And the Herders' equipment was still the same old problem—crudely made, shoddy, and not durable.
The rafts weren't sunk, the bridge piles weren't damaged, but the catapult itself fell apart...
The Herders operating the catapult dispersed awkwardly, and thus ended another day of battle between the two sides.
Winters watched the battle from the riverbank, observing everything closely.
Watching battles is considered one of the traditional entertainments of the military; many officers who were not on duty came to the riverbank to watch the fighting.
During the exchange among the officers, most agreed on this view: the closer one gets to the opposite bank, the greater the resistance encountered; if the Herders could field one catapult today, they might bring out five or ten tomorrow; the final beachhead breakthrough was unlikely to be easy.