Henry II of France decided to concentrate his forces against Thionville, then one of the strongest towns held by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and thought to be impregnable.

On 17 April Vieilleville's first troops arrived outside the town walls and dug siegeworks at key points, cutting off the food supply to the city.

Vieilleville thus immediately prepared fifteen large boats and twenty smaller ones with artillery pieces and enough powder to fire 15,000 shot.

G.F. Teissier's Histoire de Thionville stated there was no village or farm of this name on or near the Moselle, raising the possibility that it was wiped off the map during the siege.

Philippe de Montmorency-Nivelle and three troops of experienced Spanish soldiers tried to get help to the town during the first night of the siege, but the approaches were so well guarded that they were forced to retire towards the city of Luxembourg.

On 21 June Strozzi visited the artillery positions with a view to moving the six grand culverins to a new dugout closer to the wall, but he was hit in the throat at 500 paces by a musket shot, dying thirty minutes later.

The six grand-culverins were no longer any use in their old positions and so he ordered them moved into a thicket ideally placed to fire upon the defences on the main street and at porte de Luxembourg and had new trenches cut for them, as well as requesting that Metz send further cannon.

He sent an envoy to inform him that if the defenders did not leave the town within three hours, Guise would allow his forces to hang everyone inside, including women and children.

Carrebe then surrendered unconditionally and the Spanish soldiers and the town's inhabitants were allowed to leave it, but without full military honours (ie drum, trumpets, standards and no weapons except a sword).