The attack was launched in the afternoon. The Scots saw the English advancing in disorder, scattered through the fields rather than in battle array, and as a result, rather than retreating as at least one source suggests they had intended, they concluded that the English troops were not experienced soldiers and could be easily beaten. This disorder is taken in some sources to have been the result of the English troops inexperience and lack of discipline, or even as a misguided attempt to advance by stealth. However this disorder might perhaps have simply been or a result of the process of crossing the Swale in too close proximity to the enemy, giving the English troops too little time to reform in a proper battalia, though this might be difficult to reconcile with the subsequent reference to the smoke screen, though even the exact sequence of events is unclear in places.