nd
against a long siege with this new artillery.

The besieged city was very short of provisions and the great object of the
French was to supply these; indeed Louis XII., who had advanced as far as
Amiens, was sending constant orders that this must be done at any risk. At
the same time he was very anxious to avoid a general engagement as his army
would be no match for the combined English and Burgundian forces. French
historians tell us that this was the cause of that disastrous encounter
which, to their great annoyance, has been called the "Battle of Spurs."
They point out that the troops were not sent to fight, but only to
revictual a besieged place, and that the King's orders were that, if
attacked, "they were to retreat at a walk, and if they were pressed, go
from a walk to a trot, and from a trot to a gallop, for they were to risk
nothing."

This was the French plan to send provisions for the beleaguered city, a
very difficult enterprise on account of the immense army which surrounded
it. It was arranged that the cavalry should make a feigned attack on the
side of Guinegaste, in order to draw the enemy in that direction, while
eight hundred "stradiots" (light horse, chiefly Albanians in the service of
France) were to make a dash on the other side, gallop through the defending
force, reach the moat and throw in the bundles of provisions which they
carried on the necks of their horses. This we are told the Albanians
actually succeeded in doing, and it seemed as if this bold stroke would be
successful, for the besieged, under cover of night, would be able to fetch
in the much-needed provisions.

The French men-at-arms, meantime, had advanced to the attack and, after
some skirmishing with the English and Imperial troops, were beginning to
retreat somewhat carelessly, when they suddenly saw a number of
foot-soldiers with artillery appearing on the top of the hill of
Guinegaste, preparing to bar their way. Only then did they become fully
aware of the imminent danger in which they were, and understood that, by
some treachery, their plans had been made known to the enemy, who had thus
made all preparations for their destruction.

King Henry VIII. had heard of the plan of relief, and before daybreak had
placed ten or twelve thousand English archers and four or five thousand
German foot-soldiers on a hillock with eight or ten pieces of artillery, in
order that when the French had passed by, his men might descend and
sur