abordage

Abordage is a naval combat term describing the act of boarding one ship by another during battle. The word derives from the French abordage, meaning to approach and board, and is used in English and German maritime history to denote close-quarters actions in which attackers attempt to cross onto an enemy vessel and seize it.

Historically, abordage was most common during the Age of Sail when ships fought at relatively short ranges. Attackers would use grappling hooks, lines, and capstan powers to bring two vessels into contact, then deploy marines or sailors equipped with cutlasses, boarding axes, pistols, and other close-quarters weapons. Defenders aimed to repel the assault from the deck and rigging with disciplined volleys, barricades, and close combat. The outcome often hinged on supplies of manpower, morale, and the element of surprise.

Outcomes of bordages varied: successful boarding could result in the capture of the hostile ship and its crew; failure might leave the attacker crippled or repelled, sometimes at high cost in lives. Abordage declined with the rise of longer-range naval artillery and later propulsion technologies, which reduced opportunities for hand-to-hand ship-to-ship combat.

In modern times, boarding actions are rare and typically occur only in anti-piracy operations or specialized military contexts rather than as routine naval tactics. The term remains part of historical descriptions of naval warfare and is the standard designation in French and German usage, with boarding referred to in English as “boarding.”