Battle of Saint-Mathieu

Overview

The Battle of Saint-Mathieu took place on 10 August 1512 during the War of the League of Cambrai, near Brest, France, between an English fleet of 25 ships commanded by Sir Edward Howard and a Franco-Breton fleet of 22 ships commanded by René de Clermont. It is possibly the first battle between ships using cannon through ports, although this played a minor role in the fighting. This was one of only two full-fledged naval battles fought by King Henry VIII's Tudor navy, along with the later Battle of the Solent. During the battle, each navy's largest and most powerful ship — Regent and the Marie-la-Cordelière – were destroyed in a large explosion aboard the latter.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Saint-Mathieu, fought near Brest between an English fleet under Sir Edward Howard and a Franco-Breton fleet under René de Clermont, was one of only two full-scale naval engagements conducted by Henry VIII's Tudor navy during the War of the League of Cambrai, the other being the later Battle of the Solent. The engagement is notable for the destruction of both fleets' largest and most powerful vessels — the English Regent and the French Marie-la-Cordelière — in a single catastrophic explosion aboard the latter, a loss that cost the French 1,230 casualties. The battle is also cited as a possible early instance of cannon fire through gun ports, though the overview notes this played only a minor role in the fighting. The simultaneous loss of both flagships gave the engagement an outsized material and symbolic weight relative to its place in the broader Italian Wars context of the League of Cambrai conflict.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)