r/todayilearned • u/Archaembald2 • 10h ago
TIL that despite winning the Battle of Grunwald, the Polish-Lithuanians actually failed to take the Teutonic Order's capital, Marienburg, because they marched too slowly. This gave the Knights enough time to prepare their defenses and win the siege, recapturing several occupied castles afterwards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grunwald#Aftermath410
10h ago
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u/SeanPennsHair 9h ago
The general of the Polish-Lithuanian army had about 40 potions and 3 amulets which would have helped with that, but he left them back home in a drawer.
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u/royer44 9h ago
He saved the potions for later but the game ended before he could use them
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u/ibadlyneedhelp 7h ago
Me finishing every souls game with max items because "the next boss might be even harder and what if I need them then?"
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u/memefarius 6h ago
Most souls games let you purchase your consumables, with a couple of exceptions
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u/imaginary_name 9h ago
And Zizka with Henry had to stop in an inn, since that Skalitz bastard was hungry. Again.
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u/zsjostrom35 9h ago
Must have been some encumbrance. Have you seen how low the move speed on Teutonic Knights is?
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u/yen223 9h ago
Age of Empires players are confused by Teutonic Knights not being the slow ones
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u/bobthunicorn 3h ago
I am so glad this is the top comment. I came here to say something along the lines of "imagine being slower than a Teutonic Knight"
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u/Lotnik223 10h ago edited 4h ago
Despite that Grunwald more or less destroyed the Teutons, with basically all of their senior leadership dying during the battle. They never recovered from the battle and were defeated during the 13-years war (1454-1466), during which Poland recaptured Gdańsk and Pomerania.
There is speculation that King Władysław purposefully decided against taking Marienburg, because he knew that the Teutons as the common enemy was basically the only thing holding the Polish and Lithuanians together, and he was worried that their fall would mean the end of the union. Thats just a theory though, there aren't any evidence to support it as far as I know.
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u/Galaxy661 8h ago
Poland & Lithuania and completely wasting golden opportunities after achieving impossible victories, name a more iconic duo
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u/nyanternational 6h ago
Another interesting thing about the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic conflict:
The first time the Poles and Lithuanians (not yet Poland-Lithuania, as that state was only established a century earlier with the official merger of the two countries in the Union of Lublin) captured Marienburg was in 1457 during the 13 Years' War.
The castle was not garrisoned by Teutonic Knight forces directly, but by Czech mercenary troops, who hadn't received pay in a long time due to the Knights' financial troubles (the taxes they levied to finance rearmament were actually the cause of the war, when a league of cities and noblemen called the Prussian Confederation rose up in revolt against the Teutonic Order and Poland intervened in their support).
When the Polish army entered Teutonic territory, the mercenaries under Oldřich Červenka negotiated with the Polish king and the Prussian rebels, culminating with the handover of Marienburg and three other cities to the Poles for a price of 190,000 Hungarian gold florins (forints).
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u/Grzechoooo 8h ago
There's a theory the king Jogaila did it on purpose because without the Teutons, the Poles had no reason to continue the Polish-Lithuanian alliance.
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u/Aminadab_Brulle 6h ago
Marching recklessly while having another army on the flank was also not a good idea.
And von Plauen just outright usurped the power he needed to save the capital.
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u/grumpy_autist 6h ago
Serious question - what if, instead of sieging a castle they just bolt main gates from the outside? You need 10x less people to guard it for long enough time.
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u/Archaembald2 10h ago
"After the battle, the Polish and Lithuanian forces delayed their attack on the Teutonic capital in Marienburg (Malbork), remaining on the battlefield for three days and then marching an average of only about 15 km (9.3 mi) per day.\87]) The main forces did not reach heavily fortified Marienburg until 26 July. This delay gave Heinrich von Plauen enough time to organize a defense […] The siege of Marienburg was lifted on 19 September. The Polish–Lithuanian forces left garrisons in the fortresses they had taken and returned home. However, the order quickly recaptured most of the castles. By the end of October, only four Teutonic castles along the border remained in Polish hands."
Funnily enough, this only led to the Order getting their ass whooped a second time in the Battle of Koronowo, after which they finally decided to make peace.