Sea fight . The " Fight off Sandwich ". Fleet of the English Hubert De Burgh defeat French fleet of Eustace the Monk off Dover . 1217 The vessels engage in close hand - to - hand combat and are grappled together by use of hook and chain . The combatants are armed with swords and pole - axe and a warrior , in a studded jerkin discharges from a crossbow bottles of quicklime to blind opponents . 13th century