BATTLE OF GRUNWALD - 1410

    With the dynastic union of Poland and Lithuania assuming a more permanent nature, as well as the conversion of Lithuania to Christianity, the Teutonic Order was faced by a powerful new coalition. Nevertheless, the Order continued to command enormous resources and prestige. The situation continued to ferment until 1409, when an open conflict erupted.

    On July 15, 1410 a decisive battle, one of the biggest in the history of Middle Ages, permanently weakened the Teutonic Order. The two opposing armies met outside the village of Grunwald (also known as Tannenberg). On one side were the Teutonic Knights, with Western European mercenaries, supported by infantry and cannon, about 27,000 men in total commanded by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. On the other was a larger Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian army, supported by Czech and vassal Tartar contingents, of about 39,000 men, commanded by king Wladyslaw Jagiello himself.

    The battle lasted for several hours. King Jagiello, unlike his opponent, did not lead the army to battle, but coordinated the efforts from the nearby hill. The Polish and Lithuanian forces were instead led by king's brother Witold, Grand Duke of Lithuania. By the end of the day, eight thousand Teutonic Knights were slain, including the Grand Master of the Order, and fourteen thousand prisoners were taken for ransom.

    Despite this staggering defeat, the Teutonic Order showed an incredible resilience, falling back on the impregnable fortifications of the Marienburg (Malbork) in the north. Jagiello, lacking proper siege equipment, could not carry the war to complete victory. The First Treaty of Torun in 1411 actually restored the territorial status quo.

    The situation remained unresolved until the Thirteen Years War of 1454-1466. Using professional mercenaries and new siege methods, the Poles and Lithuanians finally managed to humble the Teutonic Order. The area known as Royal Prussia (the land along the Vistula up to Gdansk) was incorporated into the kingdom of Poland. The land that eventually became East Prussia remained in the possession of the Order as a vassal state of Poland.

    The Battle of Grunwald remains one of the most glorious days in Polish history. The period of struggle in the early 1400s was immortalized by Henryk Sienkiewicz in his historical novel "The Teutonic Knights."

PRUSSIAN HOMAGE - 1525

    The late 15th century and early 16th century marked the height of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Jagiellonian rulers for a time reigned simultaneously in Poland, Lithuania, Bohemia, and Hungary. Unfortunately, the Jagiellonians failed to elaborate a coherent political rationale for organizing the lands between Russia and Germany into a loose federation, in order to prevent their falling under the domain of one of these powers. The situation was even worsened by the tragic death of young king Wladyslaw III, Jagiello's oldest son, during the siege of Varna.

    At this time, Russia was locked in the autocratic grip of a series of ruthless tsars, driven by the single-minded ideology of the Third Rome. Perhaps the worst, was Ivan the Terrible, who embarked on an action of "gathering of the Russian lands." His plan spelled doom for the sprawling Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian complex which lay in his path and down through the centuries, warfare between Russia and Poland-Lithuania continued with unrelenting brutality.

    The situation along Poland's northern borders normalized in 1466 following another defeat of the Teutonic Order by king Casimir IV the Jagiellonian in the Thirteen Years War . In the outcome, the Eastern Pomerania with the city of Gdansk were returned to Poland.

    In 1525, Albrecht Hohenzollern, the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, converted to Lutheranism and established a secular duchy in East Prussia. He journeyed to Cracow to pay homage to the Polish King, Zygmunt I Stary (the Old), and to swear to the eternal association of his duchy with Poland. This moment, which many have seen as the zenith of Polish power, is immortalized in the famous painting by Jan Matejko.

    In 1526, King Louis II Jagiello of Hungary and Bohemia died in the ferocious Battle of Mohacs, where virtually all of the Hungarian nobility perished facing another Ottoman Turkish invasion. In a turning point of European politics, these lands, and the responsibility for their defense, devolved to the Austrian Hapsburgs. However, Poles and Hungarians continued to share a national friendship, a rare occurrence in conflict-torn Eastern Europe.