The Eagle of Eastern Europe

Chapter 401 Poland-Lithuania-Teutonic War

"Sir, the Grand Duke has sent a message, saying that he hopes you can give a reply whether Moscow wants to attack Lithuania."

At this time, Michael had already secured his position as governor of Novgrod and directed the people to build a new port in the northern region. After Samogitia was captured by Lithuania, they were also preparing to attack Livonia.

"Tell the Grand Duke that I support all his actions, but hope that the right decision can be made."

This ambiguous approach is to kick the ball back to Moscow, but in Mihai's view, this is indeed not the right time to play Lithuania. It had only been a few years since Moscow had completed its unification, and it was still facing attacks from the nomadic tribes in the east. Unless you are absolutely sure, don't act rashly.

Now we still focus on the Baltic Sea, the nearby Reval, the new port being built, and the northernmost fortress near the Karelia Isthmus. They are the three vertices north of Moscow. And there is still a trend of heading west.

The border between Sweden and Novgrod was blurred, which gave Mihay a great deal of room for maneuver. I can move the border bit by bit. Anyway, it's just ice and snow here, and it's useless. Moreover, most of them are tribal people. Their cultural level is low, so they can be classified as one's own.

Although many years had passed since the Northern Crusades, the Swedish king in the east was somewhat unimpressed. This is not like the fertile land in warm places in the south. If any minerals are discovered, it will be used as open space for a long time. Most Swedes are concentrated in Turku in the west, and there are almost no people elsewhere.

Moreover, Mihai wanted to expand his territory once, but none of his previous attempts were successful. The large lands of the Kalma Union and Lithuania are prepared for him. As long as he has a strong army, he can push directly through.

Vasily in Moscow wanted to take the opportunity to take over Lithuanian land, because he had reached an agreement with Rome before, and the northern area was his and the southern area was his. And even if we don't take them all, at least we can take Polotsk.

Polotsk is not far from Smolensk and not far from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Taking this place will not only create an additional fortress, but also directly threaten Vilnius. Vytautas will not be able to sleep.

At this time, Wladyslaw and Vytautas agreed on the following common strategy: the armies of the two countries would join together to form a single large force and march together towards Marienburg, the capital of the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Knights, who were on the defensive, did not expect the two countries to join forces and launch an attack. They were preparing for separate invasions of Poland and Lithuania. The former would march along the Vistula River toward Gdansk, while the latter would march along the Vistula River. Neman River marches towards Ragnit.

In order to counterattack the threat he perceived, the regimental commander Ulrich von Jungingen concentrated his forces on Schwyz. This place was in the middle and the knights stationed here would be able to attack from any direction. can respond quickly. In order to hide his plans and confuse the Knights, Vytautas launched several raids in the border areas, keeping the Knights' sergeants from resting.

In June, the armies of Greater Poland and Lesser Poland met on the pontoon bridge on the Vistula River and met the armies of Mazovia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Then proceed to Marienburg, the headquarters of the Knights.

The Teutonic Knights marched north along the Lewenz River in Germany, crossed the river at Lebau, and then wanted to march eastward, parallel to the advance route of the Polish-Lithuanian Army. Allied forces sack the village of Gilgenburg. Commander von Jungingen was angered by the atrocities of the coalition forces, and he vowed to defeat the invaders in the battle.

The Grandmaster withdrew his troops from Schwyz and organized a defensive line on the Zewenz River. The fences strengthened the defense of the river crossing, and the defense near the castle was increased. After meeting with his command, Jagiełło decided to flank the enemy forces from the east, and on his way to Prussia he continued through Soudau and Nordenburg towards Malburg. The town was severely damaged, and Fort Kiegen was pillaged and razed to the ground, creating a massive refugee population. After the two castles were captured, the road to Malbork was opened. Half a month later, the two armies met in the village near Grunwald.

There were 39,000 Polish-Lithuanian troops participating in the war, while the Teutonic Knights had 27,000. The sergeants of the Polish-Lithuanian coalition belonged to different nationalities and religions: Poles and Lithuanians who believed in Roman Catholicism fought side by side with Samogitians, Ruthenians and Tatars who believed in Orthodox Christianity. The Teutonic army participating in the war was composed of 22 different ethnic groups, mainly Germans.

Hoping to provoke the Poles and Lithuanians into attacking first, the Knights gave Jogaila and Vytautas two swords, known as the Swords of Grunwald, to "aid them in battle".

The Lithuanians took the lead in attacking, but after more than an hour of fierce fighting, the Lithuanian light cavalry retreated. The Polish army and the Knights began to fight fiercely, and even spread to Władysław's base camp. A knight of the Knights charged directly at King Jogaila, but was blocked by the royal secretary.

Subsequently, the Polish army gradually gained the advantage, and the Lithuanians also returned to the battlefield. The Grand Master of the Order was killed while trying to break through the Lithuanian lines. Leaderless and surrounded, the Teutonic Knights began to retreat toward their base camp, hoping to form a defensive chariot formation. However, the defense was instantly breached and the base camp was destroyed.

The Teutonic Knights were completely defeated in the battle. About 8,000 Teutonic soldiers were killed and 14,000 were captured. Most members of the Order were killed in battle, including much of the Order's leadership. After the battle, the Polish-Lithuanian forces stayed on the battlefield for three days, and then marched only 15 kilometers per day, delaying the attack on the Teutonic capital Marienburg.

The procrastination of Poland and Lithuania gave the Teutons enough time to deploy their defenses. Wladyslaw also sent his men against other Teutonic fortresses, which usually surrendered without a fight. By the end of the month, only eight castles were in Teutonic hands.

The Teutons turned to their allies, Wenzel, Rome, and some of the princes who supported them. But apart from some financial support, there was nothing else. The most help was that some knights were waiting for supplies to join the war. At its peak, nearly 4,000 people served the Teutons.

The coalition forces besieging Marienburg expected the Teutonic Knights to surrender soon and were not prepared for a long-term battle. They were troubled by problems such as lack of supplies, low morale, and the spread of dysentery. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Teutons launched a counterattack against Poland and recovered a lot of land. At this time, the people's livelihood in the Three Kingdoms was already in decline and their household registrations had been halved, so negotiation became the best option.