As soon as the Angevin host left the city the queen's army attacked. They pressed past the rearguard to attack the main body. The advance guard avoided the trap and delivered Empress Matilda safely to Gloucester, but the queen's army destroyed the Angevin main body as an effective fighting force; only remnants managed to escape. Robert of Gloucester's soldiers held together, but when his soldiers reached the Test they could go no further. Surrounded by a part of the queen's troops under William of Surrey and facing a bridge choked with panicked Angevins, Robert surrendered with his men.