The Stand

The engraving shows a German soldier dressed as the pope being paraded through the streets of Rome.
In the background, fighting and pillaging ensues. In the distance, Castel Sant’Angelo and Ponte Sant’Angelo can be seen.
Mattäus Merian, “Sack of Rome,” engraving in Johann Ludwig Gottfried’s Historiche Chronica (Frankfurt 1630–34), p. 33.
Source

The entry to the piazza was filling with Landsknechts, Aloysius noticed that their flamboyant style of dress was even more noticeable at such a short distance. Many of the men who had assaulted the wall had spread through the nearby neighborhoods, seeking loot and women, the men facing them now seemed to know that the Vatican had plenty of things to steal.

"I see no muskets¹ among them." Andreas remarked.

"Thank heaven for small favors!" said Günther, the man to Aloysius' other side.

Aloysius grinned, small things to ease the terror of the moment, he thought. Then the enemy began to move towards them.

"Formation, lads! Keep together! Remember your drill!" one of the corporals yelled to the men near him.

Aloysius followed the motions of the men to either side of him, blade up, ready to block a thrust or strike an opponent down. They had drilled this many times, but never against men coming to kill them.

Captain Röist was watching the advancing Landsknechts and his own men at the same time. The advancing enemy seemed tentative, almost as if they were not expecting resistance. Röist's Guardsmen looked steady and determined.

One of the Landsknechts cried out, "Lauf, du papistischer Abschaum!²"

A Guardsman shouted back, "Komm und iss meine Klinge, du Söldnerschwein!³"

Though Röist grinned at the well-timed insult, he shouted out, "Save your breath, boys! You'll need your energy to slaughter these heretics!"

One of the Landsknechts growled and dashed forward, followed by several of his comrades, his great two-handed sword, the infamous Zweihänder, held high, ready to cut down any unwary guardsman. The man had to be either drunk or overconfident.

Aloysius felt the fear in the pit of his stomach, the man advancing towards him was huge. His sword seemed to be some mythical blade and not a real thing. But Aloysius reacted precisely how he'd been trained, he thrust his halberd forward and took the Landsknecht in the throat. His assailant dropped immediately, blood spraying like a fountain.

The Guardsmen dealt with that man's comrades in much the same way, in a few short seconds, the impetuous Landsknechts, ten of them, lay butchered on the paving stones of the piazza San Pietro.

With a roar the main body of the Landsknechts advanced on the Guards at a trot.

Aloysius saw that many of the Landsknechts carried halberds much like the one he carried. He saw no pikes, that was fortunate. Had the Germans been carrying their pikes they would have outreached the Swiss halberds. Apparently those had been discarded before going over the wall. Aloysius rather wished that they had done the same with their shorter pole arms.

Andreas' halberd flashed up before Aloysius' face as Andreas blocked a German's thrust at Günther. Aloysius stomped forward and thrust his own halberd into the German's groin.

"Back, back, step back!" the men heard their captain command.

The paving stones were growing slippery with blood, Aloysius noticed that there were dead and wounded Guardsmen down on the pavement among the slaughtered Landsknechts. By sheer weight of numbers, the Swiss were being forced back towards the basilica.

Aloysius was gasping with the effort of parrying and thrusting his halberd, his arms were growing heavy and the shaft of his weapon was slick with sweat and blood. He couldn't believe how much blood was inside a man.

Captain Caspar Röist hacked down a Landsknecht who was in the process of trying to kill a wounded Guardsman at Röist's feet. As he drew his blade back, he felt a sharp pain, almost like fire, slide across his left upper arm. He had taken the point of an enemy blade in his bicep. His arm dropped to his side.

One of his Guardsmen stepped in front of him and used the axe blade of his halberd to spilt the head of the man who had stabbed the captain.

The fighting was becoming confused as individual Landsknechts were starting to work their way in to the ranks of the Swiss formation. Röist realized that his men would have to fall back even more, they were close to the steps leading into the basilica.

"Back lads! Step back, tighten your ranks!" He bellowed at his men.

"Oh Lord, there are too many of them!" Andreas cried out as he parried an enemy thrust and followed through with a thrust of his own. His foe went down screaming, his hands pressed to his face where Andreas' point had stabbed into his eyes. More blood on the pavement.

"Back, step back, Andreas!" Aloysius yelled at his comrade.

The formation tightened and the Landsknechts fell back for a moment, almost as if to catch their collective breath before pressing the attack again. Aloysius didn't see Günther as he glanced to his left.

"Günther! Where are you?" he yelled.

"Save your breath, Junge, Günther is out there!" Andreas called out, pointing with his halberd to a pile of intermixed Swiss and German bodies.

"Captain?" Andreas asked, as he noticed that their Captain had joined them.

"Andreas, Aloysius, get inside, tell His Holiness that we cannot hold them back. He must get to Sant'Angelo, use the covered way." Röist paused and looked to his front when he heard the Landsknechts bellowing and advancing.

"Go! Tell His Holiness that I'll hold them as long as I can!"

Aloysius hesitated, then Röist shoved him at the same time as Andreas yanked him by the sleeve, "Come on, boy! Let us be off!"

Aloysius turned one last time towards the piazza, the Swiss were almost enveloped by a sea of snarling Landsknechts. Then he and Andreas went inside, towards where they were told the Pope should be.

¹ The arquebuses in use were commonly referred to as "muskets" at that time.

² Run, you papist scum! (German)

³ Come and eat my blade, mercenary pig! (German)