Henri de Sourdis Henri d ' Escoubleau de Sourdis ( 1593 – 18 June 1645 ) was a French naval commander and Archbishop of Bordeaux . Like many churchmen of his day , de Sourdis was a military man as well as a prelate . He fought in the Thirty Years ' War and in 1628 served as commander of the artillery at the Siege of La Rochelle . The next year , 1629 , Henri succeeded his brother François de Sourdis as Archbishop of Bordeaux . The succession had been legally arranged several years before and was confirmed by Cardinal Richelieu the day François died . In 1635 Richelieu declared war on Spain ( see Franco - Spanish War ( 1635 – 1659 ) ) . However , the Spanish fleet mobilised more quickly and Spain seized the Lérins in September 1635 . In 1635 Henri , Count of Harcourt was put in charge of a large fleet of 25 ships , 6 fire ships and 12 flutes , with orders to drive the Spanish out . According to Jenkins an early difficulty in the French navy was that officers would only obey those whose birth placed them in a higher social position . Richelieu was well aware that a navy required experienced officers who would work together and support each other . The Comte d ' Harcourt ' s flag - captain was the Chevalier Philippe des Gouttes , an experienced , fighting seaman . It seems that Richelieu hoped that des Gouttes would give the necessary advice to de Sourdis who would have the personality to force it on to d ' Harcourt . Squabbles between the officers rendered the fleet inoperable throughout 1636 and it wasn ' t until February 1637 when de Sourdis attacked Oristano in Sardinia . The purpose was to exchange Oristano for the Lérins . The expedition against Oristano failed , but officers and crews gained valuable experience . In March 1637 , d ' Harcourt attacked the Lérins , taking Sainte - Marguerite after heavy fighting , and Saint - Honorat , shortly afterwards . Richelieu had learned the folloy of a divided command and de Sourdis was placed in sole command of the Atlantic squadrons . He was ordered to take Fuenterrabia . He surprised the Spanish and having established the blockade , divided his fleet into the usual three squadrons . He left Claude de Razilly to maintain the blockade , sent Montigny to scout westwards to warn of any approaching Spanish fleet , and kept his own squadron in reserve . Once the Spanish fleet was sighted , he joined Montigny to attack them . The Spanish admiral had moored his ships in a line in shallow water which restricted the number of French ships which could engage . De Sourdis ' larger flagship , L ' Europe , of 34 - guns could not risk entering the shallows . A full account of this engagement ( the Battle of Guétaria , 22 August 1638 ) is given by Jenkins . Montigny ' s 6 ships were sent in and engaged the Spanish line very successfully , taking full advantage of the wind and heavy swell . Once French fireships were released to complete the victory , the Spanish panicked . The Royal Navy of France had won a complete victory , destroying the Coruña squadron for the loss of just 40 French casualties . The land attack on Fuenterrabia Siege of Fuenterrabía ( 1638 ) was not pushed vigorously , perhaps because the French expected the town to surrender once attempts to relieve it by sea had failed . De Sourdis returned to his blockade , landed his marines , but they were too late to make any difference . The French fleet was left to carry away to safety the remaining French forces which had not retreated by land . Political squabbles returned to the fore when encouraged by Richelieu , De Sourdis attempted to blame the defeat on one of his generals , Bernard de La Valette , duke d ' Épernon . D ' Épernon had refused to lead the attack , believing that it would fail . Richelieu ' s niece had been unhappily married to de La Vallete and his father , Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette , had publicly struck de Sourdis four years before ) . In 1639 , de Sourdis was in command of a powerful fleet of 37 ships , plus fireships and transports . He was to attack a Spanish fleet of 35 ships in La Coruña , but the Spanish were in a strongly defended position and the attack was called off . In 1640 , de Sourdis was moved to command in the Mediterranean , but found few opportunities for battle because of the uncertain neutrality of the Republic of Genoa . In 1641 , De Sourdis was ordered to support the French attack on Tarragona by blockading the port . He disagreed with the plan , considering it better to first conquer the province of Rousillon which lay between Catalonia and France . However , he followed his orders , and completed the blockade . He repelled the first attempt to relieve Tarragona ( Naval Battle of Tarragona ( July 1641 ) ) by a galley fleet led by the Duke of Fernandina , destroying or capturing Spanish supply galleys . As the Spanish collected another large fleet at Cartagena , de Sordis favoured an attack on this fleet whilst it was forming . However , he was overruled at a council of war and as a result found himself attacked by a force of more than twice his own strength . The French held their own , but this time the Spanish supply ships were able to relieve the town . With many of his ships badly damaged , de Sourdis was obliged to return to Toulon to refit ( Battle of Tarragona ( August 1641 ) ) . This time , Richelieu did not support him and de Sourdis found himself in disgrace . He retired to his diocese in Bordeaux . He died there in 1645 . According to Jenkins , though he was not a real seaman , he had an admirable grasp of naval strategy as it could be applied at the time . He was handicapped by political wranglings and councils of war which were not as naturally aggressive as he was . Despite this his captains believed in him and 14 of them , led by the Chevalier de Cangé , protested to Richelieu over his removal .