Prussian uprisings

The crusading military order, supported by the Popes and Christian Europe, sought to conquer and convert the pagan Prussians.

In the first ten years of the crusade, five of the seven major Prussian clans fell under the control of the less numerous Teutonic Knights.

Reinforcements for the Knights were slow to arrive, despite repeated encouragements from Pope Urban IV, and the position of the Order looked set to worsen.

The last uprising in 1295 effectively ended the Prussian Crusade, and Prussia became a Christian territory with a number of settlers from different German states.

Although the Prussians repelled early incursions by the Order of Dobrzyń, they were outnumbered by attacks from Poland, Ruthenians in the southeast and the Teutonic Knights from the west.

Their first task was to build a base on the left bank of Vistula at Vogelsang, opposite of Toruń (Thorn), which was completed a year later.

[4] Led by Hermann Balk, the Knights did not repeat the mistakes of the previous Order and did not push eastwards into the forest of the interior.

[5] They would further build fortified log (later brick and stone) castles along major rivers and the Vistula Lagoon to serve as basis for future expansion.

Heavily armoured knights could not travel and fight on land soaked by water from melting snow or autumn rains.

They point out that the historical information came from documents written by the Teutonic Knights and must have been ideologically charged to persuade the Pope to declare a crusade not only against the pagan Prussians but also against the Christian duke.

[1] Prussians besieged Teutonic castles and managed to capture all except for Elbing (Elbląg) and Balga in the eastern regions of Natangia, Barta and Warmia; Thorn (Toruń), Culm (Chełmno), and Rehden (Radzyń Chełmiński) in the western parts.

[10] In the summer of 1243, Prussians with Sudovian help raided the Culmerland (Chełmno Land) and, on their way back, defeated the pursuing Teutonic Knights on 15 June on the banks of the Osa River.

[11] On Christmas Eve of 1247 the Knights besieged and overwhelmed a major Pomeranian fortress, which they later renamed Christburg (Dzierzgoń), and newly arrived Henry III, Margrave of Meissen subdued the Pogesanians.

It was triggered by the Lithuanian and Samogitian military victory against the joint forces of the Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Durbe.

As the uprising was spreading through Prussian lands, each clan chose a leader: the Sambians were led by Glande, the Natangians by Herkus Monte, the Bartians by Diwanus, the Warmians by Glappe, the Pogesanians by Auktume.

The Teutonic Knights could not raise large armies to deliver supplies to the starving garrisons and smaller castles began to fall.

[22] On 29 August 1261 Jacob of Liège, who negotiated the Treaty of Christburg after the first uprising, was elected as Pope Urban IV.

[24] However, the reinforcements were slow to come as dukes of Poland and Germany were preoccupied with their own disputes and the Livonian Order was fighting the Semigallian uprising.

[25] The first reinforcement to the Teutonic forces arrived in early 1261, but was wiped out on 21 January 1261 by Herkus Monte in the Battle of Pokarwis.

[5] In January 1262 reinforcements arrived from the Rhineland, led by Wilhelm VII, Duke of Jülich, who was obliged by Pope Alexander IV to fulfil his crusader duties in Prussia.

Herkus was later injured and the Natangians retreated, leaving the Sambians unable to stop supplies reaching the castle and the siege eventually failed.

In summer of 1262 Treniota and Shvarn attacked Masovia, killing Duke Siemowit I, and raided Culmerland, provoking Pogesanians to join the uprising.

The year of 1265 was the turning point in the uprising: more substantial reinforcements for the Teutonic Knights started arriving in Prussia[11] and Sambia abandoned the fight.

His large army was unable to campaign due to an early thaw: heavily armed knights could hardly fight during the wet and swampy spring season.

This was a positional warfare where neither side could defeat the other, but the Teutonic Knights relied on future reinforcements from Germany and Europe, while Prussians were draining their local resources.

The Natangians had to watch for attacks from Balga, Brandenburg, Wehlau, and Königsberg while the Warmians were threatened by garrisons at Christburg and Elbing.

[43] The last Prussian leader, Glappe of Warmians, was hanged when his siege campaign on Brandenburg (now Ushakovo) was attacked from the rear.

In 1274 the Knights made a great expedition to avenge this raid, capturing the rebel headquarters at Heilsberg (Lidzbark Warmiński) and ending the uprising.

[30] The uprising failed to spread after Theodoric, vogt of Sambia, convinced the Sambians not to join the insurrection; Natangians and Warmians had also accepted baptism and promised their loyalty to the Knights.

[5] The last two Prussian attempts to rid itself of the Teutonic rule were made relying on the foreign powers who were enemies of the Knights.