Battle of Grunwald. The massacre, which was repeatedly described by writers in books, brought a huge number of victims on both sides. This battle goes down in history as one of the largest, bloodiest, history-changing battles.
Background and preparation for battle
The Knights of the Teutonic Order of the XIV-early XV century were especially bothered by raids on nearby states. Most of all fell to Poland and the Principality of Lithuania. The main advantage of the Germans was much better uniforms and weapons. Despite this, the Battle of Grunwald showed that the decisive factor is the correct choice of strategy and tactics. Even in the winter of 1409-1410, negotiations began between the allies: Poland and the Principality of Lithuania. An offensive plan was appointed for the middle of summer under the command of the Polish king Vladislav II Jagiello. At the end of June, the Polish king received news that Lithuanian and Russian troops were lined up on the banks of the Narew River for inspection. The most combat-ready of them were the Smolensk regiments, which played a very important role in the battle called the Battle of Grunwald.
On June 30, the army set off on a campaign, on June 7, all parts of the combat squad were inspected, and on the 9th, the allied troops crossed the territory dominated by the Teutonic Order. The Great Battle of Grunwald was inexorably approaching, and in the meantime, on July 13, the troops looked into the Gilbenburg fortress, which they immediately captured.
July 15th. Battle
For the first time, Jagiello's troops met with an army of thousands of opponents on July 10, but the leadership could not find how to cross the Drventsa River, where the Germans were located. It was decided to move to the source of the Soldau. And finally, between the villages of Grunwald and Tannenberg, the two armies converged. Thus began the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. July 15 at 12:00 Jagiello's army received a package from the opponents: two crossed swords. Taking this as an offensive sign, the command gave the order to go on the offensive. On a field measuring 11x9 km, there were 130,000 Allied troops, which included Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Tatars, Armenians, Volohs, as well as Czechs, Hungarians and Moravians as mercenaries. The army of the Teutonic Order had 85 thousand soldiers, who made up 22 nationalities, most of which were Germans.
Despite the advantage of the allies in the warriors, the Teutons had better weapons. The battle began with the offensive of the Lithuanian troops, the Germans responded with artillery cannonballs. Then the Lithuanian army was pushed back by the Germans. The Smolensk regiments remained on the battlefield and stubbornly repulsed the attacks, while the Lithuanians retreated. The Poles at that time attacked Liechtenstein's banners, and on their rightcovered the Smolensk regiments. And then there was a cry: "Lithuania is returning." Indeed, Vitovt gathered the scattered army and returned to the field. With new forces they hit the Teutonic Order, which could not stand the last battle. Part of the army was killed, part was taken prisoner, wounded, fled, and the Battle of Grunwald left almost nothing from the Teutonic Order. The year 1410 was long remembered by both sides as the year of the great battle.
Consequences
The Battle of Grunwald significantly weakened the Teutonic Order, which was on the verge of ceasing to exist. And for the allies, the threat from the West in the form of crusaders was eliminated. And only in 1422 a peace treaty was concluded between the participants in the war, according to which the Order lost Zanemanye, Samogitia, Neshavsky lands and Pomorie.
