Due to the poor quality of the Belgian gunpowder, the explosion only partly destroyed the bridge. A German scouting party advancing from Herk-de-Stad came under fire from Belgian troops and  Belgian troopers attempted to set up a fortified position in the old brewery in Halen but were driven out when the Germans brought up field artillery and got  troops into the centre of Halen.
Due to the poor quality of the Belgian gunpowder, only part of the bridge was destroyed by the explosion. A German scouting party from Herk-de-Stad came under fire from Belgian soldiers who then attempted to set up a fortified position in the old brewery in Halen but were forced out when the Germans brought in artillery and deployed troops into the center of Halen.