The Recovery of Ré Island (French: ''Reprise de l'Île de Ré'') was accomplished by the army of
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
in September 1625, against the troops of the
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
admiral
Soubise Soubise can refer to:
* Soubise, a salpicon of cooked and pureed rice and onions; used primarily "au gratin". (steaks, tournedos)
* Soubise sauce, based on Béchamel sauce, with the addition of a ''soubise'' of onion and rice purée
* Soubise, Char ...
and the
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
forces of
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
, who had been occupying the
Island of Ré since February 1625 as part of the
Huguenot rebellions
The Huguenot rebellions, sometimes called the Rohan Wars after the Huguenot leader Henri de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in southwestern France, revolted agains ...
.
Background

The Protestants had been resisting the central Royal government with the 1620–1622 Protestant rebellion, leading to the
Naval battle of Saint-Martin-de-Ré
The Naval battle of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (French:''Bataille navale de Saint-Martin-de-Ré'') took place on 27 October 1622, between the Huguenot fleet of La Rochelle under Jean Guiton, and a Royal fleet under Charles de Guise.
Under Henry IV th ...
on 27 October 1622 between the naval forces of La Rochelle and a Royal fleet under
Charles de Guise
Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (26 March 1554 – 3 October 1611), or Charles de Guise, was a French nobleman of the house of Guise and a military leader of the Catholic League (French), Catholic League, which he headed during the French ...
. An uneasy peace was made with the
Treaty of Montpellier
The Treaty of Montpellier (or the Peace of Montpellier) was signed in Montpellier on 18 October 1622 between King Louis XIII of France and Duke Henry II of Rohan. The treaty followed the siege of Montpellier and ended hostilities between French r ...
, but frustrations remained on both sides.
In February 1625, the Protestant
Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise
Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise (1580–1642), was a French Huguenot leader.
Son of René II, Viscount of Rohan, and younger brother of Henri de Rohan, he inherited the lordship of Soubise through his mother Catherine de Parthenay. He served ...
, led a
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
revolt against the French king Louis XIII, and, after publishing a manifesto, invaded and occupied the island of Ré. He seized Ré with 300 soldiers and 100 sailors. From there he sailed up the coast to Brittany where he led a successful attack on the royal fleet in the
Battle of Blavet
The Battle of Blavet (French: ''Bataille du Blavet'') was an encounter between the Huguenot forces of Soubise and a French fleet under the Duke of Nevers in Blavet harbour (''Port de Blavet'', modern Port-Louis), Brittany in January 1625, trigger ...
. Soubise then returned to Ré with 15 ships and soon occupied the
Ile d'Oléron
Ile may refer to:
* iLe, a Puerto Rican singer
* Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places
* Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria
* Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language
* Isoleucine, an amino acid
* Another n ...
as well, thus taking control of the Atlantic coast from
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
to
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
. Through these deeds, he was recognized as the head of the reform, and named himself "Admiral of the Protestant Church". The French Navy, by contrast, was depleted, leaving the central government very vulnerable.
The Huguenot city of
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
voted to join Soubise on 8 August 1625.
Encounter and capture of the island
Charles, Duke of Guise
Charles de Lorraine, 4th Duke of Guise and 3rd Prince of Joinville (20 August 1571 – 30 September 1640), was the son of Henry I, Duke of Guise and Catherine of Cleves, and succeeded his father as Duke of Guise in 1588. Initially part of the Cath ...
, organized a landing in order to re-capture the islands, using 20 borrowed Dutch warships as well as seven English ships under the
Duke of Montmorency
Duke of Montmorency was a title of French nobility that was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris.
History
The first creation was in 1551 for Anne de Montmorency, Constable of ...
.
Naval battle of Pertuis Breton
The Dutch fleet of 20 warships was supplied under the terms of the 1624 Franco-Dutch
Treaty of Compiègne
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
, and was under the command of Admiral
Willem Haultain de Zoete Willem de Zoete, Heer Haultain (1565 – 26 September 1637, Sluis) was a Dutch people, Dutch Admiral of the 17th century. He served as a Lieutenant-Admiral from 1601 to 1627.
During the Eighty Years' War he directed Dutch fleets in various nava ...
. It would be withdrawn from French service in February 1626 after a resolution of the
States-General in December 1625.

The English king
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
and
Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham.
...
had negotiated with the French regent,
Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
, for English ships to aid Richelieu in his fight against the French Protestants (
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
s), in return for French aid against the Spanish occupying the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
(Mansfeld expedition of 1624-25), an agreement which led to great trouble with the English parliament, which was horrified by the help given to France against the Huguenots. Seven English ships were delivered by Captain Pennington after many misgivings, and were employed in the conflict, although they were essentially manned by French crews, as most of the English crews had refused to serve against their coreligionaries and had disembarked in Dieppe. The English ships duly saw action against La Rochelle, however.
On 16 July 1625, Soubise managed to blow up the Dutch ship under Vice-Admiral Philipps Van Dorp, with a loss of 300 Dutch sailors.
Naval battle of Saint-Martin de Ré and landing

In September 1625, Montmorency led his large fleet out of
Les Sables d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loire, it has the administ ...
, and finally defeated the fleet of
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
, commanded by
Jean Guiton
Jean Guiton (2 July 1585 – 15 March 1654) was born in La Rochelle, where he followed the occupation of ship-owner. He became a notable Huguenot leader during the Naval battle of Saint-Martin-de-Ré and siege of La Rochelle.
Having been nominate ...
and Soubise, in front of
Saint-Martin-de-Ré
Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, literally ''Saint-Martin of Ré''; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'') is a commune in the western French department of Charente-Maritime.[regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...]
s of royal troops under
Toiras
Jean Caylar d'Anduze de Saint-Bonnet, Marquis de Toiras (1585–1636), often just called Toiras, was a Marshal of France of the 17th century.
Toiras fought against Soubise in the Capture of Ré island in 1625. After his victory, he received the ...
were landed on the island, defeating Soubise with his 3,000 men. The island of Ré was invested, forcing Soubise to flee to England with his few remaining ships. Montmorency thus managed to recover both Île de Ré and
Ile d'Oléron
Ile may refer to:
* iLe, a Puerto Rican singer
* Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places
* Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria
* Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language
* Isoleucine, an amino acid
* Another n ...
.
Aftermath

After long negotiations, a peace agreement, the
Treaty of Paris (1626)
The Treaty of Paris (1626) was a peace agreement between king Louis XIII and the Huguenots following the outbreak of the Second Huguenot rebellion and the Capture of Ré island
Capture may refer to:
*Asteroid capture, a phenomenon in which an as ...
, was finally signed between the city of La Rochelle and King Louis XIII on 5 February 1626, preserving religious freedom but imposing some guaranties against possible future upheavals: La Rochelle was prohibited from keeping a war fleet and had to destroy a fort in Tasdon. The contentious
Fort Louis under Royal control near the western gate of the city was supposed to be destroyed "in reasonable time".
The French officer
Toiras
Jean Caylar d'Anduze de Saint-Bonnet, Marquis de Toiras (1585–1636), often just called Toiras, was a Marshal of France of the 17th century.
Toiras fought against Soubise in the Capture of Ré island in 1625. After his victory, he received the ...
was named as Governor of the island, and he started to reinforce fortifications in view of future attacks, especially at the
Fort de La Prée and
Saint-Martin-de-Ré
Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, literally ''Saint-Martin of Ré''; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'') is a commune in the western French department of Charente-Maritime.[Siege of La Rochelle
The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the ...]
, leading to the second
Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré
The siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, or siege of St. Martin's (French: ''siège de Saint-Martin-de-Ré''), was an attempt by English forces under George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, to capture the French fortress-city of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, ...
led by the
Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham.
...
against
Toiras
Jean Caylar d'Anduze de Saint-Bonnet, Marquis de Toiras (1585–1636), often just called Toiras, was a Marshal of France of the 17th century.
Toiras fought against Soubise in the Capture of Ré island in 1625. After his victory, he received the ...
.
The conflict clearly showed the dependence of France on foreign navies. This led Richelieu to launch ambitious plans for a national fleet.
''Champlain'' by Denis Vaugeois, p.22
/ref>
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Recovery Of Re Island
Conflicts in 1625
1625 in France
Re Island
Battles involving the Dutch Republic
History of Charente-Maritime
Île de Ré