The Revolt Defeated 215Mansfeld, who had first taken it in November 1618 and had retreated
there again after his defeat at Záblatí in June 1619. As an outsider with
a Catholic background Mansfeld had been at odds with the Bohemian
generals almost from the outset, while he and they alike resented the
overall command being given to Anhalt, so that he had increasingly
behaved as a independent condottiere in the south west of Bohemia.
Nevertheless he took an active part in Anhalt’s campaign during the
summer of 1620 before being sent back to Bohemia in September, where
he had re-established himself in Pilsen. The Bohemians had not paid
him, so that his men too were unpaid, and when the League army
arrived outside the city in October he was ready to negotiate, particu-
larly as his Bohemian service contract was due to expire shortly, and he
in fact received his discharge from Friedrich at the end of that month.
For Maximilian time was shorter than money by this stage, and as the
city was well fortified a siege would probably have taken weeks, so he
met Mansfeld’s price for a truce which enabled him to march on.^28
Meanwhile Anhalt was indeed hurrying back to defend Prague, and
the paths of the two armies almost met a short way from Pilsen. This
provoked another major dispute between the League and Imperialist
commanders, with Tilly now wanting to force the Bohemians to a battle
whereas Bucquoy, true to his training, rejected this as too risky a ven-
ture. Maximilian was furious, reportedly threatening to withdraw his
army from the campaign, but Bucquoy held firm and in the end they
marched on towards Prague.
They did not get very much further before they encountered Anhalt
all the same. Foreseeing the danger of being overtaken and attacked
from the rear, he had used the brief respite to find a suitable defen-
sive location and to construct a fortified camp for his army at Rakonitz
(Rakovník). From there he sent out units to skirmish and to counter his
opponents’ attempts to find weaknesses in his position, but he was too
wily to be tempted out into the field and too well defended to be dis-
lodged from his refuge. There he stayed while a valuable week nearer
the winter went by, and while the League and Imperialist commanders
argued over what to do, as Bucquoy was not only unwilling to force
a battle but was already thinking about going into winter quarters.^29
Finally Maximilian and Tilly prevailed again, and on 5 November they
moved on towards Prague, taking the risk of leaving Anhalt undefeated
in their rear.
As soon as they had gone he too broke camp, and with the ben-
efit of better local knowledge he managed to overtake them without
making contact, aiming to reach Prague first. He succeeded, but only