Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré

On 12 July 1627, an English force of 100 ships and 6,000 soldiers, having previously departed from Plymouth Sound, under the command of the Duke of Buckingham invaded the Île de Ré, landing at the beach of Sablanceau, 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. 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. ==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 strong relief fleet under the Earl of Holland only departed on 6 November 1627, which proved to be too late. 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. ==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. 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. 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, as Denbigh "said that he had no commission to hazard the king's ship in a fight and returned shamefully to Portsmouth". 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. 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 in August, but remained blocked by the seawall in front of La Rochelle. 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 (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 (and future Marshal of France) Toiras led the defense of Saint-Martin-de-Ré. Versailles. 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. File:Saint Martin de Re before Vauban 17th century.jpg|Map of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, with fortress (left) and city (right), 17th century, before the enlarged fortifications around the city by Vauban in 1681. ==See also==