After several successful cavalry charges, the Crusader knights routed the numerically superior Muslim army, forcing Radwan to retreat back to Aleppo.
[3] Albert of Aachen suggests the army numbered 30,000 whereas the contemporary crusaders Stephen of Blois and Anselm of Ribemont, who took part in the siege, give the more realistic figure of 12,000, which modern historians tend to agree with.
Instead of opting for a defensive strategy centered around the Iron Bridge, which would have relied upon grinding attrition and would have been very costly in terms of manpower, Bohemond decided to go on the offensive, despite being outnumbered twelve to one.
[4] Bohemond and the knights under his command departed the crusader camp in the night under the cover of darkness, as any force crossing the Iron Bridge in daylight would have been spotted by scouts.
The author of the Gesta Francorum paints a vivid picture of the battle: So Bohemond, protected on all sides by the sign of the Cross, charged the Turkish forces, like a lion which has been starving for three or four days, which comes roaring out of its cave thirsting for the blood of cattle ... His attack was so fierce that the points of his banner were flying right over the heads of the Turks.
[5]As the Muslim forces were thrown into a chaotic rout, the crusaders gave chase and pursued them to Harim, killing thousands and capturing horses and supplies.
Raymond of Aguilers wrote of the triumph: "With the battle and booty won, we carried the heads of the slain to camp and stuck them on posts as grim reminders of the plight of their Turkish allies and of future woes of the besieged".
Historian Thomas Asbridge notes that "The fate of the entire crusade had been gambled on Bohemond's ability to break the massed Aleppan ranks with a perfectly timed, crushing cavalry charge.
The arrival of an English supply fleet at St Symeon in March 1098, combined with the victory against Radwan boosted morale and enabled the crusaders to tighten the screw on Antioch and continue the siege.