The French treated ships as a fixed harbor barrier, sacrificing the maneuver that gives a fleet its value. Binding the vessels into three lines was meant to deny the English entry, but wind and tide pushed the formation out of position and increased its entanglement. Attempts to separate and move west then had to work against those same conditions. The English could concentrate against small portions of the line and repeat that local advantage along the immobilized fleet. France lost about 190 ships, including 166 captured, while English losses were two ships and between 400 and 600 men.
Notable Point · 12:11-14:50
Sluys and the failure of a floating fortress
Binding the French fleet into rigid lines lets the English exploit wind, tide, and local concentration at the Battle of Sluys.