Battle of La Rochelle

The Naval Battle of La Rochelle, Chronicle of Jean Froissart, 15th Century.

Date	22 and 23 June 1372
Location	off La Rochelle
Result	Castilian victory

Belligerents

England

Castile

Commanders and leaders

Earl of Pembroke

Ambrosio Boccanegra

Strength

Between 14 and 57 ships and barges

Between 12 and 53 ships

Casualties and losses

Fernández Duro:
48 ships sunk or captured
400 knights and 8,000 soldiers captured Unknown dead or wounded

Sherborne/Tuck:
All ships sunk or captured
800 men burnt to death or drowned
Between 160 and 400 knights prisoners

Unknown. Minor

Fernández Duro:
48 ships sunk or captured
400 knights and 8,000 soldiers captured Unknown dead or wounded

The Battle of La Rochelle was a naval battle fought on 22 and 23 June 1372 between a Castilian fleet commanded by the Castilian Almirant Ambrosio Boccanegra and an English convoy commanded by John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. The Castilian fleet had been sent to attack the English at La Rochelle, which was being besieged by French forces. Besides Boccanegra, other Castilian commanders were Cabeza de Vaca, Fernando de Peón and the Basque Ruy Díaz de Rojas.

Pembroke had been dispatched to the town with a small retinue of 160 soldiers and instructions to recruit an army of 3,000 soldiers around Aquitaine. The strength of the fleet is estimated as between the 12 galleys given by the Castilian chronicler and naval captain López de Ayala and the 40 sailing ships and 13 barges mentioned by the French chronicler Jean Froissart. Probably it consisted of 22 ships, mainly galleys and some "naos" or sailing ships. The English convoy probably consisted of 32 vessels and 17 small barges of about 50 tons. To justify the English defeat, the pro-English chronicler Jean Froissart says that only three ships were warships, but it's hard to believe that a fighter escort so small would be sent to defend the convoy.

The Castilian victory was complete and the entire convoy was captured. On his return to the Iberian Peninsula, Boccanegra seized four additional English ships. This defeat undermined English seaborne trade and supplies and threatened their Gascon possessions.

In 1372 the English monarch Edward III planned an important campaign in Aquitaine under the newly appointed lieutenant of the Duchy, the Earl of Pembroke. He contracted to serve a year in the duchy with a retinue of 24 knights 55 squires and 80 archers besides another companies led by Sir Hugh Calveley and Sir John Devereux, who finally did not serve or did not appear. Pembroke received instructions to recruit a host of 500 knight, 1,500 squires and 1,500 archers after his arrival in France. One of Edward's clerks, John Wilton, was appointed to accompany the Earl with a large amount of money to pay the troops.

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