Battle of Cadzand
| date | November 9, 1337 to? November 1337 |
|---|---|
| place | Near Cadzand , Flanders |
| output | English victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Guy, the bastard from Flanders |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 1450 soldiers 2200 sailors |
a few thousand |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
largely worn out |
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Chevauchées of the 1340s: Saint-Omer - Auberoche
Edward III. Campaign (1346/47): Caen - Blanchetaque - Crécy - Calais
War of the Breton Succession (1341–1364) : Champtoceaux - Brest - Morlaix - Saint-Pol-de-Léon - La Roche-Derrien - Tournament of Thirty - Mauron - Auray
France's allies : Neville's Cross - Les Espagnols sur Mer - Brignais
Chevauchées of the 1350s: Poitiers
Castilian Civil War & War of the Two Peter (1351–1375): Barcelona - Araviana - Nájera - Montiel
French counter-offensive: La Rochelle - Gravesend
Wars between Portugal and Castile (1369–1385 ): Lisbon - Saltés - Lisbon - Aljubarrota
Battle for Northern France: Rouen - Baugé - Meaux - Cravant - La Brossinière - Verneuil
Jeanne d'Arc and the turn of the war: Orléans - Battle of the herring - Jargeau - Meung-sur-Loire - Beaugency - Patay - Compiegne - Gerberoy
The Battle of Cadzand in 1337 was a minor battle in the Hundred Years War . During this battle, the English raided the small Flemish island of Cadzand with the intention of provoking a reaction from the local garrison . Edward III hoped by an easy victory . to raise morale in England and that of its allies in mainland Europe.
background
Due to delays in the formation of troops in England, it was Edward III. failed to raise an army large enough to invade France . The meeting of his troops with those of his allies in the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire , which was actually planned for the summer, was delayed several times. Only a small troop of 1450 soldiers under the command of Walter Mauny on 85 ships with around 2200 seamen, mainly loaded with wool for export in order to obtain the urgently needed funds for building up the army, was already on the way to Holland . Edward desperately needed a demonstration of his intentions towards France and the ability of his troops to strike. So he ordered de Mauny to carry out a raid on the island of Cadzand with his troops. Cadzand, now part of the Dutch mainland through land reclamation, was part of Flanders , a semi-autonomous region of France , at that time .
The battle
Cadzand was a swampy island with a few small fishing villages. The island had no strategic importance and no riches that would have justified an attack or pillage. The only reason for the attack was because it was close to the wealthy Flemish port of Sluis , so it could be used as bait for the town's garrison. The leader of the English troops, Walter de Mauny, was aware of this. After a failed attack on Sluis on November 9th, he withdrew his 3,650 men and landed on Cadzand. His troops raged on the isolated island for several days.
The Sluis garrison, under the command of Guy the Bastard, an illegitimate son of Ludwig I of Flanders , soon reacted to the acts of violence against Cadzand. A few days later, Guy and his men crossed from Sluis to the island to provide de Mauny's troops. As the English commander was prepared for this, he formed his men in an advantageous defensive position on the island. After a short battle, which was very costly for both sides, the Flemish garrison was defeated. Only a handful of the Flemish troops survived and were able to retreat across the sea. Among the prisoners was Guy the Bastard of Flanders, who a little later was killed by Edward III. was freed for £ 8,000 and supported his claim to the French throne from 1340.
consequences
Militarily, the battle had little impact, especially since the English left the island shortly after the victory. Philip VI was dismayed by the events on Cadzand and soon became convinced that this defeat could only be explained by treason among the Flemish allies. He responded with a wave of charges and executions against Flemish subjects for high treason. This accusation, which was previously rarely expressed, should from then on be raised frequently throughout his reign.
Edward III Ten years after the attack on Cadzand, when his relations with the Flemings were friendlier and closer, donated a chapel as a token of remembrance of the atrocities.
Others
In the French National Library there is an 85 × 90 mm miniature depicting the battle, (BNF, FR 2643). The miniature is on fol. 42v of the Chroniques of the French Jean Froissart . The miniature was created a century after the events and therefore does not represent a historically correct representation of the events.
literature
- Jonathan Sumption: The Hundred Years War. Volume 1: Trial by Battle. Faber and Faber, London et al. 1990, ISBN 0-571-13895-0 , pp. 215f.
Remarks
- ↑ See Jonathan Sumption: The Hundred Years War . Volume 1. London et al. 1990, p. 294.