He first attended school in Montbard, then in Châtillon, where be befriended Auguste de Marmont, then studied law in Dijon.

[6] At the start of the War of the First Coalition, Junot was sent to the Army of the North, receiving the first of many battle wounds at La Glisuelle [fr] on 11 June 1792.

[6] He again distinguished himself at Battle of Lonato, where he killed six enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting and suffered three sabre cuts to the head.

[5] On 8 April 1799, during the ultimately unsuccessful Siege of Acre, Junot distinguished himself leading the vanguard of Kléber's division against an Ottoman relief force five times larger, near the town of Nazareth, retreating only after capturing five enemy standards.

Napoleon paid for most of the wedding expenses, provided a dowry for Laure, and gave lavish gifts to the young couple.

[14] Departing on 17 October at the head of about 26,500 soldiers, Junot led his troops on an arduous march through Spain, finally crossing into Portugal at Segura on 19 November.

[14] Facing little to no resistance, Junot's army advanced towards Lisbon, seizing Castelo Branco on 20 November and Abrantes two days later.

[14] For his success, Junot was granted the victory title of Duke of Abrantes (Duc d'Abrantès) by Napoleon, though he was not made a Marshal of the Empire as he expected.

[14] Additionally, after the Dos de Mayo Uprising in Madrid, all Spanish troops withdrew from Portugal, and by June, popular revolts had spread throughout the country.

[14] Only the signing of the advantageous Convention of Cintra with the British allowed him to avoid capture, taking with him "the weapons and baggages" and the loot the army had managed to gather—an expression that later became famous in Portuguese usage.

Junot returned to the Iberian Peninsula in 1810 in command of the VIII Corps, under Marshal André Masséna, and in 1811 was shot in the face, causing serious damage and requiring surgery.

[16][17] At the beginning of 1812 Junot was on leave to restore his ill health, but at the announcement of the infamous Russian campaign he rejoined the army with hopes of regaining Napoleon's favour.

However, Junot himself declared that, due to various complications, it had been impossible for him to attack at Smolensk,[18] and claimed that his rival Joachim Murat had put the blame on him.

His mental state rapidly deteriorated there, and on one infamous occasion he attended a ball, held by Auguste de Marmont in Ragusa, fully nude except for his dancing shoes and decorations.

[19][20] Some time later, Junot suffered a sudden attack of inflammation to the brain, most likely a long term consequence of his numerous head injuries, leaving him incapacitated.