1370- Battle of Rudau Holy Roman Empire defeats Lithuania

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Warfare East

 

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The Teutonic Order in the 14th Century

 

Until 1343 the Order was unable to make much headway into these Southern territories because of Polish support for the Lithuanians. As a result the conflict was confined to raids and counter raids. The Lithuanians raiding in summer when the forests, marshes and rivers of the area provided plenty of cover and security. The Order preferred to raid in Winter when these natural advantages were negated by the weather. These raids became a 'fashionable' method for Western Nobles to carry out their crusading vows and as a result the Order was often well supplied with additional fighting men. This did on occasion cause problems for the Order. One crusading party insisted that the Order launch a raid in summer and were ambushed on their return, taking heavy losses. During the early 14th Century the Order was able to consolidate its hold on its existing Prussian territories. This was largely achieved by colonisation of German settlers in the new lands. The Order created over two thousand villages and well over a dozen large fortified towns. These new settlements were quickly able to produce significant trade goods and foodstuffs and facilitated the Orders participation in the Hansatic trade league. The Order became a major supplier of grain to Northern Europe.

 

 

1343 saw the Polish King side with the Teutonic Order against the Lithuanians. There was little direct co-operation between the two but the removal of Polish aid to the Lithuanians shifted the balance of power firmly in favour of the Order. The Order was able to slowly expand their hold on Lithuanian territories, defeating a large coalition of Lithuanian and Samogitian forces in 1348 at the battle of Streva Stream. This early defeat seems to have caused the Lithuanian Rulers to rely upon raiding and skirmishing tactics to halt the Order's advance. Twenty odd years of conflict saw very little gains for the Order even though they managed to crush another large Lithuanian army at the battle of Rudau in 1370. It was the death of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas in 1377 which would provided the Order with the key to winning much of the Samogitian lands. Algirdas' death plunged the factional Lithuanians into a three way civil war. The Order supported one of the claimants to throne and used this as a pretext for massive invasions of Northern Lithuania. The Order dropped their candidate as soon as the legitimate Grand Duke Jagiello offered a peace deal, part of which included holding the Samogitian lands they had recently occupied.

 

 

The remainder of the 14th Century would see this pattern repeated as the Teutonic Order alternated between support for rivals of the Grand Duke or peace with the Duke, Either way the Order was able to keep Lithuania destabilised and her grip on the Northern lands secure. The year 1386 saw the Lithuanian Grand Duke become King of Poland. This had severe ramifications for the Order as part of the accession included a commitment to Christianise Lithuania. In one stroke the Order's main reason for existence in the Baltic was removed. The Order could no longer claim to be upholding its Crusading vows. By 1399 both the King of Poland and Vytautas, defacto ruler of Lithuania had acknowledged the Order's right to the Samogitian lands. This year saw the unprecedented event of Teutonic Order troops assisting the Lithuanians in a Crusade against the Tatars of the Crimea. The Crusade was a disaster for the Lithuanians who suffered heavy casualties. See Lithuanian pages for a more detailed account of the conflicting politics of this area during the later 14th Century.

 

 

 

 

Holy Roman Empire 3 lies in one not Holy, Roman or an Empire

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Also Battle of Rudau: all facts at a glance