Grunwald's 1410 bloodletting broke Teutonic supremacy for good
The Great Teutonic War of 1409–1411 pitted the Teutonic Knights against Poland and Lithuania after a Samogitian uprising. When truce expired in June 1410, Grunwald—one of medieval Europe's largest battles—killed or captured most of the order's leadership.
Knights still held Marienburg through siege and escaped total ruin in the peace, yet reparations sparked internal strife and economic slide. Power in Central Europe tilted toward the Polish–Lithuanian union. Background: since 1230 the order had crusaded in Prussia at Konrad of Masovia's invitation; Jogaila's 1385 Kreva union and baptism tied Lithuania to Poland and undercut the order's pagan-war pretext.
May 1409 Samogitian revolt, Lithuanian aid, and Polish threats triggered Ulrich von Jungingen's invasion of Poland that August. The knights never regained their old dominance.
Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, brokered a truce on 8 October 1409 that was due to lapse on 24 June 1410, and both sides spent it arming. By December Jogaila and Vytautas had agreed to merge their armies and strike at Marienburg, a joint thrust the defensive knights did not foresee; the host crossed the Vistula on a floating bridge at Czerwinsk, about 80 kilometres from the Prussian border. The battle came on 15 July 1410 near Grunwald and Tannenberg, with modern estimates of 16,500 to 39,000 Polish–Lithuanian troops against 11,000 to 27,000 Teutonic men. The knights sent two swords to goad their enemies into attacking; the Lithuanians charged first and later fell back. About 8,000 Teutonic soldiers died and 14,000 were captured. The victors then lingered three days on the field and marched only about 15 kilometres a day, and although Danzig, Thorn and Elbing surrendered, the order kept Marienburg and eight castles.
Source: Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War
