The Battle of Damme was fought on 30 May and 31 May 1213. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. The success of the English raids ended a threat of French invasion of England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.
Damme is located on the estuary of the Zwyn (now largely silted up), at that time in the county of Flanders (now in Belgium). Damme is a Municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, six kilometres northeast of Brugge ( Bruges) The Zwin is a Nature reserve at the North Sea coast on the Belgian - Dutch border Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those It was then the port of the city of Bruges. Bruges (Brugge is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium.
The English knew King Philip II of France was planning to invade England, at the very least as a way of preventing an English attack on Poitou. Philip II Augustus (Philippe Auguste ( 21 August[[ 165]] &ndash 14 July 1223) was the King of France from 1180 until his death Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Meanwhile, Philip was in Flanders attacking Ferrand, Count of Flanders. King John of England responded by sending a fleet to Flanders. John (24 December 1167 &ndash 19 October 1216 reigned as a King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death
This fleet had 500 ships, 700 knights and their attendants, and a large force of mercenaries, under the command of William de Longespee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury. William de Longespée jure uxoris 3rd Earl of Salisbury (c 1176 &ndash March 7, 1226) was an English noble primarily remembered for his command It left England on 28 May 1213, and entered the estuary of the Zwyn two days later. Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling There it found a huge French armada, 1700 ships heavily laden with supplies and the personal goods of the French barons. Most of the French army was away besieging Ghent, and so the fleet was only lightly guarded. Ghent (ˈɡɛnt Gent ʝɛnt in Dutch, Gand in French, and formerly Gaunt in English) is a City and a
The English immediately attacked, seizing 300 ships which were anchored or beached outside the harbour of Damme, and pillaging and burning a hundred more. The next day they attacked the rest of the ships as well as the town itself. This was a little reckless for King Philip had come with his troops from Ghent, and the English barely got back to their ships and away safely. They returned to England with the seized ships and a large booty (the biographer of William Marshal claimed "never had so much treasure come into England since the days of King Arthur"). William Marshal 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 &ndash 14 May 1219) also called William the Marshal (Guillaume le Maréchal was an Anglo Norman soldier
Not only was a good portion of the French fleet gone, but the harbour of Damme was blocked by debris, so King Philip had the rest of his fleet burned.