The 'Thirteen Years' War' (; ), also called the 'War of the Cities', was fought from 1454-1466.
It started as an uprising by
Prussian cities and the local nobility with the goal of gaining independence from the
Teutonic Knights. The
Prussian Confederation asked the Polish king for help and offered to incorporate Prussia into the
Kingdom of Poland. When the king agreed, war between Poland and the Teutonic Knights broke out. It ended with the
Peace of Toruń in 1466 in favor of the
Confederacy and Poland, and was followed by the
War of the Priests from 1467-1479.
Preliminaries
Reasons behind the war
In the
15th century, the towns of
Prussia rapidly grew economically. However, this was not followed by an increase in their political influence. The rule of the
Teutonic Knights was seen as more and more anachronistic — taxes (funt customs) and the system of grain licences (every trader had to pay large fees for the privilege of trading grain) were hindering economic development in the province. At the same time the
gentry wanted a bigger say in the running of the country, and were looking enviously at neighbouring Poland, where nobles enjoyed wider privileges. The Knights were also accused of violating the few existing privileges of the gentry and the cities. Craftsmen were discontented because of competition from so-called ''partacze'', that is artisans settled by the Knights near their castles.
Kashubians,
Poles,
Germans, and
Prussians were slowly melting into one nation, and as national differences disappeared, the common goals of all the ethnic and social groups of Prussia became more prominent.
The western part of Prussia, called
Pomerelia, where the main city of
Gdańsk (Danzig) was situated, was originally captured by Duke
Boleslaus I of Poland, was then ruled by Pomeranian rulers until its conquest by the Teutonic Order. Some links to Poland remained and actually increased with strong cultural contacts, trade, and marriages between the elite families of
Kraków, Pomeranian, and
Toruń (Thorn).
Kraków was a
Hanseatic League city and had many German craftsmen and inhabitants at that time. Many Prussians — Poles and Germans — taught and studied at the
Kraków Academy.
Remembrance of some Polish roots of Pomerania by later developing Polish nationals was not an important reason for the start of the uprising, but it was considered more important later.
There was a long tradition of resistance against the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. In
1397 Prussian knights of Polish descent had founded a secret organisation called the ''
Lizard Union'', more or less against the Teutonic Knights, but that organization had failed as it was not supported by the urban population. After victory by the Polish and Lithuanian forces at the
Battle of Grunwald during the
Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War (1409–1411), the Prussian states eagerly pledged allegiance to King
Wladyslaw II Jagiello (Jogaila), but they quickly returned to the Order's rule after the Poles were unable to conquer
Malbork (Marienburg). A clause in the peace treaty stated that it was guaranteed by the Prussian states, which would gain the right to defy the Teutonic Order if it broke the treaty. In the succeeding wars the Prussian states opposed any conflict, and pushed the Grand Masters of the Order to make peace.
On
February 21 1440 a group made up of individuals from the Prussian cities, gentry and clergy, formed the
Prussian Confederation. The main contributors were from the gentry of
Chełmno Land (Culmerland), from
Toruń,
Chełmno (Kulm) and from the Hanseatic cities of
ElblÄ…g (Elbing) and
Gdańsk. Grand Master
Paul von Rusdorf was seen to approve the existence of the Confederacy, but his successor,
Konrad von Erlichhausen, opposed it. His con-compromising policy was followed and intensified by
Ludwig von Erlichhausen.
In 1452, the
Prussian Confederation asked Emperor
Frederick III for mediation in their conflict with the Teutonic Order. On
5 December 1453, the Emperor, apparently not caring to listen to all the arguments of the Confederacy, banned it and ordered it to obey the Teutonic Order.
Faced with that situation the Prussians sent envoys to Poland -- although the
Prussian Confederation, under the influence of
Toruń and the Pomeranian and Culmerland gentry, had already sought contact with the Poles. They received support, especially from
Greater Poland and from the party of Queen
Sophia of Halshany, mother of King
Casimir IV Jagiellon. The Bishop of Kraków,
Zbigniew Cardinal Oleśnicki, opposed this support and tried to prevent war.
In January 1454 the Prussians asked the Polish King, who that same year was married to
Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of the late emperor
Albert II of Germany, to incorporate
Prussia into
Poland. The King asked the
Prussian Confederation for a more formal petition. On
4 February 1454, the Secret Council of the
Prussian Confederation sent a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master. Two days later the Confederacy started its rebellion and soon almost all
Prussia, except for
Malbork,
Sztum (Stuhm) and
Chojnice (Conitz), were free from Teutonic rule. Most of the captured castles were immediately destroyed.
On
10 February 1454, the
Confederacy sent an official delegation to
Poland, headed by
Johannes von Baysen (called Jan Bazynski by the Poles). By
20 February the delegates were in Kraków and asked
Casimir IV to bring Prussia into the
Polish kingdom. After negotiating the exact conditions of incorporation, the King agreed and on
6 March 1454 delegates of
Prussian Confederation stated that they pledged allegiance to the
Polish King.
On the same day, the King agreed to all the conditions of the Prussian delegates — for instance ToruÅ„ demanded the destruction of the Polish city of
Nieszawa — giving wide privileges to the Prussian cities and gentry. Three days later,
Johannes von Baysen was named as the first governor of Prussia. After
15 April most of the Prussian states, with the exception of the
Bishopric of Warmia, pledged allegiance to their new ruler.
Poland sent the Grand Master a declaration of war, predated to
22 February. When the war started everybody expected it to be over quickly, on both sides.
International situation
In 1454 Poland was in conflict with
Lithuania, which meant that although
Casimir IV was
Grand Duke of Lithuania as well as King of Poland,
Lithuania sent no aid during the whole war to Poland, and didn't participate in it, except for a few raids without any impact on the result of the war. There was also the threat of attack by
Russia and by the
Ottoman Turks who in
1453 sacked
Constantinople.
Elsewhere, the international situation was quite good for
Poland -- no-one apart from the main combatants was likely to intervene. The southern border of
Poland was more or less secure because of the weakness of the
Bohemian lands, which resulted from the
Hussite Wars. The
Holy Roman Empire because of its internal problems was not able to directly intervene in the conflict. The
Hanseatic League, on the one hand, backed the
Teutonic Knights (because they supported ''differential'' economical Hansa privileges), but on the other, they felt sympathy for the plight of the Prussian cities. The Teutonic Order in
Livonia had problems with
Denmark and was unable to help the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. Because of conflict between
Sweden and Denmark both sides stayed more or less neutral in the upcoming conflict.
France and
England were too weakened after the
Hundred Years' War. The King of
Burgundy,
Flanders, and the
Netherlands,
Philip the Good, was interested more in creating the independent kingdom of Burgundy. The
Pope's primary concern was the Turkish menace.
The forces of the belligerents
The main part of the Polish army of that period was conscripted. All noblemen from the class known as the
Szlachta, when called by the king, had to appear with their village-mayors and village-administrators. Cities gave wagons with horses, food, and service to them (including escorts). Units were divided into ''choragwie'' (''standards'') of two kinds: ''family'', which were made by very large clans, and ''land'' which were from nobles from particular territory. Peasants also participated as infantrymen. The highest command belonged to the king. The total army could amount to 30,000 cavalry.
From the beginning of the
15th century the Polish Crown started to hire mercenaries in addition, which usually fought under the flag of St. George (especially Bohemian (
Czech) mercenaries). That is under either a red cross on white, or a white cross on red (the latter was used only when two Bohemian units met on opposite sides of a battlefield and had to be differentiated.
An important part of the tactics was, the concept of
tabor, learned from the Bohemians.
The Poles had artillery (at first primitive cannons: bombards and suchlike). Hand arms appeared, but they weren't very effective: the so-called pistols. Much more important were crossbows, which, properly used, could cause large losses.
The army of the Prussian states consisted of conscripts and small units provided by cities (around 750 people each unit). In total they could provide about 16,000 soldiers plus a few thousand armed peasant infantry. They also had more artillery than the Polish army.
The Prussian cities were also able to raise a small navy, partially from armed trade ships, partially from hired privateers from other cities.
The Teutonic Order in 1454 lost most of its arsenals, but later it was able to raise armies from loyal knights (free Prussians) and peasants. However most of its forces were hired mercenaries, mainly from
Germany and the Bohemian lands.
Overview
First phase
The first land operations (February - August
1454) were carried out by Prussian state conscripts, supported by Czech mercenaries from
Moravia,
Lesser Poland, etc. This force, commanded by Scibor von Baysen (Scibor Bazynski), brother of Johannes von Baysen, tried to besiege the Grand Master
Ludwig von Erlichhausen in the city and castle of Malbork, but without much success, due to the professional command of
Heinrich Reuß von Plauen the Elder, Count of
ElblÄ…g.
In the meantime there was some organised support for the Teutonic Order from the German Duchies, mainly in
Saxony. That support entered Prussia in the second half of March 1454, from the direction of the
Neumark. It was able to take the highly important strategic city of
Chojnice (Konitz), which was situated on the important route from Poland to the ''mouth'' of the Vistula. Johannes von Baysen moved conscript and mercenary forces there, and they were soon followed by
Mikołaj Szarlejski, who was the representative of the Polish kingdom and received the title of ''Supreme Commander of Forces in Prussia''.
On
April 7 1454, the Teutons sold the Neumark back to
Brandenburg "to assure itself better relations and connection with Germany".
At the end of April 1454, the Prussian army started the siege of
Chojnice -- the defence of the city was commanded by
Heinrich Reuss von Plauen the Younger from
Greitz. However, the Polish commander Mikolaj Szarlejski lacked any significant commanding skill, his army hadn't enough artillery, and the Prussian ''states'' weren't able to pay their mercenaries, so
Chojnice was not seriously endangered.
After the arrival of
Casimir IV, when he received the official oath of allegiance from his new subjects in
ElblÄ…g and
Toruń, he directed to
Chojnice a levee en masse of Polish nobles from
Kuyavia which replaced unpaid mercenaries. Cavalry forces such as the nobles, however, were ill-suited to the taking of castles, so the situation of
Chojnice did not change.
The king also sent his own units and a levee en masse to lay siege to
Malbork, but Polish forces were unable to take the castle even with Prussian reinforcements, which were relocated to Malbork after taking
Sztum (Stuhm) (
August 8 1454). The Teutons defended themselves skilfully and were even able to defeat forces from
Gdańsk in a sudden attack on
September 13.
The situation of the Polish crown was getting very bad, and it worsened when in September 1454 a large army of mercenaries under the command of Rudolf, prince of
Żagań (Sagan) and a
Moravian nobleman, the very talented soldier
Bernhard von Zinnenberg[1] (Bernard Szumborski) arrived in Prussia from the ''Holy Roman Empire''. The army had 9000 cavalry and 6000 infantry, plus artillery and many wagons in tabor.
That army was slowly moving to
Chojnice, apparently to release it from siege. It forced King Casimir to call a ''
pospolite ruszenie'' (''levee en masse'') of
Greater Poland, without the traditional approval of the provincial
sejmik. Noblemen, angered by the disruption of the harvest and the unconventional form of the call, massed near the village of
Cerekwica and demanded from the king several privileges, which were granted in the
privilege of Cerekwica September 14 1454.
After that the king divided his forces into seven large units and the army marched to
Chojnice, where it was joined by Prussians. At
Chojnice the army met the Teutonic knights and on
September 18 1454 was defeated in the major
battle of Chojnice.
The defeat was a near disaster: the Polish army quickly withdrew from
Malbork, and
Sztum was again captured by Teutons. They were also able to take other big cities, like
Gniew (Mewe) and
Tczew (Dirschau). Impressed by the Teutons' victory, some Prussian lands also capitulated. This was a great victory for the Teutons, and they had now only one minor problem: they hadn't enough money to pay the victorious mercenaries. The Grand Master promised them on
October 9 that if he could not pay them by
February 19 1455, they would receive all cities, castles and lands of Prussia, with the rights to sell them.
Mercenaries later captured two other cities, Marienwerder (
Kwidzyn) and
Lasin, near
Malbork. But none of the largest and most important cities of Prussia, not even
Königsberg, surrendered, and they were all determined to continue the war. As a result, the Teutonic Order was totally dependent on help from the German Reich.
To save the situation, King Casimir started hiring more Bohemian and
Silesian soldiers and sending them to the cities of
Pomerania,
Pomesania and Culmerland (Chełmno Land). He also decided to call for another levee en masse from the whole Polish kingdom. The levee en masse in Opoka, this time dominated by gentry from
Lesser Poland, demanded privileges similar to those given in Cerekwica. The King quickly approved them, but under the influence of the aristocracy from Lesser Poland later, in privileges for the whole country given
November 11 -
November 16 1454 in
Nieszawa (Famous
privilege of Nieszawa) he changed some of his promises given earlier both in Opoka and Cerekwica.
This time the Polish army counted almost 30000 cavalry plus 3000 mercenaries. The mercenaries had a few good commanders:
Jan Kolda from Zampach and
Jan Skalski from the northern Bohemian city of
Mala Skala (literally, "little rock") and a member of the family of Valdsztejn, Waldstein or
Wallenstein.
This time the Grand Master avoided battle as too risky. The army started the siege of
Åasin (Lessen), whose defense was commanded by Austrian mercenary
Fritz Raweneck[2]. However, the army was totally unprepared for taking castles. Large preparations ended with another fiasco.
1455
Also, the first negotiations with Teutons (
January 9 -
January 10 1455) failed.
The situation of King Casimir became difficult. To pay his mercenaries he had to borrow from the clergy. He decided to give two cities as a ''fief'' to
Eric II of Pomerania from Stolp (
SÅ‚upsk), hoping that that would secure northern Pomerania. Later Casimir had to go to Lithuania to calm down opposition and he was forced to stay there until the summer of 1455.
In that situation the Teutons were able to conquer the eastern part of Prussia - helped by rebellions in a few cities, which were caused by huge new war taxes (Königsberg, Lipnik (
April 17 1455)). The last East Prussian city loyal to the Polish king,
Kneiphof, was taken after a long siege by Teutonic knights commanded by
Heinrich Reuss von Plauen the Elder on
June 14 1455. The Poles were suffering defeat after defeat, and they later also lost
Warmia (Ermeland).
However, the Grand Master was unable to pay his mercenaries and they took Marienburg, Dirschau (Tczew) and Eylau (
Ilawa) in May
1455. Mercenaries under Bohemian
Ulrich von ÄŒirvonka (Oldrzych Czerwonka) immediately started negotiations with Poland on selling these castles.
The international situation also became significantly worse.
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor March 24 1455 banned the Prussian Confederation, which ''caused that everybody could claim its property and forbade any trade with its members''. After the death of Pope
Nicholas V, the new Pope
Callixtus III on
September 24 1455 warned that he would excommunicate the Prussian Confederacy and all its allies (which could mean King Casimir) ''if it would not settle peace with the Teuton Order''. In June 1455 the Teutonic Order gained a new ally, the king of
Denmark,
Christian I, who declared war against Poland and the Prussian Confederacy. This however meant nothing more than a disturbance in trade, since Denmark was still busy fighting with Sweden.
Shocked by the loss of Kneiphof, King Casimir, in debt and unable to hire new mercenaries, called another levee en masse. The Polish army moved slowly to
Toruń, but military actions were halted briefly, when the king finally agreed to mediation by
Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg (all earlier propositions of mediation from different sides had been rejected). The elector however failed to negotiate a peace, because the Teutons, after recent successes, were unwilling to compromise. The Poles suggested from their side that the Teutonic Order should leave Prussia and go elsewhere to fight with pagans (a location suggested earlier by Polish envoys to the Holy Roman Empire was
Podolia, near the
Tatars). In that situation negotiations
September 26 ended with no gains, and the war continued.
The new Polish army was even bigger than before, because this time it included soldiers from
Red Rus, small auxiliary forces of Tatars and a few mercenaries from Silesia. It laid siege to Lasin, but Raveneck was able to defend the city. Additionally, when Casimir IV ordered a further march to Graudenz (Grudziadz), the Szlachta refused and instead decided to pay a new tax, which would allow the king to hire more mercenaries.
After that, the situation did not change much. The Teutonic Knights were able to recapture another city,
Memel, but their offensive in other directions was stopped by the burghers of
Toruń and of Culmerland (Chełmno Land),
Andrzej Tęczynski. In autumn 1455 the peasants of eastern
Masuria, tired of the burdens of war, revolted against the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Knights defeated the rebels at Ryn on
January 1 1456. Land-based military actions were limited to raids and local skirmishes.
In the maritime arena, King Casimir urged
Gdańsk to build a fleet which would be able to break sea connections between the Teutonic Order and its allies. In May
1456 privateers hired by
Gdańsk captured Dutch ships, which caused conflict with Amsterdam and the Prince of Burgundy, Philip the Good. In two weeks in August
1457 three ships from
Gdańsk, near Bornholm, defeated a combined Danish-Livonian Order fleet of 16 ships.
After long negotiations Teutonic mercenaries agreed to sell Poland three castles in Prussia, including Marienburg. Heavy new taxes caused rebellions in
Gdańsk and
Toruń which were bloodily suppressed by the cities with help from the king's army. Finally the Polish and Prussian states were able to gather 190,000 Hungarian gold pieces (Złotych węgierskich?), most of which had been borrowed from
Gdańsk. On
June 6 1457 castles of Marienburg, Dirschau and Eylau were transferred to the Polish army. Two days later King Casimir entered the castle of Marienburg, and ''its burghers paid homage to him''. Ulrich von Czerwonka became the first Polish sheriff of the castle, and also received three other counties. The king again granted broad privileges to the Prussian cities. It was generally expected that now, with the fall of the Teutonic capital, war would end quickly. Optimism faded, however, when the Polish army commanded by
Prandota Lubieszowski was unable to take Mewe (Gniew), which was again defended by Raveneck. Casimir had to return to Poland to seek money to pay his debts and mercenaries. The mood worsened when the Grand Master organised a new offensive. The Teutonic Knights received significant aid from the burghers of Königsberg, free Prussian knights and others. Although they were unable to take Welau (Welawa) and Sepopol, the two Polish castles which were the initial target of the offensive, they again defeated the Polish army in September
1457.
On
September 28,
1457, Teutonic Order forces under the command of v. Zinnenberg, (who had been released by the Poles), with help from the burghers, took Marienburg by surprise -- only the castle commanded by Czerwonka was saved.
Prandota Lubieszowski was able to stop further advances of the Teutonic army, but this was not the last of the Teuton successes. They re-captured Eylau (which again pledged allegiance to the Teutons), Culm (Chełmno) and Preußisch Stargard (
Starogard Gdański). The situation was saved by a new Polish army sent from Greater Poland.
The international situation became increasingly complicated. The new
Prince-Bishop of Ermeland was Cardinal Eneas Silvio Piccolomini, known for his pro-Teuton sympathies. Soon after that, in
1458, Piccolomini was elected pope and took the name of
Pius II. Another complication was the death of
Ladislas the Posthumous and the election of
George of Podebrady as new (
Hussite) king of Bohemia, and
Matthias Corvinus as king of
Hungary.
In Spring
1458 Casimir IV again called for a levee en masse, this time calling even the
Masovians. Ignoring the mediation of
John Giskra (Jan Jiskra), a Czech mercenary who hoped for an end to war with Prussia and the start of a new conflict with Hungary, the Polish army slowly marched into Prussia, during June crossing the Vistula via ''ponton bridge'' near
Toruń. Again the army was supported by Tatar auxiliary forces from
Crimea and by the king's own army. The army was commanded by
Piotr of Szamotuly, the castellan of
Poznań. The Polish army marched directly to Marienburg, reaching the city on
August 10. This time it was quite well equipped with artillery sent by
Gdańsk and
ElblÄ…g. The siege, however, was another fiasco, due partly to lengthy negotiations, and partly to Piotr's lack of aggression on the battlefield. He was such an inept commander that Fritz Raweneck was able to take yet another castle. The nobles demanded the storming of the castle, and when this did not happen, they started deserting and returning to Poland.
In Low Prussia there was a peasant rebellion against Polish rule. The peasants captured a few castles and gave them to the Teutonic Knights, declaring that they were ready to fight on the Teutonic Order's side against Poland.
In the meantime the king, using John Giskra as mediator, negotiated with the Teutons. The Poles again proposed that the Teutonic Order should leave Prussia for
Podolia. The Teutons agreed on Podole, but refused to leave Prussia. Gdanskers proposed a compromise which would leave part of Prussia for the Teuton Order. At one point there was a signed cease fire lasting 9 months (there was even a signed treaty, and John Giskra as mediator kept Marienburg), and peace appeared certain, but the Prussian states decided to persuade the king to break off negotiations.
One positive sign was peace with Denmark. The Danish king finally conquered Sweden, but the Swedish king
Charles VIII of Sweden escaped to Poland and started supporting the Polish cause financially.
Gdańsk and Charles VIII were hiring more and more privateers, which seriously damaged Baltic trade, and finally
Christian I of Denmark decided in July
1458 to sign a cease fire, which was in May 1459 extended to four years, and then to 20 years.
In 1459 Johann von Baysen died, and his brother, Scibor von Baysen (Ścibor Bażynski), became the new governor of Prussia. Teutonic Knights were raiding the Polish lands and enjoying quite a few successes (for example
Kaspar Nostitz, komtur of Conitz (
Chojnice), captured for a few months one of the Polish cities in northern Greater Poland). There were other attempts at mediation (by the Bavarian prince, the Austrian prince, and even by bishops from Inflanty) but they were all refused by Poland. More serious mediation was undertaken by pope Pius II, who was trying to mount a coalition against the Turks. He suspended the ban over the Prussian Confederation and he explicitly stated that the forementioned ban was also against Poland. That statement outraged king Casimir, who rejected the arrival of the Pope's legate (Hieronymus Lando). In
1460, on
June 3, the Pope reactivated the ban against Prussia, Poland and the Polish king. At the same time the Bohemian king
George Podiebrad banned and jailed Ulrich von Czirvonka and his comrades, and agreed to hire Teuton soldiers in the territory of his kingdom.
On
21 March 1460 the Polish army, this time regular, supported by gdanskers and peasants, started again a siege of the city of
Marienburg (
Marienburg Castle was still in Polish hands). This time the army had a little better and more energetic commander, Prandota Lubieszowski, and enough artillery. Prandota died and was replaced by Jan Koscielecki with gdańsker Johann Meydeburg as advisor. This regular siege finally caused the capitulation of the city of Marienburg on
5 July. Marienburg's mayor,
Burgomaster Blume was hanged as traitor (since he pledged allegiance to Polish king and later opened the gates of city to Teutons).
This Polish success was quickly countered by the Teutons, who regained other cities in western Prussia, and, what's more, defeated the army of
Gdańsk near Praust (
Pruszcz Gdański) in July 1460, even burning the suburbs of
Gdańsk.
Gdańsk asked the king for help. The Teutons also conquered Lauenburg (
Lębork) and
Bytów (which were in the possession of Eric II of Pomerania),
Åeba and Putzig (
Puck) (Putzig was garrisonned by mercenaries hired by the former Swedish king Charles). Von Zinnenberg (Szumborski) also captured the castle of Schwetz (
Swiecie).
Toruń immediately sent soldiers there, who, helped by the King's army, started a siege. In the
Archbishopric of Warmia the administration of
Paul von Legensdorf commenced. He was appointed by the Pope, and promised neutrality between the Teutons and Polish king. The neutrality of Legendorf made him very popular amongst the burghers and peasants, who were simply tired of war.
Situation of Poland became desperate. One by one, castles and cities in Prussia were re-captured by the Teutonic army. Internal situation was also not very bright, because of the conflict between the pope and the king over nominating the new bishop of Cracow (since both king and pope were convinced that the other had no right to choose the new bishop).
The Polish king again called for levee en masse, but most of the gentry refused participation after Andrzej Tęczynski was killed in Cracow by burghers (in a dispute over payment for his armour). Again, this was a total fiasco. Commanders (amongst them Piotr from Szamotuly) seemed even as if they didn't know where they should go, and after a few weeks (and raids to duchy of Eric II of Pomerania) army returned home.
This, and another success of the Teutons, which took almost all castles and towns of Ermeland, capturing the last Polish points of resistance, convinced the king finally that war should be left to professionals. The gentry agreed to pay new taxes for hiring and maintaining a more regular army. The new commander was
Piotr Dunin.
In 1461 Poland had only one success - capturing the castle of Schwetz (Swiecie). On the sea privateers hired by
Gdańsk were far more successful, although they had to fight not only with Teutonic ships and privateers hired by the Teutons, but also with ships from
Lübeck.
Second phase
The first group — initially around 2000 soldiers — of regular army came to Prussia around October 1461, under Piotr Dunin from Prawkowice. Piotr Dunin was a soldier to the bones, knowing the newest methods of military tactics. Almost immediately he achieved two successes, capturing the castles of Lasin and Stuhm. The Teutons at the same time captured a few cities and castles, for example the city of Strasburg (the castle stayed in Polish hands) and Stargard. Sejm in
New City of Korczyn in Lesser Poland decided to raise new taxes for increasing the Polish regular army. It was only in the summer of 1462 when Dunin finally, after losing the castle of Strasburg (
Brodnica), could start any more serious action. His first success was conquest of the castle of Frauenburg (
Frombork). But what changed the course of the war was the
battle of Swiecin (Schwetz), where the excellent Teuton commander
Fritz Raweneck was killed. After that battle the Poles, supported by Ulrich von Czirwonka (released from Czech jail), were able to start an offensive. In
July 27 1463 Dunin started the siege of Mewe (
Gniew). Because of the great strategic importance of the city and castle, the grand master of the Teutonic Order decided to send it reinforcements. The army of Teutons, under commanders v. Plauen, v. Zinnenberg and the Grand Master gathered in Stargard. In
September 15 1463 the navy of Teutons, 44 ships, was destroyed in
battle of Zatoka Świeża by 30 ships from
Gdańsk and
ElblÄ…g. Soon after the battle v. Zinnenberg, with approval of the Teutonic Order, made a treaty with Poland, withdrawing from war but still having in his possession a few castles in Culmerland. Mewe capitulated soon in
January 1 1464.
The Knights started to have serious financial problems. Every year they received less money from the Holy Roman Empire. Their mercenaries, the core of the Teutonic army, were not paid and refused to make any serious offensives. At the same time the armies of Poland and the Prussian Confederation (mainly
Gdańsk) were continuing their offensive.
However, King Casimir was unable to get all the fruits of these successes, because of troubles in Lithuania. The Lithuanians rejected the idea of moving the Teutonic Order to Podole, even if Lithuania would get some territories in Prussia. This forced the king to open new negotiations with the Teutonic Order, with the
Hanseatic League as mediators. On
July 3 1462 negotiations started in
Toruń. The Polish negotiators (
Johannes Longinus (Jan Dlugosz) and the rector of the Cracow Academy, Jan from Dabrowka, with the Prussian representatives (
Gabriel von Baysen and
Scibor von Baysen plus envoys from big cities argued that "Pomerania from time immemorial belonged to Poland, pointing out Slavic names in Pomerania, the Slavic language of inhabitants", the ''tax of St. Peter'' paid by Pomerania, and that Pomerania belonged to the Polish Church diocese of
Wloclawek. They also strongly ''emphasized'' that Prussians of their own will asked for the incorporation of Prussia into Poland. They also tried to prove that even eastern Prussia was, in time past, tied in some way to Poland. The Teutons questioned all their arguments and past Papal judgments. Instead they strongly underlined that Poland once officially resigned all claims to Pomerania and Culmerland, and also pointed to the Emperor's statement of
1453 when he forbade all opposition in Prussia. Hanseatic mediators proposed a cease fire for 20 years; this was refused. The Poles proposed again moving the Teutons to Podole; this was refused too. Unofficially the Poles proposed leaving the Teutonic Order in Sambia as Polish vassals. This idea was rejected too. Finally the Poles demanded at least Pomerania, Culmerland, Marienburg and
ElblÄ…g, and when this was rejected too, negotiations broke down.
Dunin continued on the offensive, capturing more and more castles. Masovians, enraged by Teutonic raids, organised a levee en masse and captured the castle of Działdowo, but again the king had to leave Poland for Lithuania, and financial problems stopped further advances. This caused another round of negotiations in
1465, which were again unsuccessful.
In
1466 the Prince-Bishop of Warmia,
Paul von Legensdorf decided to join the Polish forces and declare war on the Teutons. Polish forces under Piotr Dunin were finally also able to capture Conitz (
September 28 1466).
All of these successes caused the Teutonic Order to seek new negotiations (which are well documented because one of the Polish negotiators was again historian Johannes Longinus). The new mediator was
Pope Paul II. With a lot of help from the Pope's legate
Rudolf von Rüdesheim, in
October 10 1466, a peace treaty (known as the
peace of Toruń 1466) was finally signed, due to extensive war battle exhaustion. Prussia as a whole was to be incorporated into the Polish kingdom; the Teutons were allowed to rule its eastern part as Polish vassals. The Grand Master received the title of Senator of the Polish kingdom. The treaty was signed by the Pope's legate. ''Both sides agreed, that although the Pope's approval wasn't necessary, they would ask him to confirm the treaty so as to ensure it''. Later however, the Pope refused to do that. The treaty was also disputed by the Emperor.
Aftermath
★
Peace of Toruń 1466
★ changes to Polish legal system such as
privilege in Nieszawa etc.
★ decline of the Teutonic Order's power
Important people
★
Casimir IV, king of Poland
★
Johannes Longinus (Polish name:
Jan DÅ‚ugosz), Polish historian and negotiator
★
Piotr Dunin, Polish commander
★
Bernard von Zinnenberg, Bohemian mercenary, commander in Teutonic army
References
★ BISKUP, Marian. ''Wojna trzynastoletnia'' (''The Thirteen Years War'').
External links
★
Photocopy of the request of the Prussian Confederation for Polish protection
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