Early Actions

Of the sixteenth-century

This Naval History continues on from: "Solomons Gold"

One difficulty hard to overcome, is Custon, it has a hold over Man's mind. His way of thinking was "what has always been" is how it should be.

Sailing-ship tactics were a completely new art, and they had to be developed from scratch. And they were developed exclusively by the English, who were the first by a good many years. They introduced the weapon which gave them birth to naval tactics, and they were the first to use Line-Ahead as the basic fighting formation.

But it took a very long time for the users of the new weapon to reach various conlusions. Guns of ship-killing size were introduced rather sparingly at first; because they had to establish their claim to be effective. The ram was still considered to be the naval weapon of war.

All those making tactical plans inevitably thought in terms of galley tactics, of "line abreast": if they read books about "naval tactics" and there were many to read, all stating in the 1530s, that each squadron of sailing ships or galley's (rowing and sailing) "ought to sail in line abreast."

Solomons Gold

The action off Ryde 1545

In 1545, some theories were tried out twice

The first encounter took place in the enclosed waters of Spithead, off Portsmouth. The English were commanded by Lord Lisle, and the French fleet were under D'Annibault, and had de Chaves among its higher officers.

The spearhead of the enemy's attack was a squadron of galleys under Paulin. After preliminary and ineffectual skirmishes, the English fleet withdrew almost to the beach, where the great ships were drawn up at anchor, in "line abreast!"

D'Annibault tried to tempt them out by sending in his fleet in three lines abreast, with the galleys leading. Paulin annoyed the English with fire which, from the fact that they were galleys, could not be heavy.

Then the breeze off the land sprang up, and Henry's big ships slipped their cables and advanced on the tormentors. The French galleys, fearing they would be rammed, by the Round Ships! Hastily turned and withdrew.

The only heros on the day emerged from between the the big English ships. They were Henry's "roo-barges" - minute editions of the galleys! The French galleys, terrified of being rammed by these fast tiny craft, rowed away as fast as they could with the roo-barges firing into the stern windows of their poops.

Clearly there is nothing here which is modern, nor any concept of sail tactics, Henry's great ships were loaded with broadside guns, but evidently not one shot was fired from any cannon, nor is there any hint of "line-ahead."

The rowed ships on each side played the major part, and the only thing which the sailing ships did was to attempt to use themselves as rams! It was certainly a case of "what has always been" is how it should be.

The action certainly showed the limitations of the old weapon, but it did nothing to reveal the possibilities of the new weapon.

The action off Shoreham 1545

The second action later in the same year the rivals met off Shoreham in the open sea. Another confused fight followed, and in one respect it was less modern than their first encounter.

Dissapointed with the performance of his sailing ships in the first fight, Henry seems to have issued hasty orders for the fitting of oar-power to at least some of them.

Lisle's theories, are contained in his orders on this occasion, they show how entirely reliant he was on galley tactics - which is basically the same thing as land-tactics.

The method of drawing up an army for battle was to divide the main force into three groups, all in "line-abreast" formation; each with a front far longer than its flank. The front facing the battle was called "Vantward" and the back "Rear-ward." The front composed of the infantry, while the two flanks or wings were the cavalry.

Lisle's sailing fleet was divided into a "Vantward" for his main battle. There was a "Rear-ward" which was composed of victuallers and armed merchantmen carrying reserve soldiers.

In order to keep to windward, it is composed entirely of "oared- pieces" and their orders were to ward off enemy attacks from the enemy's heavy ships in the "Main Battle."

New ships were oar propelled

All of the King's new ships of "Galleon" type were set out in the old military style formation; interpreted in terms of ships. The heavy sailing vessels are the infantry; while the highly manoeuvrable "oared-pieces" are the light cavalry.

The action itself proved, tactically, indecisive; which spelt strategic defeat for the French, who were set upon invading England, with their superior armies.

Their ships were well built but their Navy was not as strong as England's was. But there is one sentence in Lord Lisle's dispatch to the king which reveals the shadow of coming events.

"The Mistress," he wrote, "the 'Anne Gallant' and the 'Greyhound,' with all your Highness's shallops and rowing-pieces did their part well, but especially the 'Mistress' and the 'Anne Gallant' did so handle the galleys, with their sides as with their prows, that your great ships in a manner had little to do."

The named ships were all three of the new sort, and as far as we can tell, they were the first to use "their sides" in offensive action. We don't know for sure, but it seems more than likely that the 15th day of August 1545, was the first to see an English broadside fired in anger.

These comparatively large ships were oar propelled in the battle off Shoreham; and it may be true of that occasion, for we know that Henry, dissapointed with the results of the earlier Spithead fight, had recently signified that, his "pleasure would be to have certain of his ships brought pass to row, to keep company with others of that sort."

"And to ascend upon the oared French galleys, there shall be much done to them as stuff and time will serve to perform."

Not much was done to anybody; the King watching made no difference, no damage was done and none was received, less a few broken oars. This was the second ineffective battle, but this time shots were fired even if they didn't hit any of the French ships.

Other than musket fire, the French could not fire back because they didn't have a single cannon on any ships yet.

Was Line Ahead A Strategy?

Thereafter no English fleet of any size engaged in regular open-sea action for forty-three years. During that period sleek new sailing warships were developed and the older ones modified along the lines that Hawkins was to recommend.

Various Englishmen in various parts of the world, had fough minor actions at sea, and there can be no question at all, that they were becoming year by year, more reliant on the gun as their principal weapon, and relied less upon the ram and boarding.

This meant that their whole conception of a warship was gradually changing. It was no longer to be a floating fortress which one defended, or from which was moved into attack, with forces and weapons like they did on land.

The new fight was to be a flexible instrument of naval warfare, with a real recognizable sea-weapon, the cannon. The increasing reliance that they were placing upon the long, long-ranged "culverins" is confirmation of that tendency. And with the great guns, pointing out, on one's side, the only practical way forward was Line Ahead.

This reveals the first certain presence of a form of Line Ahead, and second it gives a clue - one of the few we have - of English tactics in what was probably the most crucial naval action in our long sea history.

English tactics in the 1588 Spanish Armada

It is a difficult question to answer. It would be impossible but for the survival of one small manuscript, written by Sir William Gorges, the relevent portion of this document dates from 1578. It looks as if to make it extremely likely that the general tactical conduct of the English assault on that occasion was based upon it.

This is what he wrote: "No man shall board an enemy ship but by order from a principal commander...for that by one ship's boarding all the fleet may be engaged to their dishonour and loss. But every ship that is under the lee of an enemy shall labour to recover the wind if the admiral endeavour it."

"But if we find an enemy to leeward of us the whole fleet shall follow the admiral, vice-admiral or other leading ship within musket-shot of the enemy, giving so much liberty to the leading ship, as after her broadside is delivered she may stay and trim her sails."

"Then is the second ship to give her broadside and the third, fourth and the rest, when done they shall all tack as the first and give the other broadside, keeping the enemy under perpetual volly."

"This you must do upon the windermost ship of the enemy, which you shall either batter to pieces, or force him or them to bear up and so entangle them, and drive them foul of one another to their utter confusion."

In several ways here is a clear departure from the old warfare, and a big step towards the new type of warfare.

(1) Boarding and entering, the old principal objective of "northern" fighting, is definately forbidden, save by express order. All normal fighting is to be done with the gun.

(2) The windward position is to be siezed always, not for the "smoke" reason, but in order that the offensive action prescribed below may be taken.

(3) Once to windward of the enemy, every ship shall fall into a rough-and-ready line ahead behind one of the principal commanders: not a well ordered and spaced line, with positions pre-ordained, like the close-hauled line-ahead formation which ultimately developed: yet quite definately a "follow-my-leader-in-single-file" formation, with no relationship whatever to "line abreast."

(4) Each ship in turn now attacks with broadside fire the "windermost" tip of the enemy's line, but not following very closely in the wake of her next ahead, partly because even now the ships are not manageable enough to prevent collisions if they keep too close, and partly to give time for what follows.

(5) Long before the last ship has delivered her broadside, the leader is to come about, turning into the wind and returning more or less the way she came, timing her tack as to reach the target - still the same "windermost" enemy ship - just after the last of the line has delivered her first broadside and moved on. From there on the whole performance is repeated in reverse, with the other broadside being used.

Modern-day Pages Fast Boats Pages Joe Wezley Pages

English tactics after the Armada

From the Armada was learnt: "Extreme range is hopless: even the extreme point-blank range is much too far. Powder and shot will be wasted unless you close to a range where your very feeblest gun may take effect." That means with cannons: "The nearer is better."

The ABC of all successful English gun-tactics was to close from to windward, for you cannot besure of doing it from anywhere else! Batter the enemy's hull from a range where you can see the whites of his gunners' eyes, and at which you cannot miss!

"Seek out the enemy's fleet and destroy it!"

The continuation of this Naval History will be: "Horatio Nelson"

Early Actions Horatio Nelson

"Pirates Trilogy" $20