Fought June 24, 1340, when the English fleet of 250 sail, under Sir Robert Morley and Richard Fitzalan, attacked the French fleet of about 200 sail, under Hugues Quiéret, lying in Sluys Harbour. Practically the whole of the French fleet was captured or destroyed, and Quiéret was killed. The French lost 25,000 men, the English 4,000.
Smolensko (Russo-Swedish Wars).
Fought September 22, 1708, when Charles XII of Sweden, with 4,000 infantry and 6 regiments of cavalry, attacked a force of 16,000 Cossacks and Tartars. The king with one regiment was in the course of the action cut off from the rest of his troops by a body of Tartars, and had a narrow escape. His immediate following was reduced to 5 men, when he was rescued by a cavalry charge. In the end the Swedes routed the Cossacks with heavy loss.
Smolensko (Campaign of Moscow).
Fought August 17, 1812, between 175,000 French, under Napoleon, and 130,000 Russians, under Bagration, of whom about 50,000 and 60,000 respectively were actually engaged. Bagration's corps occupied the town of Smolensko, which Napoleon attacked, carrying two of the suburbs. During the night the Russians set fire to the place, and evacuated it, having lost in the action about 10,000 killed and wounded. The French lost 9,000.
Sobraon (First Sikh War).
Fought February 10, 1846, between the British, about 15,000 strong, and 25,000 Sikhs, under Runjur Singh. The Sikhs were strongly entrenched on the Sutlej, and Sir Hugh Gough, with feigned attacks on their centre and right, succeeded in pushing home his assault on their left, and after hard fighting drove the defenders to the river, where many perished. The British lost 2,383, the Sikhs about 8,000.
Soczawa (Ottoman Wars).
Fought 1676, between the Poles, under John Sobieski and the Turks, under Mohammed IV. The Poles, who had been reinforced by the Lithuanians, under Paz, totally routed the Turks, who were greatly superior in numbers, and drove them in confusion into Kaminiec, with the exception of which fortress, the whole of Poland was thus freed from the Ottoman invaders.