Battle of Płowce

Battle of Płowce
Part of the Polish-Teutonic War (1326–1332)
Juliusz Kossak, Płowce
Date 27 September 1331 Location Płowce, Poland 52°36′56″N 18°38′38″E Result Teutonic Order victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Poland	Teutonic Order
Commanders and leaders
Władysław I the Elbow-high Casimir III of Poland	Heinrich Reuss von Plauen Otto von Lutterberg Otto von Bonsdorf Herman von Oppen
Strength
5,000	2,300, another 4,000 late stage of the battle.
Casualties and losses
1,900-2,100	2,200 - 2,400

The Battle of Płowce took place on 27 September 1331 between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order.

Background

The Teutonic plan was to support John of Bohemia in an invasion of Silesia. Władysław I the Elbow-high had claimed lordship over Silesia, but John believed that he had an equally valid claim to it. The Bohemian king marched in with an army and occupied Silesia. Luther von Braunschweig believed that Władysław would be so outraged by this move that he would muster all of the Polish forces to drive John out of Silesia, leaving the Germans free to invade Samogitia without Polish interference.

In order to increase the chances of John securing Silesia, Braunschweig aided the Bohemian army with his own forces and any other force that he could muster. A rather large army consisting of Bohemians, knights from the Teutonic order, rebel Polish noblemen who wished to make a stand against Władysław, mercenaries from the Holy Roman Empire and some English crusaders all set of for Poland. Władysław scrambled to assemble the Polish forces, along with soldiers from Lithuania and Hungary, into position. The elderly Władysław delegated a significant portion of the command to his son, Casimir III of Poland. Many of the Polish soldiers were not confident of Casimir's military capabilities, and large-scale desertions occurred when Władysław took measures to increased Casimir's authority. Casimir did not offer much resistance to the invasion of Poland by the Teutonic Order, and he was nearly captured by the Teutonic knights before narrowly escaping into a nearby forest.

Władysław led the remainder of the Polish forces south toward the Bohemian army. The Teutonic army reached Silesia successfully and met up with the Bohemians. Władysław determined that his forces were insufficient to repel the invaders, so John of Bohemia set himself up as the occupier of Silesia. John then set off to matters in Italy when there still was a pocket of resistance in Silesia. Well-fortified Polish castles in the region held out and little would be done to capture them. This led to Braunschweig to believe that Poland would still be a major threat and that his forces could not act as they wished in the Baltic region. Braunschweig sent word to John and wanted to start a second invasion of Poland, hoping that it would be more decisive than the previous invasion attempt.

Battle

The plan for the Teutonic army, led by Marshal Dietrich von Altenburg, was to pull back from Poland. Władysław I the Elbow-high, who by this time was suffering from poor health, led the Polish forces. Though his troops outnumbered the Teutons, they were not equipped as well as their enemy. The Polish king followed the Teutonic army and found an opportunity when Marshal Dietrich von Altenburg split his forces into three sections. Władysław decided to attack the weakest of these three sections, which had descended upon the small village of Płowce.

A heavy fog had descended over the area when Altenburg gathered his forces and divided them into five divisions. They Polish were also grouped into five divisions. A lengthy, hard-fought battle ensued that lasted from sunrise until 3:00 p.m. the same day. The armies were fairly evenly matched, and the deadlock was only broken when a horse carrying the marshal's banner was pierced by a spear and the Teutonic army saw the banner fall, assuming that their leader had fallen, and began to flee the battle.

The Polish forces took advantage of the fleeing Teutons and struck hard, turning the tide of the battle in their favor. By the end of the battle, Władysław and his son Casimir III of Poland had 56 Teutonic knights in their custody, along with Altenburg however Teutons managed to take back most of the captives.

An army of Teutonic knights was dispatched from Prussia to relieve the forces at Płowce and were fast approaching the battle. The exhausted Polish troops engaged in another hard-fought battle, continuing until nightfall, but the Polish forces were eventually crushed. Altenburg was released after he was found chained to a wagon. The marshal ordered that all Polish captives were to be executed.

Aftermath

Płowce memorial

The 600 Polish fighters that had been captured by the Teutonic forces were killed while still wearing their armor. Both Władysław and Casimir III managed to flee the battlefield. After the battle, 4,187 bodies were interred in mass graves.

The Battle of Plowce is commemorated on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw with the inscription "PLOWCE 27 IX 1331".