Tannenberg 1410: Disaster for the Teutonic Knights

Osprey Campaign #122

by Stephen Turnbull, Richard Hook (Illustrator)

By 1400 the long running conflict between the Order of Teutonic Knights and Poland and Lithuania was coming to a head, partly as a result of the Order's meddling in the internal politics of its neighbours. In June 1410 King Wladislaw Jagiello of Poland invaded the Order's territory with a powerful allied army including all the enemies of the Teutonic Knights – Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Bohemians, Hungarians, Tartars and Cossacks. This book recounts how, when the armies clashed on the wooded, rolling hills near the small village of Tannenberg, the Teutonic Knights suffered a disastrous defeat from which their Order never recovered.

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Poland, Military Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2003

About the author

Stephen Richard Turnbull is British a historian specializing in eastern military history, especially the samurai of Japan. His books are mainly on Japanese and Mongolian subjects. He attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds an MA in Theology, MA in Military History and a PhD from the University of Leeds where he is currently a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions. He has also written a number of books on other medieval topics. He is semi-retired but still holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan.

Reviews

[Peter Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at my parents' house which was an odd find as I'm pretty sure neither my mother or father were interested in medieval Eastern European military history. It was a very short but informative read with maybe as many pictures and maps as words. It seems like this was a big victory for the Polish state so maybe I can impress a Polish person sometime with my (very limited) knowledge of it.

[Matthew Dambro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Workman-like treatment of the Polish/German battle of 1410. Standard well written and documented history of one of the largest battles of the Middle Ages. Could have used more paintings of the participants.

[Brian Mikołajczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short history about the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in which the Polish-Lithuanian army defeated the Teutonic Knights and started the 50-year fall of the Teutonic State in Prussia.
A very good history!

[Shane Kiely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good overview of the battle itself while providing the historical context within which it took place. Includes a good minute by minute account of how the events of the battle went down which is often difficult with warfare of this era. Actually now tempted to explore this topic further.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-researched and very readable. Unfortunately, like a lot of history books, not all places mentioned in the text are shown on the accompanying maps.

[Dimitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of Japan, Turnbull stills knows how not to waste a single line.
Like a haiku, he's neither rushed nor bloated.
It's a Poland-Lithuania fix in the David Nicolle mold.