Battle of Getaria
|
---|
Part of
Franco-Spanish War (1635?59)
|
Battle of Getaria, by
Andries van Eertvelt
|
Date
| 22 August 1638
|
---|
Location
| |
---|
Result
|
French victory
|
---|
|
Belligerents
|
---|
France
|
Spain
|
Commanders and leaders
|
---|
Henri de Sourdis
Claude de Launay-Razilly
|
Lope de Hoces
|
Strength
|
---|
27
warships
[a]
7 fireships, 5,000 men
|
12-14
galleons
[b]
, 2
Dunkirk privateers
, 3-14
frigates
,
[c]
; 4,000
-7,000
men
|
Casualties and losses
|
---|
No ships lost, 40 dead
|
All ships destroyed, except one; 3,000
-4,000
dead
|
|
---|
- Flanders and Northern France
- Northern Spain and Southern France
- Italy
- France hinterland
- Franche-Comte and Germany
- Caribbean
- Naval battles
|
The
Battle of Getaria
[d]
was fought on 22 August 1638 during the
Franco-Spanish War (1635?59)
, at
Getaria
, in northern
Spain
. A French naval force commanded by
Henri de Sourdis
attacked and destroyed a Spanish squadron under
Lope de Hoces
, who survived but was killed at the
Battle of the Downs
in 1639.
The French fleet was being used to support the
siege of Fuenterrabia
, a vital Spanish port. By early August, the
blockade
meant the town was close to starvation. To provide time for a relief force to reach the defenders, de Hoces was ordered to draw their ships away; despite the near total destruction of his force, the siege was lifted in September 1638.
Although ultimately Getaria had little strategic impact, it was the first significant victory for the newly formed
French Navy
;
Cardinal Richelieu
viewed it as vindication of the decision taken in 1624 to invest large sums in its expansion.
Background
[
edit
]
Prior to the outbreak of the
Franco-Spanish War
in 1635,
Spain
was already engaged in the
Eighty Years War
with the
Dutch Republic
, as well as supporting
Emperor Ferdinand II
in the
Thirty Years War
. Although it was the predominant European superpower with much greater resources than
France
, fighting in multiple theatres relied on long and vulnerable lines of communication. The most important was the
Spanish Road
, an overland route funneling troops and supplies from Spanish possessions in
Italy
to their armies in
Flanders
. This was crucial since
Dutch naval
superiority made it difficult to send these by sea.
However, by 1638 the French and their allies were threatening to sever the Road at key points in
Milan
, the
Grisons
and
Breisach
in
Alsace
(see Map). In June,
Cardinal Richelieu
increased the pressure by sending an army under
Conde
over the
Pyrenees
to
besiege Fuenterrabia
, supported by elements of the newly created
Flotte du Ponant
, or
Atlantic
squadron, commanded by
Henri de Sourdis
. At the same time, the Dutch prepared to attack the ports of
Dunkirk
and
Ostend
in the
Spanish Netherlands
, whose loss would close the sea lanes between Spain and the
Army of Flanders
. This would make it impossible to continue the war.
Spanish chief minister,
Gaspar de Guzman, Count-Duke of Olivares
, responded by doubling the size of the Dunkirk squadron, with a smaller force under
Lope de Hoces
based in
A Coruna
. Despite a Dutch blockade, the Spanish transported 6,000 reinforcements to Flanders and prevented an attack on either Dunkirk or Ostend. However, by early August Fuenterrabia had been nearly destroyed by constant bombardment and was close to surrender; although greatly outnumbered, de Hoces was ordered to attack the French blockade and provide time for a relief force to reach the town.
The battle
[
edit
]
Sourdis was an aggressive commander, while both he and Richelieu were anxious to enhance the reputation of the
French navy
by offensive action. He had divided his forces into three elements, leaving the largest portion under
Claude de Launay-Razilly
to continue the blockade of
Fuenterrabia
. A second squadron led by Motigny was sent to monitor Hoces, while a third section commanded by Sourdis himself cruised along the coast; in July, he captured four Spanish ships at
Pasaia
.
Following his orders, Hoces left Coruna with 12
galleons
and four smaller vessels and on 17 August entered the harbour of
Getaria
where he was blockaded by Motigny. This was a strong defensive position, since the shallow waters prevented the larger French ships from entering and adopting their normal tactics of
close combat
followed by boarding. Hoces strengthened his defences by constructing shore based gun positions, although they were not strong enough to withstand a sustained attack.
Once advised of the situation by Motigny, Sourdis ordered the bulk of his fleet to make for
Getaria
where they met up on the evening of 19 August.
Instead of attacking the Spanish directly, he decided to use
fireships
and cut off any escape route with his smaller vessels; this meant waiting for the wind to blow towards the shore, which delayed operations until 22nd. He formed his force into three divisions, himself aboard
Le Triomphe
in the front line, along with seven fireships. Crowded together, the wind against them and the French warships blocking their exit, the Spanish were unable to escape; by the time Sourdis withdrew at 6:00 pm, all their ships except one had been destroyed.
Hoces set fire to his ship before abandoning it; Spanish dead were between 3,000 and 4,000, while the French lost 40 dead.
Consequences
[
edit
]
The French naval force employed at the 1628
Siege of La Rochelle
had consisted of Dutch-built warships, many commanded by foreign
mercenaries
; the 1638 campaign was the first in which both ships and officers were overwhelmingly French. Victory at Getaria gave Sourdis temporary control of the
Bay of Biscay
and was treated by Richelieu as a vindication of his naval policy.
However, the Spanish lifted the siege of Fuenterrabia on 7 September, and the remnants of the French army were evacuated by sea, leading to recriminations between Sourdis and Conde over responsibility for failure.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
French Order of Battle:
La Couronne
, 72 cannons, 500 men vice-admiral,
Claude de Launay-Razilly
;
Navire du Roi
, (52) 300 men, flag, Philippe des Gouttes;
Vaisseau de la Reine
, (38), 245 men, Danerac:
La Vierge
, (34), 245 men, Jacques du Me;
Le Cardinal
,(30), 245 men, de Coypeauville;
Le Triomphe
, (30), 205 men, de Caen;
La Victoire
, (30), 205 men, Contenaut;
Saint-Louis de Hollande
, (24), 205 men, Treillebois;
Trois-Rois: (30), 205 men, Baptiste;
La Fortune
, (30), 205 men, de Casenac;
L'Europe
, (34), 205 men, Chevalier Jules de Montigny;
Le Triton
, (30), 155 men, Villemoulin;
Le Faucon
, (30), 155 men, Dumenillet;
Le Cygne
, (30), 205 men,
Chevalier de Cange
;
Le Cocq
, (30), 205 men, de Chastelus;
La Licorne
, (30), 205 men, La Chesnaye;
Le Corail
, (30), 205 men, de Porte-Noire;
L'Emerillon
, 125 men, de Morsay;
Le Saint-Charles
, (28), 155 men, Saint-Etienne;
Le Dauphin du Havre
, (28), 155 men, Boisjoly;
La Perle
, (24), 125 men, La Roullerie;
La Renommee
, (24), 125 men, Daniel;
L'Intendant
, (24), 125 men, de Conflans;
Le Saint-Jean
, (24), 125 men,
Abraham Duquesne
;
La Magdelaine de Brest
, (24) 125 men, Louis de Senantes;
Turc
, 100 men,
Jean Guiton
;
Saint-Francois
, (16) 100 men, Regnier;
Marguerite
, (14), 100 men, La Treille;
Hermine
, (14), 100 men, de Lignieres;
Neptune
, (16), 100 men,
Chevalier Paul
;
Esperance-en?Dieu
, (24) 100 men, Chevalier Garnier;
Petit-Saint-Jean
, (16) 100 men, Razet / De Broq;
Fregate du Havre
, 66 men, Clerisse;
Royale
, (8), 82 men, Savigny;
Cardinale
, (8), 92 men, Baronnie;
Lion
;
Nassau
;
Licorne
;
Grande Fregate de Brest
, (8), 92 men;
Flibot de Brest
- ^
At this stage of naval development, the main distinction between galleons and ships of the line was the former could also be used to transport commercial cargoes, the latter could not
- ^
Spanish Order of Battle (partial);
Capitana
, de Hoces;
Santiago
, Nicolas Judice;
Neptuno
;
Santa Teresa
;
Carmen
;
San Juan
;
Nuestra Senora de la Anunciacion
;
Nuestra Senora del Caro
- ^
also spelt
Guetaria
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Byinton, Richard (2011).
The Forgotten Service: The French Navy of the Old Regime, 1650-1789
(Thesis). Florida State University.
- Jenkins, Ernest (1973).
History of the French Navy
. TBS The Book Service Ltd.
ISBN
978-0356041964
.
- Kamen, Henry (2002).
Spain's Road to Empire
(2003 ed.). Allen Lane.
ISBN
978-0140285284
.
- Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1911).
La marine militaire de la France sous les regnes de Louis XIII et de Louis XIV, Tome 1, Richelieu, Mazarin, 1624-1661
(in French). Honore Champion.
- Le Moing, Guy (2011).
Les 600 plus grandes batailles navales de l'Histoire
(in French). Marines Editions.
- Stradling, Robert (1979). "CATASTROPHE AND RECOVERY: THE DEFEAT OF SPAIN, 1639?43".
History
.
64
(11).
JSTOR
24411536
.
- Verge-Franceschi, Michel (2002).
Dictionnaire d'Histoire Maritime
(in French). editions Robert Laffont.
- Wedgwood, CV (1938).
The Thirty Years War
(2005 ed.). New York Review of Books.
ISBN
978-1590171462
.
- Bodart, Gaston
(1908).
Militar-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905)
(in German). Vienna and Leipzig: C. W. Stern
. Retrieved
22 August
2023
.
43°18′00″N
2°12′00″W
/
43.3000°N 2.2000°W
/
43.3000; -2.2000