Finally, Burhan al-Din broke through after obtaining information on the local topography, forcing the Ottomans to flee.[15] Manuel on the other hand indicates that Bayezid led an expedition across the Kızılırmak to raid the territories lying beyond the river, and then returned to Ankara after it was over. According to Elisabeth Zachariadou, "the Ottomans did not flee, but merely withdrew after the raid. The situation never became critical for them since, Manuel implies, they pillaged the regions beyond the Kızılırmak without meeting any serious resistance and then finally withdrew to Ankara."[18]