Page:The Hussite wars, by the Count Lützow.djvu/341

 Shortly afterwards the levies of the Old and New Towns of Prague, and those of several cities allied with Tábor, arrived before Plzeň, and they were followed at a short interval by the army of the Orphans, under Čapek, which had just returned from Prussia. It is probable that some of the soldiers of the lords “sub utraque” also took part in this, the last joint enterprise of the Utraquists. At the beginning of August Prokop the Great also arrived before Plzeň and took the command of the besieging army. This army was concentrated in five separate camps, each of which contained the levies of one of the Utraquist parties who had jointly undertaken the siege. It was not attempted to starve the city, as the defenders had employed the respite which they had obtained in consequence of the negotiations of the Council for the purpose of strengthening the fortifications of the city. The Hussites therefore determined to invest the city thoroughly, and shortly afterwards opened a bombardment from all their positions. Many incidents prove that indiscipline had spread among the Hussite soldiers, and though their artillery had been brilliant during the earlier part of the war, it now seems to have failed entirely. Though Catholic chroniclers probably exaggerate when they write that no one was killed or wounded during the bombardment, it certainly caused scarcely any damage in the city. It is, at any rate, certain that the bombardment by no means discouraged the defenders. On September 1 they made a vigorous sortie at night-time, and occupied and destroyed one of the camps; the losses of the Hussites were considerable. To avoid similar occurrences Prokop decided to join his troops more closely together. The original plan of isolating the camps had, no doubt, been adopted to prevent conflicts between the different forces. The relations between the Utraquist nobles and Prokop the Great were already strained to the utmost, and the citizens of the Old and New Towns of Prague, who were to meet in armed conflict only a few months later, were already on very bad terms. At the