Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War
| Polish–Lithuanian — Teutonic War | |||||||||
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| Part of Northern Crusades and Lithuanian Crusade | |||||||||
Battle of Grunwald (1878 painting) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
Allies: Kingdom of Denmark Holy Roman Empire |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen † Grand Master Heinrich von Plauen Duke Casimir V Duke Konrad VII |
King Władysław II Jagiełło Grand Duke Vytautas Duke Janusz I Duke Siemowit IV Duke Siemowit V Duke Bogislav VIII Prince Alexander I Jalal al-Din | ||||||||
The Polish–Lithuanian — Teutonic War, also known as the Great Teutonic War, occurred between 1409 and 1411 between the Teutonic Knights and the allied Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Inspired by the local Samogitian uprising, the war began with a Teutonic invasion of Poland in August 1409. As neither side was ready for a full-scale war, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia brokered a nine-month truce.
After the truce expired in June 1410, the military-religious monks were decisively defeated in the Battle of Grunwald, one of the largest battles in medieval Europe. Most of the Teutonic leadership was killed or taken prisoner. Although they were defeated, the Teutonic Knights withstood the siege on their capital in Marienburg (Malbork) and suffered only minimal territorial losses in the Peace of Thorn (1411). Territorial disputes lasted until the Peace of Melno of 1422.
However, the Knights never recovered their former power, and the financial burden of war reparations caused internal conflicts and economic decline in their lands. The war shifted the balance of power in Central Europe and marked the rise of the Polish–Lithuanian union as the dominant power in the region.