The Forgotten Invasion of the South Coast

 by Honor Gillies

If you’ve grown up in or around Portsmouth, it’s likely that you’re well versed on the vibrant history of Portsmouth, and its seemingly cursed ability to lose ships (as in the Mary Rose) or prestigious buildings (after the WW2 bombings of Old Portsmouth). But what many people won’t know is that Portsmouth faced arguably its most horrific loss in 1338, when the French armies launched an attack on the south coast, including a sneak invasion of Portsmouth. 

Known generally as the French Offensive in the Battle of Sluys, when the French attacked strongholds along the south coast such as Southampton, Hastings and Plymouth as part of their initial offensive, it was a large-scale response to King Edward III’s claim of inheritance to the French throne. The resulting battle in Flanders was a key point in the Hundred Years War, and represents the first large-scale mediaeval naval victory for England. 

Portsmouth was a casualty in the lead-up to the start of the battle, as French ships sailed across the Channel under English flags thus deceiving them and sneaking into Portsmouth, which was undefended but of vital importance. The French forces then launched a surprise attack on the town, and raided all its stores, incinerated the Dockyard and burnt down almost every building in site. Understandably, it can be reasonably assumed that the citizens of Portsmouth would have been almost hysterical and eventually many were to be captured or killed. 

History has not remembered this vital display of French power, nor the resultant victory for England as the underdogs in a mighty naval battle in Flanders. It was the first in a series of unlucky occurrences for Portsmouth, and yet very few know about it. It would be rather nice - if perhaps implausible - to think that the burning of Portsmouth was the catalyst in eventually propelling Britain into becoming a naval superpower, as Britain’s then-minute navy faced an almost impossible challenge of keeping the French forces at bay as a response to the French offensive. This resulted in eventually achieving historic victories in ships that sailed the very same waters, only hundreds of years later. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

https://the-past.com/feature/the-battle-of-sluys/#:~:text=The%20French%20offensive&text=In%201338%2C%20the%20French%20had,in%20German%20ports%20trading%20wool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Channel_naval_campaign,_1338%E2%80%931339

https://www.britishbattles.com/one-hundred-years-war/battle-of-sluys/