600 years ago, on July 15, 1410, the decisive battle of the "Great War" took place - the Battle of Grunwald.
Battle of Grunwald - the decisive battle of the "Great War" (1409-1411), in which the Polish-Lithuanian troops on July 15, 1410 defeated the troops of the Teutonic Order.
"Great War" 1409-1411 (the war between the Teutonic Order on the one hand, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the other) arose as a result of the aggressive policy of the Teutonic Order, which claimed the border Polish and Lithuanian lands.
The "Great War" was preceded by the conclusion between Lithuania and Poland of the Kreva Union (union) (1385, renewed in 1401) in order to organize a rebuff to the order.
On August 6, 1409, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Ulrich von Jungingen declared war on the Kingdom of Poland. Troops of Teutonic knights invaded its borders. The Polish king Vladislav II Jagiello (Jagiello) began to create a "general militia" in the country, agreed with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt on joint actions. The hostilities were hesitant, and in the fall of 1409 an armistice was concluded.
In the winter of 1409-1410. both sides were preparing for a decisive struggle. The order received great help from the "Holy Roman Empire" and other Catholic states, the Hungarian king Sigismund I of Luxembourg became its ally. By the summer of 1410, the order had created a well-armed and well-organized army (up to 60 thousand people), consisting mainly of heavily armed cavalry and infantry.
The troops of Lithuania and Poland included Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian regiments, as well as Czech mercenaries and Tatar cavalry. The total number of troops is over 60 thousand people. The basis of the allied forces was light infantry. Both belligerents had artillery firing stone cannonballs. The allied forces, having united in the area of Cherven, on July 9, 1410 crossed the border of the order's possessions and moved to its capital and the main fortress - Marienburg (Malbork). Maneuvering in order to take advantageous positions for the battle, the troops of both sides by the evening of July 14 settled in the area of the villages of Grunwald and Tannenberg, where the Battle of Grunwald took place on July 15.
The allied army, having discovered the enemy, formed up for battle in three lines on a front of 2 km. On the right wing, 40 Lithuanian-Russian banners were deployed (the banner is a military unit of medieval Poland and Lithuania) under the command of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vitovt, as well as the Tatar cavalry, on the left - 42 Polish, 7 Russian and 2 Czech banners under the command of the Krakow governor Zyndram. The position of the allied forces on the right flank and from the rear was covered by a swamp and the Marsha River (Maranza), and on the left - by a forest. The crusaders lined up in 2 lines on the front 2.5 km, having 20 banners under the command of Liechtenstein on the right wing, and 15 banners under the command of Wallenrod on the left; 16 banners remained in reserve (2nd line).
The battle began at noon. The Tatar cavalry and the 1st line of Vitovt's troops attacked the left flank of the Teutons, but were overturned by the knights of Wallenrod. The 2nd and 3rd lines of Vitovt's troops entered the battle, but the Teutons again threw them back, and then began to pursue. The situation was saved by three Russian Smolensk regiments, which, bravely defending themselves, fettered part of Wallenrod's forces. At this time, Polish banners boldly attacked the enemy's right flank and broke through the front of Liechtenstein's troops. The successful attack of the Polish troops, as well as the courage of the Russian soldiers, their skillful actions in the battle against the knights of Wallenrod allowed the Lithuanian banners to stop the enemy, and then go on the offensive.
The forces united by Wallenrod were defeated. On the left wing, Polish, Russian and Czech troops surrounded Liechtenstein's troops and began to destroy them. Jungingen brought his reserve into battle, but Jagiello moved the 3rd line of his troops to meet him, which, together with the Lithuanian and Russian banners that came to their aid, defeated the last banners of the Teutons. The leaders of the order, including Jungingen, were killed in the battle.
The Battle of Grunwald marked the beginning of the decline of the Teutonic Order. She contributed to the development of the national liberation struggle of the Slavic and Baltic peoples, became a symbol of their military community.
In 1960, a monument was erected on the site of the Battle of Grunwald.
Since 1998, a reconstruction of the Battle of Grunwald has been carried out on the territory of Poland, in which members of military history clubs from Russia, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and other countries participate.
The material was prepared on the basis of open sources using materials from the "Military Encyclopedia" publication. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S. B. Ivanov. Military Publishing. Moscow. in 8 volumes -2004 ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8
The splash screen features a painting by Polish artist Wojciech Kossak "Battle of Grunwald. 1410." (1931).
The Battle of Grunwald in 1410 was the decisive battle of the Great War of 1409-1411.
(Dedicated to the 600th anniversary of the great victory of the Slavs and their allies over the German Order at Grunwald)
The decisive battle of the Great War 1409-1411 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (hereinafter - GDL) and the Kingdom of Poland on the one hand and the German (Teutonic) Order on the other - the Battle of Grunwald - took place on July 15, 1410 near the settlements of Grunwald and Tannenberg on the territory of the Order (now the Warmia-Masurian Voivodeship, Republic Poland). It was the main stage of the war, the plan of which was developed by the Polish king Jagaila (in Orthodoxy Yakov, in Catholicism Vladislav; 1352? - 1.6.1434; Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1377 - 1381, 1382 - 1392; King of Poland in 1386 - 1434; founder of the Jagiellonian dynasty) and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt (1344 or 1350, Troki - 10/27/1430, Troki; Grand Duke from 1392 to 1430) - Jagailo's cousin - in December 1408 at the meeting in Novogrudok and in December 1409 at the Beresteyskaya meeting.
The Great War 1409-1411 The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland against the German Order began because of the disputed territories (Dobrzyńska Land, Pomorie, New Marka, Zhmud) captured or threatened by the crusaders as a result of the aggressive aspirations of the Order, its incessant territorial expansion.
In unleashing the Great War, one of the main roles was played by the twenty-sixth Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Ulrik von Jungingen (1407 - 1410). Born around 1360 in Swabia, he joined the Order at a young age. His elder brother Konrad von Jungingen was Grand Master from 1393 to 1407. Before his death, he asked the knights not to choose his brother, the commander of the Balga castle, as the Grand Master. But the knights, knowing Ulric's warlike nature, elected him head of the Order. And immediately the new master began to prepare for war with Poland.
When Poland took the side of Vitovt in the conflict, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Ulrich von Jungingen declared war on Jagaila on August 6, 1409. The order troops entered the Dobrzyńska land and northern Kujawy and quickly captured them. Poland lost this stage of the war. Army ON, fighting separately, occupied Zhmud, left by the German knights. Grand Master Ulrik von Jungingen did not dare to fight both Poland and Lithuania at the same time. Through the mediation of the Czech king Wenceslas (Wenceslas), he began negotiations with Poland with the aim of concluding an armistice. On October 8, 1410, the Kingdom of Poland and the Order signed an armistice until June 26, 1410 (according to other sources, from September 8, 1409 to June 14, 1410). It did not apply to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the order signed an armistice with Vitovt only on May 26, 1410). The parties used the time for active military and diplomatic preparation for the decisive battle. At the same time, they tried to resolve the conflict through an international court, the Czech king Wenceslas IV, as an arbitrator, promised to judge the disputes between the parties, but the judge's decision of February 15, 1410 left the Order the right to the disputed lands, so Jagailo and Vitovt did not agree with this decision and did not recognize it ...
On December 8 - 10, a military council of Vitovt and Jagailo was secretly held in Brest, at which a strategic plan for the summer campaign was developed. It was decided to join forces and direct an attack on the capital of the Order of Marienburg (the modern Polish city of Malbork) in order to force the order to accept a general battle in the field and, using a great numerical superiority, defeat its army. It should be noted that back in December 1408, at a meeting in Novogrudok, Yagailo and Vitovt planned this war, and in Brest they summed up the results of the first stage of hostilities, corrected and clarified the plans. At the same time, Vitovt demanded recognition for the ON Podillya. Jagiello was forced to accept this condition. The council was attended by the son of the deposed and deceased Khan of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh - Jalal ad-Din. In exchange for help, he asked the Grand Duke for assistance in his desire to become the khan of the Golden Horde.
Vitovt, in order to prepare for the campaign, left for Troki, and Jagiello, taking advantage of the autumn time, went hunting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Throughout the autumn and winter, Yagailo, accompanied by a large hunting party, killed animals, salted meat, smoked it and put it in barrels. Jagailo, "hunting [...] for eight days, hunted many forest animals and, having salted in barrels [...], ordered to keep stock for a future war," writes the 15th century Polish chronicler Jan Dlugosh. In the spring, the prepared provisions were floated along the Nareva, Western Bug and Vistula rivers to Plock, where warehouses were set up for the upcoming campaign. For intendant purposes, they hunted for a large game: tur, bison, deer, elk, wild boar. At the same time, many wild horses were caught. Weapons and other military equipment were also stored in Plock. The Poles built a "never before seen hinged bridge on boats" that allowed the troops to cross the Vistula. It was a pontoon bridge, which was built in parts over several months and was supposed to be rafted down the river by the set time to the designated crossing area. This level of preparation was unprecedented in Polish military practice. Even the Crusaders did not carry out such far-reaching and deeply elaborated plans, although their military organization was considered the best.
The final denouement was accelerated by the events that took place in April 1410. The crusaders, led by the same Grand Master, broke into Volkovysk and carried out a cruel massacre there, killing most of the population.
Preparing for war, Ulrich von Jungingen on December 20, 1409 signed an anti-Polish treaty in Buda with the Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg, but did not receive any help from him. The Livonian Order also avoided participating in the general battle and sent their forces late. However, it is a mistake to believe that such a powerful religious and military force, professing the Drang nach Osten, as the German (Teutonic) Order, on the field near Grunwald was exclusively German. Seekers of easy money flocked under its banners, consider it, from all over Europe of that time, or the old world. Knights from Austria, Bavaria, Swabia, Burgundy, France, Denmark, Flanders, England and even Spain rushed to the capital of the crusaders Marienburg on the eve of the Battle of Grunwald. The crusaders were supported by many knights of Western Europe, who believed their false calls for a crusade against the pagans. The Order also actively recruited mercenaries using developed diplomatic ties.
The Polish king called for volunteers and mercenaries from Hungary, Bohemia and Moravia, and Vitovt - Tatars and Vlachs (Moldavians) and banners from the Russian lands. The Czechs and Moravians rushed to the Grunwald field under the command of an outstanding commander, the future leader of the Czech uprising against the Holy Roman (German) Empire and the national hero of the Czech Republic, Jan iška. Slovaks, Serbs and other Western Slavs also took part in the battle on the side of the Allies. Polish knights who served at other royal courts began to return to Poland. The Polish army gathered in the areas of the cities of Kolo and Walbosch, as well as in Plock. Vitovt set out on a campaign from Grodno, at the head of the banner of his ancestral principality. Citizens and guests of the city of Grodno, numerous sightseers are well aware of the powerful stone-monument, installed on a hill near the ancient Borisoglebskaya (Kolozhskaya church) of the XII century. It was here, according to legend, that the soldiers of the Grodno gonfalon gathered before the march to the Grunwald Sich. Then our ancestors followed the tangled forest paths to the sources of the Narva, to the right bank of the Bug. According to the plan, the Volkovysk, Lida, Pinsk, Starodub, Smolensk and other banners of the Grand Duchy approached here. Gathering together, they moved to join with the Polish warriors, with whom they joined on July 30, joined near the Vistula, near the city of Chervensk (in Mazovia).
Allied military operations began immediately after the end of the armistice (June 26, 1410), but at the suggestion of Ulrich von Jungingen, its time was extended until July 4, 1410. Jagiello and Vitovt, joining their military forces near Czerwińsk, crossed the Vistula into the territory of the Order and moved towards Malbork.
Near Czerwiński, Bishop Jakub, having served a solemn mass, preached in Polish to the entire army of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He talked a lot about a just and unjust war, proving by many and obvious considerations that the war undertaken by the king against the crusaders would be the fairest, and with his amazing gift of persuasion inspired the hearts of all the knights who listened to him to defend the kingdom and homeland, to a courageous battle with enemies. Only one mention of more than 60 battles, campaigns, raids, armed clashes with the crusaders, which took place only in the XIV century, prompted the conclusion: the confrontation cannot drag on indefinitely. The time has come to finally answer the question: Who will win?: Either deal with the irrepressible aggressor, or fall under his dominion.
The order's command was disoriented by the enemy's maneuvers and did not expect the appearance of his united army on their soil. Nevertheless, the Grand Master managed to timely transfer his forces to the south of Prussia in order to block the path to the capital. On July 10, 1410, he met the Allied army at the fortified crossing near Kuzhentnik, but Jagiello evaded the battle and pulled his forces back, only to then turn back to Malbork. Ulrich von Jungingen went across the line and on July 15 faced the allies near Stembork (Tannenberg) and Grunwald (Grunfeld), on the field between which the general battle took place. Now it is the Olsztyn Voivodeship of Poland.
Different authors have different assessments of the troops of the parties, who met in the battle on July 15, 1410 in an open area in the field near Grunwald. Thus, a specialist in the military history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Yu.N. Bohan estimates the Allied troops at 30-40 thousand people, and the army of the crusaders at 15-20 thousand people. The Grodno historian-publicist Vitold Ivanovsky believes that the united army of the Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania numbered about 32 thousand soldiers. The same figure is reported by the military encyclopedic dictionary, the dictionary estimates the troops of the Order at 27 thousand people. According to the Polish historians A. Dybkovskaya, M. and J. Zharyn, each of the armies included about 20 thousand soldiers. Professor Karol Oleinik, head of the military history department at the Institute of History of the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan, believes that the Allied forces consisted of about 29 thousand cavalry and 10 thousand infantry, and the crusader forces - from 21 thousand horsemen and 6 thousand infantry, while the inequality of forces was balanced a large proportion of heavily armed knights of the Order. In addition, the Poles and the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained significant forces during the battle to protect their carts. All in all, in the Order, as in Poland, together with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the number of troops is estimated at 50 thousand people. In terms of the number of participants, the Battle of Grunwald became one of the largest battles of the Middle Ages.
Unlike the troops of the Order, the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisted mostly of banners of light cavalry, armed with pikes, swords and bows. A leather caftan was more often used as a protective weapon than chain mail. The Lithuanian cavalry, thus, was inferior to the heavy cavalry of the order in striking power, but was higher in speed of action. At the same time, the heavy cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania participated in the battle as part of Vitovt's banners. According to the reconstruction by Yu.N. Bohana, the head of such a warrior was protected by a helmet with a visor, and the body - chain mail and a "brigantine" dressed on it - armor assembled from rectangular metal plates. They were riveted on the inside. Armament consisted of a sword and a long spear.
At the beginning of the 15th century, the Teutonic Order was the most powerful military force in Central Europe. His army consisted of order knights - brothers who were part of the heavy cavalry. Light cavalry was made up of the Prussians, peasants - bollards - served in the infantry and in the train. In addition, during the Crusades, European pilgrims entered the Order's army. Everyone who participated in the crusade became a crusader and received absolution for all their sins for their deeds in the name of Christ. Under its banners, the order called on numerous knights from Europe. On the side of the brothers of the Teutonic Order were “guests from Germany, France, England, Flanders, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and other states, as well as Polish knights from the Chelmin land. The Crusader army at Grunwald consisted of 51 banners.
The Crusaders had excellent military tactics. In the campaigns, the order of movement of the banners was determined in a timely manner, and the area and route were reconnoitered. The vanguard was in front, the rear was covered by the rearguard. Harsh discipline kept the warriors of the order in strict obedience to their commanders. Without the permission of the commander, no one could leave the formation or take off their armor. Before the battle, the "knights of Christ" made a vow to fight for the glory of God. They were not afraid of death, because they believed that their souls would go to heaven, and therefore they fought bravely and heroically. In battle, the crusaders acted in formation along the front in 3-4 ranks. The archers began the battle by firing at the enemy. Then the heavy knightly cavalry with trained spears entered the attack. The knights clad in armor broke through the enemy front, after which the infantry and squires entered the battle, finishing off the wounded and taking prisoners who surrendered. In case of failure, the army retreated, rebuilt and resumed the attack.
The troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland consisted of 91 banners, of which 40 banners belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Trokskaya, Vilna, Kovenskaya, Mednitskaya, Gorodenskaya (Grodno), Volkovyskaya, Lida, Novogrudok (Novogrudok), Beresteyskaya (Brest), Dorosichinskaya, Melnitskaya, Pinskaya, Vitebsk , Mstislavl, Polotsk, Orsha, Slutsk, Magilev, Smolensk, Starodub, Kiev, Kremenets and others, warriors from Nesvizh, Kobrin, Krevo, Lukoml, Oshmyan. Among them there were 10 banners with the coat of arms of "Kolyumna", which were exhibited personally by Vitovt, the rest were under the coat of arms "Pursuit", as well as banners of princes Semyon Ligveniy Mstislavsky, Yuri (possibly the Pinsk prince Yuri Nos or Yuri Zaslavsky), Zhigimont Koributovich. The Ukrainian lands, in addition to the above, put up 7 banners that were in the Polish army. The GDL army was joined by the banners of Veliky Novgorod, Moldavia (Vitovt's sister was married to the Moldovan ruler), the Tatar khan Jelal ad-Din.
The army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania included military formations of all lands of the state. The main form of military mobilization at that time was the feudal militia (post-political crushing), in which the landowners sent armed soldiers. Previously, there was no stable rate of the exhibited detachment, depending on the size of land holdings and the number of peasants, the nuances of the service were stipulated by personal agreements between the lord and the vassal. However, on the eve of the Battle of Grunwald, Vitovt ordered to send 300 people from each territorial unit to Zhmudi. The main categories of warriors in post-political destruction were horse-drawn spearmen and archers (archers and crossbowmen). The smallest organizational and tactical unit of the army was the "spear", which ideally consisted of 1 spearman and 2 archers. The spears were united in banners, which were organized according to the territorial principle or were led by large feudal lords. The quantitative composition of the banners depended on the mobilization capabilities of the region. During the battle, the banners acted with columns narrowed forward - wedges. In front of the column were the spearmen, behind them were the archers, who fired from a canopy over the heads of the front lines.
The troops of the crusaders and banners Jagiello and Vitovt already on July 14, 1410, built battle formations near Grunwald and Tannenberg, the current Polish Stenbak. These were not just two powerful military forces at that time, but two ideologies, two politicians, two conflicting views of life stood up against each other. This was the Europe of the Crusaders - aggressive, merciless and warlike. And on the contrary - Slavic Europe, which defended its dignity, honor, freedom and independence. With an approximate equality of forces behind the Slavs had their own land, houses and families, so their fighting spirit was much higher. The talent and determination for the victory of Prince Vitovt and other leaders of the allied army were also high.
The Crusaders took up a more convenient position on the dais for attack, forming their regiments in several lines. Cannons and crossbowmen stood in front of the battle formations of the Crusaders. Allied troops were deployed in three lines on the banks of the Marsha River.
At the head of the Polish knighthood, the basis of Jagiello's army, was Zyndram from Mashkovits (Mashkov) - the swordsman Krakowski, the auxiliary detachments were commanded by Zemovit Mazowiecki. Vitovt personally led the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Polish banners made up the left wing, the ON banners - the right. The strategy of the allies synthesized the art of war of the knights and the tactics of the Mongol-Tatars, the Russian military heritage. Jagiello was the commander-in-chief of the allied forces in the Battle of Grunwald.
On the Grunwald Hill today, visitors are shown an unusual original scheme located on a small patch of land. Stones of various shapes and colors show the disposition of the troops of both sides on the eve of the battle and during it. The Order's troops can be seen lining up along a front two kilometers between Grunwald and Tannenberg. For more than two and a half kilometers between Grunwald and Ludwigsdorf, the battle formations of the Slavs are visible. The Western Slavs, and these are Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Moravians, Serbs and others, under the command of the crown marshal Zbigniew from Brzez, concentrated mainly on the left flank of the battle formations. The troops of the Grand Duke Vitovt under the leadership of the Grand Duke Vitovt, together with the light Tatar cavalry, are seen on the right flank.
One cannot but pay attention to the fact that the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which took part in this battle, is persistently referred to by many historians as Lithuanian or Lithuanian-Russian. In his book "Glorious Bravery in War", Belarusian author S. Tserokhin, referring to various sources, believes that the ratio of Belarusians and ethnic Lithuanians in the army of that time was approximately 23 to one. And the ethnic composition of the GDL population confirms the sharp predominance of the Belarusians. It is necessary to point out here that the concept of "Belarusians" did not yet exist at that time and the population of the future lands of Belarus called themselves Russians or Rusyns. About 400 thousand people lived on the lands of present-day Belarus, on the lands of ethnic Lithuania, including Zhmud, about 100 - 200 thousand. In total, up to one million people lived in the ON. The population within the limits of modern Belarus at that time included a significant number of Balts (including the Prussians, who found refuge in the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, mainly in the Grodno region) and other peoples who were subsequently assimilated, as well as immigrants from Pskov and other lands of Russia. Thus, it can be argued, given the number of banners with Belarusian names, that the ancestors of the Belarusians in the Battle of Grunwald made up about half of the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The rest were the ancestors of modern Russians (remember the heroic Smolensk, as well as the Starodub and Novgorod banners), Lithuanians and even Poles, as well as Tatars and other peoples of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Pulling the banner of the Grunwald victors on the part of both "friendly" Belarusians and Lithuanians is incorrect from a moral point of view, because it was thanks to the Slavic brotherhood that a great victory was achieved, this is the lesson of Grunwald, which was confirmed in the XX century during the fierce fight against Nazi Germany. Descendants of all nations and inhabitants of all territories who took part in the Battle of Grunwald have a legal right and should be proud of their glorious ancestors, and are obliged to thank each other for their contribution to the common victory.
Vitovt began the battle with an attack on the first line of his right wing and the Tatars stationed on the right flank. Chronicler Jan Dlugosh notes: "The Lithuanian army, by order of Alexander (Vitovt), who did not tolerate any delay, began the battle even earlier." The cavalry swiftly attacked the left flank of the order troops. The German gunners managed to fire two volleys of bombardments at them, but their firing did not stop the Litvin. Our ancestors were not frightened, did not flinch, remained calm. And the cannonballs, flying with a whistle over the heads of the Litvin, fell behind their battle formations. First, the attackers crushed light infantry, mainly archers and crossbowmen, along with cannonmen in the foreground. During this attack, the cavalry suffered significant losses due to the "wolf pits" dug by the crusaders. Prince Ivan Zhadevid got into one of them, "and many more people were hurt a lot from those pits."
Then the main forces met in battle. The Crusaders on this flank were commanded by Chief Marshal Friedrich von Wallenrod. Jan Dlugosz wrote: “When the ranks converged, there was such a noise and roar from breaking spears and blows of swords on armor, as if some huge structure was collapsing. And such a sharp clash of swords that people could clearly hear it at a distance of even several miles. The foot stepped on the foot, the armor hit the armor and the spear points were directed at the faces of the enemies; when the banners met, it was impossible to distinguish the timid from the brave, the courageous from the coward, since both of them huddled together in some kind of tangle and it was even impossible to change places or move a single step until the winner, having thrown off his horse or having killed the enemy, he took the place of the defeated. Finally, when the spears were broken, the ranks of one side and the other, and the armor and armor, closed so tightly that under the blows of swords and axes, planted on the shafts, they emitted a terrible rumble, which is made by hammers on anvils, and people fought, crushed by horses; and then among those fighting the most courageous Mars could be seen only by his hand or sword. " These lines convey the intensity of the battle so realistically that, reading them, as if you yourself become a witness to the battle.
However, the frenzied attack of the Rusyns, Tatars and Litvinians did not produce the desired effect. The formation of the crusaders held out, only trembled a little. And sharp Tatar arrows bounced off the strong knightly armor. In response, the crusaders themselves launched a counterattack. The light cavalry could not resist the onslaught of the iron ranks and fled. The second and third lines of the Lithuanian army rushed to her aid. However, they could not resist the onslaught of the crusaders and began to withdraw. But the Vilna and Trokian gonfalons continued to hold their lines. But they could not stand it either, they began to retreat. As it turned out, the master sent the main forces to the right flank of the allied army, where the warriors of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania fought against the crusaders: Lithuanians, Rusyns and Tatars.
Military historian Yu.N. Bohan believes that, faithful to their favorite tactics, the Tatars organized a feigned flight. After them ran the 1st line of the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, except for 3 banners from the Smolensk land (Mstislavl, Smolensk and another, unclear belonging, according to V. Charopko and P.A. Loyko - Orsha), led by the Mstislavl prince Lugven. One regiment was completely destroyed, and the enemy trampled its banner into the bloody ground. But the remaining two fought with amazing courage and courage. “And only they alone in the army of Alexander-Vitovt gained glory on that day for bravery and heroism in battle,” noted Jan Dlugosh. These three banners screened out a possible maneuver of the crusaders to the rear of the Polish troops, which in this case would be encircled. Soon the retreating troops gathered and returned to battle. As one of the leaders of the Order wrote in a letter after the end of the battle, “even in a new battle, the enemies may deliberately cause the flight of several units in order to lead to the rupture of the battle formations of the heavy cavalry, as happened in the“ great battle ”. Indeed, according to the descriptions of the witnesses of the battle, after the deliberate withdrawal of a part of the grand ducal army, the detachments of the crusaders, “considering that they had already won a victory, moved away from their banners, thereby disrupting the formation of their troops. Then, when they wanted to return to their people and banners ... they were captured or killed by the sword. "
The onslaught of the crusaders was stopped by the second and third lines of Vitovt's troops. At the same time, the first line of Poles attacked the right wing of the Crusaders. The second stage of the battle came, and it was the Polish troops who decided its outcome. It should be noted that the Polish army entered the battle two hours later than Vitovt's troops. The attack of the Poles was unsuccessful, the crusaders almost captured the great royal banner. The situation was improved with the introduction of the second Polish line. Thus, having withstood the onslaught, the allied army went on the offensive, led by Vitovt, and overthrew the crusaders.
After 6 hours of intense battle, the forces of the order began to roll back to their camp. In an effort to turn the tide of the battle, the Grand Master of the Order, Ulrich von Jungingen, led the 16 banners of the reserve (about a third of the crusader army) on the offensive. He believed that the allied forces were running out, and he himself led the troops, as he believed, to defeat the enemy, but he miscalculated, since both Jagailo and Vitovt still had unused reserves. The crusaders broke through the front and went into the rear of the Polish army. The Poles on the one hand, the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, on the other, struck at the troops of the Grand Master. At this decisive stage of the battle, the elite detachments of the Order were surrounded - "besieged from everywhere, were defeated and crushed, almost all the soldiers who fought under the sixteen banners were killed or taken prisoner", and the Grand Master himself was killed. The crusaders were defeated and fled from the battlefield.
The fortified camp of the crusaders and all their banners fell into the hands of the allies. 2/3 of the Order's army was killed or captured. About 18 thousand crusaders died, including 203 order knights, including, in addition to the Grand Master, and the Grand Marshal Friedrich Walenrod. Only 1400 knights survived the battle. “One day Grunwald destroyed the praise and power of the Order. It was the day of his highest glory, knightly courage, heroism of spirit, but at the same time the last day of greatness, power and happiness. From the morning of that day began his shortage, his shame, his fall for all time ", as noted by the German historian E. Vogt the defeat of the crusaders in the Battle of Grunwald.
Historical sources indicate Vitovt's significant merit in the victory and his personal courage. Jan Dlugosz noted: "Throughout the battle, the prince acted among the Polish troops and wedges, sending new and fresh soldiers to replace the tired and exhausted warriors, and carefully following the successes of both sides." Another Polish chronicler Bernard Wopowski noted: "Witold, always keeping up, gave his heart to his, replaced the torn detachments with fresh detachments." “Thanks primarily to the valor of the Smolensk people and the talent of Vitovt, the Germans were utterly defeated,” acknowledged the famous historian M. Koyalovich. The Belarusian "Chronicle of Bykhovets" also speaks about the main role of Prince Vitovt in the victory. While the Polish king Jagiello listened to the imshu (Catholic church service) in his tent, Vitovt fought on the battlefield. When most of his troops were killed, he galloped to Jagiello and asked for help. Jagailo sent a reserve to help the Litvin. Vitovt went on the offensive, and "the Germans were utterly defeated, and the master himself and all the commanders were beaten to death, and countless Germans were caught and beaten, while other Polish troops did not help them, they only looked at that." In fact, the Polish banners fought bravely. Everyone was a hero that day. And Jagiello cut off his voice, commanding the army. But the winner's laurels went to Vitovt.
In addition to Vitovt, many glorious knights distinguished themselves on the Grunwald field: Casimir, Prince Shchetina; knight Yakub Skarbek; Zyndram from Mashkov, Krakow swordsman; knight Nikolai Skunachovsky; Konrad Bely, Prince of Olesnitsa; Czech Jan Zizka, knight Martin Vrotimovsky; Knight Zavisha Black; Prince Zhigimont Koributovich. They are depicted in the famous battle painting of the Polish artist Jan Matejko "The Battle of Grunwald", written in 1878. Many of them died in the battle.
The defeat of the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald determined the outcome of the war as a whole. But Jagailo and Vitovt were unable to take full advantage of their victory. After a short rest on the battlefield, the army of Vitovt and Jagaila moved to Malbork, occupying Prussian famines and castles along the way. On the news of the victory of the allies, the gates of the fortified Pomor cities were opened, and their inhabitants surrendered at the mercy of the victors. “And if Vladislav, the king of Poland, quickly proceeded to Malbork [...], he would have taken possession of the castle on the very first day upon arrival [...]. Crusaders, spiritual, secular and other defenders of the Malbork castle, like mad, ran around the courtyards, houses and rooms for many days and nights, indulging in crying and mournful complaints, "wrote the chronicler Jan Dlugosh, who did not like Jagiello. With the fall of Malbork, the Teutonic Order would have fallen completely. But only on July 25, 1410, the capital was sieged, and the commander Heinrich von Plauen, who escaped from death in the Grunwald field and replaced Ulrik von Jungingen, who died at Grunwald as Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (in 1410-1413), managed prepare her for defense, having gathered about 4 thousand knights.
The powerful defensive fortifications of the Order's capital were beyond the strength of even the stone cannonballs, from which they fired at the Malbork Castle.
The knights of the Livonian Order and the German Empire rushed to the aid of the crusaders. With the Livonian Marshal B. Gevelman, who led 2 thousand knights to Malbork, on September 8, 1410. Vitovt, who was not interested in the final defeat of the Order, because Poland would rise, entered into a separate agreement with the Livonian master. Apparently, he promised to yield to Vitovt Zhmud. Vitovt began to demand from Jagiello to lift the siege of Malbork, but was refused. He concluded a truce, and on September 19, 1410 lifted the siege and sent the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania home. On September 22, Jagailo, too, began to withdraw his army, succumbing to the entreaties of his knights, tired of the long and difficult siege of the heavily fortified city. So, despite a 2-month siege, Malbork held out and the Teutonic Order escaped complete defeat. Having defended the capital, the Order was able to quickly reclaim all of its castles in Prussia, which had been occupied by the Allies after the Battle of Grunwald, and rebuild military forces. In October 1410, Vitovt again gathered troops for further actions, but it did not come to a new campaign in Prussia. Before the threat of war on 2 fronts (with the order and its ally Sigismund of Luxembourg, who by that time had become the German emperor, and who had moved his troops to Lesser Poland), Jagiello and Vitovt agreed to a temporary reconciliation with the order's power. On February 1, 1410, the Peace of Torun was signed.
The order made significant territorial concessions: it abandoned Zhmudi and the Yatvyazh lands in favor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (only for the period of the life of Jagiello and Vitovt), and returned the Dobrzyń land to the Polish kingdom and pledged to pay 100 thousand kopecks of Czech groschen as a ransom for the prisoners. The issue of the ownership of the disputed cities of Dresdenk and Santak was referred to international arbitration, but the Gdansk Pomerania and the Helminskaya land remained within the borders of the Order's state. The Polish king had to return the Crusader castles captured during the war.
Peace on behalf of the Kingdom of Poland on February 11, 1411 in Torun was concluded by Vitovt, and it is clear that he primarily thought about the benefits of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Vitovt, who had been competing with Jagiello all his life, wanted to prevent Poland from taking advantage of the fruits of victory, and also sought to prevent the final weakening of the Order as a potential ally. Therefore, Vitovt did not particularly defend Polish interests and agreed to return the occupied cities to the Order, and this was half of Prussia. As they say, the balance of power was restored, and Vitovt won a brilliant diplomatic victory by concluding this treaty, beneficial for Lithuania, but shameful for Poland. Therefore, Dlugosz sadly noted that "the Battle of Grunwald came to naught and turned almost into a mockery, because it did not bring any benefit to the Kingdom of Poland, but more benefit to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania."
Thus, the remarkable Grunwald victory was not fully exploited politically, but crushed the military might of the Teutonic Knights. As a result of the war, the order lost its dominant position in the Baltic region, its military and especially economic potential was undermined. The Battle of Grunwald predetermined the historical development of many European peoples and became the final in a terrible, more than two hundred-year-old confrontation between two powerful forces: the Slavs and the invading crusaders. The Order failed to shackle the Slavs into the shackles that were found by the victors after the battle in the crusader camp. The onslaught of German feudal lords on the Polish, Lithuanian and East Slavic lands was stopped. The blow was so overwhelming for the Teutons that the lands of the Eastern Slavs did not know German aggression for 5 centuries. The political decline of the Teutonic Order began.
The victory at Grunwald, which was the fruit of the union of 1401, served as a pretext for its strengthening in the Gorodel Act of 1413, as a result of which the alliance of Poland and Lithuania in the struggle against the crusaders was strengthened, which ultimately ended with the elimination of the order and the creation of a secular Prussian state vassal to the Polish king. ...
Experience in modeling and stage-by-stage reconstruction of the Battle of Grunwald:
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Battle of Grunwald 1410 (in German literature - the Battle of Tannenberg) the decisive battle of the "Great War" 1409-11, in which the Polish-Lithuanian (including Belarusian-Ukrainian and Russian) troops on July 15 defeated the troops of the Teutonic Order.
During the Battle of Grunval, the Slavic-Lithuanian troops dealt a mortal blow to the Teutonic Order, its aggression to the east was stopped.
In 1409, Zhemoitia raised an uprising against the Teutonic Order, and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, supported the rebels and sent his soldiers to help them. This uprising and the desire of Vitovt to return Zhemotiya to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia was the reason for the start of the war of the Teutonic Order against the Grand Duchy and the Polish kingdom, whose king Jagiello supported his cousin Vitovt.
After a short hostilities, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Ulrik von Jungingen, realizing that he did not have enough strength, to fight immediately with Poland and Lithuania, asked for an armistice, which was concluded from September 8, 1409 to June 12, 1410, the parties having signed an armistice, began to thoroughly prepare for a new war. Despite all the efforts of the Teutonic Order to break the alliance between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vitovt and Jagiello were able to agree and approve a plan of joint actions in the war against the crusaders.
Both sides gathered almost all their troops, there are many versions about their numbers, and according to rough estimates, the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia (VKLiR) were about 12-20 thousand soldiers. The army also included the Tatar cavalry.
Of the 40 banners, thirteen banners were Belarusian-Ukrainian-Russian: Smolensk, Mstislavskaya, Orshanskaya, Lida, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Pinskaya, Novogrudok, Brest, Volkovyskaya, Kievskaya, Kremenetskaya and Starodubovskaya. Two more banners (Drogichinskaya and Melnitskaya) were mixed.
Warrior from the Lviv gonfalon
Poland put up about the same number of troops (about 12-20 thousand, including 7 Ukrainian banners: Lvov, Galicia, Peremyshlyanskaya, Kholmskaya and three Podolsk ones). In total, the Poles had 51 banners.
According to the medieval chronicler Jan Dlugosz, 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 bombardments with a caliber of 3.6 pounds - 5 pounds.
A special role was played by the "big" and "small" banner of the grandmaster and the banner of the Teutonic Order under the command of the Grand Marshal. The great commander and the great treasurer commanded their regiments. The core of the army was made up of knight brothers, near Grunwald there were about 400-450 of them. Therefore, they served as commanders of the highest and middle rank. Mercenaries from Germany, Austria, France, as well as the regiments of the Polish princes Konrad Bely Olesnitsky and Kazimir Szczecinsky fought on the side of the Teutonic Order.
The total number of representatives of various states in the Teutonic forces numbered 22 nations.
According to the calculations of the Polish historian Stefan Kuczynski, the number of armies was: up to 39 thousand people were in the Polish-Lithuanian army and up to 27 thousand in the Teutonic one.
Map of the formation of the Slavic-Lithuanian in 1410
On July 15, 1410, the armies of the Teutonic Order and the allies, Poland and VKLiR, met on the field near the villages of Grunwald, Ludwigsdorf and Tanenberg. The crusaders who arrived first, to this place, took up a position on a hill between the villages of Ludwigsdorf and Tanenberg, and their convoy was located near Grunwald. The approaching troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland were located south of the village of Tanenberg. Polish troops occupied the left side of the field, and the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania occupied the right.
The great battle began in the second half of the day, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, the first to start the battle, sending the light Tatar cavalry into the attack, which, without significant losses, overcame the ditches dug by the crusaders for the early ones and destroyed the Teutonic cannons and crossbowmen. In response to a counterattack, the Grand Master sent Wallenrod's heavy cavalry to the Lithuanian banners, from the camp of which, to meet them, heavily armed horsemen also came out, and a heavy battle began.
At this time, the Polish troops stood in place and watched the battle, and the Polish king Jagiello listened to mass and was inactive. This led to the fact that the crusaders attacked the center, with the aim of taking the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland into two separate rings, thus, a battle began in the center too. At this time, Vitovt's troops on the right flank began to retreat, and part of the Teutonic army, deciding that the Lithuanians were fleeing, rushed after them to the carts, but there, meeting stubborn resistance and having achieved nothing, he turned and struck the right flank of the Polish troops.
In the battle, a critical moment came, the Polish troops were partially surrounded, they had to hold back the crusaders from the front and right flanks, until Vitovt rebuilt his troops and sent them back to attack. Under the onslaught of the troops of the VKLiR and Poland, the Teutons began to slowly retreat, and soon, they were surrounded in two rings, in which they began to smash.
After Grand Master Ulrik von Jungingen and Grand Marshal Volenrod were killed in the battle, the surviving soldiers began to get out of the encirclement and retreat to their wagon train, where several thousand knights and knights hiding behind the carts tried to resist, but the absence of commanders and panic. soon, forced them to run, the extermination of the fleeing began, which lasted until late at night for 15-20 miles.
The next morning, it became clear that the order's army was completely defeated and no longer exists, the entire Teutonic leadership, led by Jungigen, Wallenrod and Liechtenstein, as well as more than 600 noble and eminent knights with a huge number of ordinary bollards, soldiers and mercenaries, perished on the battlefield.
In this battle, almost the entire leadership of the order, led by the Grand Master, was killed. The allied forces took 52 banners, all the bombards and a rich baggage train. The allied forces also suffered heavy losses, and the victory was not cheap for them. Killed - 4 thousand people, wounded - 8 thousand people.
Such a bloody defeat, in those days, did not happen often, since in the Middle Ages, the winner from the enemy could take a ransom, therefore it was preferred to take prisoners, but only a knight could get rich in this way, and a commoner did not receive anything, therefore, leave the enemy alive to him there was no point.
The allied forces, as a sign of victory, were on the battlefield for three more days, as required by military custom and did not pursue the enemy, which saved the order from complete defeat. The crusaders managed to gather the scattered troops and concentrate them in the castle of Marienburg. And when the allied troops approached Marienburg, it was already on July 25, they failed to take the fortress, for about a month they stood at the walls of the fortress and turned back.
The significance of the Battle of Grunwald, especially for the Slavs, is great. The knights-crusaders were given a worthy rebuff, the military power of the Teutons was undermined, and the myth of the invincibility of the order collapsed.
Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen was buried on the battlefield, where his grave is today.
For the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, in 1910, a monument was erected in Krakow.
Now, every year, on July 15, a reconstruction of this grandiose battle is held, which attracts "knights" from different countries of the world.
The Battle of Grunwald became decisive in the struggle of the crusaders against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia and Poland, after the defeat of the order, the ridge was broken and after 56 years, the most formidable and dangerous enemy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia ceased to exist.
Battlefield of Grunwald (Poland)
The victory over the crusaders brought the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia to the most powerful powers of that era, and Vitovt became the most powerful man in Eastern Europe. The very same Battle of Grunwald, in scale, became one of the greatest in European history, and the reason for the redistribution of military forces and political maps.
King of Poland Jagiello
Prince Vitovt
(Based on materials from the Internet:
Http://vklby.com/index.php/bitvy/13-bitvy/156-gryunvaldskaya-bitva
Http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunwald_Battle
Http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/bse/81768/Grunwald
Http://www.smolinfo.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=296&Itemid=278
Http://www.istpravda.ru/digest/1923/)
It took place on July 15, 1410 between the Teutonic Order of the Crusaders and the combined Polish-Lithuanian forces in the fields of Grunwald and Tannenberg, near the southern border of Prussia. Its main reason was the long-term antagonism between the Germanic and Slavic peoples, which intensified especially since 1386, after the unification of the Polish crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into one Lithuanian-Russian-Polish state. The baptism of Lithuania in 1387 took away from the order, called to Poland in 1225 to fight the Prussians and other pagan neighbors, the basis for further missionary activity. The union of the crown with Lithuania gave the new state sufficient power to repulse the aggressive aspirations of the Teutonic knights, who had managed to take Pomorie and Danzig from Poland back in 1309 and, thus, to seize all the routes of communication between Poland and Europe through the Baltic Sea. Poland's relations with the gradually growing Hanseatic League opened up broad trade prospects. But they were paralyzed by the Order of the Crusaders, which jealously guarded their privilege to mediate in these relations and suppressed any attempt aimed at establishing complete economic independence for Poland. The need to establish a closer connection with Europe was another reason for the battle.
Battle of Grunwald. Painting by Jan Matejko, 1878
The crusaders' raids on Greater Poland, which took place from the end of the XIV century almost every year, and were stopped in 1410 in the fields of Grunwald. The Polish knighthood and the army of Prince Vitovt allied with it from the Lithuanians, Russians and Tatars won a decisive victory over the army of the Hochmeister of the Order of Ulrich von Jungingen, although the figures of the participants in the Battle of Grunwald, usually cited by medieval chronicles (more than 100 thousand Polish-Lithuanian troops, 30 thousand Tatars allied with him , 85 thousand crusaders and mercenaries from Germany) and the losses suffered by the crusaders (about 50 thousand killed, 40 thousand prisoners), are disputed by many Polish historians.
The victory at Grunwald was not fully exploited by the Poles. The resulting peace in Thorn (1411) did not correspond to this brilliant success of Slavic weapons. But the significance of this victory for Poland and the Eastern Slavs was enormous: it undermined the financial position of the order and dispelled the opinion about the unshakable power of the latter. It not only stopped the further pressure of the Germanic tribes on the ancestral Slavic lands for four centuries, but also became the first stage in the return of the Polish lands captured by the crusaders. The Battle of Grunwald strengthened Poland's position in the east, elevated the Polish state to a number of powerful and influential European powers, and tied Poland even closer to Lithuania. For the Slavic East, she opened free paths to Western culture.
It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the Battle of Grunwald in the history of Belarus, Poland, and the whole of Europe as a whole. As a result of one of the largest battles of the medieval world, the balance of power in the world arena completely changed - Belarus (at that time - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) and the Kingdom of Poland came to dominant positions in Europe.
July 15, 1410 the combined forces of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (modern Belarus) utterly defeated the main forces of the Teutonic Order, thereby putting an end to more than two hundred years of military conflicts and stopping German aggression for many centuries to come.
It all began with the fact that in May 1409 on the territory of Samogitia (part of the territory of modern Lithuania), controlled by the Teutonic Order, mass uprisings began. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania supported these uprisings, and the Order threatened to invade the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Kingdom of Poland spoke out in support of its ally, and threatened the Order with its invasion of its lands.
Soon after these events, on August 6, 1409, The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Ulrich von Jungingen declared war Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Soon after the declaration of war, the crusaders attacked a number of Polish castles and small border towns. The battles were fought mainly in the border areas, but it was clear that neither side was ready for a full-scale war.
In the autumn of the same year, a peace agreement was signed, which was to be valid until June 21, 1410. Both sides used this time to prepare for the decisive battle.
By December 1409, cousins - Jagiello, King of Poland and Vitovt, Grand Duke of Lithuania, agreed on a common strategy: the armies of the two countries were to unite into one common force and move towards the capital of the Teutonic Order - Marienburg.
At the end of May 1410, the banners of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to gather in Grodno - from Belarus, modern Lithuania, northern Ukraine and Zhmudi. They were joined by Tatar horsemen and other allies. The Allied armies united on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland and marched towards the capital of the Order.
The data on the number of troops are somewhat different. The generally accepted figures are: 39,000 soldiers in the allied army and 27,000 soldiers in the army of the Order. The quantitative composition of the armies of the allies was approximately equal. The Lithuanian army consisted of 40 banners, most of which came from cities that are now on the territory of modern Belarus.
Knights from most European countries gathered under the banner of the Teutonic Order: England, France, Hungary, Switzerland, Holland, etc. In total, 22 nations entered the Teutonic army.
At dawn on July 15, 1410, the two troops met on a hilly field that stretched between the villages of Grunwald, Tannenberg and Ludwigsdorf. The Crusaders who arrived first took up a position on the hill and had time at their disposal to prepare for battle. On the field, "wolf pits" were dug and camouflaged, obstacles were set up, and guns were placed.
The troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland that came later were located south of the village of Tanenberg. The left side of the field was occupied by Polish troops, and the army of the Grand Duchy - the right, mercenaries and allies were located in the center.
Ulrich von Jungingen hoped to detain the enemy cavalry near obstacles and destroy it with cannon shots, volleys of crossbowmen and archers. And then, stopping the enemy's attack, throw your heavy cavalry into battle.
For several hours the allied army was waiting for a symbolic command, and Jagiello was in no hurry to launch an attack. The Polish king prayed all this time in the marching chapel, where he defended two masses in a row.
When he finished praying, Jagiello began to ordain several hundred young warriors as knights.
Seeing the indecision of the allies and adhering to his plan, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order sent two heralds to Jagiello.
They brought two drawn swords: from the Supreme Master of Jungingen to King Vladislav and from Grand Marshal Wallenrod to the Grand Duke Vitovt, and verbally conveyed to them a challenge to battle.
The great battle began at noon. Vitovt, never waiting for the order of the Polish King, launched an attack on the Order, sending the Tatar cavalry to attack the banner of Grand Marshal Friedrich von Walenrod. The Tatars were followed by the first line of heavy mounted warriors of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After an hour of fighting, Wallenrod ordered his knights to counterattack. To avoid a devastating attack by heavily armed Teutonic knights, the Tatars and horsemen of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania broke away from the enemy and began to retreat northwest of Tannenberg.
The Teutons considered that the Lithuanian army was practically destroyed, and rushed into an unorganized pursuit of the retreating horsemen, losing their order of battle. The heavy cavalry of the Order, in pursuit of the retreating Tatar and Lithuanian horsemen, reached the main army of the allies and fell on the right flank.
By order of Vitovt, Prince Lugveniy Olgerdovich with his banners, which were located not far from the right flank of the Polish army, had to hold their positions by any means and protect the Poles from attacking the flank and back. Suffering huge losses, these banners survived, and soon the retreating Lithuanian detachments returned to the battlefield, regrouping, while part of the crusader troops was encircled and destroyed.
Even at the time of the retreat of the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a major battle began between the main Polish and order forces. The crusaders under the command of the great commander Cuno von Liechtenstein launched an attack on the right flank of the Polish troops. A fierce battle broke out. At one of the moments of the battle, a large banner of the Krakow land fell, but soon it again dawned over the allied army. The Teutons took her fall as a sign of God and began to sing the Easter hymn "Christ ist erstanden von der Marte alle ...", believing that victory was already on their side. At that moment, King Jagailo sent his reserve banners to the aid of the main troops, and Vitovt's heavy cavalry returned to the battlefield.
The Master of the Order, Ulrich von Jungingen, also moved his reserve into battle, it happened in the fifth hour of the battle. One of the turning points of the battle was the return of Vitovt's cavalry to the battlefield. A strong blow was struck on the left flank of the order, which by that time was bogged down in a battle with the infantry and lost its maneuverability. The introduced reserves of the Polish army made it possible to practically take the crusaders into the ring. The battle came to the supreme commanders of the Teutonic Order. The squires many times offered to Magister Ulrich von Jungingen to flee, to retreat, by that time it had already become clear that this battle was lost for the Order. However, the Master refused, stating: "God forbid me to leave this field, where so many gallant men have died!" After the death of Jungingen, the remnants of the Order's army fled.
Allied troops - the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - won a decisive victory. On that day, most of the Knights of the Order were killed or taken prisoner. All three commanders were also killed.
After a lost battle The Order was never able to recover from the defeat and soon ceased to exist. The price of victory was also high for our ancestors. About half of the soldiers of the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained forever on the battlefield near the town of Grunwald.
The Battle of Grunwald was one of the largest battles of medieval Europe and is one of the most important victories in the history of Belarus and Poland. The battle had a huge impact on the formation of our nation. Historians say that Polotchane, Viteblyane, Gorodenets went to the battle, and from the battle - Litvin.