Ottocar, now better understanding the power of his foe, made the most formidable preparations for the strife, and soon took the field with an army which he supposed would certainly triumph over any force which Rhodolph could raise.

He even succeeded in drawing Henry of Bavaria into an alliance; and many of the German princes, whom he could not win to his standard, he bribed to neutrality.

Numerous chieftains, lured to his camp by confidence of victory, crowded around him with their followers, from Poland, Bulgaria, Pomerania, Magdeburg, and from the barbaric shores of the Baltic.

Many of the fierce nobles of Hungary had also joined the standard of Ottocar.
Thus suddenly clouds gathered around Rhodolph, and many of his friends despaired of his cause.

He appealed to the princes of the German empire, and but few responded to his call.