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 Being urged, both by the emperor and the Pope, to spare no pains in their preparation, they raised an army of 200,000, and prepared to invade the country from the west near the city of Eger. Among the distinguished personages at the head of the army were the five electors, the Archbishops of Mayence, of Kolin, and Treves, and many of the princes of the empire. As Sigmund expected soon to end the Turkish war, he agreed to invade the country from Moravia, while the allies came in from the opposite direction.

Before beginning the march, the soldiers received orders to give no quarter, but to destroy utterly all heretics, except little children who as yet were too young to understand such things. This order was literally obeyed, the troops murdering every Bohemian they met, since Bohemian and heretic were supposed to be synonymous terms.

The first encounter between the crusaders and the Hussites was at Zatetz, where there was gathered a large number of people, who had fled from their homes at the approach of the invaders. The city was protected by a force of 6,000 men, among whom was a division of 600 cavalry. The allies made several attempts to capture the city, but were repulsed each time. After a siege of several days, news came that re-enforcements from Prague were coming to the assistance of the besieged. This, at its best, could have accomplished little against the vast army of the crusaders, had not their power been weakened by dissensions. As at the siege of Prague, each petty prince was restless under the command of another, whom he regarded in no way superior to himself; consequently there was no unity of action, without which an army