Christ is worth all your sacrifice,

He will reward you as is foretold

When you give up your life for Him

You shall join the heavenly fold.

The Lord commands you

To disdain all bodily harms,

Thence give up your mortal lives,

For your brothers and take up arms!

Crossbows and harquebuses peeped out from behind the Silesian pavises. The Haugwitz bellowed until he was hoarse, forbade the men from firing, ordered them to wait. That was a mistake.

When the Hussite wagons had approached to a distance of three hundred paces, trestle guns fired and a hail of bullets thudded against the pavises. A moment later, a dense cloud of bolts hissed towards the Silesians. The dead fell, the wounded howled and the line of pavises shook. The Silesian foot soldiers responded with answering fire, but chaotically and inaccurately. The bowmen’s hands were shaking. For on Bleh’s command, the Taborite regiment had speeded up. And then began to run. With savage cries on their lips.

“They won’t hold…” There was first disbelief and then hope in Blažek of Kralupy’s voice. And then certainty. “They won’t hold! God is with us!”

Although it appeared unbelievable, the Silesian line suddenly disintegrated as though blown apart by the wind. Dropping their pavises and spears, the peasant infantry bolted to a man. Haugwitz, trying to restrain them, was knocked over along with his horse. In panic and disarray, dropping their weapons, hiding their heads in their hands, the Silesian peasantry fled towards the townspeople’s dwellings and the riverside undergrowth.

“Attack!” Jan Bleh roared. “Have at them! Kill!”

Horns boomed on Monk’s Meadow. Seeing that it was time, Půta of Častolovice roused the knighthood. Lowering their lances, a thousand horse and more of iron cavalry moved onto the offensive. The earth began to tremble.

Bleh and Zikmund of Vranov realised the gravity of the situation at once. On their command, the Taborite infantry immediately closed ranks into a tight formation, pavises raised. The wagons were turned broadside, and the barrels of cannons appeared behind the lowered sides.

The iron wave of Silesian knighthood smoothly re-formed, dividing up into three groups. The middle one, under the bishop’s banner with Půta himself leading, was meant to drive a wedge into the Taborite array and dismember it; the other two groups were meant to clench it like pliers—Ruprecht’s Knights Hospitaller to the right, the Dukes of Ziębice and Oława to the left.