It has been said that Jagiełło made a big mistake by not capturing Malbork after his 1410 victory over the Teutons at Grunwald. However, some say this was by design. To overthrow the Teutonic state would have removed the pretext for Polish-Liithuanian alliance. If Lithuania, which wasbigger territorially than Poland at that time, had gone it alone, the Polish Comonwealth might have never come to pass. Who is right?
Jagiełło's blunder or design?
It was a mistake from Jagiello not capturing Malbork in 1410. The alliance between Poland and Lithuania was established for good in 1569, and in 1410 Jagiello was already a widower since Jadwiga died in 1399. There was not any connection between both countries anyway, and it was the only time when the Teuton issue might have been resolved for good saving Poland many problems in the future.
Mr Grunwald 33 | 2133
5 Apr 2010 / #3
the Polish Comonwealth might have never come to pass. Who is right?
I think that certain problems arrived and those important Lithuanians knew that being together with Poland vs anyone wanting to conquer their territory would been better then alone vs those enemies + maybe Poland.
It's simple math really, later on the idea of noble democracy was very tempting don't you think? :)
I wonder whether Jagiełło might not have wanted the continued existence of the Teutonic state for its high productivity, development and potential tax revenues. However, if he could have possibly envisaged the headaches a Germanic enclave would pose in future(base of expnasion, the partitions, 1939 atack base, etc.), he would have moved in and finished the job, raising the Polish flag over Marienburg (Malbork) castle. Without Ostpreßen, WW2 might have never come to pass or would have unfolded quite differently.
Bratwurst Boy 8 | 11831
5 Apr 2010 / #5
Without Ostpreßen, WW2 might have never come to pass or would have unfolded quite differently.
Only when you believe Hitler...with hindsight I now doubt Hitler ever wanted/could stop with Ost Preussen. And as he was a child of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles, not of the Teutonic Order you might cut Jagiełło some slack here...
To overthrow the Teutonic state would have removed the pretext for Polish-Liithuanian alliance. If Lithuania, which wasbigger territorially than Poland at that time, had gone it alone, the Polish Comonwealth might have never come to pass. Who is right?
Lithuania was technologically two hundred years behind Poland and the Teutons and it had less than 1/10th population of Poland, there was a very real threat that Poles might end up being a new teutonic order for Lithuanians, the continued existence of the TO was required for the alliance not to turn on Lithuania.