The Bishop had traveled to the valley of the Overijsselse Vecht to call the rebellious province of Drenthe to order and teach the local peasants a lesson. He was accompanied by many nobles, famous knights and troops supplied by the Bishops of Munster and Cologne. The bishop and his troops met in Ommen and travelled via Hardenberg (then "Nienstede") and Gramsbergen to "that disastrous and cursed place" Ane. Rudolf positioned his troops, mainly peasants, behind the "Mommeriete", a quagmire approximately half a mile wide, without bushes or trees, with vegetation covering the treacherous peat. As soon as the heavily armoured knights charged, they sank into the quagmire and were easy prey for the lightly armed, but mobile troops of Rudolf, accustomed to the local circumstances.