During a grand battle on July 15, 1410, the allied Polish-Lithuanian army defeated the army of the Teutonic Order, the most powerful state in medieval Europe. Having stopped German expansion to the east and giving rise to the strengthening of Slavic statehood, the Battle of Grunwald entered the world chronicle as an event that changed the course of European history.
The battle of Grunwald is recognized by historians of all times as the most massive battle of the medieval era, the result of which influenced the path of historical development of Eastern Europe. This is the main battle of the “Great War” of the 15th century, in which a political and military conflict was resolved between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia in alliance with the Kingdom of Poland, on the one hand, and the Spiritual and Knightly Teutonic Order, on the other.
The battlefield, which took place on July 15, 1410, was located between the villages of Grunwald, Tannenberg and Ludwigsdorf (today it is the area of the Polish villages of Ulnovo, Stembark and Lodwigovo). Therefore, the battle in historiography is called differently. The German word Grunwald means "green field". Lithuanians translated it into their language as рисalgiris (Green Forest). By the name of the nearby settlement Dombruvno (Fir Hill), Belarusian chroniclers call it Dubrovenskaya. In Germany, the battle is known as Tannenberg. The generally accepted name is the Battle of Grunwald.
The Germans are trying to obliterate this event, since the defeat of the Crusader knights meant the stop of Drang nach Osten (onslaught on the East) and the loss of the former greatness of the Order. The Slavic peoples perpetuate the memory of the victory gained at Grunwald, which allowed them to position themselves as the main military-political force in Eastern Europe and to complete an almost two-century confrontation with the Teutons.
Green field
Grunwald today is a small village in northwestern Poland in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Stella, established in honor of the winners, led by cousins Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Vitovt and King of Poland Vladislav Jagailo, recalls the events of many centuries ago. As well as a huge stone at the site of the death of the defeated enemy - the leader of the Crusaders Grandmaster of the Order Ulrich von Jungingen.
Recently, in the excavation area on the site of a historical bit, archaeologists found a sword. The artifact, which has lain in the ground for more than 600 years, is surprisingly well preserved (it is correctly balanced, has a length of 1.2 m and a weight of 1.5 kg).
Every year, in the month of July, the Green Forest comes to life. In memory of an important event in European military history, battle paintings were recreated by the forces of one and a half thousand reenactors. The heirs of the glory of Grunwald, carrying the banners of their lands, fight the crusader knights.
Chronicles of the battle
The textbook information contained in the popular literature and school history books about the Battle of Grunwald is very concise. A chronology of events and an assessment of their significance are given in the writings of military historians and local historians.
Manuscripts of the 15th century, entitled "Chronicle of the Conflict of Vladislav, King of Poland, with the Crusaders in the Year of Christ 1410, " are considered one of the most reliable annalistic sources of knowledge. A detailed description of the events that took place on the battlefield at Grunwald is given in a voluminous work written by the medieval chronicler Janusz Dlugosz. As the son of one of the participants in the battle, he took notes from his father's words.
Among the art illustrations: engraving "Chronicles of the whole world" by Martin Belsky, dating from the 16th century, the work of Schilling Salaturn from the Bernese Chronicle, a painting by Angus McBride "Knight of the Teutonic Order attacked by Lithuanian horse archers. 1410."
Forces of the parties
From the standpoint of assessing the correlation of forces and analyzing tactics, the Battle of Grunwal was unique both in the number of participants and in the methods used for conducting military operations. According to estimates given in modern studies, the Polish-Lithuanian army was about 39 thousand people. The army of the Teutonic Order was 32 thousand people. At that time, these are huge numbers. The regiments of opposing armies were grouped and equipped in different ways.
The allied army of the King of Poland Vladislav and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas numbered 91 gonfalons (an independent military unit with a banner): 40 Lithuanian and 51 Polish regiments. The army of the Kingdom of Poland included feudal cavalry with a strength of about 15 thousand horsemen. For the most part, Lithuanian units were formed on the basis of the lands from which the soldiers were exhibited: 11 grand princely Lithuanian, 7 regiments from Zemaitiya, etc. Some (such as Drogichinskaya, Melnitskaya) were mixed (Tatars, Moravians, Czechs, Moldavians, Armenians, Volokhs and many other peoples). Rusichi (the ancestors of modern Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians) under the banners of their lands completed 7 Polish and 13 Lithuanian banners (Smolenskaya, Vitebsk, Pinsk, Volokovyskaya, Kiev, Grodno, etc.).
The Teutonic forces, led by the Grandmaster of the Order Ulrich von Jungingen, were much smaller in total strength and more multinational in composition. Under the 51st banner, more than 4 thousand knights fought, under which there were as many bollards and squires. The German Knight Brothers (and there were about 500 of them) were led into the battle by the Grand Marshal of the Order of Friedrich von Wallenrod. Also in the shelves were mercenaries from all over Europe and from England. In addition to infantry and cavalry, the Teutons had more than 4 thousand crossbowmen and scorers firing stone and lead kernels. Well-trained and equipped troops were highly organized and had strict discipline. The crusader army was more combat-ready than the Allied army.
Significant losses were suffered by both parties. The Teutonic army lost 8, 000 people, 14, 000 wounded. Among those killed, half of the knight brothers and all the high dignitaries of the Order. The loss of the Polish-Lithuanian army is about 5, 000 people killed and more than 8, 000 wounded. More than half of the troops of the Kingdom and the Principality laid down their heads on the Green Field.
Velikolitovskie "lizards" against the gray "grandmasters"
The success or failure of a military operation largely depends on the personalities of the military leaders and their tactical or strategic decisions. And the Battle of Grunwal is no exception. The correspondence of the Teutons found by the historians indicates that "it is unacceptable to go about such techniques as the false retreat used during the battle by the commander of the Polish-Lithuanian army Vitovt."
And the military leaders of the Slavs in their memoirs paid tribute to the skill of the Prussian knights. The grandmaster of the Order, Heinrich von Plauen, managed to develop a brilliant defensive plan for his capital in such a way that the 2-month siege of the Malbork fortress by the Litvinians failed.
The grandmaster is the highest rank in the military hierarchy of the crusaders. But this term is used not only in connection with the indication of the title. The spiritual and chivalric order, formed in the 12th century in Palestine, firmly established in Europe. The knights who went to the Crusades, like figures in chess games, were used by the "grandmasters" - European powers, who were fighting the pagans for converting them to their faith. As for the Litvinians and Poles, long before the Vienna events at Grunwald, in 1397, the great Lithuanian princes cousins Alexander Vitovt and Vladislav Jagiello joined the Polish League Lizard Union. The secret society, in which the nobles of Helminsky land belonged, fought for the liberation of the Teutonic Order from the religious and military sovereignty. Therefore, the battle of 1410 is figuratively called the war of the Great Lithuanian “lizards” and gray “grandmasters”.
Grunwal swords and banners
The symbol of the beginning of the battle between the Arimaeus of the Order and the union of the Kingdom and the Crown became the Swords of Grunwald. On a memorial day on July 15, 1410, the Teutonic heralds who arrived at the headquarters of the Polish-Lithuanian army stuck two bare swords in the ground in front of the Slavic monarchs. It was a challenge to the battle: from High Master Jungingen to King Vladislav and from Grand Marshal Wallenrod to Grand Duke Vitovt. Such a gesture was regarded in medieval times as an insult and required an immediate response. After the victory, the swords became trophies of Jagiello and later served as attributes of the coronation of the Polish monarchs. At the Monument to "Wladyslaw Jagielle (Jagiellon) –Winner", the Polish king holds in his hands two crossed swords of Grunwald, symbolizing the triumph of the union of Poland and Lithuania.
In the award army system of the Polish Army there is the Order of the Grunwald Cross and the sign Grunwald’s Shield.
The heraldic princely symbols of the Litvinians are in the emblems of modern states: Vitis (Lithuania) and Chase (Belarus).
The horseman’s attribute - the azure shield with the Jagiellonian six-pointed cross - can be found in the coat of arms of local nobles in the center of Europe. If there is “Pursuit” in the family heraldry, it means that in the 15th century the family “became related” with the great Lithuanian princes.
