King Henry VIII. at the very beginning of the war might have changed the
whole history of Europe.

As it was, the King was suffered to pass on his way, but Bayard obtained
leave to harass the retreating army, and with his company took possession
of a piece of artillery called _Saint John_, for Henry VIII. had twelve of
these big cannons, to which he gave the name of "his twelve apostles."

The King of England reached the camp outside Thérouanne in safety, and a
few days later was joined by the Emperor Maximilian, who was welcomed with
much feasting. Their combined forces are said to have amounted to 40,000
men, and they soon began a vigorous bombardment of the city, which was
bravely defended with a strong garrison, who did their best with the
limited means at their disposal. Thérouanne was a strongly-fortified city,
but the massive walls, which had formerly been impregnable, could not stand
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."