The month-long siege had finally come to an end, and having successfully accomplished their first objective, the Crusader army prepared to continue their march south in the month of June. An unexpected development had occurred within the ranks of their leadership, and they prepared to split into two groups, traveling one day apart from each other.
One-third of the Crusader forces, nearly twenty thousand men, would form a vanguard and depart one day early under the leadership of Prince Bohemond and Duke Robert. The rest of the army, led by Count Raymond and Duke Godfrey, would depart one day later. The official reason given for the split was to conserve supplies, as the winding road south was reported to be over rocky and hilly terrain with few villages and scant resources along the way. U
