Tannenberg: Monk versus King

The 1410 battle at Tannenberg was a battle of significance and had been cast as a decisive battle, a nationalistic battle, a racial war and more by politicians, historians, nationalists, extremists and more.

The reality, as related in William Urban's 'The Teutonic Knights: A Military History', showed otherwise, it was a battle between competing powers and was rooted in the circumstances of that period. In less than a year after the battle, the new Hochmeister Heinrich von Plauen had taken command and held the Poles and Luthanuians at the siege at Marienburg, withstood the onslaught of Polish and Luthanuian forces in Prussia and retook most of what had been lost. The Teutonic Order was decapitated in terms of leadership and the treasury was soon to be depleted.

However, it was undoubtedly the beginning of the end for the Teutonic Order after 1410 due to a variety of socio-political factors. Europe had changed greatly and the military and economic balance were no longer in the favour of the Teutonic Order.

The Teutonic Order swiftly lost everything in the Thirteen Years War in Prussia just some decades later. Livonia was lost some decades after Prussia when the Order became an anachronism.