Battle of La Rochelle

Timeline

1. 1372Entrance to La Rochelle harbor · Charente-MaritimeThe new Governor of Aquitaine, the Earl of Pembroke, arrived with his fleet and the army pay at La Rochelle, then under siege by Du Guesclin, only to find twelve galleys and several carracks under Bocanegra waiting outside the harbor. The English fleet engaged willingly, but the Castilian high-sided warships and stone-throwing engines held the advantage, and both sides suffered casualties in the first day's fierce fighting.
2. 1372Offshore from La Rochelle · Bay of BiscayAfter the ebb tide grounded the large English ships, the shallower-draft Castilian galleys attacked with fire arrows and pots of grease. Pembroke's flagship, grappled by four galleys, was forced to surrender; the entire fleet was sunk or captured, and some twelve thousand pounds of pay fell into enemy hands. La Rochelle then opened its gates to the French, and England's maritime supply lines in Aquitaine were nearly severed.