By 782, Widukind had returned from Denmark and goaded the Saxon nobles into rebellion. From 782 to 784, battles between Saxons and Franks occurred annually, while Charlemagne had 4,500 Saxons executed at the Massacre of Verden. Widukind allied himself with the Frisians but Charlemagne's winter attacks of 784/785 were nevertheless successful, and the "dux" and his allies were pushed back to their homelands. Charlemagne, leading an expedition towards the mouth of the Elbe, learned that Widukind was in the land of the Nordalbingians, on the right bank of the river. In the Bardengau in 785, Widukind agreed to surrender in return for a guarantee that no bodily harm would be done to him. He and his allies were then baptized, possibly in Attigny, with Charlemagne as his godfather. Widukind thereby reached a peace agreement and the acknowledgement of the Saxon noble rank by their Frankish overlords.