At a council of war he put Nikephoros Melissenos and Basileios Kourtikios in charge of the main army, with all the imperial standards and accoutrements, then laid an ambush elsewhere. He ordered Nikephoros and Basileios to pretend to fight and lose a conventional battle, exposing the enemy to his ambush. As he gave the order, all the army's horses neighed at the same time - a good omen. At sunset Alexios went with picked men through the gorge of Libotanion, went round Rebenikon, passed Allage, arrived on the other side of Larissa and hid on lower ground. His movement was hidden by an attack by the main army. Bohemond was taken in by the play-acting of the Byzantine forces and divided his army, making Bryennios commander of the second division. The Normans made a successful charge and thought they had won a victory, riding in pursuit too far from their camp. Alexios attacked it from ambush, causing many casualties and winning rich booty. Seeing Bohemond and Bryennios pursuing heedlessly, he sent Georgios Pyrros and other brave archers after them, with orders to shoot their horses. The archers attacked the cavalry of Bryennios, killing his horses; as they fell, the remaining horsemen raised great clouds of dust, which added to the confusion and ended in their defeat. Bohemond was on an island in the river Salabrias eating grapes and making puns in Greek when messengers from Bryennios came to tell him that half his army had been defeated by Alexios's ruse and his camp destroyed. Zonaras and Glykas give a similar story, but make Adrianos, Alexios' brother, the fake emperor