Page:Sienkiewicz - The knights of the cross.djvu/766

 328 Meanwhile the second and smaller part, in which were three regiments of Smolensk, withdrew toward the Polish wing pressed by six German regiments, and later by those also who returned from pursuing. But the men of Smolensk, better armed, gave more effective resistance. The battle here turned into a slaughter. Every step, almost every hand's breadth of land was bought with torrents of blood. One of the Smolensk regiments was almost cut to pieces, but two others defended themselves with desperation and rage, resembling that of a wild boar when attacked by a company of bears. Nothing, however, could stop the irrepressible Germans.

Some of their regiments were seized by the frenzy of battle. Single knights, spurring their rearing steeds, rushed on at random with upraised axe or sword into the densest throng of the enemy. The blows of their swords and axes were almost preterhuman; the whole body, thrusting, trampling, and crushing horses and riders of the Smolensk regiments, came at last to th flank of the main forehead, and main Polish legion, for two regiments during more than an hour had struggled with the Germans led by Kuno Lichtenstein.

The task was not so easy for the Knights of the Order in that spot, since there was equality of arms and horses, and similar knightly training. So the Polish "wood" even stopped the Germans and pushed them back, especially when three terrible regiments struck them: the Cracow, the light horse, under Yendrek of Brohotsitse, and the household regiment, which was led by Povala of Tachev.

But the battle raged with the greatest din when, after the spears had been broken, men took to swords and axes. Shield struck shield then, man struggled with man, horses fell, banners were hurled to the earth; under the blows of hammers and axes, helmets, shoulder-pieces and breastplates burst, iron was covered with blood, heroes dropped from their saddles as pines fall when their trunks are chopped through.

Those Knights of the Cross who at Vilno had been in battles with the Poles, knew how "unbending" and "persistent" a people they were, but new men and guests from abroad were seized at once with amazement akin to terror. Many a knight reined in his steed without thinking, looked ahead with doubt, and before he could decide what to do he had perished.