The decisive battle of Tannenberg or Grunwald, also known as the battle of Zalgiris , between the Teutonic Knights Army and the Royal Polish-Lithuanian Army, stopped the expansion towards the East of that military order, until then invincible, and ensured the independence of Poland-Lithuania.
Data from the battle of Tannenberg or Grunwald
- Who: The army of the Teutonic Order under the command of its grand master Ulrich yon Jungingen (d. 1410) fought the royal army of Poland-Lithuania under the command of King Ladislaus II Jogaila (1350-1434).
- How: The Royal Polish-Lithuanian Army, with Tatar (Mongol) and Russian auxiliaries, annihilated the more experienced and better armed Teutonic Army.
- Where: On a shallow grassy plain between the East Prussian (Mazurian) villages of Tannenberg and Grunwald.
- When: July 15, 1410.
- Why: The royal army was surprised when the entire Teutonic army fell on him before he was prepared; however, the Teutons wasted their great opportunity for victory by not attacking first.
- Result: The Polish-Lithuanian victory stopped the expansion of the Teutonic Order to the East and practically broke its power.
Teutonic Order
Founded in Acre in 1190 to defend the Holy Land, the Teutonic Order was a military order of warrior monks whose military and religious reputation could be compared to that of the Knights of Saint John or the Templars . Unlike its rivals, however, the Teutonic Order moved the headquarters of its activities and crusades to the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic. The neighboring Poles, whose kingdom, once united, had by this time been divided into independent duchies, were under constant attack from the pagan and hostile Prussians, although the Lithuanians, who had consolidated a huge sphere by conquering part of Western Russia occupied by the Mongols, they had finally converted to Christianity and were allies of the Poles .
However, there were still the Prussian interlopers, who had to be dealt with. Lacking the resources or the will to do so, Prince Conrad of Masovia, whose dukedom was the most exposed to Prussian attacks, invited the Teutonic Order in 1230 to crush the Prussians. The Order was only too happy to oblige, and a decade later the Prussian threat had been eliminated, leaving only a few pockets of resistance. Conrad soon regretted inviting these rapacious and greedy Germans into territories that Poland regarded as vassal states.
Eastward expansion of the Teutonic Order
By 1283 the Order controlled western and eastern Pruthenia or Prussia, including the vitally important port city of Danzig (now Gdansk), Poland's only port and point of contact with the West. As if this were not calamity enough, the Teutonic Order merged with the Order of the Brothers of the Sword (also made up of German warrior monks), which had conquered the Baltic states, including the great seaport of Riga. This institution became the dominant military and political power in the region, and a growing threat to its neighbors, because its huge state was backed by the best army and cavalry force in the region .
Colonizationoftheteutonicorder
The Poles, the Lithuanians and the Russians of Novgorod were equally threatened by the Teutonic Knights. Thanks to a victory over the Brotherhood of the Sword in 1242 at Lake Peipus, Novgorod had been saved. Next, it was Poland's turn. The Order, meanwhile, had not only conquered Prussia but, during the period 1310-1350, had encouraged the establishment of German colonists in 1,400 settlements in the territory. It was clear that he intended not only to conquer Poland and Lithuania, but also to colonize them, even though both nations were loyal Christians.
Unification of poland and lithuania
Poland was unified in 1320, under King Ladislaus I (1320-1333). When he died leaving no male heirs, the threat of civil war loomed over Poland, ruled by his daughter, Queen Hedwig. Nevertheless, she proved to be an intelligent sovereign and offered her hand in marriage - in order to unify Poland and Lithuania - to the much older Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila (1350-1434), who had just been baptized, fittingly, like Ladislaus.
Poland had obtained a great ally in its mission to crush the Order and regain control of Danzig and Prussia. Lithuania, with a formidable army, had defeated the Mongols and emulated their superlative tactics, equipment and horsemanship in blitzkrieg on the steppes . In 1386 Hedwig married Jogaila and the Royal Polish-Lithuanian Community was founded. When the Order attempted to seize the Lithuanian province of Samogitia from the Grand Duke, Poland was ruled by Jogaila. War was inevitable; Jogaila wanted his enemy to make the first move.
Theconfrontingarmies
Fighting and defeating the Order was not an easy proposition for Jogaila, as the Teutonic army had been victorious since its appearance in the region in 1230.
Armyoftheteutonicorder
His heavy cavalry of armed horsemen clad in surcoats with black crosses, numbering some 2,000-3,000 strong, was one of the finest in Europe and formed the core of an exceptional military machine. Disciplined, ridden, equipped, trained and experienced, the Teutonic Knights were unmatched in Europe, much less in the eastern Baltic region . However, with the technological progress of the 14th century, the Order had to supplement its knights with mercenaries and specialists, such as English archers, Genoese crossbowmen, German and Swiss infantry, and French artillery. Altogether, this army constituted a dangerous and formidable enemy.
Polish-Lithuanian Army
In contrast, the Poles and Lithuanians had a conventional European-style medieval army, without special distinction or reputation. As in France, the Polish infantry consisted of reluctant, poorly disciplined and motivated peasant conscripts who would rather work their land than participate in the wars of their proud and unsympathetic overlords. . Faced with the superior Teutonic infantry, they could fight with customary Polish bravery or, depending on the mood of the moment, simply run at the enemy's first charge. The cavalry, made up mainly of Poland's proud and foolishly courageous nobility, were well mounted, equipped, and motivated. Although face to face they were more than a match for the Teutons, they lacked the experience and discipline of soldier monks.
In contrast, the Lithuanian host was more Asian in appearance, equipment, and manners than European, having fought for centuries with the Mongol occupiers of Russia. Consequently, they relied heavily on skirmishing, maneuvering, and mobility with light and medium cavalry forces, rather than a head-on collision with heavy cavalry and massed infantry. If these warriors met the Teutons in open pitched battle in a confined space (as they were to do at Tannenberg) it was doubtful that they could hold their ground.
The campaign
In December 1409, Jogaila, the Polish commanders and his cousin, Duke Vytautas, Viceroy of Lithuania, met in Brest-Litovsk; they agreed to combine their armies at Czerwinsk, where the Vistula river barrier could be safely creaked. From there, invade Prussia and hopefully defeat the Order on their home turf. Meanwhile, Jogaila obtained the neutrality of the Livonian Knights of the Order, while the King of Hungary, who had entered into an alliance with the Teutonic Knights, assured the Poles that he would not support his new allies. Thus, the Commonwealth had no reason to fear a diversionary attack on its extensive southern and northeastern borders, leaving it free to concentrate its military power against the Teutons.
To keep the Order's army (dispersed along the border) alert, Jogaila ordered diversionary offensives against Pomerania and Memel . Meanwhile, using a 600m-long pontoon bridge over the Vistula, the Poles and Lithuanians had met at the Czerwinsk bridgehead on June 30. They marched north on July 2. Ulrich von Jungingen, grand master of the Teutonic Order, who underestimated his enemy, and especially his technical ability, he could not believe that the "primitive" Poles and Lithuanians were capable of building pontoon bridges! ! . His racial arrogance was to cost her her life, as well as the existence and reputation of his army. In just eight days, the royal army had covered 90 km - a phenomenal speed of advance for a medieval army - and crossed Bay and the Prussian border on July 2, 1410. Ulrich, again surprised, was forced to concentrate his scattered army at Kurzetnik, where, on July 3, Jogaila's army appeared. The two armies were now ready for battle .
Layouts
Ulrich built a series of bridges across the Drewen River, so that his army would cross to the eastern bank, where the battlefield roughly formed a triangle between three Prussian villages:Tannenberg, Grunwald, and Ludwigsdoif. The battlefield, partially wooded and rough, was shaped like a shallow soup plate, 3 km in diameter .
Jogaila's combined army numbered 10,000-20,000 infantry and up to 40,000 cavalry (including Tatar auxiliaries), while the Grand Master had 21,000 cavalry and just 6,000 infantry. The royal army's camp was situated about 7 km east of Grunwald, on Lake Lubien, while the Order's army had crossed the river and was in the field. At dawn on July 15, a Polish knight and scout, Hanko, entered the camp and informed Jogaila that the enemy was already deployed for battle . Ulrich had taken the enemy by surprise, which was slowly falling into formation, and should have attacked immediately with all energy and determination. Instead, Ulrich ordered his men to dig ditches and form the army into two lines. Wrong decision, as there was open ground with good visibility, very suitable for a mass cavalry attack, climbing the slopes of the hill that led to Lake Lubien and the royal army camp.
The Battle of Grunwald or Tannenberg
Ulrich wanted the first move to be made by the enemy, who, especially the cautious and shrewd Jogaila, was reluctant to act. As the morning hours passed and his men grew impatient, Ulrich decided to goad the Poles and Lithuanians into action. . He sent Duke Casimir of Stettin (Szczcczin), whose shield bore the black eagle on a gold background (symbol of the Holy Roman Emperor), and the imperial herald to reprimand Jogaila for not fighting like a man. Jogaila. Hoping to negotiate a peaceful settlement, he politely received the two knights, who, however, rudely told him that his army must go forth to fight like men on the battlefield. Jogaila held his tongue, telling the two arrogant knights that they would regret his insults in a few hours and that they, like the Grand Master, would be worse off than they expected. He gave the signal to Vytautas for the battle to begin.
The Poles advanced in good order on the left while the Lithuanians, Russians and Tatars could not hold back and threw themselves at the Germans, who folded under the assault . The Teutonic Knights counterattacked, slaughtering the enemy, and the Lithuanian army began to falter and fall back as the Tartars (fleeing or feigning retreat) moved out of range. Only Vytautas's central regiments held the line, and he was forced to beg his cousin in person to hold his flank.
Jogaila sent his last reserves, which stopped the Teutonic advance, but when the dust cleared, Ulrich observed the exposed state of the Polish king on a small hill on the battlefield and dispatched a small force to kill or capture to Jogaila . The assassination attempt failed because some vigilant Polish knights saw what was happening and moved to intercept the Teutons. Vytautas used this time to regroup his men, who turned and rode back to the center of the battlefield, catching the Teutons off guard. The Poles, who had held their line, forced the Teutonic Knights back and surrounded them. Ulrich, stubborn, proud but brave, decided, like his men, to stand and fight where he was, and as a consequence they were all crushed . Few were left alive when the battle finally concluded at 7:00 p.m. in the village of Grunwald. Some 14,000 knights and soldiers of the Order had been taken prisoner while the rest (18,000) lay scattered, dead or dying on the dusty battlefield.
Aftermath
Instead of marching on the Teutonic Order's capital of Marienburg to the west, the exhausted Polish-Lithuanian army remained on the battlefield to divide up the spoils, rest and recuperate . By the time he was ready to march on Marienburg, occupied by Count Heinrich von Plauen and 3,000 soldiers, it was too late. This immense fortified complex, with stone walls 8 m high and 2 m thick, and ample reserves of food and water, proved to be impregnable. Jogaila's victorious army arrived on July 25, though they made no progress during a two-month siege. The war was to continue for years and the Order would finally recover .