The battle of Girkhe—The Duc de Mercoeur pits twenty thousand Christians against sixty thousand Turks—The conflict rages from morn till night—Meldritch’s men do valiant service—John’s horse is killed under him—He is rescued by Culnitz and saves the latter’s life in turn—Duplaine dies fighting one to ten—The Earl’s fearful plight—Seven hundred against three thousand—“For faith and Meldritch!”—The Earl is cut off—“Culnitz! Vahan! Follow me! To the Chief, my men!”—Count Ulrich turns the scales—The Turks break and flee from the field—Victory and night.

Alba Regalis had been in the hands of the Turks for thirty years, and during that time had become virtually a Moslem city. Turkish mosques, palaces and market place had been constructed in it and its fortifications had been strengthened until the place was well-nigh impregnable. The Turks had come to consider Alba Regalis a permanent possession and its fall was a great blow to their pride as well as a serious setback in their military operations. As soon as the Sultan was informed of the Duc de Mercoeur’s advance against the stronghold, he hastily raised a force of sixty thousand men and sent it to the relief, under Hassan Pasha, the commander-in-chief of the Turkish army. Hassan had pushed forward with all possible expedition but, as we know, Alba Regalis fell whilst he was still a considerable distance away. This did not check the advance of the Turkish general. On the contrary it induced him to hurry on in the hope of arriving before the Christians should have time to repair the breaches in the walls and other damages to the defences which their assault must, as he naturally supposed, have made. Thanks, however, to Captain John Smith’s stratagem, as we should now call him, the artillery had been comparatively little used in the reduction of the city and a few days sufficed to put it in its former condition, so far as the outworks were concerned.

Scouts kept a close watch on the Turkish army and reported to the Duc that it was strung out to such an extent that the last regiments were a full day’s march behind the vanguard. This fact suggested to Mercoeur the bold expedient of going out to meet the enemy instead of awaiting him behind the walls of Alba Regalis. The plan was based on logical reasoning and had the approval of Meldritch and other leaders. The Turks would not expect such a move and would continue their advance in single column of regiments. The Christians would thus have the advantage of numbers on their side in the early part of the engagement and the enemy could hardly bring more than two to one against them before the close of the first day. If advisable the defenders of the city might retire within the walls at nightfall. The force of Hassan Pasha was largely composed of raw levies, undisciplined and inexperienced, who would necessarily be worn in consequence of the forced marches to which they had been subjected. Furthermore, the Duc was too keen a soldier to allow thirty thousand men to be shut up in a beleaguered town for months when their services were so urgently needed elsewhere. These considerations then prompted him to a decision which proved to have been an eminently wise one.

Mercoeur had no idea of seriously hazarding the loss of Alba Regalis. When he issued to battle there were left in the town ten thousand men, a sufficient number to hold it for some months even if the worst befell their comrades. With his main body, twenty thousand strong, the Duc marched out to meet the oncoming Turks. The spot he selected for the encounter was one where the enemy must debouche from a comparatively narrow way upon the extensive plains of Girkhe. The latter expanse afforded ideal conditions for the movement of cavalry, upon which arm the general mainly depended for success. The Christian army arrived at the battle-ground at the close of day and, after throwing out a chain of videttes and posting strong guards, passed a restful night in bivouac.

The Duc’s force had hardly finished its morning meal when the videttes retired before the van of the advancing Turks and the outposts fell back in orderly manner upon the main body. The hoarse bray of the trumpets called the soldiers “to arms” and, as they had lain down in ranks the night before, the regiments were formed in a very few minutes. It was no part of the Duc’s plan to contest the advance of the enemy or to attempt to drive him back. The Turkish regiments as they arrived were freely permitted to march forward and deploy upon the plain. The Christian army was massed, and as each corps of the Ottomans lined up in its crescent formation the Duc sent one of his own against it. They were about equal in numbers, that is to say, each one thousand strong. It was the hope of the Christian commander that in this way he should be able to rout a considerable portion of the Turkish army before it could bring a very superior force upon the field. The best of his troops Mercoeur held back until the latter part of the day when the hardest fighting might be expected to occur. Thus John Smith and many another brave fellow was forced to stand impatiently watching his comrades in action. Twice during the forenoon, however, Captain Smith was permitted to take out his troop and make a brief charge for the purpose of turning the tide where a Christian regiment appeared to be overmatched. So, for hours this strange battle progressed in a series of duels. Every thirty or forty minutes brought a fresh Turkish regiment on the field where it was at once engaged by one of the Christian corps in an isolated conflict. There was no attempt at military tactics or combined movements on the part of the various colonels. Each had his own little battle to fight with a Turkish zanzack. He was instructed to attend strictly to that and pay no heed to what might be going on around him. When he had beaten and routed the body opposed to him, he was to retire and rest his men and horses.

It was a very ingenious arrangement when you think about it. Once engaged the Turks were obliged to come on as at first. If they should halt, even for an hour to mass a strong force, the Christian commander would overwhelm and annihilate the Moslem regiments upon the field. Despite the fact that several bodies of the Ottomans were utterly broken and driven from the field, the constant arrival of fresh Turks gradually increased their numbers until at noon they had fully twenty thousand men in action, opposed to about thirteen thousand of the Duc de Mercoeur’s force. Up to this time five thousand of the Moslems and two thousand Christians had been put out of action. The former were constantly receiving fresh accessions to their numbers, whilst the regiments of the latter which had been most actively engaged during the morning could only be lightly employed thereafter.

But the flower of Mercoeur’s force had been held in reserve until this time. It consisted of five regiments of splendid cavalry—five thousand horsemen eager for the fray. The time had come to launch them against the enemy in support of the now hardly-pressed troops that had borne the burden of battle thus far. The commanders and men knew what was expected of them. They were prepared to meet odds of five to one and more if necessary. They had fed and watered their chargers, they had looked to their buckles and bits. Their pistols were loaded and primed and each had drained the flagon of wine handed to him by his horse-boy. They made a brave picture as they sat their champing steeds in glistening armor and with drawn swords awaiting the word to advance. Since each corps acted as an independent unit, we can only follow the fortunes of that which bore the brunt of the fierce fighting in the afternoon of that memorable autumn day.

The regiment of Meldritch consisted of four companies, commanded respectively by the following captains: Duplaine, a Frenchman; Vahan and Culnitz, Germans; and the Englishman, John Smith. Each of these performed prodigies of valor before the fall of night and the dashing Duplaine met a soldier’s death upon the field.

The Earl lost no time in taking his impatient men into action. Riding in their front, conspicuous by his great height and the scarlet plumes that surmounted his helmet, he led them towards a body of the enemy that had just entered the plain. Meldritch’s corps, in line of double rank, advanced at a trot, breaking into a hand-gallop as they approached the foe. Then, as the uplifted sword of the Earl gave the signal, they swept forward in a mighty charge and with a shout crashed through the line of Turks, overthrowing horse and rider in their impetuous course. In an instant the ground was strewn with dead and dying, with kicking animals and with men striving to get clear of the struggling mass. The victors rode among them slaying without mercy, whilst the remnant of the broken regiment fled in every direction.

When his men had reformed and breathed their horses, the Earl sent them at another regiment with like results, and so again and again. But such work tells on man and horse, and as Meldritch’s men tired the odds by which they were confronted increased. They no longer swept through the ranks of the enemy with ease but had to cut and hew their passage. Their charges broke the compactness of their own lines and ended in mÊlÉes from which they emerged in small bodies with loss and fatigue.

In one of these later encounters, the black Barbary—his colonel’s gift to Captain Smith—suddenly pitched forward in the throes of death, flinging his rider heavily to the ground. Our hero’s career must have ended there had not Culnitz spurred to his rescue just as three Turks rode at him.

“Up! Up behind me in the saddle!” cried Culnitz generously, as he reached John’s side. But the young Englishman had no idea of hazarding his comrade’s life by such a proceeding. His sword had flown from his hand as he fell. He now snatched Culnitz’s battle-axe from the saddle-bow and prepared to help his rescuer meet the trio of Turks who were now upon them. One of these, whose handsome horse and fine accoutrements proclaimed him to be a person of distinction, attacked the German captain from the side on which John stood. Ignoring the man on foot, the Turk swung his blade at the neck of the mounted officer. Culnitz was completely engaged with the other two assailants and the blow must have severed his head but, as the Turk’s arm swept forward, it met the battle-axe wielded by our hero, which shattered the bone. The next instant Smith had dragged the Turk from his horse and was in the saddle. The gallant young captains now had little difficulty in disposing of the two Moslems who confronted them and a few others who attempted to bar their return to their comrades.

The Colonel was overjoyed to see his two young officers reappear and their men greeted them with wild huzzas, for all had feared that they were cut off and lost. Meldritch’s regiment was now reduced to a scant three companies. Duplaine had met a glorious fate fighting single handed against ten of the enemy. His company—that is what was left of it—the Earl distributed amongst the other three and once more formed his men up for a fresh attack. They were fortunate at this juncture in finding themselves near a small stream at which men and horses assuaged their consuming thirst.

The hours had dragged slowly by to the anxious Duc who, surrounded by his staff, stood upon an eminence surveying the field. His breast swelled with pride at the many sights of valor presented by the constantly shifting scene. Never had commander witnessed more gallant service, but men are mortal and Mercoeur knew that flesh and blood could not much longer endure the fearful strain. The Turks had put full forty thousand men upon the plain since the day begun and their troops were still arriving in a steady stream. Scarce ten thousand Christians remained fit to fight, and these were already pitted against some thirty thousand Moslems. Anxiously the commander’s gaze followed the slowly setting sun, and as Wellington in after years longed for the arrival of BlÜcher, so Mercoeur now prayed for the fall of night.

Looking toward the road over which the Turkish troops, like a huge snake had poured all day, a sight met the Duc’s eyes that caused his heart to beat with apprehension. To his utter dismay he saw approaching a stately body of men on white chargers. He quickly recognized them as the Barukh Regiment, one of the finest in the army of the Sultan and two thousand strong.

“Now may Our Lady of Mercy support Meldritch,” cried Mercoeur with emotion, “for surely no mortal help can save him in this pass!”

This deep concern on the part of the general was excited by the fact that Meldritch’s regiment, which we left reforming for another onslaught, was nearest to the Barukhs, who were evidently extending their ranks with the design of attacking it. Quickly the white horsemen advanced and Meldritch, when he was apprised of his danger, found his corps enveloped in a rough triangle, the base of it formed by the body of the enemy he had been on the point of charging. At a glance his soldier’s eye recognized the superiority of the Barukh cavalry and he wheeled two companies about to face the graver danger, whilst to Vahan, with the third, was entrusted the task of preventing a rear attack by the smaller body of the enemy.

They were seven hundred to three thousand. To charge upon their jaded horses must have been to break themselves and become engulfed in that mass of splendid horsemen. The Earl, therefore, decided to await the attack. It was the climax of the fight—the most critical moment of the day. On the result of the coming conflict depended the issue of the battle. The Earl turned in his saddle and addressed his men.

“These be worthy of our steel,” he cried, pointing with his outstretched sword towards the oncoming Barukhs. “Our commander watches us. Let every man strike for Christ, for honor and for life.” “For Faith and Meldritch!” responded the men heartily.

The Turks charged with courageous fury. Seven hundred pistols were discharged full in their faces, emptying hundreds of saddles. They recoiled but came again almost immediately. Once more they received a volley at close range and this time fell back in disorder, their ranks thrown into confusion by the great number of riderless horses that ran wildly amongst them. The Earl deemed the moment favorable for a counter-attack.

“Charge!” he cried in ringing tones, and plunged into the Moslem horde, followed by his men.

Thrusting and hacking for dear life, Meldritch’s troopers slowly fought their way through the Barukhs. As they emerged in little knots they began to rally round the standards of their several leaders. The three captains were thus engaged in collecting the remnants of their men, when they perceived that the Earl was completely cut off. His plume, now no ruddier than his armor, marked the spot where alone, like a lion at bay, he held back a circle of the enemy. The red rays of the evening sun flashed from his long blade which, like a streak of fire, swept in wide strokes, now on this side and anon on that.

“To the Chief!” shouted John. “Culnitz! Vahan! Follow me! To the Chief, my men!”

Smith’s voice rose above the clangor of weapons as he spurred into the dense mass of Moslems, closely followed by his fellow-captains. With slashing blows they opened a lane through which some fifty of their men rode after them. In a few minutes they gained beside the wearied Earl and surrounded him with a band of devoted followers.

The situation of this handful of heroes, beset by more than a thousand furious enemies, was precarious in the extreme. To cut their way out was impossible, and they prepared to sell their lives dearly and die as becomes gallant soldiers. But Fortune favors the brave. At this critical juncture, Count Ulrich, having routed the force to which he had been opposed, was able to bring his regiment to the relief of Meldritch. They bore down upon the Barukhs who, taken in the rear and by surprise, broke and fled over the field.

The Turkish trumpets now sounded the “recall” and the shattered regiments of the Sultan retired to where Hassan’s banner proclaimed the presence of the dispirited commander. The Duc de Mercoeur’s exhausted men lay down in their cloaks upon the ground which they had soaked with the blood of ten thousand Turks.