Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/346

322 322 ITALIAN WARS. PART Gonsalvo found the French sorely distressed bj _ the blockade, which was so strictly maintained as tachment^of to allow fcw suDpHes from abroad to pass into the Swiss. / 1 . ^ town. His quick eye discovered, at once, howev- er, that in order to render it perfectly effectual, it would be necessary to destroy the mills in the vicinity, which supplied Atella with flour. He un- dertook this, on the day of his arrival, at the head of his own corps. Montpensier, aware of the importance of these mills, had stationed a strong guard for their defence, consisting of a body of Gascon archers, and the Swiss pikemen. Although the Spaniards had never been brought into direct collision with any large masses of this formidable infantry, yet occasional rencontres with small de- tachments, and increased familiarity with its tactics, had stripped it of much of its terrors. Gonsalvo had even so far profited by the example of the Swiss, as to strengthen his infantry by mingling the long pikes with the short swords and bucklers of the Spaniards. ^^ He made two divisions of his cavalry^ posting his handful of heavy-armed, with some of the light horse, so as to check any sally from the town, while he destined the remainder to support the infantry in the attack upon the enemy. Having made these arrangements, the Spanish chieftain led on his men confidently to the charge. The Gascon archery, however, seized with a panic, scarcely ^ Tliis was improving^ on Ibe armed with short weapons after the somcwliat similar expedient ascrib- Roman fasliion, with those of his ed by Polybiiis to King Pyrrhus, Macedonian spearmen. Lib. 17, wiio mingled alternate cohorts, sec. 24.