Impregnable Fortress: The (Staggering) Siege of La Rochelle 1627
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Published 2021-10-31
On 4 August 1627 a royal French army, 11’000 strong, arrived at the Huguenot town of La Rochelle. Their arrival marked the beginning of a siege characterized by an impregnable fortress, extremely determined commanders and ingenious siege craft, manifesting above all in a 1.5 km long sea-wall, a construction seemingly impossible at its time. La Rochelle was one of the major strongholds of the Huguenots, the French Protestants, and the siege marked the climax of the reformatory struggle in France. It was the centerpiece of both the third Huguenot rebellion and the Anglo-French war of 1627-29. This is how modern historiography tells the story of the staggering siege of La Rochelle.
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Bibliography
Arcère, Louis Etienne, Histoire de la ville de La Rochelle et du pays d' Aunis, 2 vols., La Rochelle 1756-1757.
Beaulieu-Persac, Philippe Prevost de, Mémoires, Paris, 1913.
Clarke, Jack Alden, Huguenot Warrior. Life and Times of Henri II de Rohan 1579-1638.
Duffy, C., The Fortress in the Early Modern World 1494-1660, London 1979.
Holt, Mack P., The French Wars of Religion 1562-1629, Cambridge 22005.
Parker, Geoffrey, The Thirty Years War, London 1997.
Pontis, Louis de, Memoires du sieur de Pontis qui a servi dans les armees cinquantesix ans sous les rois Henri XIV, Louis XIII et Louis XIV. 2 vols., Paris 1824.
Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, cardinal duc de, Lettres, instructions diplomatiques et papiers d' etat du Cardinal de Richelieu. 8 vols., Paris 1853-1877.
Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, Memoires du cardinal de Richelieu. Ed. for the Societe de l'histoire de France. 10 vols, Paris 1907-1931
Romocki, Siegfried Julius von, Geschichte der Explosivstoffe: Band 1: Geschichte der Sprengstoffchemie, der Sprengtechnik und des Torpedowesens bis zum Beginn der neuesten Zeit, Berlin 1895.
All Comments (21)
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"Despite treatment by his doctor, the king survived." Love the wording there.
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Such a "boring" and disciplined siege for the age, especially from the French. No flashy attacks, no undermining, no crumbling walls; just a solid circumvallation and patience. The best generalship is not always the most exciting.
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We are talking about the Rohan sons helping LaRochelle, but let me ask: Where was LaRochelle when the Westfold fell?
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"To confuse potential attackers and historians" I expected nothing less from a Frenchmen
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"Despite getting bled seven times in seven days by his doctors, Louis recovered quickly" lmaoo
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"Despite being bled 7 times by his doctor, The King recovered quickly" Got a laugh out of that.
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Finally, a siege that didn't leave me staggered.
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Rochelle calls for aid Rohan: and Rohan will answer
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Your quality has certainly improved here. Cardinal Richelieu’s battle armour is also epic.
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I don't think Catholic religious devotion was much of a driving motivation in the case of Richelieu in this case. After all, Richelieu spent the Thirty Years War supporting Protestants against Catholics in order to reduce Habsburg power. Rather, Richelieu had come of age during the French Wars of Religion, and seen how sectarian struggle by feudal nobles with private armies had devastated France. His ethos was thus simple: Peace at home through religious tolerance, rule by a single all-powerful centralized state, and a foreign policy that put national interest above religious allegiance.
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In spite of the lack of general assaults, there was still occassion for valorous deeds. A small group of French Musketeers of the Guard managed to capture the St. Gervais bastion as part of a bet, even hoisting their own flag improvised from napkins. Richelieu himself was very pleased with their performance and commended the men who took part in the feat.
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A siege on la Rochelle by the best siege channel? Count me in.
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The painting done by Henri Motte is one of the coolest/oldest pieces of historical art I personally can remember. I'm sure if he was alive would love to dive in deep in every single good Youtube video, book or movie out there related with military history.
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8:40 "The beaquonnes are lit! Rohan calls for aid!" "And Gondorshire shall answer!"
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I am more and more impressed by what you do. No matter if it's PLC or Netherlands or England it's always well researched and skilfully depicted. Keep it up!
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Note: Jeanne d`Albret was indeed Queen of Navarre but in fact she was the mom of Henry IV, not his wife.
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The islands were also heavy fortified worth noticing, later on Napoleon used La Rochelle for his purposes as it was really hard to brake the defences from the sea
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Sunday is complete now that this gem is available for our viewing experience. Thank you for the great content. Movies should be made about the tales your videos have covered.
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This was in The Three Musketeers
