The joint Polish and Lithuanian forces, under command of King Władysław II Jagiełło and Grand Duke Vytautas, besieged the castle between 26 July and 19 September 1410 in a bid for complete conquest of Prussia after the great victory in the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg).

The victorious Polish and Lithuanian forces stayed on the battlefield for three days; during this time Heinrich von Plauen, Komtur of Schwetz (Świecie), organized defense of Marienburg.

[1] The allied forces moved slowly, averaging only about 15 km (9.3 mi) per day, giving time for von Plauen to organize the defense.

[2] The day before von Plauen ordered the town outside the Marienburg Castle to be burned, depriving allied soldiers of shelter and clearing the battlefield.

[2] They sent envoys to Sigismund of Hungary and Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, who provided a loan to hire mercenaries and promised to send Bohemian and Moravian reinforcements by the end of September.

[9] The besiegers expected capitulation and were not prepared for a long-term engagement, suffering from lack of ammunition, low morale, and an epidemic of dysentery.

By the end of October, only four Teutonic castles remained in Polish hands – border towns of Thorn (Toruń), Nessau (Nieszawa), Rehden (Radzyń Chełmiński) and Strasburg (Brodnica).