John was now attached to the Imperial army in an honorable capacity, and in the course of his duties he made the better acquaintance of some of the higher officers. This was the case in particular with Lord Ebersberg, who found that the young Englishman had made a study of those branches of tactics in which he himself was most interested. These two had many discussions and on one occasion John imparted to the general some ideas of signalling which he had gathered from the pages of Polybius. This particular conversation had an important bearing on the issue of a great battle at a later date. VII. SOME STRATAGEMS John marches with the army against the Turks--Helps the commander-in-chief out of a dilemma--The signal message with torches--“At the alarum, sally you”--John’s dummy battalions of matchlock men deceive the enemy--Baron Kissel attacks the Turkish army and routs it with great slaughter--The campaign in Transylvania--Alba Regalis is attacked--John devises a scheme for entering the city--His “fiery dragons” work havoc within the walls--The place is taken by assault after a fierce fight--Sixty thousand Moslems advance to retake it--John is promoted. John Smith’s brief experiences in Holland had merely served to whet his appetite for soldiering. He was now in a fair way to see fighting of the hardest kind. The year 1601 was drawing to a close. It had been distinguished by constant conflict of the fiercest description between the Christian and Turkish armies, with the advantage on the whole on the side of the latter. The Turks had ravaged Hungary, had recently taken the important stronghold of Caniza, and were threatening Ober-Limbach. Lord Ebersberg was despatched to the defence of that place with a small force, whilst Baron Kissel followed as soon as possible with an additional body of ten thousand men, including the Earl of Meldritch’s regiment.