Page:Gregor The story of Bohemia.pdf/265

 bloodiest battle in the Hussite war, the dead left upon the field numbering about 15,000. The booty taken was so great that the victors in scorn pitied the Saxons, who, in addition to their defeat, incurred the displeasure of the Pope by providing heretics with provisions and munitions of war. The city of Aussig was plundered, set afire, and utterly destroyed, so that for three years it remained without an inhabitant.”

The glorious victory at Aussig had a very unexpected result. The Bohemians, intoxicated with success, relaxed their vigilance, and, instead of following up the victory, began to quarrel among themselves. Prokop the Great insisted that their immediate duty was to follow the enemy into its own territory, and secure some favorable terms of peace. This, however, was opposed by the Pragites, who declared that their forces were not sufficiently strong to carry on an offensive war. The debate waxed so hot that for a while it seemed that the leaders would resort to arms.

The effect of the defeat upon the Germans was just the opposite. At first they were overwhelmed with shame and grief; but they soon roused themselves, and began to plan how they might retrieve their losses. The princes who, at the Diet of Nuremberg, had tried to shift the responsibilities of the war upon the shoulders of their neighbors, now became united, and made vigorous preparations for a new campaign.

Several important engagements now followed, among these being the siege of Breclav, in Moravia. Albert of Austria surrounded the town with a force of 40,000 men, and cutting off all supplies determined to starve it into surrender. When all seemed lost, Prokop the Great suddenly appeared before the city, de-