Pagina 278 de 310

Thus it happened that the Florentine horsemen mounting the hill

were completely taken by surprise when they discovered the

infantry of Castruccio, and so close were they upon it they had

scarcely time to pull down their visors. It was a case of unready

soldiers being attacked by ready, and they were assailed with

such vigour that with difficulty they could hold their own,

although some few of them got through. When the noise of the

fighting reached the Florentine camp below, it was filled with

confusion. The cavalry and infantry became inextricably mixed:

the captains were unable to get their men either backward or

forward, owing to the narrowness of the pass, and amid all this

tumult no one knew what ought to be done or what could be done.

In a short time the cavalry who were engaged with the enemy's

infantry were scattered or killed without having made any

effective defence because of their unfortunate position, although

in sheer desperation they had offered a stout resistance.