Armand de Gontaut, Baron of Biron (, 152426 July 1592) was a soldier, diplomat and Marshal of France. Beginning his service during the Italian Wars, Biron served in Italy under Marshal Brissac and Guise in 1557 before rising to command his own cavalry regiment. Returning to France with the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis he took up his duties in Guyenne, where he observed the deteriorating religious situation that was soon to devolve into the French Wars of Religion. He fought at the Battle of Dreux in the first civil war. In the peace that followed he attempted to enforce the terms on the rebellious governorship of Provence.
Having fought for the crown during the decisive victory at Battle of Moncontour in 1569, he was elevated to the post of grandmaster of artillery. In this role he was tasked with reducing the town of Saint-Jean-d'Angély which proved resistant to his efforts. As the war dragged on he found himself increasingly involved in diplomatic efforts, meeting with Jeanne d'Albret repeatedly to talk terms. With peace declared in August 1570 he continued his negotiations with Albret in the hopes of setting up a marriage between her son Navarre and Margaret of Valois. In the wake of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew he was tasked with reducing the well defended city of La Rochelle, commanding the artillery batteries he made limited progress over the following months, before Anjou oversaw peace negotiations so that he might depart for the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Upon Henri III's ascent as French king Biron was appointed as a Marshal. His forces were involved in containing Condé as he tried to re-enter France during the fifth civil war. He was involved again as a diplomat in conducting negotiations in the late 1570s, fighting again in the sixth civil war. When in 1573 Alençon who had become sovereign of the Dutch requested reinforcements to secure his position in the country. Biron led troops to support his administration. He would not be involved in the French Fury that saw Alençon's position collapse in the country. With the dominance of the Ligue in the following years Biron half heartedly pursued their objectives before supporting Henri when he broke with the Ligue in 1588. With the king's death in 1589, he transferred his loyalties to Navarre, aiding him in his campaigns in Normandy against the Ligue. It was during a siege of a Ligue town that he was hit by a cannonball and killed.
Early life and family
His family, one of the numerous branches of the House of Gontaut, took its title from the territory of Biron, then in Périgord, where on a hill between the Dropt and the Lède the Château de Biron still stands, begun by the lords of Biron in the 11th century.
Biron, born in 1524, served as a page of Queen Marguerite de Navarre. He was a man of considerable literary attainments, and used to carry a pocketbook, in which he noted everything that appeared remarkable. Some of his letters are preserved in the Bibliothèque nationale and in the British Museum; these include a treatise on the art of war. His son, Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron (1562–1602), also became Marshal of France in 1594. A grandson of his second son, Henry, was Charles-Armand de Gontaut, another Marshal of France.
Netherlands
The king's younger brother Alençon seeking advancement accepted the offer from William the Silent to become sovereign of the United Provinces of the Netherlands in 1579, entering the country in 1582. In 1581 with Spanish fears about what Alençon might be planning, Biron was sent to Picardy to guard the border in case Spain took the offensive. The following year Alençon now in the low countries was struggling to exert control his army depleted by the harsh winter. Biron and Montpensier were tasked with reinforcing him. Biron arrived with 3500 foot and several companies of cavalry on 1 December 1582.
He would grow restless and unsatisfied with the territories he ruled, and sought to surprise the city of Antwerp to add it to his dominion. The attempt was a disaster, and his force was trapped in the city and destroyed during the French Fury, Biron and Montpensier were uninvolved in his attempt on the city. Bellièvre was sent to the Netherlands to smooth things other with the States. He achieved great success and the States invited Biron to relieve the siege of Eindhoven which was under attack by the Spanish. In April however Eindhoven capitulated and Biron moved his forces to Roosendaal. Increasingly out of cash Biron begged for funds almost daily but without result, his army disintegrated from desertions before his eyes. Biron angrily blamed the estates for the failure of his expedition. Money was at last advanced from France to pay for the remnants of Biron's army to withdraw from the Netherlands.
With the death of Alençon the following year, Biron accompanied his body back to Paris for the lavish funeral overseen by Henri.
Ligue
Compelled by the Ligue to make war on the politiques in 1585, Henri tasked Matignon and Biron with prosecuting the war against Navarre in Guyenne. The two Marshals prosecuted the campaign half heartedly, and only the forces directly loyal to the Ligue under Mercœur conducted the war with any vigour. Biron secretly negotiated with Navarre in July 1586 and in the following month a truce was established by the two.
In 1587, with a German army invading in support of the Protestants under Casimir a council was held by Henri to decide how to proceed. Henri announced to the assembled nobles his desire to lead the French army out to destroy the invader, explaining it would allow him to regain authority from the Ligue. Biron and all the other councillors except Nevers expressed their horror at this idea.
Day of the Barricades
By 1588 the situation in Paris was tense, the Ligue, increasingly dominant, orchestrated a coup in the city, with Guise at its head. Those out on the barricades threatened bloody violence on the loyalists, unless the royal and Swiss troops were removed from the city. Henri ordered the troops withdrawn to the Louvre, and tasked François d'O, Jean VI d'Aumont and Biron with leading them off the streets. Small fights would break out however, and the lives of the Swiss were at risk from the crowd. The king sent Biron to meet with the duke of Guise, and Guise agreed to provide them passage to safety from the violent crowd.
Reign of Henri IV
With the assassination of Henri III outside Paris, Biron was among the marshals that recognised the legitimacy of Navarre as king immediately, and went over to support him in his fights with the Ligue. He fought alongside the king at the Battle of Ivry in Normandy, where the leading Liguer Mayenne was defeated. He was killed by a cannonball at the siege of Épernay on 26 July 1592.