 Poland offered to elect Henri, Duke of Anjou, Queen Catherine de' Medici's fourth son, to the throne of Poland with the understanding that France would ameliorate the Huguenots.The Duke of Anjou was fighting at La Rochelle (see Siege of La Rochelle (1572-1573)) when he received word that he had been elected King of Poland.The announcement gave the Duke a pretext to abandon the losing siege, which had been repulsed 29 times in four months and decimated the principal army of France.