Battle of Płowce
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Battle of Płowce | |||||||
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Part of the Polish-Teutonic War (1326–1332) | |||||||
Juliusz Kossak, Płowce | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Poland | Teutonic Order | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Casimir III of Poland |
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Strength | |||||||
5,000 | 2,300, another 4,000 late stage of the battle. | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,900-2,100 | 2,200 - 2,400 |
The Battle of Płowce took place on 27 September 1331 between the
Background
The Teutonic plan was to support
In order to increase the chances of John securing Silesia, Braunschweig aided the Bohemian army with his own forces and any other force that he could muster. A rather large army consisting of Bohemians (Czechs), knights from the Teutonic order, rebel Polish noblemen who wished to make a stand against Władysław, mercenaries from the
Władysław led the remainder of the Polish forces south toward the Bohemian army. The Teutonic army reached Silesia successfully and met up with the Bohemians. Władysław determined that his forces were insufficient to repel the invaders, so John of Bohemia set himself up as the occupier of Silesia. John then set off to matters in Italy when there still was a pocket of resistance in Silesia. Well-fortified Polish castles in the region held out and little would be done to capture them. This led to Braunschweig to believe that Poland would still be a major threat and that his forces could not act as they wished in the Baltic region. Braunschweig sent word to John and wanted to start a second invasion of Poland, hoping that it would be more decisive than the previous invasion attempt.
Battle
The plan for the Teutonic army, led by Marshal
A heavy fog had descended over the area when Altenburg gathered his forces and divided them into five divisions. They Polish were also grouped into five divisions. A lengthy, hard-fought battle ensued that lasted from sunrise until 3:00 p.m. the same day. The armies were fairly evenly matched, and the deadlock was only broken when a horse carrying the marshal's banner was pierced by a spear and the Teutonic army saw the banner fall, assuming that their leader had fallen, and began to flee the battle.
The Polish forces took advantage of the fleeing Teutons and struck hard, turning the tide of the battle in their favor. By the end of the battle, Władysław and his son
An army of Teutonic knights was dispatched from Prussia to relieve the forces at Płowce and were fast approaching the battle. The exhausted Polish troops engaged in another hard-fought battle, continuing until nightfall, when King Łokietek ordered the withdraw from the battlefield. Altenburg was released after he was found chained to a wagon. After the battle, the Teutonic Knights kept 56 of the most valuable Polish prisoners alive, murdering the rest. According to the chronicler Wigand from Marburg, Bishop Maciej from Gołańcza ordered to count the dead before the burial after the battle, and it was found that 4,187 fighters on both sides were killed, most of whom were Teutonic Knights.
Aftermath
The Chełmno Commander Otto von Lutterberg, despite repelling the attack of the Polish army, decided to stop the march to Brześć Kujawski and, under the cover of darkness, to immediately retreat to Toruń without burying his own fallen. The decision to withdraw the Teutonic forces also meant that the entire campaign in Poland was interrupted, and therefore this battle can be considered a strategic success of Władysław Łokietek. The battle also prevented the Teutonic army from joining the Czech troops of John of Luxembourg, whose cooperation could lead to the collapse of the recently reunited Kingdom of Poland.
After the battle, both sides tried to use their successes for propaganda purposes. The battle greatly strengthened the morale of Polish troops and made a great impression on the fourteenth century Polish society. The conviction of the triumph of the Polish army was emphasized by the ceremonial entry of Władysław Łokietek to Krakow with the captured Commander Henryk Reuss von Plauen and 40 other prisoners. The fact that the battle was a Polish success is also evidenced by the Teutonic Order's report from 1335 for the Teutonic prosecutor at the papal curia in Avignon.
References
- ISBN 978-0-374-91250-5.