- Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521)
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Polish–Teutonic War of 1519–1521
caption=
date=1519 –21
place=Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights
result=Treaty of Kraków
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1=
commander2=
strength1=tens of thousands, but likely under 50,000
strength2=tens of thousands, but likely under 50,000
casualties1=
casualties2=Polish–Teutonic War of 1519–1521 ( _de. Reiterkrieg, "horsemen's war", _pl. Wojna pruska, "Prussian War") was the war between the Kingdom of Poland and the
Teutonic Knights , fought from 1519 to 1521. The war ended with thearmistice in 1521. Four years later, with theTreaty of Kraków , part of the CatholicMonastic state of the Teutonic Knights became secularized as the Duchy of Prussia. The reigning Grand Master Albert of Hohenzollern-Brandenburg-Ansbach became the firstDuke of Prussia by paying thePrussian Homage asvassal to his uncle,Polish king Sigismund I the Old .Prelude
In the late 1490s, the Order which since the
Second Peace of Thorn (1466) had its state under Polishsuzerainty , developed the idea of electing only anImperial Prince as future Grand Master, who as subject to the Emperor could resist having to pay homage to Kings of Poland. The order itself, which was present not only in Prussia but throughout the Empire, was also subordinate to theHoly Roman Emperor and thePope , and since 1501 both of them had objected toDuke Frederick of Saxony , Grand Master of theTeutonic Order andReichsfürst , offering tribute to the Polish king.When Frederick died in December 1510, Albert of Hohenzollern was chosen as his successor early in 1511 in the hope that his relationship to his maternal uncle,
Sigismund I the Old ,Grand Duke of Lithuania andKing of Poland , would facilitate a settlement of the disputes over eastern Prussia. The new Grand Master, aware of his duties to the empire and to the papacy, refused to submit to the crown of Poland. As war over the Order's existence appeared inevitable, Albert made strenuous efforts to secure allies and carried on protracted negotiations with Emperor Maximilian I.However in the meantime, the Order had been looking for other allies. In 1512
Muscovy invaded theGrand Duchy of Lithuania , which was in personal union with Poland. The Order was supposed to help the Duchy, but it refused, angering the king of Poland and Lithuania. In 1517 the Teutonic Order signed an alliance with Vasili III of Muscovy.Albert, now feeling he held the upper hand, demanded from the Polish king the return of
Royal Prussia andWarmia territories, and a large remuneration for "Polish occupation" of those territories. In response, first the diet of Prussia (Landtag orsejmik ), and then in December in 1519 the main Polishsejm , declared that a state of war exists between Polish Kingdom and the Order. Lithuania, however, refused to aid Poland in this war, being occupied with the Muscovy threat.The war
Polish forces under
Grand Crown Hetman Mikołaj Firlej gathered nearKoło and in January struck towardsPomesania towardsKönigsberg , layingsiege to Marienwerder (Kwidzyn) and Preußisch Holland (Pasłęk), but the siege was slow since the Polish forces lackedartillery power. The Polish fleet started ablockade of Teutonic ports. The Knights, in the meantime, took the Warmian city of Braunsberg (Braniewo). Polish army received artillery reinforcements in April and took Marienwerder and Preußisch Holland that month, but failed to retake Braunsberg.The war grew, with Polish allies from
Duchy of Masovia andGdańsk striking the nearby Teutonic fortifications. In the meantime, Teutonic forces were on defense, waiting for reinforcements from Germany. Those reinforcements arrived in summer of 1520, and in July, the Teutonic army started an offensive, attacking Masovia, Warmia andŁomża territories, laying siege toLidzbark Warmiński . In August another group of German reinforcements attackedWielkopolska , takingMiędzyrzecz . Germans tookWałcz ,Chojnice ,Starogard ,Tczew and started a siege of Gdańsk, but retreated faced with Polish reinforcements and plagued by financial troubles (German reinforcements, mostly mercenaries, refused to fight until paid). Polish forces retook Tczew, Stargard and Chojnice. The Teutonic Knights retreated towardsOliwa andPuck , but were pursued by Polish forces. This time however the Polish side was plagued by financial troubles, and thepospolite ruszenie forces were also tired. The Teutonic Knights seized their chance and launched a counteroffensive, takingNowe Miasto Lubawskie and approacingPłock andOlsztyn .At that time, however, the
Ottoman Empire invadedHungary , and the new Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, demanded that the Teutonic Knights and Poles stop their hostilities and aid the defense of Europe against the infidels. Both sides, tired with the war, agreed to anarmistice onApril 5 1521 , in theCompromise of Toruń .Aftermath
During the four-year truce, the dispute was referred to Emperor Charles V and other princes, but no settlement was reached, and Albert continued his efforts to obtain help in view of the inevitable end of the truce.
Eventually, in
Wittenberg , Albert met and was advised byMartin Luther to abandon the rules of his Order, to marry, and to convert Prussia into a hereditary duchy for himself. Albert agreed, converted toLutheranism in 1525, and resigned from the Hochmeister office to assume thePrussian Homage from his uncleSigismund I the Old , King of Poland, the hereditary rights to the now-secularizedDuchy of Prussia as a vassal of the Polish Crown. ThePrussian Landtag diet assembled in Königsberg, where all "Stände", led by the influentialbishop of Sambia Georg von Polenz , embraced both the new Duke andProtestant Reformation to Lutheran faith. Thus, the Order was ousted after facing a century of opposition by thePrussian Confederation . The Order elected a new Grand Master who tried to fight the loss of power in the Prussian territories by political means, but could never regain any influence there.References
*Polish|Wojna polsko-krzyżacka 1519-1521|12 July 2007
* [http://www.poland.pl/archives/modernera/article,,id,11555.htm Treaty of Kraków]
*pl icon [http://portalwiedzy.onet.pl/71706,haslo.html Wojny polsko-krzyżackie] ,WIEM Encyklopedia
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