70
1000–1500
1
DEFEAT OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
In this late 19th-century
painting of Grunwald by Jan Matejko, Jagiello is shown at the heart
of the battle. Initially he positioned himself behind his Polish
troops on the left ank, but as the Knights’ charge buckled his
line, he joined the melee with his last reserves, keeping the
Polish-Lithuanian hopes alive until Vytautas came to his aid.
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71
GRUNWALD
◼
1410
In 1409, war broke out between the Teutonic
Knights (see p.63) and the Polish-Lithuanian
Union when King Wladyslaw II Jagiello of Poland
supported a revolt in Teutonic-held Samogitia,
in Lithuania (see box, below). After some initial
skirmishes, Jagiello brokered an agreement with
his cousin Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania for
a joint invasion of the Teutonic lands. In early July 1410, their combined
39,000-strong army crossed the Vistula, heading for the Teutonic Order’s
headquarters at Malbork, in northern Poland. Near the villages of Grunwald
and Tannenberg, the Knights’ army, led by Grand Master Ulrich von
Jungingen, intercepted them and joined battle, despite being half their size.
On the right wing, Vytautas’s Lithuanians charged prematurely, only
to be ercely repelled by the Teutonic Knights. The Lithuanians retreated,
and some of the Knights gave chase in a rare breach of discipline, becoming
mired in woods and marshes; as a result, their army was unable to break
the Polish right wing, although it was close to collapse. The Polish king
held on, and when the Lithuanians regrouped, they surrounded the
Knights. Amid a desperate struggle, the Grand Master was killed and the
remaining Knights retreated to their camp, where in a nal, desperate
defense, the elite of the Teutonic Order fought to the death. After
the battle, Wladyslaw unsuccessfully laid siege to the Teutonic castle
at Malbork, and the powers agreed to peace in 1411. The Knights gave
up some of their land and their power was diminished, leaving Poland-
Lithuania unchallenged in the western Baltic.
Grunwald
1410
◼
NORTHERN POLAND
◼
POLAND-LITHUANIA VS. TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
POLISH–LITHUANIAN–TEUTONIC WAR
Born Jogailo, Wladyslaw became Grand Duke of
Lithuania in 1382, and was crowned king of Poland
in 1386 after marrying Jadwiga, heiress to the Polish
throne. The union of the two countries created
tensions between the king and the Teutonic order—
after Wladyslaw converted to Christianity, they
were denied the option of calling a crusade against
him—and his cousin Vytautus, who rebelled in 1389.
The land he won at Grunwald, although small,
provoked further discontent among the nobles; he
clashed with the Knights again in 1422, resulting in
Poland-Lithuania taking control of Samogitia. This
set the scene for the rebellion that started the war.
KING WLADYSLAW II JAGIELLO C.1352/13621434
4 This portrait of King Wladyslaw II Jagiello
was painted in 1790 and is part of the collections
of Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw.
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