The "mats", as the soldiers of the Three Leagues were called in Romansh, decided to split at Müstair: about 2,000 – 3,000 men led by Wilhelm Ringk and Hans von Lombris were to march over the mountains to bypass the "Letzi" on the north and to attack the enemy from behind. Because their route was in full view of Castle Rotund, they took off at night. When they arrived in the morning in the Vinschgau, they were immediately engaged by Habsburg troops, who fled in panic, however, when rumours that they numbered 30,000 made the round. But at the Marengo bridge, their advance was stopped. The fleeing troops, united with the 200 Tyrolian soldiers stationed there, managed to hold the bridge.