Battle of Grunwald
Events
in wich Poland was/is involved

Battle of Grunwald

The Battle of Grunwald (In German literature: the First Battle of Tannenberg) was fought on 15 July 1410. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław Jagiełło and Grand Duke Vytautas (Witold), decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. Most of the Teutonic Knights' leadership were killed or taken prisoner. But the Teutonic Knights withstood the siege on their fortress in Malbork and suffered only minimal territorial losses at the Peace of Toruń in 1411. However, the knights never recovered their former power. The battle shifted the balance of power in Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish–Lithuanian union as the dominant political and military force in the region. The battle was one of the largest battles in Medieval Europe.
The battle is often depicted by an ideogram of two swords, which were supposedly given to king Jagiello and Grand Duke Vytautas before the battle by the Teutonic envoys "to raise their desire for battle".

The Grunwald medal, with
its double swords

The Grunwald battlefield painted by Jan Matejko in 1878

More information

Polonica stamps:
Belarus 2010, 07 VI
Lithuania 1932, 01 XII
Lithuania 1993, 27 II
Lithuania 2004, 03 VII
Lithuania 2010, 03 VII
Spain 2007,
Ukraine 2005, 12 X