 In the battle that ensued, named after the neighboring city, Alaric's army suffered heavy casualties, though the king himself managed to break through the Roman lines to erect his standard on an adjacent hill, followed by his bravest soldiers.According to Stilicho's critics Alaric with his reduced army were in sufficiently bad condition at this point as to have easily been exterminated, forever terminating a serious threat to the Roman Empires of East "and" West.In any case, Alaric was able to escape and straggle over the Alps into Illyricum with the sorry remains of his once-splendid army.