Malbork treaty

This enabled the Teutonic Order to repel the Polish offensive on Malbork in January 1455, recapture Königsberg (Kaliningrad) along with Lower Prussia and Samland from the Prussian Confederation, and regain control of several fortresses from them.

The Taborites, emigrating from Czech lands after the victory of the Utraquists in the Hussite Wars for fear of reprisals, were the precursors of the tactics of fighting with the use of mercenary infantry.

[10] Deprived of income from the 56 Prussian towns, which rebelled against the Grand Master or were seized by the insurgents in the spring of 1454, the Order was unable to promptly settle its debts to the mercenaries.

The mercenaries confiscated silver and church jewels as well as food in the Teutonic capital to cover their debts, causing provisioning difficulties for Malbork, but they did not obtain satisfaction for most of their claims.

In the event of failure to meet the deadline, the Order was forced to hand over to the mercenaries all towns occupied by them, along with the population, and fortresses with the captives held there for ransom, with the right to sell them to satisfy their claims.

[18] Attempts to restore the authority of the Grand Master over Gdańsk, which repelled the Teutonic attack on 13 January 1455,[19] and Toruń, which suppressed the pro-Teutonic conspiracy of the burghers on 13 March 1455, failed.

[21] The loyalty of the port district of Kneiphof to the Prussian Confederation forced the Teutonic authorities to organize an expedition aimed at ultimately capturing Königsberg and reclaiming Lower Prussia and Sambia.

[24] On 23 April 1455, the Grand Master once again failed to meet the deadline for paying the Teutonic soldiers' wages, and as a result, the mutinous mercenaries under Czerwonka's command seized control of the fortresses in Malbork, Tczew, Sztum, Gniew, and Iława on 2 May 1455, forcibly asserting their rights as rulers.

[25][24] Von Erlichshausen could also not count on assistance from the uninvolved in the mortgage agreements Duke of Silesia, Balthasar of Żagań, who, on 16 June 1455, led his own mercenaries and garrisons from nearby fortresses, totaling 932 cavalrymen and 571 trabants, to leave Malbork and reinforce the siege of Kneiphof.

Due to the bankruptcy of both sides of the conflict and the repulsion of another expedition of the Polish mass mobilization in the fall of 1455,[18] the Czech and German commanders of the mercenaries, who had the greatest military strength in Prussia, became the masters of the situation and made extravagant demands.

[30] In June 1456, the leader of the mercenaries, Czerwonka, proposed to the Kingdom of Poland the sale of 21 fortresses in exchange for 463,794 florins, representing the overdue military pay and compensation for lost horses and weapons.

[33] On 16 August 1456, Czerwonka, on behalf of the garrisons of Malbork, Tczew, Iława, Chojnice, Czarne, and Debrzno, concluded a new treaty with the Prussian Confederation and the Kingdom of Poland regarding the sale of six fortresses.

[27] Under the modified treaty, which was agreed upon in the spring of 1457, the mercenaries sold the fortresses in Malbork, Tczew, and Iława to the Kingdom of Poland for a total amount of 190,000 florins.

[36] On 28 September 1457, due to betrayal from the pro-Teutonic faction in Malbork, led by Bartłomiej Blume, Teutonic forces took control of the city and began to assault the fortress, initiating the Siege of Marienburg.

[40] The sale of the fortress in Malbork by mercenary forces is mentioned in Stefan Żeromski's novel Wiatr od morza in the chapter Bitwa pod Świecinem, described as "treachery that struck the Order on the head".

The 19th-century painting, rendered in subdued colors, depicts a military clash between heavily armored cavalry and peasant infantry. From the left towards the center of the painting, mounted knights charge with lances lowered, but their attack breaks against a barricade made of wooden elements and difficult, rocky terrain. Defenders in light peasant tunics armed with swords, maces, and crossbows finish off the warriors falling from their horses. In the background, the attackers attempt to reach the less numerous defenders behind the wooden barricade.
The Czech units, relying on field fortifications, repelled the attack of mounted knights – the new infantry tactics revolutionized the ways of waging wars in the 15th century.
The fortress in Malbork at night. The unconquered capital of the Teutonic Order during the Thirteen Years' War was sold to Poland by German and Czech mercenaries.
The Teutonic Order's fortress in Malbork – the location of the signing of the guarantee agreement between the Grand Master and the mercenaries.
The Teutonic Order's fortifications in Malbork. The fortress acquired in 1457 by the Kingdom of Poland from the mercenaries remained until the end of the 16th century one of the three strongest fortresses in Poland.
The defensive walls of Tczew, one of the fortresses purchased by the Kingdom of Poland and the Prussian Confederation from the Teutonic mercenaries. Tczew remained in Polish hands until the end of the war.
Remains of the medieval city walls of Iława. The city, sold by mercenaries to the Kingdom of Poland along with Tczew and Malbork, returned to the control of the Teutonic Order in October 1457 due to the actions of the pro-Teutonic faction.