chopped lead, were primarily used against the enemy garrison.
With the invention of the gun port around 1500, it became possible to bring heavy artillery on board that were capable of seriously damaging enemy ships. The English were the first to consistently implement this option. At the end of the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588, they successfully used fast, heavily armed galleons that lacked tall forts.
With the development of the galleon into a ship of the line , the battle in the keel line became the predominant order of battle. Nevertheless, many battles continued to end in the mêlée, which is due to the limited possibilities for communication, coordination and management of the fleets of the time.
The introduction of the close combat carronade in the British fleet at the end of the 18th century led to a return to the melee tactics. The British, who were now superior in close combat thanks to the new weapon despite smaller ships, tried systematically to destroy the enemy in the Mêlée (e.g. in the Battle of Trafalgar ).
