But the news of Vitellius' defeat arrived and Civilis still continued the siege. He was not fighting for Vespasian; he was fighting for Batavia. Flaccus started to prepare a counterattack to rescue the besieged legions. Civilis was not going to wait until they were fully prepared and launched a surprise attack. In the evening of December 1 his best eight cavalry cohorts attacked the Romans in Krefeld. The Roman army won the battle and destroyed the Batavian cavalry. But their own losses were enormous.