While the others organised the men, Alan carefully scouted the river, making sure that no special attention was drawn from the Welsh. As Bernard de Neufmarche had said there was a place about a mile to the south, around two bends up the river, with firm banks on both sides and trees reaching down to the water’s edge. Alan disappeared into the village and raided the blacksmith’s workshop, the water-mill and several fishermen’s cottages. The soldiers stayed out of sight at the south side of the village, the men-at-arms stripped off their armour, rolled it up and carefully marked their ownership. Sunset was at eight twenty and it was dark in the forest shortly afterwards. They would have an hour and a half before the moon rose and fortunately the night sky was overcast with heavy clouds.
Alan had used his time to prepare his men, who moved to the chosen spot after the scouts had declared it clear. Six men stripped naked and swam across the narrow river with no weapon but a knife, each towing a piece of rope.
The rope on the most downstream side was used to pull a fishing net into place, for the safety of any men who were swept downstream by the gentle current. The other ropes were attached firmly to large oak trees. Three were simply to assist men crossing by providing a hand-hold, and two were fastened higher, about ten feet above the ground and wound taut.
The scouts crossed the river using the ropes and placing their bowstrings under their hats to keep them dry as they struggled through the cold water. They restrung their bows immediately when they emerged dripping on the west bank. Alan returned to the east bank, bringing the end of another lighter rope with him, and was stringing a mechanism from one of the ropes when the first of the soldiers arrived. The horsemen dismounted, checked their rolled-up armour was firmly tied to their horses and then swam across beside their horses, being pulled along as they held onto the saddle pommels or the horses’ manes. They patted the shivering horses as they struggled out of the water and then quickly slipped on their armour and girded themselves with their weapons, before rubbing down the horses. The archers were starting to cross on the two rope lines, one every ten seconds or so. The foot-soldiers were lining up next to the zip line, their armour and equipment being placed into a large basket hanging from the rope, which was pulled across and then sent back empty.
While the men had been instructed to be quiet and that their lives depended on this, it is impossible to move 500 or more men and nearly half as many horses silently. While there was no shouting of instructions and little muttered conversation from the men, except when they emerged from the freezing cold water to stand in their wet clothes in the night wind, arrows started to come out of the forest about an hour after the first soldier had crossed.
The moon could be seen just rising behind the clouds, but cast little light in the forest. FitzOsbern had just crossed and was buckling on his armour- his padded gambeson and armour had been sent over on the zip line and so unlike most of his men he was at least dry after he had wiped off the cold water after emerging on the west bank. Alan was surprised that they had been given an hour, but thought that perhaps a part of that time had been taken up by Bleddyn trying to believe the Anglo-Normans had been foolhardy enough to cross the river under his nose. By that time there were over 300 men on the west bank and on fitzOsbern’s instructions they increased the defensive perimeter and began to push through the trees heading north towards the Welsh camp.
It was pitch black beneath the trees in the forest. Away from the river the bowmen of both sides were useless as no target could be seen in the gloom of the forest. The armoured foot-soldiers of the Anglo-Norman force had two advantages as men blundered into each other and used sword and knife at close quarters. Firstly they had the protection of their armour, which the Welsh lacked. Secondly the front rank knew that everybody they met ahead of them was an enemy- a knowledge that the Welsh also lacked. When the Welsh sought to identify a shape looming ahead of them, all too often the reply was a blade in the guts. The captured Welsh ponies used in the crossing were tethered to trees and left behind as the infantry fought their way north, fighting against both the Welsh and also the forest itself as they groped through shrubs, brambles and gorse. The men-at-arms were dismounted and led their horses as they moved behind the screen of infantry. Mounted men are next to useless in a forest, and in the darkness all they were likely to do was hurt themselves by crashing into low-hanging branches if they mounted. More and more men slipped across the river.
At the same time the men at the village on the east bank of the river were doing a good job in keeping the main attention of the Welsh, with loud shouting and men and horses hurrying back and forth. Some Norman archers approached to the riverbank and began to lob arrows towards the Welsh, who were sufficiently far back not to be hit, but again this did act to fix their attention near the bridge. At that time all that the Welsh could know was that a force of infantry was south of them on the same side of the river and pressing north, were very close but that no archers or horsemen had been seen.
At about two in the morning fitzOsbern halted the Anglo-Normans just inside the edge of the forest near the clearing where the main Welsh force was sitting waiting for whatever eventuated. Dawn was due just before four and the Anglo-Normans took the opportunity to organise and array themselves, while continuing to receive reinforcements moving north from the river crossing.
Alan was now in full harness, with mail coif and helmet covering his head. Only his thick protective leather gauntlets needed to be pulled on to complete his protection. He was standing next to his charger, Fayne the chestnut stallion he used when he believed that the fierce destrier warhorse Odin was unsuitable. Odin had been left behind in Tendring and at this time of the year would be siring new offspring as the mares would have foaled and now again be in heat.
The sky was still heavily overcast and first light was a little before three-thirty. Just as the first tinges of light were appearing in the sky, and just minutes before the Welsh would be able to see the paucity of men on the east bank of the river and realise their danger, fitzOsbern gave a shouted command. During the wait the Anglo-Norman force had been put into rough order in the trees at the edge of the forest. The horsemen now walked their charges the few paces necessary to emerge from the forest onto the long and wide meadow where the Welsh were positioned. The men mounted and then sat silently on their horses, and only the occasional clink of horse-tack or armour or snort of a horse could be heard. There was a whinny as a mare in heat was given a nip by a neighboring stallion. Behind them the infantry were moving up, occasional curses being heard as men blundered into gorse bushes or patches of briar.
The Welshmen had not formed a camp as such. They were experienced raiders and knew better than to set up camp with tents, horse-lines and so on or to sleep when in close contact with the enemy. Rather, they had lit some cooking fires and sat up most of the night with weapons close at hand, snatching what light sleep they could wrapped in their cloaks. Horses were tethered close to their riders.
Shouts of alarm rang out as the Norman horsemen moved onto the clearing. Alan was pleased to see that the field was used as meadow and wasn’t just lying fallow, so it hadn’t been ploughed. It took only moments for the Norman cavalry to form line in their troops of ten or a dozen riders. No effort was made to organise the usual squadrons of 25 men. As the infantry struggled out of the forest behind them a horn was sounded, signaling the attack.
Although taken by surprise the Welsh reacted quickly. Those few who had armour had slept in it, if sleep they could. First one, then several, horns blew repeatedly from the Welsh lines. It was a matter of moments for the men to put on their helmets and grab their weapons- but moments were a scarce commodity as the Norman cavalry approached at a canter. Again, it took less than a minute for the archers to string their bows, which had been left unstrung to protect the bow-strings from dew during the night with the strings being kept warm and dry in a pouch next to the archer’s body, and to grab a sheaf of arrows- but again it was time that they could not spare. The Welsh horsemen had left their ponies saddled and near at hand, but it took time even after they had armed themselves to unhobble the horses and swing up into the saddle. Some horses broke loose and ran about, adding to the confusion. Men were shouting and waving arms urgently.