alternatehistory.com
1336-7: The English Navy.
1336-7: RUE BRITANNIA, BRITANNIA RUE THE WAVES
"In late August 1336, a small group of French warships descended on the harbor of Walton[1], and seized two merchant ships there, killing the crews. Ten days later, a larger group descended on the Isle of Wight and repeated the process on a somewhat grander scale, following this with raids on the Channel islands[2]. The English response was a confused muddle. While Prince Edward's great-great-grandfather John I had begun the work on a royal navy, his project had been the man's usual combination of sound policy pursued through unsound means--when Edward II took power a force of fifty-two galleys was down to twenty-seven ships and he had only drawn it down further[3]. At the beginning of 1336, the royal navy consisted of a grand total of three ships... Prince Edward had naturally ordered the preparation of a naval defense, but this had involved requisitioning ships from merchants, who frequently wanted them back again. A small force had actually been gathered at Portsmouth prior to the raid, but hearing rumors that the threat had passed, had dispersed back to their home ports... As news of the raids circulated the defense began to operate from panic. The ships of the western and eastern Admiralties were eventually gathered at Sandwich and sent to intercept the French, too late and to no effect[4]... Raids on shipping continued, necessitating armed convoys to escort shipping between Gascony and England...
"Efforts to improve naval defenses continued throughout the year and into the next, with dubious results. Ships were recruited, and then frequently spent weeks waiting for attacks that didn't come. In some cases, the recruited vessels decided to engage in a bit of piracy and raiding of their own. Unfortunately for Prince Edward, they seldom chose to direct this energy against the French. In the case of Great Yarmouth, the preferred target was their longtime rivals the Cinque Ports, making the English situation considerably worse[5]...
"As matters continued, mutinies and riots among the impressed sailors became common, drawing attention to the woefully underdeveloped English naval system while failing to produce any solution. Recruitment was largely ad hoc, with the closest thing to an organized system being the Cinque Ports, who had a long-standing arrangement with the Crown to provide ships as needed. Unfortunately, it was so long-standing that it had completely failed to move with the times--the Cinque Ports were no longer the thriving seafaring communities they had been--indeed, one member, Hythe, could not produce a solitary vessel when called upon to. Another, Romney, did somewhat better--they produced one. As for the rest, they failed to produce the traditional eighty ships, and indeed, even the traditional fifty-seven that proceeded that sum, with small fishing vessels being tossed into the muster in a desperate effort to fill the gap[6]... The Prince, like his grandfather, looked into the construction of galleys, but like Edward Longshanks, discovered that building ships was not an art that could be taken up as needed...
"If England had any hand in saving itself from a French invasion during these years it was through its connections with the Fieschi family of Genoa, who had had a good portion of the French Mediterranean fleet destroyed in port, and had quite possibly informed Frederick of Sicily of the true purpose of the French ships docked on his isle. The Fieschi's friendship, however, did not come free--the Prince had had to settle every outstanding debt in England in favor of the local Genoese, an act that created a certain resentment[7]. Further, if England had its ties to the Fieschis, France had its ties to the Dorias, which were perhaps greater, as can be witnessed in the fact that Ayton Doria himself came to lead the twenty galleys the French hired through him in October of 1337[8]... In the end, England's greatest defense from the French was the simple fact that France was in no better position to prosecute a war against England then England was to prosecute one against France. And yet both were going to do exactly that, very shortly..."
--The Long War, Vol. 1: The Campaign of Flanders, Alexander Cole (1994)
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[1] IOTL, it was the town of Orford that was first attacked, followed by Walton.
[2] This also occurred IOTL.
[3] At one point, he was down to eleven ships. And the English navy had not yet hit bottom.
[4] This also is what happened IOTL. England did not start the Hundred Years War off well.
[5] Yes, this is what they did IOTL. Because the English rival Scotland in all things, including self-destructive internecine feuds.
[6] This was the case IOTL as well. It turned out a volunteer navy was not a good idea.
[7] Edward and the Fieschi reached a similar arrangement IOTL. It was not popular in England.
[8] Ayton likewise commanded the French Genoese squadron in the Channel, IOTL.
"In late August 1336, a small group of French warships descended on the harbor of Walton[1], and seized two merchant ships there, killing the crews. Ten days later, a larger group descended on the Isle of Wight and repeated the process on a somewhat grander scale, following this with raids on the Channel islands[2]. The English response was a confused muddle. While Prince Edward's great-great-grandfather John I had begun the work on a royal navy, his project had been the man's usual combination of sound policy pursued through unsound means--when Edward II took power a force of fifty-two galleys was down to twenty-seven ships and he had only drawn it down further[3]. At the beginning of 1336, the royal navy consisted of a grand total of three ships... Prince Edward had naturally ordered the preparation of a naval defense, but this had involved requisitioning ships from merchants, who frequently wanted them back again. A small force had actually been gathered at Portsmouth prior to the raid, but hearing rumors that the threat had passed, had dispersed back to their home ports... As news of the raids circulated the defense began to operate from panic. The ships of the western and eastern Admiralties were eventually gathered at Sandwich and sent to intercept the French, too late and to no effect[4]... Raids on shipping continued, necessitating armed convoys to escort shipping between Gascony and England...
"Efforts to improve naval defenses continued throughout the year and into the next, with dubious results. Ships were recruited, and then frequently spent weeks waiting for attacks that didn't come. In some cases, the recruited vessels decided to engage in a bit of piracy and raiding of their own. Unfortunately for Prince Edward, they seldom chose to direct this energy against the French. In the case of Great Yarmouth, the preferred target was their longtime rivals the Cinque Ports, making the English situation considerably worse[5]...
"As matters continued, mutinies and riots among the impressed sailors became common, drawing attention to the woefully underdeveloped English naval system while failing to produce any solution. Recruitment was largely ad hoc, with the closest thing to an organized system being the Cinque Ports, who had a long-standing arrangement with the Crown to provide ships as needed. Unfortunately, it was so long-standing that it had completely failed to move with the times--the Cinque Ports were no longer the thriving seafaring communities they had been--indeed, one member, Hythe, could not produce a solitary vessel when called upon to. Another, Romney, did somewhat better--they produced one. As for the rest, they failed to produce the traditional eighty ships, and indeed, even the traditional fifty-seven that proceeded that sum, with small fishing vessels being tossed into the muster in a desperate effort to fill the gap[6]... The Prince, like his grandfather, looked into the construction of galleys, but like Edward Longshanks, discovered that building ships was not an art that could be taken up as needed...
"If England had any hand in saving itself from a French invasion during these years it was through its connections with the Fieschi family of Genoa, who had had a good portion of the French Mediterranean fleet destroyed in port, and had quite possibly informed Frederick of Sicily of the true purpose of the French ships docked on his isle. The Fieschi's friendship, however, did not come free--the Prince had had to settle every outstanding debt in England in favor of the local Genoese, an act that created a certain resentment[7]. Further, if England had its ties to the Fieschis, France had its ties to the Dorias, which were perhaps greater, as can be witnessed in the fact that Ayton Doria himself came to lead the twenty galleys the French hired through him in October of 1337[8]... In the end, England's greatest defense from the French was the simple fact that France was in no better position to prosecute a war against England then England was to prosecute one against France. And yet both were going to do exactly that, very shortly..."
--The Long War, Vol. 1: The Campaign of Flanders, Alexander Cole (1994)
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[1] IOTL, it was the town of Orford that was first attacked, followed by Walton.
[2] This also occurred IOTL.
[3] At one point, he was down to eleven ships. And the English navy had not yet hit bottom.
[4] This also is what happened IOTL. England did not start the Hundred Years War off well.
[5] Yes, this is what they did IOTL. Because the English rival Scotland in all things, including self-destructive internecine feuds.
[6] This was the case IOTL as well. It turned out a volunteer navy was not a good idea.
[7] Edward and the Fieschi reached a similar arrangement IOTL. It was not popular in England.
[8] Ayton likewise commanded the French Genoese squadron in the Channel, IOTL.
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