Grunwald battle who. The Battle of Grunwald is a battle that changed the course of history. The course of the Battle of Grunwald

The battle of Grunwald of the combined forces of Russians, Lithuanians, Czechs and Poles with the Teutonic Order, victory over him.

FORCES OF THE PARTIES

In the summer of 1410, on the Vistula, the Polish king Jagiello (Jagello) joined forces with the troops of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt. The united Polish-Lithuanian army was joined by Slavic (Belarusian, Ukrainian, Russian) detachments (banners) from Smolensk, Polotsk, Galich, Kiev and other cities, Czech detachments led by Jan Zizka, who later became the leader of the Hussite movement in the Czech Republic, as well as a detachment of the Tatar cavalry.

The allied army numbered about 100 thousand people (including auxiliary troops and convoy). The allied cavalry (about 35 thousand) lined up in three lines. On the right flank, Russian-Lithuanian and Tatar detachments (about 40 banners) under the command of Vitovt deployed. The left flank was covered by Polish detachments (up to 50 banners) led by the Polish commander Zyndram. Allied artillery deployed along the front. About 65 thousand infantry covered the convoy in the rear.

The army of the Teutonic Order numbered about 85 thousand (consisted of representatives of 22 countries Western Europe, the bulk of which were German knights and militias), placed the heavy cavalry of the crusaders in two lines - 35 and 16 detachments (about 15 thousand), respectively, commanded by Master Ulrich von Jungingen. Artillery was in front of the battle formation. About 70,000 infantry were stationed in the wagenburg (a fortification of wagons arranged in a quadrangle) behind the deployed positions of the heavy cavalry and artillery of the order.

THE NUMBERS DIFFER

The successor of the Lübeck chronicle of Detmar estimates the Polish-Lithuanian army at 5,100,000 people, which thus exceeds even the size of the army of Xerxes reported by the father of history (Herodotus). The Magdeburg Sheffenskaya accordingly reports that the total number of those killed was 630,000 people. The smallest indication of the chronicle about the number of Germans is 83,000, Poles - 163,000 soldiers. Heveker (Heveker) calculates the order's army at about 11,000 people, of which about 3,850 heavily armed, 3,000 squires and 4,000 archers, who were also mounted, but fought dismounted. To this is added a certain number of foot soldiers, who, however, did not enter the battle, but remained during the battle in Wagenburg.

Delbrück G. History of military art within political history. T. 3: Middle Ages. M., 1938

In the battle of Grunwald, the crusaders had 51 "banners", which included 22 nationalities with a predominance of German feudal lords. According to estimates by German historians, the Teutons had up to 11 thousand people, of which about 4 thousand knights, up to 3 thousand squires and about 4 thousand crossbowmen. The Teutonic army had bombards that fired stone and lead cannonballs.

The Allies had 91 banners, of which the Poles numbered 51 and the Lithuanians 40 banners. In addition, there were up to 3 thousand Tatars. The allied army included Poles, Russians, Lithuanians, Zhmud, Armenians, Volokhi and mercenaries from Czechs, Moravians, Hungarians and Tatars - up to 10 nationalities in total. The Czech detachment was commanded by Jan Zizka, an outstanding commander and national hero of the Czech Republic. The Allied army had a smaller heterogeneity of national composition compared to the Teutonic army.

The Polish troops included seven banners from the natives of the Russian regions, two banners of mercenaries and 42 purely Polish banners. There were 36 Russian banners in the Lithuanian army. Consequently, in total there were 43 Russian banners in the Polish-Lithuanian army.

The Polish-Lithuanian army had about 16-17 thousand people. But this number included poorly armed Lithuanians and unreliable Tatar cavalry. The Allies outnumbered the Teutons; the advantages of the Teutons were in discipline, combat training and supplies. The crusaders were inferior to the Slavs in terms of homogeneity and enthusiasm. The most reliable part of the Lithuanian army were Russian regiments.

Razin E.A. History of military art. T. 2: Military art of the feudal period of the war. M., 1957

PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE (FRAGMENTS)

On the morning of July 15, the crusader troops, lining up in battle formation, stood on the field between the settlements of Tannenberg and Grunwald. Meanwhile, the Allied troops (on the right wing stood the army of the Kingdom of Poland, on the left - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) were in no hurry to start the battle, not yet advancing forward from the forests surrounding the valley. At that moment, heralds from the Grand Master came to Jogaila and Vitovt with an unusual statement, which is precisely why it is noted in all the main sources about the battle. "Blessed King! The Grand Master of Prussia, Ulrich, sends you and your brother two swords as an encouragement for the upcoming battle, so that you, with them and with your army, immediately and with more courage than you show, enter the battle and do not hide any longer, dragging out the battle and sitting out among the forests and groves. If you consider the field cramped and narrow for the deployment of your system, then the master of Prussia, Ulrich ... is ready to retreat as much as you want from a flat field occupied by his army. And after the appearance of the heralds, the troops of the crusaders really retreated. According to the rules of war adopted at that time, this was a challenge bordering on an insult, which, according to the logic of events, should have been followed by the immediate action of the allied forces against the army of the crusaders.

And so it happened. According to sources, the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were the first to start the battle. They had to find out what was hidden behind the "chivalrous" call of the master. Back in the 16th century. the compiler of the Chronicle of Bykhovets was told that on the future battlefield the crusaders "dug pits and covered them with earth so that people and horses would fall into them." It was into these pits that the Lithuanian cavalry, which was attacking, fell. Here one of the military leaders who had land in Podolia, Prince Ivan Zhedevid, died, "and many more people were harmed by those pits." Thus, already in the first phase of the battle, the crusaders, with the help of treachery, caused significant harm to the left wing of the allies. This affected the further course of the battle. Detachments of “guests” rushed against the Lithuanian army, wishing to meet with the “pagans”, and the troops gathered in Prussia began a battle with the banners of the Polish army, hitting them, according to Dlugosh, “from a higher place”.

For an hour, neither side could succeed. Then, under the onslaught of the crusaders, who were approached by fresh forces, the left wing of the allies began to “retreat and finally fled ... The enemies cut down and captured the fugitives, pursuing them at a distance of many miles ... The fugitives were seized with such fear that most of them stopped fleeing as soon as they reached Lithuania.” Despite the certainty and categoricalness of Dlugosh's judgments, this part of his story has long been in doubt, because it was in conflict with the data of other sources ... Having broken the battle formation, which gave it the power of impact, the heavy knightly cavalry left the field in a marshy and rugged terrain, where all the advantages were on the side of the Lithuanians and Belarusians who were accustomed to acting in such conditions ...

In his story, Dlugosh contrasted the behavior of the Lithuanian army with the actions of the three Smolensk regiments, which, unlike other detachments, did not retreat, continuing the battle with the crusaders. “Although under one banner they were severely chopped down and their banner trampled into the ground, however, in the other two detachments they emerged victorious, fighting with the greatest courage, as befitted men and knights, and finally joined the Polish troops.” Why didn't they withdraw together with the entire army of the Grand Duke of Lithuania? There is no direct information, but the answer is suggested by the general replenishment on the battlefield: the withdrawal of the Lithuanian troops, although it brought certain benefits, was also fraught with serious danger. Pursuing the retreating, the crusader cavalry could go to the rear of the troops of the right wing. It was precisely this danger that the Smolensk regiments prevented by "joining with the Polish army". At a difficult moment for the Allied army, “the Smolensk regiments adjoining the Polish army on the right firmly occupied their assigned place and, despite heavy losses, protected the Polish regiments from the flank attack of the knights.” It had great importance for the overall outcome of the battle ...

The army of the Order practically ceased to exist: most of it was destroyed, a significant number of soldiers were captured. The winners got the convoy, artillery, battle banners of the crusaders (51 captured banners were delivered to Krakow, the rest were sent to Vilnius). In the battle, not only almost all the main ranks of the Order were killed or captured, but also the governors of the districts - commanders (except for one who did not participate in the battle). The defeat was crushing. The Order was never able to recover from the blow, despite the fact that the politicians of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania failed to take full advantage of the fruits of victory. In subsequent clashes with neighbors until 1525, the year of the liquidation of the Order, he fought only to maintain his position. The threat of aggression from the German feudal lords against the Poles, Lithuanians, Eastern Slavs was permanently eliminated.

The battle of Grunwald, which took place 575 years ago, entered the historical tradition of these peoples not only as a symbol of courage and heroism in the struggle for their native land against foreign invaders, but also as evidence that when peoples unite to repel the aggressor with common forces, to defend their freedom and independence, they achieve victory.

Literature:

Related materials:

6 Comments

mushroom andrey

Since when has Russia been involved in the Battle of Grunwald?

"This term has other meanings, see Battle of Grunwald (meanings).

Grunwald (Tannenberg) battle - the decisive battle " great war» 1409-1411, which occurred on July 15, 1410 between the allied Polish-Lithuanian and Teutonic troops. The Union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led by King Vladislav II Jagiello and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, won a decisive victory over the army of the Teutonic Order under the leadership of Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. Most of the knights of the order were killed or captured. Despite their defeat, the crusaders were able to withstand a two-month siege of their capital, Marienburg, and suffered minimal territorial losses as a result of the Peace of Toruń in 1411. Territorial disputes continued until the conclusion of the Peace of Meln in 1422. However, the Teutonic Order never recovered from the defeat, and the financial burden of reparations and violent internal conflicts led to an economic decline. The Battle of Grunwald redistributed the balance of power in Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance to the level of the dominant military-political force in the region"

Help from Wikipedia. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle of Grunwald

Russia has already lied so much that it began to attribute other people's popes to itself?

Nothing good awaits a country rewriting history.

Leonov Igor

Nowhere was it said that it was Russia that won - it is clearly indicated that Russian participation was limited to three Smolensk regiments. And Smolensk is a Russian city - or will you deny it?

In addition, the following is clearly written "The Battle of Grunwald of the combined forces of Russians, Lithuanians, Czechs and Poles." The fact that the Russians were put in the first place is nothing more than a convention in order to focus on the participation of the regiments I mentioned, which is little talked about in Lithuania, Poland and even Belarus. For example, if I say that the Battle of Grundwald was a victory for the Lithuanians and Poles, would that mean that it was basically a Lithuanian victory? According to your logic with the Russians - yes.

I agree on rewriting history - Ukraine and the Baltic states with their glorification of collaborators and accomplices of the Nazi occupiers (the Baltic countries glorify the Nazis themselves - SS veterans) do not expect anything good, because even Hitler's Russophobia led to collapse.

Knyazev Ivan

First, "Russia" writes with capital letter, since it is a proper name
Secondly, references to the Wiki in a scientific dispute are in bad taste.
Thirdly, the word "Russia" is not used only because the generally accepted self-identification of the Russian state with its Greek name occurred a little later - at the end of the 15th century.

Kopusov Vladimir

Yeah! The same was surprised .. especially the video. Not to mention the fact that the 15th and not the 25th. And it turns out RUSSIAN and then all the rest, and it turns out precisely thanks to the valor of the Russian troops. Although there was not a single word about the Russian troops in more than one source. ((

Leonov Igor

Nowhere about July 25 in this article and in the video clip is not said - the date is July 15, 1410.

Regarding the Russians, I will say the same thing that I said to another commentator. The fact that in the words "Battle of Grunwald of the combined forces of Russians, Lithuanians, Czechs and Poles with the Teutonic Order, victory over him." the Russians are in the first place nothing more than a convention - in Poland, Lithuania and even Belarus they talk little about participation, in Lithuania they generally call it Zalgiris, not Grunwald. But for some reason, no one blames the Lithuanians - I bet that you would not blame them if Lithuanians were put in the first place in this phrase.

"Although there was not a single word about the Russian troops in more than one source. (("
Dlugosha did not try to read?

Knyazev Ivan

Since decay ancient Russian people According to most researchers, the Ukrainian and Belarusian, Ukrainian and Belarusian, did not yet occur, all the regiments that were completed in the territories of the Russian principalities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, correctly called the Russians, and if they relate to their ratio 43 out of 91 chorals, then they can not justify the Russian component of the troops in the first place, since it was in numbers in the allied army of Poland and Li Li Li TS was the most.

Radkevich Yuri

Well, this is how to look. Russians who participated in that war and Russians in the modern sense are different concepts, and at least in Polish they are two separate words. Moreover, the Russians who participated in that war were subjects of the Commonwealth and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and opponents of the Principality of Moscow, so mentioning them as some kind of founders of Russia is a bit stupid.
About banners. With them, in general, everything is not so simple, since they were by no means of the same quality and quantity. One banner, for example, was put up by a prince, another by a governor, a third was put up by defector Tatars, a fourth by a magnate (oligarch) or a rich city, and mercenaries were stuffed into another banner.
That is why it is not at all clear how many people participated in that battle, who had a numerical advantage and whether they had, etc. Counting banners says little. The Polotsk banner, for example, had about 3,000 people, some 150

Marsov Dmitry

What nonsense?! Smolensk was annexed to Muscovy only in the first half of the 16th century! Prior to this, the Smolensk principality was either independent or part of the Lithuanian principality. Well, the "Historical Portal"! Fomenko is resting.

Leonov Igor

And you go there too - with these myths about Muscovy? Can you still say that Smolensk is a Belarusian city?

The rulers of "Muscovy" (in fact Russia) were descendants of the rulers Kievan Rus and therefore they had the full right to the lands of the Smolensk region and, in general, Western and Southern Rus', which were occupied by the Polish-Lithuanian invaders (read about the war for the Galician-Volyn inheritance), and the Poles, trying to challenge this right, invented the myth of Muscovy as a state founded by the Finno-Ugric peoples and therefore having no rights to the lands of the Smolensk region. Is it worth saying that this myth about Muscovy is actively used in modern Ukraine?

Battle of Grunwald (Battle of Tannenberg) - the decisive battle of the "Great War" of 1409-1411, which took place on July 15, 1410. The union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led by King Vladislav II Jagiello and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania, won a decisive victory over the army of the Teutonic Order. Most of the knights of the order were killed or captured. Despite their defeat, the crusaders were able to withstand a two-month siege of the capital and suffered only minor territorial losses as a result of the 1411 Peace of Toruń. Territorial disputes continued until the 1422 Peace of Meln. Nevertheless, the Teutonic Order was never able to recover from the defeat, and severe internal conflicts led to economic decline. The Battle of Grunwald led to a redistribution of the balance of power in Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance to the level of the dominant military-political power in the region.

The Battle of Grunwald was one of biggest battles medieval Europe and is one of the most important victories in the history of Poland and Lithuania.

Name

The battle took place on the territory of the state of the Teutonic Order, in an area located between three villages: Grunwald (in the west), Tannenberg (in the northeast) and Ludwigsdorf (in the south). Jagiello mentioned this place in Latin as in loco conflictus nostri, quem cum Cruciferis de Prusia habuimus, dicto Grunenvelt(“in the place where we fought the Prussian crusaders, known as the Grunenvelt”). Later Polish chroniclers erroneously rendered the name Grunenvelt("green field" in Low German) as Grunwald("Grunwald"), which means "green forest" in High German. The Lithuanians followed this tradition and translated this name as Zalgiris. The Germans called the battle Tannenberg, from the name of the village Tannenberg(With German- "fir hill"). In the Belarusian-Lithuanian chronicle of 1446, the battle is called Dubrovenskaya- from the name of the nearest city, Dombruvno (Polish Dąbrówno).

Information sources

The most important source about the Battle of Grunwald is Cronica conflictus Wladislai Regis Poloniae cum cruciferis anno Christi 1410

There are few reliable ones regarding the Battle of Grunwald, most of them are Polish. The most important and reliable among the sources on this topic is the "Chronicle of the conflict of Vladislav, king of Poland, with the crusaders in the year of Christ 1410" ( Cronica conflictus Wladislai regis Poloniae cum Cruciferis anno Christi 1410), written no later than a year after the battle. The authorship of the chronicle remains unknown, however, Polish Chancellor Nikolai Truba and Jagiello's secretary Zbigniew Oleśnicki are named as possible authors. Although the original text Cronica conflictus did not reach our days, it has been preserved brief retelling made in the 16th century.

Other major historical source about the events of the Battle of Grunwald is the work "History of Poland" (lat. Historia Poloniae) by the Polish historian Jan Dlugosh (1415-1480). This is a detailed and comprehensive report written several decades after the battle. The reliability of this source has not been questioned so far, despite the long period of time that has elapsed between the events and the date of writing the chronicle itself, as well as Dlugosh's prejudiced attitude towards the Lithuanians.

An additional source of data about the battle is Banderia Prutenorum- the description of knightly banners (standards) preserved in the original, with their images, compiled by Jan Dlugosh. Other Polish sources are two letters written by Jagiello to his wife Anna Celska and Bishop of Poznań Vojtěch Yastrzhembec, as well as Yastrzhembec's letters to the Poles in the Holy See.

German sources include a small mention of the battle in the Chronicle of the Prussian Land ( Chronik des Landes Preussen) - continuation of the chronicle of Johann von Posilge. An anonymous letter written between 1411 and 1413 containing important details of the movements of the Lithuanian army was discovered by the Swedish historian Sven Ekdal.

Historical context

In 1404, according to the Treaty of Ratsenzh, Samogitia almost completely came under the rule of the Teutonic Order, which did not suit Lithuania much, and even less so for the Samogitians themselves. In May 1409, an anti-Teutonic uprising broke out in Samogitia. Lithuania supported the uprising, the crusaders, in turn, threatened to invade Lithuania. Poland announced its support for the position of Lithuania and in response threatened to invade the territory of the Order. Immediately after the Prussian troops evacuated from Samogitia, the Teutonic Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen declared war on the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on 6 August 1409. The Crusaders hoped to defeat Poland and Lithuania separately, and began by raiding Greater Poland and Kuyavia. The Teutons burned the castle in Dobrzyn (Dobrzyn nad Vistula), captured Bobrovniki after a fourteen-day siege, conquered Bydgoszcz and several other small towns. After that, the Poles organized a counteroffensive and recaptured Bydgoszcz; Samogitians attacked Memel. However, neither side was ready for a full-scale war.

By December 1409, Jagiello and Vytautas agreed on a common strategy: their armies were to unite into one large force and move towards Marienburg, the capital of the Teutonic Order. The crusaders, having taken a defensive position, did not wait for a joint Polish-Lithuanian attack and began to prepare to repel a double offensive - from the side of the Poles, along the Vistula in the direction of Danzig, and from the side of Lithuania, along the Neman in the direction of Ragnit. To counter this threat, Ulrich von Jungingen concentrated his forces in Schwetz (now Swetz), in central point, from where the Teutonic troops could react quickly enough to an invasion from any side. Large garrisons were left in the eastern castles - in Ragnit, the Rhine (Ryn), near Lötzen (Gizhitsko) and Memel. To keep their plans secret, Jagiello and Vitovt organized several raids on the border territories, thereby forcing the crusaders to keep troops on the borders. In addition, Khan Jalal ed-Din, the son of Tokhtamysh, was present at the December meeting in Brest, who promised to bring his cavalry. In return, Vitovt had to support him in the return of the throne of the Golden Horde.

All winter and spring there was preparation for war. At the end of May 1410, banners from all over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to gather in Grodno. They were joined by Tatar horsemen as well as other allied forces.

Side forces

Different estimates of the forces of the parties (thousand)

Historian	Floor.	Lit.	Teut.
Carl Hewecker and Hans Delbrück	16,5		11
Evgeny Razin	16-17		11
Max Ehler	23		15
Jerzy Ochmanski	22-27		12
Sven Ekdal	20-25		12-15
Andrzej Nadolsky	20	10	15
Jan Dombrowski	15-18	8-11	19
Zigmantas Kyaupa	18	11	15-21
Marian Biskup	19-20	10-11	21
Daniel Stone	27	11	21
Stefan Kuczynski	39		27

It is difficult to determine the exact number of warriors who took part in the battle. None of the sources of those times contains the exact military number of the parties. Jan Długosz in his works lists the number of banners, the basic units of each cavalry, as 51 for the Teutons, 50 (or 51) for the Poles, and 40 for the Lithuanians. However, it has not been established how many people were under each banner. The structure and number of infantry troops (archers, crossbowmen and pikemen) is unknown, about 250-300 Hungarian artillerymen with 16 bombards. Quantitative calculations made by different historians are often biased due to various political and national motives. German historians usually underestimate the number of troops that took part in the battle, while Polish historians overestimate it. According to the calculation of the Polish historian Stefan Kuczynski, 39,000 people were in the Polish-Lithuanian army and 27,000 in the Teutonic army (of which 250 were dedicated knight brothers). Today, these figures are considered by many historians to be close to real.

Warband

According to the medieval chronicler Jan Długosz, the order's army consisted of 51 banners. Of these, 5 banners of the highest order hierarchs, 6 were provided by the Prussian bishoprics, 31 were exhibited by territorial units and cities, and 9 were detachments of foreign mercenaries and guests, as well as 100 bombards with a caliber of 3.6 pounds - 5 pounds. The presence of 100 guns for the beginning of the XV century. unlikely and most likely this information is not true.

A special role was played by the "large" and "small" banners of the grandmaster and the banner of the Teutonic Order under the command of Grand Marshal Friedrich von Wallenrod. During the battle itself, von Wallenrod commanded the left flank, fighting against the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The great commander Kuno von Lichtenstein and the great treasurer commanded their regiments. Komtur during the battle held the right flank, fighting with the Polish troops. The core of the army was made up of knight brothers, there were about 400-450 of them near Grunwald and they served as commanders of the highest and middle levels.

The other category included semi-brothers who, unlike the knight brothers, did not take monastic vows and could serve in the order not constantly, but for some time.

The most numerous category of warriors consisted of fighters mobilized on the basis of vassalage, as well as on the basis of the so-called "knight's right" (jus militare). Mobilization in the army of the Teutonic Order was carried out on the basis of varieties of feudal law - “Prussian”, “Chelminsky” and “Polish”. The Chelmian law had two varieties: Rossdienst and Platendienst. The first variety: from every forty lans it is necessary to put up one fighter in full armor with a horse and two squires. The second type obliged to put up one warrior in light weapons and without accompanying. Polish law provided for mobilization in accordance with the "best opportunities" (Sicut Melius Potverint).

Basically, the "Prussian law" (sub forma pruthenicali) dominated, uniting the owners of estates of no more than ten lans, who went on horseback unaccompanied.

Called for military service the so-called "free Prussians" (Freie) and townspeople. Mercenaries from Germany, Austria, France, as well as regiments fought on the side of the Teutonic Order Polish princes Konrad Bely Olesnitsky and Kazimir Szczecinski.

The main striking force of the Teutonic army was well trained and disciplined heavy cavalry, which was considered one of the best in Europe.

Polish-Lithuanian army

The course of the battle

Before the battle

At dawn on July 15, 1410, both troops met on an area covering approximately 4 km² between the villages of Grunfeld (Grunwald), Tannenberg (Stembark), Ludwigsdorf (Ludwigowo) and Faulen (Ulnovo). (Polish)Russian) . The local gently sloping hills over 200 m above sea level were separated by fairly wide valleys. The battlefield was surrounded by forests on three sides. There is a common misconception that the Grand Master, having calculated the route of the enemy, was the first to arrive here with troops and took measures to strengthen the position. "Wolf pits" - traps were dug and disguised, cannons, crossbowmen and archers were placed. Ulrich von Jungingen expected to delay the enemy cavalry near obstacles and destroy it with shots from cannons, crossbows and bows. And then, stopping the attack of the enemy, throw your cavalry into battle. The Grand Master sought to compensate for the superiority of the Allied forces in numbers with such tactical tricks. However, research conducted by the Poles in 1960 on the battlefield proved the absence of "wolf pits".

Both troops lined up opposite each other, along the northeast axis. The Polish-Lithuanian army was located east of Ludwigsdorf and Tannenberg. The Polish heavy cavalry formed the left flank, the Lithuanian light cavalry formed the right, many mercenaries settled in the center.

Before the start of the battle, the troops stood in three battle lines (in three gufs). The first is the vanguard, the second is the rampart guf, where the main forces were located, the third is the free guf and the reserve. Each battle line consisted of 15-16 banners.

The crusader army was located in two battle lines. The third line remained with Master von Jungingen in reserve. The Teutonic Knights concentrated their elite heavy cavalry against the Lithuanians, under the command of Grand Marshal Friedrich von Wallenrod. It is located near the village of Tannenberg. The right wing was located opposite the Polish army and was led by the Grand Commander Kuno von Liechtenstein.

The crusaders, who managed to prepare the position in advance for the battle, hoped to provoke the Poles and Lithuanians to attack. Their heavily armored regiments stood for several hours under the scorching sun, waiting for an attack. In the "Chronicle of Bykhovets" it was reported that pits ("wolf traps") were arranged in front of the troops against the attacking army. Archaeological excavations conducted in the 60s near Grunwald, the pits were not found. Order troops also tried to use 100 bombards with a caliber of 3.6 pounds - 5 pounds. But during the battle it began to rain, and as a result, only two cannon volleys were fired.

Jagiello was in no hurry to launch an attack, and the allied army was waiting for a symbolic command. The Polish king at that time was praying in a camp chapel (he defended two masses in a row) and, as Dlugosh writes, he cried all the time. Having finished praying, Jagiello went to the hill, went down to its foot and began to ordain several hundred young warriors as knights. Shortly after Jagiello's speech, two heralds arrived from the Order to the new knights. One had a sign of the Holy Roman Empire on his chest - a black eagle on a golden field, the other had the coat of arms of the princes of Szczecin: a red vulture on a white field. The heralds brought two naked swords - from the supreme master of Jungingen to King Vladislav and from Grand Marshal Wallenrod to Grand Duke Vitovt. It was transmitted that these swords "should help the Polish and Lithuanian monarchs in battle", which was a clear insult and provocation. Such an insulting challenge was intended to induce the Polish-Lithuanian army to be the first to go on the attack. Known now as the "Grunwald Swords", they have become one of the national symbols of Lithuania and Poland.

Start

Without waiting for the order of Jagiello, Vitovt, immediately after the crusaders opened fire from a hundred bombards of 3.6 caliber pounds - 5 pounds, sent the Tatar cavalry on the offensive, which was on the right flank. The first line of the Lithuanian army, which consisted of light cavalry soldiers (the so-called riders), shouting "Vilna!" followed the Tatars. According to the Chronicle of Bykhovets, some of the Tatar riders from the front rows fell into the "wolf traps", where they died or were seriously injured, but thanks to the deployed row, most of the horsemen let the military pits pass by (it has now been established that there were no "wolf pits" on the field). Horsemen of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania attacked the banners of Grand Marshal Friedrich von Wallenrod. It was difficult for light cavalry to attack the heavy Teutonic cavalry head-on. The attackers tried to throw the knights to the ground. For this purpose, the Tatars used lasso, and the horsemen used spears with hooks.

The retreat of the Lithuanian army

After about an hour of battle, Wallenrod ordered his knights to launch a counteroffensive. To avoid the devastating attack of heavily armed German knights, the Tatars and Lithuanian horsemen took to flight and managed to break away from the enemy. Researchers assess this move ambiguously. Some (mainly Polish and Russian authors) consider the retreat as a flight, others (mainly Lithuanian and Belarusian authors) speak of Vitovt's tactical maneuver.

Part of the crusader troops chasing the fugitives was surrounded and destroyed near the Lithuanian camp. Not all Lithuanian troops fled - on the orders of Vitovt, Prince Lugveny Olgerdovich with his banners, located not far from the right flank of the Polish army, had to hold his position by any means in order to cover the Poles from hitting the flank. His troops completed this task, suffering significant losses, while one Smolensk regiment was completely destroyed. According to Jan Dlugosh, the merit in stopping the Teutonic onslaught belongs precisely to these banners, as he reports: “In this battle, the Russian knights of the Smolensk land fought hard, standing under their own three banners, only not taking flight, and thus they deserved great glory.” Belarusian historian Ruslan Gagua notes that Dlugosh's message is not confirmed by other sources.

Polish-Teutonic battle

Attack of the Polish-Lithuanian troops from the right flank

While the Lithuanian troops were retreating, a heated battle broke out between the Polish and Teutonic forces. The Crusaders under the command of the Grand Commander Kuno von Liechtenstein concentrated on the Polish right flank. Von Wallenrod's six banners did not run after the Lithuanians, but joined the attack on the Polish banners. An extremely valuable trophy was a large banner of the Krakow land. It seemed that the crusaders were already beginning to gain a tactical advantage, and at one moment the great crown cornet Martin of Wrotsimowitz even lost the Krakow banner with the image of a white eagle, but it was immediately repulsed again. earth and crush." (“Chronicle” by Jan Dlugosh). The Teutons took this fall as a sign of God and began to sing the Easter hymn "Christ is risen by death, correcting death ..." (German. "Christ ist erstanden von der Marte alle...") . Then King Jagiello sent reserve banners to help, including the banner of the Galician land.

Polish heavy cavalry infiltrate the Teutonic forces.

Unexpectedly, mercenaries from the Czech Republic and Moravia left the battlefield. The head of the Czech and Moravian mercenaries, Jan Sarnowski, was wounded in the head. After that, his soldiers (about 300 people) moved away from the battlefield and stopped in the forest. Only after they were put to shame by the Royal Under-Chancellor Nicholas Tromba did the warriors return to battle.

Jagiello deployed his reserve troops - the second line of the army. The master of the Order, Ulrich von Jungingen, was reinforced by 16 more banners (about a third of the crusader detachments), and at the fifth hour of the battle, seeing that the Lithuanians were retreating and deciding that everything was over with them (the Lithuanians), he led his reserve to the rear of the Poles.

Soon Jagiello deployed his last strength- the third line of the army. Hand-to-hand combat reached the Polish command, and one crusader, later identified as Leopold or Depold Koekeritz, rushed straight to King Jagiello. Jagiello's secretary, Zbigniew Oleśnicki, saved the king's life. Having received royal favor, he subsequently became one of the most influential people in Poland at that time.

Last stage of the battle

After the removal of part of the Lithuanian cavalry from the battlefield (judging by the text of an anonymous letter to the Grand Master dated 1414 - one or two banners) and the part of Wallenrod's heavy cavalry chasing after it, the German troops got bogged down in battle with the Lithuanian banners remaining on the battlefield (including the Smolensk ones, two of which died completely during the battle) and the Czech infantry. To change the situation, Ulrich von Jungingen brought into battle the second line of the Teutonic cavalry. The Poles, in response to this, activated the third line of their cavalry, and the Lithuanian cavalry and the Tatars bypassed the left flank of the order troops, as a result of which the main part of the German forces was surrounded and was soon destroyed or capitulated (a small part of the army of the Order fled).

In the battle of Grunwald, 205 order brothers were killed, including almost the entire top leadership of the Order, headed by the Grand Master, as well as many order "guests" and mercenaries; a significant number of knights were captured. The losses of the Order and its allies in the killed amounted to about 8,000 people (out of ~ 27 thousand who took part in the battle), and up to 14,000 people were captured. The GDL cavalry lost about half of its riders; the total losses of the Polish-Lithuanian troops are unknown.

Results

"After the Battle of Grunwald"
A. Mucha, 1924

About a third of the Teutonic army perished on the battlefield, almost the entire leadership of the Order was killed, a significant number of knights were captured. The allies "stood on the bones" for three days, after which they began to move towards Marienburg. The castle was besieged, but the tired and weakened Polish-Lithuanian army did not dare to storm. Vitovt withdrew his troops because of the threat to the eastern borders of the principality. As a result, the siege was lifted after a few weeks.

perpetuation of memory

Painting

Painting by J. Matejko “Battle of Grunwald”.

Prose and poetry

poem by Ales Pismenkov "The Thought of Vitovt"
historical novel by G. Senkevich "Crusaders";
historical novel by K. Tarasov "Chase to Grunwald".

Cinema

x / f "Crusaders" (1960);
x / f (epic drama) "Zalgiris - the day of iron" (lit. Žalgiris - Geležies Diena), dir. Raimundas Banionis, Studio 2;
d / f "Dust and Steel" ( Dust and Steel; Poland) - about the reconstruction of the Battle of Grunwald.

Notes

Jučas 2009, p. 75
Urban 2003, p. 138
Turnbull 2003, p. 25
Jučas 2009, pp. 57-58
Turnbull 2003, p. 73
Turnbull 2003, p. 92
Ekdahl 2008, p. 175
Taras 2010, p. 70.
Jučas 2009, p. 8
Jučas 2009, p. 9
Jučas 2009, p. 10
Jučas 2009, p. eleven
1963

8000 died
14,000 taken prisoner
200-400 brothers of the Teutonic Order killed

Audio, photo, video at Wikimedia Commons

Battle of Grunwald- the decisive battle of the "Great War" of 1409-1411, which took place on July 15, 1410. The Union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the leadership of King Vladislav II Jagiello and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas won a decisive victory over the army of the Teutonic Order. Most of the knights of the order were killed or captured. Despite the defeat, the crusaders were able to withstand a two-month siege of the capital and suffered only minor territorial losses as a result of the Peace of Toruń in 1411. Territorial disputes continued until the conclusion of the Treaty of Melnsk in 1422. Nevertheless, the Teutonic Order was never able to recover from the defeat, and severe internal conflicts led to economic decline. The Battle of Grunwald led to a redistribution of the balance of power in Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance to the level of the dominant military-political power in the region.

The Battle of Grunwald was one of the largest battles in medieval Europe and is one of the most important victories in the history of Poland and Lithuania. The battle was surrounded romantic legends which turned it into a symbol of the struggle against the invaders and a source of national pride. The transition to its scientific study has been observed only in recent decades.

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 5

✪ Intelligence: Klim Zhukov about the Battle of Grunwald

✪ Battle of Grunwald (says historian Olga Saprykina)

✪ Grunwald

✪ Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and its place in the history of Lithuania and Rus'

✪ Battle of Grunwald 1410 - Northern Crusades DOCUMENTARY

Subtitles

Name

The battle took place on the territory of the state of the Teutonic Order, in an area located between three villages: Grunwald (in the west), Tannenberg (in the northeast) and Ludwigsdorf (in the south). Jagiello mentioned this place in Latin as in loco conflictus nostri, quem cum Cruciferis de Prusia habuimus, dicto Grunenvelt(In the place where we fought with the Prussian crusaders, known as Grunwald). Later Polish chroniclers gave the name Grunenvelt How Grunwald(Grunwald), which means "green forest" in German. The Lithuanians followed this tradition and translated this name as Zalgiris. The Germans called the battle Tannenberg, from the name of the village Tannenberg(With German- "fir hill"). In the Belarusian-Lithuanian chronicle of 1446, the battle is called Dubrovenskaya- from the name of the nearest city, Dombruvno (Polish Dąbrówno).

Information sources

There are few reliable ones regarding the Battle of Grunwald, most of them are Polish. The most important and reliable among the sources on this topic is the "Chronicle of the conflict of Vladislav, king of Poland, with the crusaders in the year of Christ 1410" ( Cronica conflictus Wladislai regis Poloniae cum Cruciferis anno Christi 1410), written no later than a year after the battle. The authorship of the chronicle remains unknown, however, Polish Chancellor Nikolai Truba and secretary Jagiello Zbigniew Olesnitsky are named as possible authors. Although the original text Cronica conflictus has not reached our days, its brief retelling, made in the 16th century, has been preserved.

Another main historical source about the events of the Battle of Grunwald is the work "History of Poland" (lat. Historia Poloniae) by the Polish historian Jan Dlugosh (1415-1480). This is a detailed and comprehensive report written several decades after the battle. The reliability of this source remains undoubted to this day, despite the large time interval between the events and the date of writing the chronicle itself, as well as Dlugosh's prejudiced attitude towards the Lithuanians.

An additional source of data about the battle is Banderia Prutenorum- the description of knightly banners (standards) preserved in the original, with their images, compiled by Jan Dlugosh. Other Polish sources are two letters written by Jagiello to his wife Anna Cielska and Bishop of Poznań, Vojtech Yastrzhembets, as well as letters from Yastrzhembets to the Poles in the Holy See.

German sources include a small mention in the essay Chronik des Landes Preussen- continuation of the chronicle of Johann von Posilge. An anonymous letter written between 1411 and 1413 containing important details of the movements of the Lithuanian army was discovered by the Swedish historian Sven Ekdal.

Historical context

In May 1409, an anti-Teutonic uprising broke out in Samogitia. Lithuania supported the uprising, the crusaders, in turn, threatened to invade Lithuania. Poland announced its support for the position of Lithuania and in response threatened to invade the territory of the Order. Immediately after the Prussian troops evacuated from Samogitia, the Teutonic Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen declared war on the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on August 6, 1409. The Crusaders hoped to defeat Poland and Lithuania separately, and began by raiding Greater Poland and Kuyavia. The Teutons burned the castle in Dobrzyn (Dobrzyn nad Vistula), captured Bobrovniki after a fourteen-day siege, conquered Bydgoszcz and several other small towns. After that, the Poles organized a counteroffensive and recaptured Bydgoszcz; Samogitians attacked Memel. However, neither side was ready for a full-scale war.

By December 1409, Jagiello and Vytautas agreed on a common strategy: their armies were to unite into one large force and move towards Marienburg, the capital of the Teutonic Order. The crusaders, having taken a defensive position, did not wait for a joint Polish-Lithuanian attack and began to prepare to repel a double offensive - from the side of the Poles, along the Vistula in the direction of Danzig, and from the side of Lithuania, along the Neman in the direction of Ragnit. To counter this threat, Ulrich von Jungingen concentrated his forces in Schwetz (now Swetz), at a central point from where the Teutonic troops could react quickly enough to an invasion from any side. Large garrisons were left in the eastern castles - in Ragnit, the Rhine (Ryn), near Lötzen (Gizhitsko) and Memel. To keep their plans secret, Jagiello and Vitovt organized several raids on the border territories, thereby forcing the crusaders to keep troops on the borders.

Side forces

Different estimates of the forces of the parties (thousand)

Historian	Floor.	Lit.	Teut.
Carl Hewecker and Hans Delbrück	16,5		11
Evgeny Razin	16-17		11
Max Ehler	23		15
Jerzy Ochmanski	22-27		12
Sven Ekdal	20-25		12-15
Andrzej Nadolsky	20	10	15
Jan Dombrowski	15-18	8-11	19
Zigmantas Kyaupa	18	11	15-21
Marian Biskup	19-20	10-11	21
Daniel Stone	27	11	21
Stefan Kuczynski	39		27

It is difficult to determine the exact number of warriors who took part in the battle. None of the sources of those times contains the exact military number of the parties. Jan Dlugosz in his works lists the number of banners, the main units of each cavalry: 51 for the Teutons, 50 (or 51) for the Poles and 40 for the Lithuanians. However, it has not been established how many people were under each banner. The structure and number of infantry troops (archers, crossbowmen and pikemen) is unknown, about 250-300 Hungarian artillerymen with 16 bombards. Quantitative calculations made by different historians are often biased due to various political and national motives. German historians usually underestimate the number of troops that took part in the battle, while Polish historians overestimate it. According to the calculation of the Polish historian Stefan Kuchinsky, 39,000 people were in the Polish-Lithuanian army and 27,000 in the Teutonic one. Today, these figures are considered by many historians to be close to real.