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
Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...
, on the isle of
Ré (near
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...
), in 1627. After three months of siege, the
Marquis de Toiras and a relief force of French ships and troops managed to repel the Duke, who was forced to withdraw in defeat.
[Fissel, p.123] The encounter followed another defeat for Buckingham, the 1625
Cádiz expedition, and is considered to be the opening conflict of the
Anglo-French War of 1627–1629.
Landing
On 12 July 1627, an English force of 100 ships and 6,000 soldiers,
[''An apprenticeship in arms'' by Roger Burrow Manning p.116](_blank)
/ref> having previously departed from Plymouth Sound
Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England.
Description
Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...
, under the command of the Duke of Buckingham invaded the Île de Ré
Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin dialect, Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; , ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait.
Its high ...
, landing at the beach of Sablanceau
Sablanceau (anciently Saint-Blanceau) is a beach at the easternmost end of the island of Île de Ré in western France. Sablanceau belongs to the Communes of France, commune of Rivedoux-Plage.
English landing (1627)
On 12 July 1627, an England, ...
, with the objective of controlling the approaches to La Rochelle and encouraging rebellion in the city. Buckingham hoped to capture the Fort of La Prée and the fortified city of Saint-Martin-de-Ré
Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...
. A Royal French force of 1,200 infantry and 200 horsemen under the Marquis de Toiras, the island's Governor, resisted the landing from behind the dunes, but the English beachhead was maintained, with over 12 officers and 100 men killed.
During a period of three days in which Buckingham consolidated his beachhead, Toiras took all available provisions on the island and fortified himself in the citadel of Saint Martin. Buckingham endeavoured to establish a siege around the citadel, but that proved difficult; the English siege engineer had drowned during the landing, the cannon were too few and too small and, as autumn arrived, disease started to take its toll on the English troops. The siege continued until October.[Fissel, p.125]
Reinforcements
Requested supplies from England proved insufficient. Two thousand Irish troops arrived under Sir Ralph Bingley on 3 September 1627. A small supply fleet under Sir William Beecher arrived with only 400 raw troops.
A Scottish fleet composed of 30 ships, with 5,000 men, was on its way in October 1627, but was broken up by a storm on the coast of Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
.[''An apprenticeship in arms'' by Roger Burrow Manning p.118](_blank)
/ref> A strong relief fleet under the Earl of Holland only departed on 6 November 1627, which proved to be too late.
The French, despite difficulties, managed to get small amounts of supplies through to the defenders throughout the siege – in August, Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
offered a reward of 30,000 livres to the first ship captain to deliver 50 barrels of corn, flour, or biscuits to the citadel. Finally, a large supply fleet arrived on 7–8 October, with 29 out of 35 ships eluding the English naval blockade. This was in the nick of time as Toiras had already declared he would be unable to hold out after this date of not being resupplied.
From the mainland, 4,000 additional troops were landed on the southern end of the island on 20 October. The rescue troops were under the Marshal of France
Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...
Henri de Schomberg.
Final assault and retreat
On 27 October Buckingham attempted a last desperate attack on Saint Martin, but the English ladders turned out to be too short to scale the walls, and the fortress again proved impregnable.
Although there were indications that the Saint Martin French garrison was also close to exhaustion, Buckingham finally retreated with his troops towards the northern part of the island, with the objective of embarking from the area of Loix. He was harassed by pursuing French troops, with heavy casualties. Altogether, Buckingham lost more than 5,000 men in the campaign, out of a force of 7,000.
Aftermath
Two months into the siege, the people of La Rochelle finally started open hostilities against the central government of France in September, initiating the 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 1627–1628. The siege marked the height of Huguenot rebellions, the struggle between ...
.
Following the defeat of Buckingham in October, England attempted to send two fleets to relieve La Rochelle. The first one, led by William Feilding, Earl of Denbigh, left in April 1628, but returned without a fight to Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, as Denbigh "said that he had no commission to hazard the king's ship in a fight and returned shamefully to Portsmouth".[''An apprenticeship in arms'' by Roger Burrow Manning p.119](_blank)
/ref>
After returning to England, Buckingham tried to organise a second campaign to relieve the siege of La Rochelle, but he was stabbed and killed at Portsmouth on 23 August 1628 by John Felton, an army officer who had been wounded in the earlier military adventure and believed he had been passed over for promotion by Buckingham. Felton was hanged in November and Buckingham was buried in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. However at the time of his death, Buckingham was a widely hated figure amongst the public; Felton was popularly acclaimed as a hero for assassinating him.
The second fleet was dispatched soon after Buckingham's death, under the Admiral of the Fleet, the Earl of Lindsey
Earl of Lindsey is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1626 for the 14th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. He was First Lord of the Admiralty from 1635 to 1636 and also established his claim in right of his mother to the heredita ...
in August, but remained blocked by the seawall in front of La Rochelle. Exhausted and without hope of outside support anymore, La Rochelle finally surrendered to French Royal forces on 28 October. Following these defeats, England would end its involvement with the Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...
by negotiating peace treaties with France in 1629 and with Spain in 1630, to the dismay of Protestant forces on the continent.Peltonen, p.271
/ref>
Following these conflicts, the main port of Saint Martin, was further fortified by Vauban in 1681.
File:Landing of Buckingham in Sablanceau.jpg, Landing of Buckingham in Sablanceau
Sablanceau (anciently Saint-Blanceau) is a beach at the easternmost end of the island of Île de Ré in western France. Sablanceau belongs to the Communes of France, commune of Rivedoux-Plage.
English landing (1627)
On 12 July 1627, an England, ...
(detail).
File:English Siege of Saint Martin 1627.jpg, English forces besieging the citadel of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (detail).
File:Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (by Peter Paul Rubens).jpg, The Duke of Buckingham had to retreat in defeat.
File:Toiras Versailles.jpg, The Governor of Île de Ré
Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin dialect, Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; , ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait.
Its high ...
(and future Marshal of France
Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...
) Toiras led the defense of Saint-Martin-de-Ré. Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
.
File:Ravitaillement de l Ile de Re par Claude de Razilly en 1627 by Claude Vignon 1642.jpg, Successful resupply of Ile de Ré by Claude de Razilly in 1627, painted by Claude Vignon (1642).
File:Combat et victoire obtenue sur les Anglois Michel de la Mathoniere 1627.jpg, Marshall Henri de Schomberg and Toiras vanquishing the English army of Buckingham at the end of the siege. Michel de la Mathonière, 1627.
File:Retreat and reimbarkment of Buckingham in Loix.jpg, Retreat and reimbarkment of Buckingham in Loix.
File:Shomberg presenting English captives to the King.jpg, Schomberg presenting English captives to the King.
File:Plaque to Toiras in Saint Martin de Re.jpg, Plaque to Toiras, defender of Saint-Martin-de-Ré
Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...
.
File:Saint Martin de Re before Vauban 17th century.jpg, Map of Saint-Martin-de-Ré
Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...
, with fortress (left) and city (right), 17th century, before the enlarged fortifications around the city by Vauban in 1681.
See also
* Battle of Pont du Feneau
Notes
References
* French, Allen. "The Siege of Ré, 1627.” ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research,'' vol. 28, no. 116, 1950, pp. 160–68
online
* Mark Charles Fissel
War and government in Britain, 1598-1650
' Manchester University Press ND, 1991
* Samuel Rawson Gardiner ''A History of England Under the Duke of Buckingham and Charles I., 1624-1628'' BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008 "The expedition to Rhé" p. 111-13
"The Siege of St. Martin's" p. 135-16
* Markku Peltonen ''Classical humanism and republicanism in English political thought, 1570-1640'' Cambridge University Press, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Martin-de-Ré 1627
1627 in France
Conflicts in 1627
Anglo-French War (1627–1629)
Sieges of the Anglo-French wars
Sieges of the Thirty Years' War
Île de Ré
Charles I of England
Louis XIII
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Sieges involving Scotland
Sieges involving the Kingdom of France (987–1792)
Military history of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
History of Charente-Maritime
Attacks on military installations in France
Battles of the Thirty Years' War involving England
Battles of the Thirty Years' War involving France
Battles of the Thirty Years' War involving Scotland