On the 4th he prepared for, and on the 6th he delivered, the assault upon the citadel itself, which was carried; he left there his brother, the Duke of Aumale, with a sufficient force for defence; the portion of the English garrison which had escaped at the assault fell back within the town; the governor, Lord Wentworth, "like a man in desperation, who saw he was all but lost," made vain attempts to recover this important post under cover of night and of the high sea, which rendered impossible the prompt arrival of any aid for the French; but "they held their own inside the castle." The English requested the Duke of Aumale "to parley so as to come to some honorable and reasonable terms;" and Guise assented.

On the 8th of January, whilst he was conferring in his tent with the representatives of the governor, Coligny's brother, D'Andelot, entered the town at the solicitation of the English themselves, who were afraid of being all put to the sword.
The capitulation was signed.

The inhabitants, with their wives and children, had their lives spared, and received permission to leave Calais freely and without any insult, and withdraw to England or Flanders.

Lord Wentworth and fifty other persons, to be chosen by the Duke of Guise, remained prisoners of war; with this exception, all the soldiers were to return to England, but with empty hands.

The place was left with all the cannons, arms, munitions, utensils, engines of war, flags and standards which happened to be in it.