Battle of Karuse

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Karuse
partof=the Northern Crusades


caption=
date=February 16 1270
place=Frozen Baltic Sea
result=Lithuanian victory
combatant1=Grand Duchy of Lithuania
combatant2=Livonian Order
commander1=Traidenis
commander2=Otto von Lutterberg †
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=Unknown
casualties2=52 knights and 600 low-rank soldiers
notes=

Battle of Karuse or Battle on the Ice was fought on February 16 1270 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Livonian Order on the frozen Baltic Sea. In 1270 Lithuanians led by Traidenis, Grand Duke of Lithuania from ca. 1269 to 1282, raided Livonia and reached as far as Saaremaa island by marching across the frozen sea.cite book | first=Stephen |last=Turnbull |title=Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights (2): The Stone Castles of Latvia and Estonia 1185-1560 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2004 |pages=52 |isbn=1841767123 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=F3wzkSHR4j4C&pg=PA7&sig=XVE_n3XW_SR-yE_VHaLV_vR_wEc#PPP1,M1] On their way back they were confronted by the Livonian Order and its Danish allies from Tallinn on the Muhu Strait. The Order was well-prepared for the battle: for a year it was recruiting soldiers for an expedition into Semigalia.cite book |first=William |last=Urban |title=The Baltic Crusade |publisher=Lithuanian Research and Studies Center |location=Chicago, Illinois |year=1994 |isbn=0-929700-10-4 | pages=278-280] Lithuanians arranged their sleighs as a barricade and successfully stopped the main cavalry force. As horses got stuck in the improvised barricade, 52 knights, including the Grand Master Otto von Lutterberg, and some 600 low-ranking soldiers were killed. It was the fifth-largest defeat of the Livonian or Teutonic Orders in the 13th century.lt icon cite web| first=Tomas |last=Baranauskas |authorlink=Tomas Baranauskas | url=http://www.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=10760927 |title=Ar priminsime Europai apie Šiaulių mūšį? | publisher=Delfi.lt | date=2006-09-22 |accessdate=2007-05-26] Vice-Master Andreas von Westfalen, who acted as a Grand Master before proper elections could be held, decided to restore lost morale of the knights by winning a quick victory. In the middle of 1270 he learned about another Lithuanian raid into Livonia and hurried his soldiers to seek out the enemy. While they were resting, Lithuanians attacked the camp and killed Andreas and twenty more knights. It is sometimes known as the Battle of Padaugava, and was the tenth-largest defeat of the Teutonic Knights in its own right. Traidenis dealt another big defeat in 1279 during the Battle of Aizkraukle.

References