was horrified by the help given to France against the Huguenots. Seven English ships were delivered by Captain Pennington after many misgivings, and were employed in the conflict, although they were essentially manned by French crews, as most of the English crews had refused to serve against their coreligionaries and had disembarked in Dieppe. The English ships duly saw action against La Rochelle, however. On 16 July 1625, Soubise managed to blow up the Dutch ship under Vice-Admiral Philipps Van Dorp, with a loss of 300 Dutch sailors. Naval battle of Saint-Martin de Ré and landing In September 1625, Montmorency led his large fleet out of Les Sables d'Olonne, and finally defeated the fleet of La Rochelle, commanded by Jean Guiton and Soubise, in front of Saint-Martin-de-Ré on 18 September 1625. Two elite regiments of royal troops under Toiras were landed on the island, defeating Soubise with his 3,000 men. The island of Ré was invested, forcing Soubise to flee to England with his few remaining ships. Montmorency thus managed to recover both Île de Ré and Ile d'Oléron. Aftermath After long negotiations, a peace agreement, the Treaty of Paris (1626), was finally signed between the city of La Rochelle and King Louis XIII on 5 February 1626, preserving religious freedom but imposing some guaranties against possible future upheavals: La Rochelle was prohibited from keeping a war fleet and had to destroy a fort in Tasdon. The contentious Fort Louis under Royal control near the western gate of the city was supposed to be destroyed "in reasonable time". The French officer Toiras was named as Governor of the island, and he started to reinforce fortifications in view of future attacks, especially at the Fort de La Prée and Saint-Martin-de-Ré. An English offensive to capture the island would again take place in 1627 to support the Siege of La Rochelle, leading to the second Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré led by the Duke of Buckingham against Toiras. The conflict clearly showed the dependence of France on foreign navies. This led Richelieu to launch ambitious plans for a national fleet. Notes Conflicts in 1625 1625 in France Re Island Battles involving the Dutch Republic History of Charente-Maritime Île de Ré