sources estimate it at 12,000-14,000 or even 10,000 French and 20,000 German. The garrison was only around 3,000 men and 50 culverins and other artillery pieces, commanded by Jean Carrebe, a 'judicature' or judge from the mairie of Louvain. Vieilleville thus immediately prepared fifteen large boats and twenty smaller ones with artillery pieces and enough powder to fire 15,000 shot. The combined force headed for a village or farm on the Moselle called Neufville-aux-Noyers, where he set up his headquarters. 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. Two days later four companies from Flanders and Namur, with fifty cavalry in total, also unsuccessfully tried to break through to the city. The Spanish then made no further attempts were made to relieve it. On the third day the French mounted an emperor-calibre cannon on the banks of the Moselle and the six large culverins only 1,500 paces from the town. This severely damaged the town's defences and destroyed all its artillery. The Franco-German force then attacked by the right bank of the Moselle, aiming at Tour-aux-Puces and the fortifications on the town's south-east side. These were breached and French soldiers launched an assault, but they lost around one hundred men and were repulsed. During the four following days the town and the French exchanged musket fire. 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. His death was carefully kept secret, however, to avoid damaging the men's morale. It also allowed Vieilleville to re-assume overall command of the siege and he decided to attack the town from the left bank. 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