Battle of Arnemuiden

Battle context

The Battle of Arnemuiden, fought on 23 September 1338, holds two distinct places in military history. Within the Hundred Years' War, it was the first naval engagement of the conflict, occurring at the war's outset and involving English and French forces under commanders including Hugues Quiéret, Nicolas Béhuchet, and John Kingston. England sustained approximately 1,000 casualties in the engagement. Beyond its role in the opening phase of the war, Arnemuiden is the first recorded European naval battle in which artillery was deployed: the English ship Christopher carried three cannons and one handgun into the engagement, marking an early documented instance of gunpowder weapons used in a naval context. This places the battle at the beginning of a transition in European naval warfare, even if that transition would unfold over subsequent generations.