Moltke ordered Flies to hold fast and to intercept Hanoverians trying to break through westward as Falckenstein's force performed the main Prussian assault from the north. In direct defiance of his orders, Flies gathered his detachment and directly attacked the Hanoverian army. Following a feint toward Thamsbruck to the North, the Prussian forces under Flies made a concentrated assault toward Merxleben. The much larger Hanoverian force and artillery fire drove them back toward the actual city of Langensalza. Having a force more than twice the Prussian detachment's size, Arentschildt severely routed Flies's troops, capturing more than 900 men.