The supply situation convinced Robert of Gloucester that he must quit Winchester so he planned an orderly withdrawal. Earl Reginald of Cornwall and Brian fitz Count led an advance guard composed of crack troops designed to protect Empress Matilda. The main body guarded the baggage while Robert commanded the rearguard. On 14 September, the Angevins exited from the west side of Winchester on the road to Salisbury. Ahead of them, about to the northwest, the road crossed the River Test at Stockbridge.