the town by the Kouřim gate and after proceeding but a short distance[1] came in sight of the army of Sigismund. In view of the vast numerical superiority of the enemy, Žižka’s army immediately formed a square, which was defended in every direction by the iron-clad wagons. After the priests had briefly addressed the soldiers and all had knelt down for a short prayer, the guns on the wagons immediately opened fire on the enemies in every direction. The position which Žižka had chosen was a very strong one and had a free outlook almost in every direction.[2] It seems probable that Žižka decided to give battle outside of the town, which, as he rightly believed, contained many secret enemies. The infantry and cavalry of Sigismund immediately attacked the Bohemians, but were repulsed with great slaughter, and at even-tide the King of Hungary had obtained no advantage, though some of his soldiers had succeeded in occupying the space between the Kouřim gate and Žižka’s lager. Treachery within the city walls now, however, entirely changed the situation. Numerous Roman Catholics, particularly miners who had been expelled from the city after its capture by the national party, had returned with Sigismund’s army and had entered into communication with their comrades who had remained in Kutna Hora. The latter, while the fighting between Žižka and the troops of Sigismund was at its height, treacherously opened the Kolin gate, through which the exiled miners, closely followed by the royal troops, entered the city. A massacre immediately ensued, in which the brutal, fanatical miners surpassed in cruelty even the semi-savage Hungarians. As Palacký writes, only the day of St. Bartholomew in Paris surpassed in horror this evening at Kutna Hora. Žižka’s position now became an almost desperate one. He was
- ↑ The contemporary chroniclers write “two hons.” The “hon,” an old Bohemian measure of distance, consisted of about 125 steps.
- ↑ The position is well described by Dr. Toman in his Husitské Válečnictvi (Hussite Warfare). He also remarks that the advantage of the wagon-fort under a leader such as Žižka appears particularly clearly here.
