Battle of Skuodas

Coordinates: 56°14′11″N 21°26′26″E / 56.23639°N 21.44056°E / 56.23639; 21.44056
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Battle of Skuodas
Part of the Lithuanian Crusade

Place of the battle of Skuodas, Luknės, Lithuania
Date1258 or 1259
Location
Luknė village, 6 km (3.7 mi) southwest of Skuodas[1]
56°14′11″N 21°26′26″E / 56.23639°N 21.44056°E / 56.23639; 21.44056
Result Decisive Samogitian victory
Belligerents
Samogitians Livonian Order, Curonians
Commanders and leaders
Alminas Bernard von Haren[2]
Strength
3,000 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown 33 knights killed

The Battle of Skuodas or Schoden[2] was a medieval battle fought in ca. 1259 near Skuodas in present-day Lithuania during the Lithuanian Crusade. The Samogitian army of 3,000 invaded Courland and on their way back defeated the Livonian Order, killing 33 knights and many more low-rank soldiers.[3] In terms of knights killed, it was the eighth largest defeat of the Livonian Order in the 13th century.[4] This victory led to a Semigallian insurrection against the Livonian crusaders, which lasted from 1259 to 1272.

Background

In 1251,

truce.[7] The truce was supported by Riga merchants, who sought to increase wax and fur trade with the Samogitians.[8]

Battle

When the truce expired, Samogitians did not seek an extension, but once again organized a raid to Courland.[2] This raid might have been prompted by Mindaugas, who granted Samogitia in its entirety to the Order on 7 August 1259 while seeking allies against the Golden Horde that plundered Lithuanian lands in the winter of 1259.[3] However, the exact date or year of the battle is unknown. Historian Edvardas Gudavičius dated the battle late summer or early autumn 1258.[9]

While the Samogitians were plundering Courland, the knights from

Burchard von Hornhausen commanded the Knights. However, the Knights were careful to avoid an ambush while the Samogitians decided not to engage in a pitched battle.[11]

Aftermath

The battle inspired the Semigallians to rebel against the Order. The Knights, finding little success in an open battlefield turned to strategic warfare. They attacked Tērvete (Terwerten) hoping to turn the Semigallian outpost into a Teutonic castle.[12] When the attack failed, they built a fortress in nearby Dobele (Doblen) and Goergenburg (possibly present-day Jurbarkas) in Samogitia.[13] Both castles were soon attacked by the Semigallians and Samogitians. The following year, the Samogitians raided Courland again and provoked the Knights into the Battle of Durbe, where the Order suffered even greater defeat. After these disasters, it took some thirty years for the Livonian Order to restore its status and territory.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Skuodo mūšis: sukanka 750 metų". Vakarų ekspresas (in Lithuanian). 2009-07-17.
  2. ^ a b c d Urban, William. The Baltic Crusade, pp. 245–246.
  3. ^ a b Baranauskas, Tomas (2006-08-19). "Chronology. High Middle Ages: Part 2 (1183–1283)". Medieval Lithuania. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  4. Delfi.lt
    . Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  5. ISSN 1392-0677
    .
  6. ISBN 9986-810-13-2
    .
  7. ISBN 0-929700-10-4
    .
  8. LCCN 79346776
    .
  9. ISBN 9986-34-020-9
    .
  10. ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas. Mindaugas, p. 268
  11. ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas. Mindaugas, pp. 270–273
  12. ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas. Mindaugas, p. 274
  13. ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas. Mindaugas, pp. 275–276
  14. ^ Urban, William. The Baltic Crusade, p. 248.
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