Paris. Several days later Montmorency was ready and broke out of the city, besting the Protestant army at Saint-Denis on 10 November. During the battle of Saint-Denis, Montmorency would be killed, leaving the office of Constable of France and role as chief of the crown's military vacant. The crown had little desire to see another powerful noble family control this critical post; as such, to replace him, the king's brother Anjou was selected to lead the crown's war effort. While closer to the family, Anjou was still a child, and as such to provide him military guidance, and to actually lead the army in the field, a selection of loyal nobles were chosen. Artus de Cossé-Brissac the recently promoted Marshal, the king's cousin Louis, Duke of Montpensier and Nemours were chosen for this important role, with Cossé in overall charge. Third war of religion At the outset of the third war of religion, the Protestants had consolidated their movement in the south west as opposed to fighting in the north as they had previously. Nevertheless the crown was conscious that Louis of Nassau was seeking to enter France with an army from the Spanish Netherlands; to this end Charles instructed Nemours to assemble an army for the defence of Paris, however Nassau was bested at the border. In early 1569, it became clear that the duke of Zweibrücken was intending to cross into France in support of the Protestant nobility that was gathered in the west. To this end the court, little desiring to see a conjunction between the two forces, assembled a second army. Aumale was tasked with leading the blocking force in Champagne, with forces from the Rhône valley under Nemours to support him in this effort. The two commanders did not get along, and their constant conflict enabled Zweibrücken to slip past them through the Franche-Comté and establish contact with the Protestants under Gaspard II de Coligny. The mutinous remains of their combined army linked with the main royal force under the king's brother Anjou at Limoges. Withdrawal By 1571, Nemours wished to resign his governorship of the Lyonnais. He chose to do so in favour of his lieutenant-general in the region, and former page François de Mandelot. This arrangement had been very unusual in the early 16th century, with the choice of governors defaulting to the crown on the resignation or death of a sitting governor;