Gallic cavalry

Elevating his lance in his proper hand, Constantine despatched his mount racing towards the massed ranks of Maxentius’ military, because the blare of trumpets all alongside the road acknowledged the order to assault. Beside him, he heard Crocus increase his voice within the highpitched shout of the Gallic cavalry going into motion; then seconds later his horse crashed into the entrance line of the battle and he discovered himself thrusting and jabbing with the sharp pointed lance because the battle milled and eddied about him.

Constantine had hoped to fulfill Maxentius nose to nose in fight, however the usual of the selfstyled Emperor of Italy and Africa remained effectively again within the massed ranks of the Praetorian Guards. The Praetorians themselves fought gamely, however the debauchery that had characterised their lives throughout Maxentius’ reign shortly started to inform upon them. No match for Constantine’s battle hardened veterans, each on horse and on foot, the elite troops have been pushed again. And when their ranks lastly broke, the spearhead of Constantine’s cavalry was capable of penetrate to the levies of the reserves and shortly scatter them.

On the flanks, the Moorish horse have been faring no higher in opposition to the swiftmoving Gallic cavalry commanded by Crocus. The curved swords of the Moors, although vicious weapons for shut preventing, availed them little in opposition to sharp lances that might penetrate a Moorish coronary heart lengthy earlier than the wielder may attain his opponent. Their horses, too, although far handsomer than the wiry mounts favored by the Gallic cavalry, shortly turned nervous and laborious to regulate within the warmth of the battle.

Maxentius struggled

Hardly two hours after Maxentius marched boldly forth from the security of Rome’s partitions, his military was in full retreat towards the bridges main throughout the Tiber into town. Constantine’s forces gave them no relaxation, nevertheless, and the plains of the Tiber have been lined by a confused melee of males and horses, because the defeated military of Maxentius struggled to cross the bridges and attain the security of Rome’s partitions. In the meantime, Crocus had despatched his swiftranging horse round each flanks of the now virtually destroyed enemy forces, preserving most of them from reaching the bridges and concentrating the others in a slender house, the place they might be attacked extra successfully by Constantine’s steadily advancing legions.

When Constantine reined in his horse upon somewhat rise overlooking the battlefield, he noticed that the attachment of one of many pontoon bridges to the shore had already been reduce by Crocus’ cavalry. These of Maxentius’ forces who had been scrambling to get throughout had been thrown into the water when the bridge swung out into the present. And, since nobody on the financial institution may assist them, most sank like stones, carried down by the burden of the armor.