The Battle of Grunwald 1410

The Battle of Grunwald (also known as the Battle of Tannenberg or, in Lithuanian, Žalgiris) was fought on July 15, 1410, between a combined Polish-Lithuanian army and the Teutonic Order. The battle was a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory that marked the beginning of the decline of the Teutonic Order and reshaped the political map of the Baltic region. The battle is one of the most important military events in the history of Eastern Europe, and it is celebrated as a major event in the national memory of both Poland and Lithuania.

The standard English-language treatment is William Urban, “Tannenberg and After” (Chicago, 2003). Jan Długosz’s Annales seu Cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae is the standard Polish chronicler of the battle, written some decades after the event.

The Background to the Battle

The background to the Battle of Grunwald is rooted in the long conflict between the Teutonic Order and the kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania. The Teutonic Order had been established in Prussia in the thirteenth century as a military religious order dedicated to the Christianization of the pagan peoples of the Baltic region. The Order had gradually expanded its territories at the expense of the Polish and Lithuanian states, and the conflict between the Order and its neighbors had intensified in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries**.

The personal union of Poland and Lithuania in 1386, following the marriage of the Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) to the Polish queen Jadwiga, transformed the balance of power in the region. The combined Polish-Lithuanian state was now a major power in eastern Europe, and it was able to challenge the Teutonic Order more effectively than either state could alone. The Teutonic Order was concerned about the growing power of its neighbor, and the Order sought to weaken the Polish-Lithuanian union through a series of diplomatic and military initiatives.

The Outbreak of War

The outbreak of war in 1409 was triggered by a dispute over the Samogitia region of Lithuania, a territory that was claimed by both the Teutonic Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Samogitians had revolted against the Teutonic Order in 1401, and they had placed themselves under the protection of the Grand Duke of Lithuania. The Teutonic Order demanded the return of the Samogitians and the recognition of the Order’s sovereignty over the region, and when the Polish-Lithuanian side refused, the Order declared war in August 1409.

The first phase of the war was inconclusive. The Polish-Lithuanian forces invaded Teutonic territory in the autumn of 1409, and they besieged the castle of Driesen (now Drezdenko in Poland), but the siege was abandoned when the winter approached. The two sides agreed to a truce in October 1409, and the truce was scheduled to expire in June 1410. Both sides used the truce to prepare for the next phase of the war, and the Polish-Lithuanian side made major military preparations for a decisive campaign in the summer of 1410.

The Battle

The Battle of Grunwald was fought on July 15, 1410, near the villages of Grunwald (now Stębark in Poland), Tannenberg (now Stębark), and Ludwigsdorf (now Łodwigowo), in the Warmia region of Prussia. The Polish-Lithuanian army was commanded by King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania, and it included contingents from Poland, Lithuania, Bohemia, Moravia, and various Polish and Lithuanian fief-holders. The Teutonic army was commanded by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen, and it included the Order’s knights, mercenaries, and auxiliaries.

The battle began in the morning with a series of attacks and counter-attacks by both sides. The Teutonic army outnumbered the Polish-Lithuanian army, but the Polish-Lithuanian army was better organized and led, and it included a large number of Lithuanian light cavalry and Polish heavy cavalry. The battle developed into a long and bloody struggle, with both sides suffering heavy casualties.

The decisive moment of the battle came when the Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen led a charge of the Teutonic knights directly at the Polish lines in an attempt to break the Polish defense. The charge was initially successful, and the Grand Master was able to reach the Polish king’s position, but the charge was eventually repulsed by the Polish household knights and the Czech mercenaries who formed the rear guard of the Polish army. The Grand Master was killed in the fighting, and the death of the Grand Master was the signal for the collapse of the Teutonic army.

The collapse of the Teutonic army was rapid and complete. The Polish-Lithuanian forces inflicted massive casualties on the Teutonic army, and most of the Order’s senior officials were killed or captured in the battle. The Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen was killed, along with most of the Order’s Komturs (commanders), Marschälle (marshals), and other senior officials. The battle was a crushing defeat for the Teutonic Order, and it marked the beginning of the Order’s decline as a major political and military force in the Baltic region.

The Consequences of the Battle

The consequences of the Battle of Grunwald were profound and far-reaching. The battle marked the beginning of the decline of the Teutonic Order, and it shifted the balance of power in the Baltic region in favor of the Polish-Lithuanian union. The Order never fully recovered from the defeat, and it entered a period of decline that eventually led to the secularization of the Order’s territories in 1525 and the rise of the Duchy of Prussia as a secular state.

The battle also had a major impact on the politics of the Polish-Lithuanian union. The victory strengthened the position of the Polish-Lithuanian state and enabled it to play a major role in the politics of eastern Europe for the next two centuries. The battle was celebrated as a great victory in Poland and Lithuania, and it became a major symbol of Polish-Lithuanian cooperation and national identity.

The battle also had a major impact on the Baltic region as a whole. The defeat of the Teutonic Order weakened the German presence in the Baltic region and created a power vacuum that was eventually filled by the Polish-Lithuanian union and by the rising powers of Sweden and Russia. The battle thus marked a turning point in the history of the Baltic region, and it set the stage for the major political changes of the subsequent centuries.

The Significance of the Battle

The significance of the Battle of Grunwald extends beyond the immediate military and political consequences of the battle. The battle is a major symbol in the national memory of both Poland and Lithuania, and it is celebrated as a moment of national triumph and unity. The battle is commemorated in numerous monuments, museums, and cultural events in both countries, and it continues to shape the national identity of both Poland and Lithuania in the modern era.

The battle is also a major subject of modern historical study, and the scholarship on the battle has illuminated the complex politics of the Baltic region and the diverse motives of the actors involved. The scholarship has also questioned the legendary image of the battle as a clash of civilizations between Christendom and the last pagan state of Europe, and has emphasized the complex and multifaceted nature of the conflict. The debate is a major subject of modern historical inquiry, and it is a subject of ongoing debate in the modern era.

The Battle of Grunwald is also a major subject of comparative military history, and the battle has been compared to other decisive battles of medieval and modern history. The battle is often cited as an example of a decisive battle that changed the course of history, and it is a major subject of military study in Poland and Lithuania and in the wider European world.

Sources

Principal sources used in this article:

William Urban, The Teutonic Knights: A Military History (Greenhill, 2003).

Further reading:

Eric Christiansen, The Northern Crusades (Penguin, 1980; 2nd ed. 1997).

For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).