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ThePolish–Teutonic War (1431–1435) was an armed conflict between theKingdom of Poland and theTeutonic Knights. It ended with thePeace of Brześć Kujawski and is considered a victory for Poland.
The war broke out after Teutonic Grand MasterPaul von Rusdorf signed theTreaty of Christmemel, creating an alliance withŠvitrigaila, who waswaging a civil war against his brother Polish KingJogaila (Władysław Jagiełło) for the throne of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania.Sigismund of Luxemburg made a commitment to the Teutonic Order in an effort to break thePolish–Lithuanian union.
In 1431, while the main Polish forces were involved inLutsk inVolhynia, the Teutonic Knights invaded Poland. Finding little opposition, the Knights ravaged Dobrzyń Land, taking the town ofNieszawa, and tried to move on to theKuyavia andKrajna regions. However, the Teutonic army was defeated on 13 September 1431 in theBattle of Dąbki, near Nakel (Nakło nad Notecią).[1] In September a two-year truce was signed among Poland, Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights atStaryi Chortoryisk.[2]
In June 1433 Poland allied itself with theCzechHussites in order to stop the Teutonic Order from sending secret support to Švitrigaila via itsLivonian branch.[3][4] The Teutonic Knights had supported thePope andHoly Roman Emperor Sigismund against the heretic Hussites during theHussite Wars. Czech forces underJan Čapek of Sány were granted safe passage through Poland for their last and largest "beautiful ride."[3][5] The Polish forces were also supported byPomeranian DukeBogusław IX of theDuchy of Stolp (Słupsk).[6] In addition, theMoldavians, whose rulerIliaş had been replaced by the more pro-PolishStephen II, had joined the Polish alliance.[6] For four months the Hussite army, including forces led byFeodor Ostrogski, ravaged Teutonic territories inNeumark,Pomerania, and westernPrussia.[7] First they unsuccessfully besieged Konitz (Chojnice) for six weeks, then moved north to Schwetz (Świecie) and Danzig (Gdańsk).[8] They captured several towns and castles, including Dirschau (Tczew) on theVistula River (29 August 1433).[4][9] Despite their failed siege of Danzig, the Hussites reached theBaltic Sea nearOliwa at the beginning of September and celebrated their "beautiful ride" by symbolically filing their bottles with water from the sea.[9] Returning to the south viaStarogard Gdański, the expedition occupied a castle in the frontier settlement ofNowy Jasiniec.
On 13 September 1433 a truce was signed atJasiniec in force until Christmas. Polish–Teutonic negotiations continued atBrześć Kujawski, and Hussite–Catholic negotiations continued at theCouncil of Florence and at the Czech Diet inPrague.[8] The Polish-led invasion of Neumark and Pomerania had proven successful, cutting the Teutonic Order off from support from the Holy Roman Empire, and convincing the Order to sign a treaty with the Poles.[4] While the Order's leaders had been willing to fight on, the citizens of Prussia demanded an immediate end to the war.[10][11] The Poles put forth several conditions: an end to the Knights' appeals to the emperor, the pope or theCouncil of Florence for dispute resolution; the surrender ofNieszawa; and an end to their alliance with Švitrigaila. The Knights rejected these conditions, and the Poles threatened a new invasion. Finally, on 15 December 1433, twelve-yearTruce of Łęczyca was signed between the Poles and the Order atŁęczyca[4] (leading some Polish historians to divide this Polish–Teutonic War into two wars: in 1431–1433; and in 1435).[12] The Teutonic Knights agreed[10][13] to other Polish demands, including that the Order cease its support for Švitrigaila; moreover, each side would control the territories that it occupied until a peace was signed (uti possidetis), and no party would seek mediation by foreign powers in order to alter this truce.[11][14] This marked the end of the war on Polish soil; the struggle on Lithuanian lands would continue for two more years,[13] as the truce with Poland did not extend to theLivonian Order.[11]
Jogaila's alliance with heretics had damaged his reputation.[7] By 1433, however, Jogaila had regained favor with the Church, particularly sinceŠvitrigaila had allied himself with theIslamicTatars.[6] Jogaila receivedtithes from the Church (which expected him to combat the Tatars and the Hussites), and his representatives were invited to be heard before theecumenical council atFlorence.[6]
When Jogaila died in May 1434, the Order resumed its backing for Švitrigaila,[15] who rallied his supporters, including knights from the Livonian Order, the Orthodox dukes, and his nephewSigismund Korybut, a distinguished military commander of the Hussites.[16] The finalBattle of Wiłkomierz was fought in September 1435 nearUkmergė (Vilkomir, Wiłkomierz), northwest of Vilnius. It is estimated to have involved 30,000 men on both sides.[17] Švitrigaila's army, led by Sigismund Korybut, was split by the attacking Lithuanian–Polish army, led byMichael Žygimantaitis, and soundly defeated.[17] TheLivonian Order had suffered a great defeat, sometimes compared to that which had been inflicted on the Teutonic Knights atGrunwald in 1410.[15][17] On 31 December 1435 the Teutonic Knights signed apeace treaty at Brześć Kujawski. They agreed to cease their support for Švitrigaila, and in the future to support only Grand Dukes who had been properly elected jointly by Poland and Lithuania. The treaty did not change the borders that had been set by theTreaty of Melno in 1422.[18] The Teutonic and Livonian Orders no longer interfered in Polish–Lithuanian affairs; instead, Poland would involve itself in theThirteen Years' War (1454–66), the civil war that would tear Prussia in half.[7]
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