The Battle of Grunwald, also known as the Battle of Tannenberg or the Battle of Žalgiris, was fought on July 15, 1410, during the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War. The Alliance of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, headed by King Władysław II Jagiełło and Grand Duke Witold, respectively, defeated the German-Prussian Teutonic Knights under the leadership of Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. Most of the Teutonic leaders were killed or taken prisoner.
The Teutonic Knights, though defeated, survived the siege of their fortress in Marienburg (Malbork) and suffered minimal territorial losses in the Room of Thorns (1411) (Toruń). Other territorial disputes continued until the Melno Peace in 1422. Still, they will never regain their former power, and the financial burden of war reparations caused internal conflicts and economic downturn in the lands under their control.
The battle, with its lasting impact, shifted the balance of power in Central and Eastern Europe, marking the emergence of the Polish-Lithuanian Union as the dominant political and military force in the region. The battle was one of the largest in medieval Europe and is considered the most crucial victory in the history of Poland and Lithuania, widely celebrated in Belarus as well. It was used as a source of romantic legends and national pride, becoming a larger symbol of the fight against foreign invaders.
In the 20th century, the battle was used in Nazi and Soviet propaganda campaigns. It is only in recent decades that historians have moved towards a dispassionate, scientific assessment of the fight, reconciling previous narratives that varied considerably from one country to another. The Battle of Grunwald (Poland: The Battle of Grunwald) or the Battle of Zalgiris (Lithuanian: Žalgirio mūšis) or the First Battle of Tannenberg (English: Battle of Tannenberg) was a Teutonic battle by allies of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania.
The Teutonic Knights is a Polish film from 1960 directed by Alexander Ford based on the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz of the same name. The plot is set in Poland from the end of the 14th century to the beginning of the 15th century, focusing on the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War and the final battle of Grunwald. Fifteen thousand extras were used to create battle scenes. The film attracted crowds of cinema viewers and remains one of the most-watched films in Polish history, having sold 2 million tickets in a few months, 14 million after four years, and approximately 32.315 million tickets since its release in 1987. He was also exported to forty-six foreign countries and sold 29.6 million tickets in the Soviet Union and 2,650,700 in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It was a Polish submission for the 33rd Academy Awards. It was released on July 15, 1960, on the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald.
