Attila tried to take Orleans, but soon after he began to attack the
walls he saw a great army at a distance coming towards the city.
He quickly gathered his forces together, marched to the neighboring
plain of Champagne and halted at the place where the city of Chalons
(shah-lon') now stands.
The army which Attila saw was an army of 300,000 Romans and
Visigoths. It was led by a Roman general name Aetius (A-e'-ti-us)
and the Visigoth king Theodoric (The-od'-o-ric). The Visigoths
after the death of Alaric had settled in parts of Gaul, and their
king had now agreed to join the Romans against the common enemy--the
terrible Huns. So the great army of the Romans and Visigoths marched
up and attacked the Huns at Chalons. It was a fierce battle. Both
sides fought with the greatest bravery. At first the Huns seemed
to be winning. They drove back the Romans and Visigoths from the
field, and in the fight Theodoric was killed.
Aetius now began to fear that he would be beaten, but just at that
moment Thorismond (Thor'-is-mond), the son of Theodoric, made another
charge against the Huns. He had taken command of the Visigoths
when his father was killed, and now he led them on to fight.
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