Book: Great Battles of History 19 - Grunwald 1410

From TS:

This book is a rich source of information about the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, with maps, photos and information texts on 54 pages - a true treasure trove!

Excerpt from the book:

Von Jungingen faced the opportunity to divide the allied forces into installments, starting with the Lithuanian-Tatar forces, and then destroying subsequent Polish units heading to the battlefield. Today he is often accused of not using it, especially in Germany.

But let's not be so strict. Ulryk did not have a clear understanding of the situation - he knew that there was an enemy in the forest in the southeast: Tatars, Lithuanians and Poles, i.e. representatives of all allied nations - perhaps the entire army deployed to the fight? From this point of view, charging into the forest would be madness, especially since in such conditions it would be impossible to fully use the potential of heavy lance cavalry.

In such an attack, the enemy's own infantry would not be able to keep up and artillery would be unnecessary. In addition, in the morning the Teutonic army was probably busy moving frantically from the west to the south-east and tried - once again - to build fortifications, which it was unable to complete.

Viewed from the Grand Master's point of view, he even had to take into account a sudden attack by all allied forces along the entire length of the forest in the southeast. Therefore, he spread his entire cavalry along it, between Stębark and Łodwigów, which prudently kept behind the line of the Wielki Stream, which cuts through the Grunwald field.

Upon hearing that the enemy had been detected, Jagiełło pitched a tent on a hill above Lake Łubno, took part in two masses, knighted young noblemen, inspected the battlefield, and then... put on his armor, which in itself could have taken him 30 to 60 minutes, and later he found time to confess.