Battle of Orbitello
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Orbetello was a major naval engagement
of the Franco-Spanish War of 1635, fought on 14 June 1646 off the Spanish-ruled town of Orbetello
, on the coast of Tuscany
, Italy
, between a French fleet led by Admiral Armand de Maillé
, Marquis of Brézé, and a Spanish fleet commanded by Count of Linhares sent to break the blockade of Orbetello and relieve the town, besieged since 12 May by a French army under the command of Prince Thomas of Savoy
. The Battle of Orbetello was tactically very unusual, since it was fought by sailing ships towed by galleys in a light breeze.
After a hard but inconclusive fight during which Admiral Brézé was killed, the French fleet withdrew to Toulon
leaving the sea to the Spanish, who decided not to pursue them to relief Orbetello. The land forces disembarked by Count of Linhares few days later, however, failed to dislodge the French lines, and the siege could be undertaken until 24 July, when another Spanish army led by Marquis of Torrecuso
and Duke of Arcos which had come from the Kingdom of Naples
across the Papal States
, defeated the besieging troops forcing them to retreat with heavy losses.
with the aim of interrupting Spanish communications with the Kingdom of Naples, threatening the initial stage of the Spanish Road, and also to scare the pope Innocent X
, whose Spanish sympathies displeased him. For this purpose was gathered in Toulon
a fleet commanded by the young Admiral Marquis of Brézé composed, in accordance to Spanish sources, of 36 galleons, 20 galleys, and a large complement of minor vessels. This fleet carryed aboard an army of 8,000 infantry and 800 cavalry and its baggage under Thomas of Savoy, shortly before a Spanish general.
The town of Orbetello was erected in a spit between two inner bays of a big lagoon. Various fortified positions made it a strong defensive position: Porto Ercole at the east, San Stefano at the west, and the fort San Filippo in the Monte Argentario
island, linked to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. In the end, the French army landed at Talamone
, where Brézé left to the Prince a half-dozen of vessels and galleys to bombard the forts of the town. Meanwhile, he went to Porto San Stefano with 5 sailing ships and 4 galleys and bombarded the fort till obtain its surrender. Once taken the forts of both wings, Don Carlo de la Gatta, the castillan of Orbetello, retreated to the hermitage of Cristo. The isthmus was occupied thanks to a battery mounted aboard the French galleys, and soon the lagoon was filled of armed boats gathered by Jean-Paul de Saumeur
, Chevalier Paul. Don Carlo de la Gatta, supported by just 200 Spanish and Italian soldiers, had very few opportunities to resist without help. An early relief force of 35 boats and 5 escort galleys sent from Naples with munitions and supplies was beaten, so a major fleet action was expected.
When news of the siege reached Spain, Philip IV gave orders of preparing his fleets for the relief. It was necessary purchase second-hand stores in the Netherlands and made extraordinary levies across the country. The command of the expedition was entrusted to the Portuguese loyalist Miguel de Noronha, Count of Linhares, who was Captain General of the Galleys of the Mediterranean, and therefore supreme commander of the Spanish naval forces of this sea. He received orders of sailing to Orbetello in command of 22 men-of-war of the Plate fleet and the Dunkirk squadron; the llater providing 8 frigates. At least 3,300 soldiers were brought aboard this ships for the relief. Linhares' second in command was Admiral General Francisco Díaz de Pimienta, who displeased by his always secondary role, had recently resigned claiming ill health. While Pimienta would be in charge of the sailing ships, Linhares would do so with the galleys. Once at sea, the Spanish fleet was joined off the Sardinia
n Cape Carbonara
by 18 galleys of the squadrons of Naples, Sardinia
, Genoa
, and Sicily
, which drove up its strength to 22 galleons and frigates and 30 galleys. Brézé, in the meantime, could be reinforced by the divisions of Montade and Saint-Tropez
, and was able to oppose Linhares and Pimienta with 24 sailing ships and 20 galleys.
in a line astern with the galleons and the galleys at the forefront
and 8 lagging vessels closing the formation. Admiral Brézé formed his fleet in a line shortly after, alternating galleons and galleys, and sailed westward in a gentle breeze, closed with Linhares' ships. At 9:00 PM. Brézé had approached four miles to the Spanish, when, due to the lightness of the wind, the galleons of the two fleets had to be towed by the galleys while awaiting to be at windward. Brézé, aboard his flagship Gramd Saint-Louis, stood in front of the line flanqued by Vice-admiral Louis Foucald Du Gagnon's la Lune and Counter-admiral Jules de Montigny's le Soleil. His ship was in tow of Lieutenant-General Vinguerre's Patrone galley. 15 other vessels composed the French line of battle, each one towed by a galley. Montade's 6-ship division was left in reserve. Both fleets sailed along each other until Linhares, thanks to the superior number of galleys that he had, gained the windward and was able to move towards the French line, attempting to overrun its line to catch it between two fires. Linhares had in tow Pimienta's flag galleon Santiago; don Álvaro de Bazán del Viso, general of the Neapolitan galleys, the galleon Trinidad, flagship of Admiral Pablo de Contreras; and Enrique de Benavides, general of the Silian galleys, other large Spanish galleons.
Brézé, unable to dispatch his fireships over the Spanish vessels, as he had done in his victories at Cádiz
, Barcelona
and Cartagena
, lunged over Pimienta's galleon Santiago and riddled the ship with his artillery Santiago lost its main-mast and had to be succored by Linhares and Pablo de Contreras. Fearing the attack of the French fireships or the boarding of Brézé's galleys, Contreras covered the damaged galleon at the head of six vessels while Linhares flag galley towed it out of danger. The remaining ships engaged Brézé in an inconclusive action which lasted when both fleets separated at dusk. The Spanish lost the frigate
Santa Catalina, burnt by its own crew to avoid capture when she fell surrounded by the French la Mazarine and three other vessels. The foremost Spanish galleons Testa de Oro, León Rojo and Caballo marino received heavy damage, while a French fireship blew up. Two French galleons were also badly damaged. The human loss aboard the Spanish fleet is unknown. 40 men were killed or wounded aboard the French one One of them was Admiral Brézé, cut in half by a cannonball which hit the stern of his flagship Grand Saint Louis.
The following morning the Spanish and French fleets were 12 miles distant. Comte Du Daugnon, Brézé's successor, decided set sail to Porto Ercole to made repairs instead pursuing the Spanish fleet, which had sought refuge after the Giglio island. Linhares chased him during all the 15th and part of the 16th. 4 French storeships, unaware of the main fleet's departure, fell amidst the Spanish fleet the first night, but managed to escape by following Linhares maneuvers. The Spanish admiral finally abandoned the pursuit to relieve Orbetello. It proved to be impossible do it for a storm dispersed most of the ships during the night. Some of them took refuge in Sardinia; others at Giglio and Montecristo
. The galley Santa Bárbara sank off Giglio, with the death of 46 rowers. The French also suffered from the storm. One of their galleys, la Grimaldi, sank off Piombino
, although its crew and artillery taken aboard the Spanish fleet, and another one, Saint-Dominique, lagged behind along with a fireship and was captured by Pimienta off Cape Corse.
's port mouth, and 8 ships arrived from Naples
to Porto Santo Stefano
, destroying or capturing about 70 tartanes and barges with the supplies of Thomas of Savoy's army during the operation. Du Daugnon, meanwhile, returned to Toulon. Despite his failure, reinforcements could be later carried to Talamone aboard five ships, and Linhares' attempts to dislodge the French siege lines were unsuccessful. Linhares disembarked 3.300 soldiers led by Pimienta, who divided them in two corps and advanced upon the French lines. The first one managed to occupy a hill in where a French cavalry attack was rejected, but the second one was dislodged after a 6-hour battle and forced to reembark. 400 wounded men were evacuated; the killed were left in the field. The siege was not lifted until an army under the Duke of Arcos and the Marquis of Torrecuso stormed the besieger camp a month later, killing or capturing over 7,000 men and all the artillery and the baggage, which made failed to whole French campaign.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the naval battle, Philip IV
, who expected that the French fleet had been destroyed, and the honour of his navy restored, dismissed and imprisoned Count of Linhares and Admiral Pimienta, among other officers, accusing them of mismanagement and abandonement of their forces. Linhares was replaced by Luis Fernández de Córdoba, Pimienta by Jerónimo Gómez de Sandoval, and Bazán del Viso by Giannettino Doria. Philip IV also appointed his 17 years old illegitimate son John of Austria
as Príncipe de la mar, commander of all the Hispanic maritime forces, giving them widespread orders and powers in order to end with the misrule of the Spanish Navy. The French failure at Orbetello, nevertheless, contributed greatly to reduce the French pressure in Italy. 6,000 soldiers from Naples could be consequently carried to Valencia to fight against the French armies in Catalonia
. On september, a French expedition led by Charles de la Porte de la Meilleraye, with Portuguese help, succeeded in capturing both the presidi of Piombino
and Porto Longone, which encouraged the Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena, to change his allegiance from the Spanish monarchy to France.
Naval battle
A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...
of the Franco-Spanish War of 1635, fought on 14 June 1646 off the Spanish-ruled town of Orbetello
Orbetello
Orbetello is a town and comune in the province of Grosseto , Italy. It is located c. 35 km south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve.-History:...
, on the coast of Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, between a French fleet led by Admiral Armand de Maillé
Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé
Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé was a French admiral.He was born in Milly-le-Meugon, in one of the most powerful French families of the time; his father was Urbain de Maillé-Brézé, marquis de Brézé, Marshal of France, his uncle Cardinal Richelieu, King Louis XIII's renowned minister, and his...
, Marquis of Brézé, and a Spanish fleet commanded by Count of Linhares sent to break the blockade of Orbetello and relieve the town, besieged since 12 May by a French army under the command of Prince Thomas of Savoy
Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano
Thomas Francis of Savoy was an Italian military commander, the founder of the Savoy-Carignano branch of the House of Savoy which reigned as kings of Sardinia from 1831 to 1861, and as kings of Italy from 1861 until the...
. The Battle of Orbetello was tactically very unusual, since it was fought by sailing ships towed by galleys in a light breeze.
After a hard but inconclusive fight during which Admiral Brézé was killed, the French fleet withdrew to Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
leaving the sea to the Spanish, who decided not to pursue them to relief Orbetello. The land forces disembarked by Count of Linhares few days later, however, failed to dislodge the French lines, and the siege could be undertaken until 24 July, when another Spanish army led by Marquis of Torrecuso
Gerolamo Caracciolo
Gerolamo Maria Caracciolo, Marqués de Torrecuso was a Spanish aristocrat and soldier born in the Kingdom of Naples in the 17th century. He rose through the ranks of the Spanish army becoming Governor of Navarre and saw extensive service during the Thirty Years War and the Catalan Revolt....
and Duke of Arcos which had come from the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
across the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, defeated the besieging troops forcing them to retreat with heavy losses.
Background
In 1646, after several naval successes against Spain along the Mediterranean, Cardinal Mazarin planned a naval expedition to attack the Spanish puppet State of PresidiState of Presidi
The Stato dei Presidi was a client state of the Kingdom of Spain situated in central Italy, which included the cities of Orbetello, Porto Ercole, Porto Santo Stefano, Talamone, Ansedonia and Porto Longone, in what is now southern Tuscany...
with the aim of interrupting Spanish communications with the Kingdom of Naples, threatening the initial stage of the Spanish Road, and also to scare the pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle...
, whose Spanish sympathies displeased him. For this purpose was gathered in Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
a fleet commanded by the young Admiral Marquis of Brézé composed, in accordance to Spanish sources, of 36 galleons, 20 galleys, and a large complement of minor vessels. This fleet carryed aboard an army of 8,000 infantry and 800 cavalry and its baggage under Thomas of Savoy, shortly before a Spanish general.
The town of Orbetello was erected in a spit between two inner bays of a big lagoon. Various fortified positions made it a strong defensive position: Porto Ercole at the east, San Stefano at the west, and the fort San Filippo in the Monte Argentario
Monte Argentario
Monte Argentario is a comune and a peninsula belonging to the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 150 km south of Florence and about 35 km south of Grosseto...
island, linked to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. In the end, the French army landed at Talamone
Talamone
Talamone is a town in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Orbetello, province of Grosseto, in the Tuscan Maremma....
, where Brézé left to the Prince a half-dozen of vessels and galleys to bombard the forts of the town. Meanwhile, he went to Porto San Stefano with 5 sailing ships and 4 galleys and bombarded the fort till obtain its surrender. Once taken the forts of both wings, Don Carlo de la Gatta, the castillan of Orbetello, retreated to the hermitage of Cristo. The isthmus was occupied thanks to a battery mounted aboard the French galleys, and soon the lagoon was filled of armed boats gathered by Jean-Paul de Saumeur
Chevalier Paul
Jean-Paul de Saumeur , often called Chevalier Paul was a French admiral who served in several Mediterranean campaigns.Saumeur began sailing at the age of twelve in the navy of the Order of Malta...
, Chevalier Paul. Don Carlo de la Gatta, supported by just 200 Spanish and Italian soldiers, had very few opportunities to resist without help. An early relief force of 35 boats and 5 escort galleys sent from Naples with munitions and supplies was beaten, so a major fleet action was expected.
When news of the siege reached Spain, Philip IV gave orders of preparing his fleets for the relief. It was necessary purchase second-hand stores in the Netherlands and made extraordinary levies across the country. The command of the expedition was entrusted to the Portuguese loyalist Miguel de Noronha, Count of Linhares, who was Captain General of the Galleys of the Mediterranean, and therefore supreme commander of the Spanish naval forces of this sea. He received orders of sailing to Orbetello in command of 22 men-of-war of the Plate fleet and the Dunkirk squadron; the llater providing 8 frigates. At least 3,300 soldiers were brought aboard this ships for the relief. Linhares' second in command was Admiral General Francisco Díaz de Pimienta, who displeased by his always secondary role, had recently resigned claiming ill health. While Pimienta would be in charge of the sailing ships, Linhares would do so with the galleys. Once at sea, the Spanish fleet was joined off the Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
n Cape Carbonara
Cape Carbonara
Cape Carbonara is a promontory of souther-eastern Sardinia, Italy, which forms the eastern end of the Gulf of Cagliari. Together with the nearby Cavoli Island and Serpentara Island, it is included in the Protected Natural Marine Area of Capo Carbonara.It is situated within the communal territory...
by 18 galleys of the squadrons of Naples, Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, which drove up its strength to 22 galleons and frigates and 30 galleys. Brézé, in the meantime, could be reinforced by the divisions of Montade and Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is a town, 104 km to the east of Marseille, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. It is also the principal town in the canton of Saint-Tropez....
, and was able to oppose Linhares and Pimienta with 24 sailing ships and 20 galleys.
Battle
At dawn on 14 June the Spanish fleet beared down off the Giglio IslandGiglio Island
Isola del Giglio is an island and Italian comune situated in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Tuscany, part of the Province of Grosseto.-Geography:...
in a line astern with the galleons and the galleys at the forefront
Vanguard (military tactics)
The vanguard is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.- Medieval origins :...
and 8 lagging vessels closing the formation. Admiral Brézé formed his fleet in a line shortly after, alternating galleons and galleys, and sailed westward in a gentle breeze, closed with Linhares' ships. At 9:00 PM. Brézé had approached four miles to the Spanish, when, due to the lightness of the wind, the galleons of the two fleets had to be towed by the galleys while awaiting to be at windward. Brézé, aboard his flagship Gramd Saint-Louis, stood in front of the line flanqued by Vice-admiral Louis Foucald Du Gagnon's la Lune and Counter-admiral Jules de Montigny's le Soleil. His ship was in tow of Lieutenant-General Vinguerre's Patrone galley. 15 other vessels composed the French line of battle, each one towed by a galley. Montade's 6-ship division was left in reserve. Both fleets sailed along each other until Linhares, thanks to the superior number of galleys that he had, gained the windward and was able to move towards the French line, attempting to overrun its line to catch it between two fires. Linhares had in tow Pimienta's flag galleon Santiago; don Álvaro de Bazán del Viso, general of the Neapolitan galleys, the galleon Trinidad, flagship of Admiral Pablo de Contreras; and Enrique de Benavides, general of the Silian galleys, other large Spanish galleons.
Brézé, unable to dispatch his fireships over the Spanish vessels, as he had done in his victories at Cádiz
Battle of Cádiz (1640)
The Battle of Cádiz was a naval battle in the Franco-Spanish War , which took place on July 21, 1640 , when a French squadron under Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé attacked and defeated a Spanish convoy coming from the Americas....
, Barcelona
Battle of Barcelona (1642)
The Naval battle of Barcelona happened between 29 June and 3 July 1642, was a naval engagement of the Franco-Habsburg War fought off the Catalan city between a Spanish fleet commanded by Juan Alonso Idiáquez, Duke of Ciudad Real, and a French fleet under Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé, Duc de Fronsac...
and Cartagena
Battle of Cartagena (1643)
The Battle of Cartagena was a naval battle fought on September 3, 1643 during the Thirty Years' War off Cape de Gate near Cartagena, Spain.In 1643 the French admiral Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé sailed south, to search and destroy the Spanish fleet to extend the dominance of the French Navy in the...
, lunged over Pimienta's galleon Santiago and riddled the ship with his artillery Santiago lost its main-mast and had to be succored by Linhares and Pablo de Contreras. Fearing the attack of the French fireships or the boarding of Brézé's galleys, Contreras covered the damaged galleon at the head of six vessels while Linhares flag galley towed it out of danger. The remaining ships engaged Brézé in an inconclusive action which lasted when both fleets separated at dusk. The Spanish lost the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Santa Catalina, burnt by its own crew to avoid capture when she fell surrounded by the French la Mazarine and three other vessels. The foremost Spanish galleons Testa de Oro, León Rojo and Caballo marino received heavy damage, while a French fireship blew up. Two French galleons were also badly damaged. The human loss aboard the Spanish fleet is unknown. 40 men were killed or wounded aboard the French one One of them was Admiral Brézé, cut in half by a cannonball which hit the stern of his flagship Grand Saint Louis.
The following morning the Spanish and French fleets were 12 miles distant. Comte Du Daugnon, Brézé's successor, decided set sail to Porto Ercole to made repairs instead pursuing the Spanish fleet, which had sought refuge after the Giglio island. Linhares chased him during all the 15th and part of the 16th. 4 French storeships, unaware of the main fleet's departure, fell amidst the Spanish fleet the first night, but managed to escape by following Linhares maneuvers. The Spanish admiral finally abandoned the pursuit to relieve Orbetello. It proved to be impossible do it for a storm dispersed most of the ships during the night. Some of them took refuge in Sardinia; others at Giglio and Montecristo
Montecristo
Montecristo is a small Italian islet, approximately 4.3 kilometers across at its widest point, located about halfway between Corsica and mainland Italy; south of Elba and west of Giglio. It is part of the Tuscan Archipelago...
. The galley Santa Bárbara sank off Giglio, with the death of 46 rowers. The French also suffered from the storm. One of their galleys, la Grimaldi, sank off Piombino
Piombino
Piombino is an Italian town and comune of circa 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno . It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.-Overview:...
, although its crew and artillery taken aboard the Spanish fleet, and another one, Saint-Dominique, lagged behind along with a fireship and was captured by Pimienta off Cape Corse.
Aftermath
On 23 June the Spanish fleet anchored off Porto Longone, where it was decided in a war council relieve Orbetello after made the essential repairs. Two days later several Dunkirkers were dispatched to force the TalamoneTalamone
Talamone is a town in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Orbetello, province of Grosseto, in the Tuscan Maremma....
's port mouth, and 8 ships arrived from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
to Porto Santo Stefano
Porto Santo Stefano
Porto Santo Stefano is located in the municipality of Monte Argentario, in the Province of Grosseto, in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is one of the 2 major towns that form the townships along with Porto Ercole.-Position:...
, destroying or capturing about 70 tartanes and barges with the supplies of Thomas of Savoy's army during the operation. Du Daugnon, meanwhile, returned to Toulon. Despite his failure, reinforcements could be later carried to Talamone aboard five ships, and Linhares' attempts to dislodge the French siege lines were unsuccessful. Linhares disembarked 3.300 soldiers led by Pimienta, who divided them in two corps and advanced upon the French lines. The first one managed to occupy a hill in where a French cavalry attack was rejected, but the second one was dislodged after a 6-hour battle and forced to reembark. 400 wounded men were evacuated; the killed were left in the field. The siege was not lifted until an army under the Duke of Arcos and the Marquis of Torrecuso stormed the besieger camp a month later, killing or capturing over 7,000 men and all the artillery and the baggage, which made failed to whole French campaign.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the naval battle, Philip IV
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
, who expected that the French fleet had been destroyed, and the honour of his navy restored, dismissed and imprisoned Count of Linhares and Admiral Pimienta, among other officers, accusing them of mismanagement and abandonement of their forces. Linhares was replaced by Luis Fernández de Córdoba, Pimienta by Jerónimo Gómez de Sandoval, and Bazán del Viso by Giannettino Doria. Philip IV also appointed his 17 years old illegitimate son John of Austria
John of Austria the Younger
John of Austria was a Spanish general and political figure. He was the only natural son of Philip IV of Spain to be acknowledged by the King and trained for military command and political administration...
as Príncipe de la mar, commander of all the Hispanic maritime forces, giving them widespread orders and powers in order to end with the misrule of the Spanish Navy. The French failure at Orbetello, nevertheless, contributed greatly to reduce the French pressure in Italy. 6,000 soldiers from Naples could be consequently carried to Valencia to fight against the French armies in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. On september, a French expedition led by Charles de la Porte de la Meilleraye, with Portuguese help, succeeded in capturing both the presidi of Piombino
Piombino
Piombino is an Italian town and comune of circa 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno . It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.-Overview:...
and Porto Longone, which encouraged the Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena, to change his allegiance from the Spanish monarchy to France.