In 1098 the crusaders took Antioch and successfully broke a countersiege by the Turks. After this, Gouffier's deeds are better-recorded in the sources. He helped capture a town referred to as "Talamania", possibly al-Bara, and he was instrumental in the Siege of Ma'arra in December 1098. On the evening of 11 December Gouffier climbed onto the walls of Ma'arra, followed by so many other crusaders that the ladder broke under their weight.