Discovering that the old town was undefended, the English promptly seized it. A small force was dispatched to blockade the castle in the north of the town, which was garrisoned by 300 soldiers under the command of Guillaume Bertrand, Bishop of Bayeux. Edward changed his axis of advance and prepared to attack the defended bridges from the north bank of the Odon. As they manoeuvred into position, the English archers and men-at-arms, eager for plunder, pre-empted his orders and rushed the bridges before the assault force was fully in place. The attack was nominally led by the Earls of Warwick and Northampton and Richard Talbot, although they had very little control over the troops supposedly under their command. When Edward saw the assault developing before he was ready, he ordered a retreat but this was ignored by his men.