Anglo-French War (1627–29)
| Anglo-French War | |||||||
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| Part of the French Wars of Religion | |||||||
 Henri Motte's 1881 depiction of Cardinal de Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 England
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 France
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Duke of Buckingham | Duke of Richelieu | ||||||
French victory
The Anglo-French War was a military conflict fought between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of England between 1627 and 1629 that was part of the broader Thirty Years' War. It mainly involved actions at sea. The centerpiece of the conflict was the Siege of La Rochelle (1627–28), in which the English crown supported the French Huguenots in their fight against the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France. La Rochelle had become the stronghold of the French Huguenots, under its own governance. It was the centre of Huguenot seapower, and the strongest centre of resistance against the central government.
The conflict followed the failure of the Anglo-French alliance of 1624, in which England had tried to find an ally in France against the power of the Hapsburgs. French politics evolved otherwise however as Cardinal Richelieu came to power in 1624. In 1625, Richelieu used English warships to vanquish the Huguenots at the Recovery of Ré island (1625), triggering outrage in England.
In 1626, France actually concluded a secret peace with Spain, and disputes arose around Henrietta Maria's household. Furthermore, France was building the power of its Navy, leading the English to be convinced that France must be opposed "for reasons of state".
In June 1626, Walter Montagu was sent to France to contact dissident noblemen, and from March 1627 started to organized a French rebellion. The plan was to send an English fleet to encourage rebellion, as a new Huguenot revolt by Henri, Duke of Rohan and his brother Soubise was being triggered.
Charles I sent his favourite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham with a fleet of 80 ships. In June 1627 Buckingham organised a landing on the nearby island of Île de Ré with 6,000 men in order to help the Huguenots. Although a Protestant stronghold, Île de Ré had not directly joined the rebellion against the king. On Île de Ré, the English under Buckingham tried to take the fortified city of Saint-Martin-de-Ré in the 1625 Recovery of Ré island, but were repulsed after three months. Small French Royal boats managed to supply St Martin in spite of the English blockade. Buckingham ultimately ran out of money and support, and his army was weakened by diseases. After a last attack on Saint-Martin they were repulsed with heavy casualties, and left with their ships.
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