Page:The Hussite wars, by the Count Lützow.djvu/289

 forces, only Lord Hanuš of Kolowrat is mentioned as having, somewhat reluctantly, taken a personal part in this campaign. The Táborite army was, however, joined by large forces sent by the cities of Prague and many other Bohemian towns, and a large Polish contingent led by Prince Korybutovič also came to the aid of the Bohemians in this moment of peril. The forces of the Hussites in this their last battle against a foreign foe were greater than on any previous occasion. The Bohemian army first marched to Plzeň, and after an unsuccessful attempt to obtain possession of that stronghold continued its march to the Bavarian frontier ready to give battle immediately. The crusaders, however, remained at Weiden on the Bavarian frontier without attempting to cross the hills of the Šumava (Bohemian forest). The districts of Western Bohemia had during the last ten years been the scene of almost incessant warfare, and had been thoroughly devastated. The Hussites soon found it impossible to provision a large army in these regions. Prokop the Great, anxious to prove the conciliatory attitude of his party, made another attempt to negotiate with the King of Hungary, which, however, again failed. The Hussite leaders then immediately decided to evacuate for the moment this exhausted district and to retire into the interior of their country. The crusaders, as usually, entirely uninformed of the doings in the enemies’ camp, concluded that the Bohemians had given up all hope of offering resistance in the open field. On August 1 they at last crossed the Bohemian frontier and marched on the small town of Tachov, which had played a considerable part in a previous campaign. The Elector of Brandenburg, who was commander-in-chief, was accompanied by Cardinal Cesarini, the Archbishop of Köln, the Duke of Bavaria, and the Count Palatine Stephen. Though some of the promised reinforcements were not forthcoming a considerable number of new crusaders joined the invading army about the time at which it crossed the frontier. According to the most reliable calculations the whole