Battle of Grunwald
Battle of Grunwald | ||
---|---|---|
Date | July 15, 1410 | |
Place | Grunwald/Tannenberg | |
Result | Polish victory | |
Combatants | ||
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | Teutonic Order | |
Commanders | ||
Wladyslaw Jagiello | Ulrich von Jungingen | |
Strength | ||
39,000 troops | 27,000 troops |
The Battle of Grunwald or Battle of Tannenberg (called also Battle of Zalgiris by Lithuanians, and Battle of Tannenberg/Stebark by the Germans) occurred July 15 1410. It was fought in the plains beetween the villages of Grunwald, Stębark (Tannenberg) and Łodwigowo - then in Teutonic Order state.
It was a battle between two alliances. The one side was the Polish and Lithuanian forces), supported by the Czech, Ruthenian and Tatar forces, under the command of the king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, Wladyslaw Jagiello (Jogaila) (about 39,000 troops). On the other side, forces of the Teutonic Knights and some Western European knights (about 27,000 troops) under the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Ulrich von Jungingen.
After the initial failure to break the left flank of the Teutonic forces, Lithuanian light cavalry had to retreat into marshes. Jagiello ordered an all-out assault of the right flank and the enemy lines were finally broken by heavy cavalry.
The Battle was won by Jagiello's forces. Ulrich von Jungingen died in battle, probably killed by Polish peasantry while retreating to his camp. After the battle Polish and Lithuanian forces laid siege upon Marienburg castle, but it was ineffective and the siege was lifted shortly afterwards.
After the battle a peace in Torun (1411) was concluded in which Poland recovered Dobrzyn Land and Lithuania recovered Samogitia. This is thought to be a diplomatic defeat of Poland as there were attempts to abolish the Teutonic Knights state altogether. The indirect results of the battle were the disappearance of the victorious order myth, and the Prussian Confederation uprising after the Knights raised taxes. After this battle the Teutonic Knights never regained their previous power; this decline culminated in a series of wars ending in the Thirteen Years' War
To commemorate the medieval battle thousands of modern knights from all across Europe gather every year in July at the Grunwald fields to fight the battle again. Great care is put to the historical details of the armour, weapons and the conduct of the battle.
Other battles at the same location: Battle of Tannenberg (1914).
Battle of Grunwald in fiction:
- Henryk Sienkiewicz, Krzyżacy 1900
- James A. Michener, Poland 1984
External links
- Battle of Grunwald 1410
- Grunwald Commune (with pictures of the Grunwald Battle 1999 and 2000)
- Grunwald village on the map of Poland
- Ignacy Paderewski speech at the Grunwald monument inauguration in Cracow 1910 (500 aniversary)
- Battle of Grunwald, a painting by Jan Matejko
- Gospelcom Summary
See History -- Military history -- List of battles -- History of Poland -- History of Prussia -- History of Lithuania