Battle of Grunwald facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Grunwald
Part of the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War
Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko (1878)
Date 15 July 1410 (1410-07-15) Location Between villages of Grunwald (Grünfelde) and Stębark (Tannenberg), western Masuria, Poland Result Decisive Polish–Lithuanian victory
Strength
16,000–39,000 men	11,000–27,000 men
Casualties and losses
~ 2,000 killed	Very heavy: 8,000 Teutonic Knights killed, 14,000 taken prisoner, 203–211 out of 270 Friars died

The Battle of Grunwald occurred July 15 1410. It was fought in the plains beetween the villages of Grunwald (Žalgiris in Lithuanian), Stębark (Tannenberg in German) and Łodwigowo – then in Teutonic Order state. the nearest city was Dąbrówno (also spelt as Dubrowno, German: Gilgenburg).

It was called Дубро́венская бі́тва (Battle of Dubrovno) by Belarusians and in the documents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (kept in the old Belarussian language), or Battle of Tannenberg/Stebark by Germans.

It was a battle between two alliances. The one side was the forces of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, supported by the Czech (banners of Bohemia and Moravia), Ukrainian (banners of Kiev, Volodymyr-Volynsky, Novhorod-Siverskyy, Podolia) Tatar and Russian (banners of Novgorod, Smolensk, Starodub) forces, under the command of the grand duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and his cousin, king of Poland and former grand duke of Lithuania Władysław Jagiełło (Jogaila) (about 39,000 troops). On the other side, forces of the Teutonic Knights and some Western European knights (about 27,000 troops) under the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Ulrich von Jungingen.

After the initial failure to break the left flank of the Teutonic forces, Lithuanian light cavalry had to retreat into marshes. Jagiełło ordered an all-out assault of the right flank and the Teutonic lines were finally broken by heavy cavalry. Eventually, Polish-Lithuanian forces annihilated the Teutonic army. Ulrich von Jungingen died in battle, probably killed by enemy peasantry while retreating to his camp.

After the battle Polish and Lithuanian forces laid siege upon Malbork castle, but it was ineffective and the siege was lifted shortly afterwards.

After the battle a peace in Toruń (1411) was concluded in which Poland recovered Dobrzyn Land and Lithuania recovered Samogitia (Žemaitija). This is thought to be a diplomatic defeat of Poland and Lithuania as there were attempts to abolish the Teutonic Knights state altogether. The indirect results of the battle were the disappearance of the victorious order myth, and the Prussian Confederation uprising after the Knights raised taxes. After this battle the Teutonic Knights never regained their previous power; this decline culminated in a series of wars ending in the Thirteen Years' War

To commemorate the medieval battle thousands of modern knights from all across Europe gather every year in July at the Grunwald fields to fight the battle again. Great care is put to the historical details of the armour, weapons and the conduct of the battle.

Other battles at the same location: Battle of Tannenberg (1914).