It remains uncertain whether, despite the fact that contemporaries described the encounter as a battle, the two forces ever made contact.[6] It is possible that the rear portion of the French force engaged with that of the English. However, as part of a war in which skirmishing was the usual form of encounter, Fréteval was no different, and, it has been said, it 'does not deserve the label of a battle.'[7] In what was most likely an ambush by the English,[6] Philip appears to have abandoned his baggage train in a wood as Richard approached, and escaped to a Saint-Hilaire[3] chapel on Whitsun Eve. Philip's 'sudden departure', wrote historian John Gillingham, was 'the last straw for his troops, already demoralized by the threat to their supplies.'[8] Richard proceeded to harry the retreating French soldiers, before entering Verneuil in triumph.[9] The engagement at Fréteval has been described as 'a minor disaster' for the Philip, although probably more in political terms than military.[10]