Battle of Grunwald 1410

[Hussar_]

Description: It was 1226 when the Polish Duke of Mazowsze, Konrad Mazowiecki invited the Palestine - based Teutonic Order into the lands of Chelmno, on the river Wisla (Vistula), expecting the Order's help in their struggles against pagan Prussians.

Grand Master Hermann von Salza had brought his first German knights to Poland that same year, with the presumed intention of staying a year or two. Nearly two hundred years later they owned most of the Baltic coast, including the lands of Latvia and Estonia, and showed every intention of soon controlling Lithuania, Poland and Russia.

The Poles had provided a formidable army of 18000 knights, 11000 retainers and 4000 foot soldiers, to which must be added 11000 Lithuanian knights and foot soldiers, 1100 Tartars and about 6000 Bohemians, Russians, Moravians and Moldavians who came to help the Polish-Lithuanian State. But only a precious few were heavy cavalry. Most of the Lithuanian and Polish foot soldiers were armed with clubs, and their equipment was inferior to that of the Crusaders.

The Crusaders could assemble that day 21000 excellent heavy cavalrymen, 6000 massively armed infantry, and 5000 servants trained in battle, and better-armed than most of the Lithuanian and Polish foot soldiers.
Most of these Crusaders would be Teutonic Knights/Germans, but from all Western Europe knights had come to help their brothers against the "pagan" Lithuanians (some of them were indeed still pagans), and the Poles who dared to support the pagans instead of the Christians. English, French, Hungarians, Austrians, Bavarians, Thuringians, Bohemians, Luxembourgians, Flamands, Dutch and even some Poles would help the Teutonic Knights, but the Grand Master had expected more help from western Europe. The Crusaders had 100 cannons capable of throwing balls larger than a head, while the Polish-Lithuanians had only 16 cannons.

Although outnumbered in bodies, (more than 50000 Poles, Lithuanians and Allies to 32000 Crusaders - mostly Germans), the Crusaders were vastly superior in armour, horses, and experience and in battlefield leadership. This was going to be one of the most decisive battles of the world, and of all times - an immense clash of arms which would determine the history of Eastern Europe and the destiny of the two emerging nations, Lithuania and Poland.


By 5 o' clock in the morning of 15 July, massed Crusaders with flags and huge horses dressed in white could be seen waiting on the horizon, but no Poles and Lithuanians appeared to oppose them. It was an amazing sight. Never in previous battles could anyone have seen such a formidable army, all dressed in white, wearing helmets, brandishing swords, and flying huge flags.
At 6 o'clock the sun rose. Three Polish Champions went to meet the King and requested permission to lead the army in an attack against the Crusaders.

"No!" Was the answer of the King, and then he revealed his strategy:

"Let them wait there in the hot sun. Let them wait all morning while we stay here among the cool trees. When they are exhausted by the heat and lack of water, only then do we engage them in battle"

strategy at its best level..we all would speak german in east europe if not for this victory..

Full Story
http://www.mwart.com/history.asp
what a movie it would be..

[Batukhan]

"No!" Was the answer of the King, and then he revealed his strategy:

"Let them wait there in the hot sun. Let them wait all morning while we stay here among the cool trees. When they are exhausted by the heat and lack of water, only then do we engage them in battle"

See .here is smart strategy ,Yagiello new his stuff ,he learned from Tatars ,take your time ,why rush,cook them.
But he was experince worrior in eastern art of wars .
Those Knight were nothing but tipical western hot heads .
Batu

[Volodya987]

Vee now haf invadin nigts of de defil klaymin day defendin Irak from de defil. Wif the defil klaymin he defend de vold, ve must must rest happy.

[Boyko_Lowlander]

It should never be forgotten, the cruel fate of the Baltic Prussians in the 13th century, as well as that of the civilian Lithuanians and Poles in some of the boarder regions who were slaughtered mercilessly by the Germanic Teutonic terror. Aside from speaking German, we would all have had dull-blond or dull greyish-brown hair(as a result of Germanic mixture) and blue eyes, had Poland-Lithuania lost Grunwald. Who knows? Eastern Europe still has significant Germanic blood. It may be a matter of time before we're all assimilated! My heart goes to the Poish and Lithuanian infantry/peasants, who suffered particularly heavy losses, as well as to one of the Rus regiments that was vanquished by the Crusaders. It's good that Poland stood up for the little guy - Lithuania(although not so little back then).