Battle of Skuodas
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| Battle of Skuodas | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Northern Crusades | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Samogitians | Livonian Order | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Unknown | Burchard von Hornhausen | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 33 knights killed | ||||||
The Battle of Skuodas or Schoden was a medieval battle fought in 1259 near Skuodas in present-day Lithuania during the Northern Crusades. The Samogitian army of 3,000 invaded Courland and on their way back defeated the Livonian Order, killing 33 knights and many more low-rank soldiers.[1] In terms of knights killed, it was the eighth largest defeat of the Livonian Order in the 13th century.[2] This victory led to a Semigallian insurrection against the Livonian crusaders, which lasted from 1259 to 1272.
In 1251 the Mindaugas, pagan Grand Duke of Lithuania, concluded a peace treaty with the Livonian Order: he was to be baptized and crowned as King of Lithuania in return for portions of Samogitia, Nadruva, and Dainava.[3] Mindaugas was crowned on July 6, 1253 and the promised lands were transferred to the Order. The Order built a castle at Memelburg (Klaipėda) on the border with Samogitia to serve as the basis for further expansion. After Samogitians unsuccessfully attacked the new castle, their nobles formed a military coalition, elected Algminas as their leader, and organized offensive raids to Courland.[4] However in 1257 a Samogitian envoy in Riga requested a two-year truce.[5] Hopes were that the truce would be extended, but Samogitians once again organized a raid to Courland.[6] This raid might have been prompted by Mindaugas, who granted Samogitia in its entirety to the Order on August 7, 1259 while seeking allies against the Golden Horde who plundered Lithuanian lands in the winter of 1259.[1] On their way back from Courland Samogitians were challenged by the Order near Skuodas and won a decisive victory.
The victory inspired Samogitians and in the following months there were few small clashes with the knights. Semigallians rebelled against the Order. The following year, at the Battle of Durbe, the Order suffered even greater defeat. After these disasters, it took some thirty years for the Livonian Order to restore its status and territory.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Baranauskas, Tomas (2006-08-19). Chronology. High Middle Ages: Part 2 (1183-1283). Medieval Lithuania.
- ^ (Lithuanian) Baranauskas, Tomas (2006-09-22). Ar priminsime Europai apie Šiaulių mūšį?. Delfi.lt. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ (Lithuanian) Baranauskas, Tomas (March 23, 2003). "Mindaugo karūnavimo ir Lietuvos karalystės problemos". Voruta 6 (504). ISSN 1392-0677.
- ^ Kiaupa, Zigmantas; Jūratė Kiaupienė, Albinas Kunevičius [1995] (2000). "Establishment of the State", The History of Lithuania Before 1795, English, Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of History, 63-64. ISBN 9986-810-13-2.
- ^ Urban, William (1994). The Baltic Crusade, 2nd ed., Chicago, Illinois: Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, 241. ISBN 0-929700-10-4.
- ^ Urban, William. The Baltic Crusade, 245-246.
- ^ Urban, William. The Baltic Crusade, 248.
