Before the civil war could begin in earnest, however, the Prussian invasion of Holland started on 13 September 1787, and soon the resistance of the Frisian Patriots collapsed. Those that could get away, fled to Amsterdam, led by van Beyma and Valckenaer, to take part in the last stand of the Patriots. After the fall of that city on 10 October 1787 most of the Frisian Patriots fled to France, where most congregated in Saint-Omer in the next few years, often feuding among themselves.