) , result = Teutonic victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 =

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

, combatant2 =

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

, commander1 =

Vytenis Vytenis ( be, Віцень, Vicień; pl, Witenes) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from c. 1295 to c. 1316. He became the first of the Gediminids, Gediminid dynasty to rule for a considerable amount of time. In the early 14th century his reputa ...

, commander2 =

Heinrich von Plötzke Heinrich von Plötzke ( 1264 – 27 July 1320 in Varniai, Medininkai, Lithuania) was an officer of the Teutonic Knights, Teutonic Order during the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Heinrich was the Komtur of Altenburg in 1286 and of Halle, Saxo ...

, strength1 = 4,000

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

warriors , strength2 = 80 or 150

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

;

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

militiamen (the number is unknown) , casualties1 = from 2,800 to 3,000 , casualties2 = 40 or 60 men in the first assault; total death toll is unknown The Battle of Wopławki or Woplauken was fought on 7 April 1311 in the area near the village of Woplauken (now the Polish village of Wopławki), north-east of

Kętrzyn Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; german: link=yes, Rastenburg ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Kętrzyn was previously in Olsztyn Voivodeship (197 ...

(former Rastenburg), as Belorusian historian Ruslan Gagua states i
''Annalistic Records on the Battle of Wopławki''
The battle definitely had become a major and significant one by medieval standards during the military confrontation of the

and the then

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, according t
''The Nature of the Conduct of Warfare in Prussian and Lithuanian Borderlands at the Turn of the 13th and 14th Centuries''
by Ruslan Gagua.

Historical background

Such major battles during the

Lithuanian Crusade The Lithuanian Crusade was a series of economic Christianity and colonialism, Christian colonization campaigns by the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order under the pretext of forcibly Christianization, Christianizing the pagan Grand Duchy of Li ...

were rare. As reported by

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

historia
Aleksiy Khoteev
i

military operations were generally confined to raids aimed at causing economic damage to the enemy as much as possible through the devastation of lands, seizure of property and taking local residents captive, as repeatedly attested and thoroughly reported in the Order's chronicles such as ''

Chronicon terrae Prussiae ''Chronicon terræ Prussiæ'' (Latin for "The Chronicle of the Prussian Land") is a chronicle of the Teutonic Knights, by Peter of Dusburg, finished in 1326. The manuscript is the first major chronicle of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and the Gra ...

'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for ''The Chronicle of the Prussian Land'') by

Peter of Dusburg Peter of Dusburg (german: Peter von Dusburg; la, Petrus de Dusburg; died after 1326), also known as Peter of Duisburg, was a Priest-Brother and chronicler of the Teutonic Knights. He is known for writing the ''Chronicon terrae Prussiae'', which des ...

, the eponymou
''The Chronicle of Prussia''
by

Nikolaus von Jeroschin Nikolaus von Jeroschin (c. 1290 – 1341) was a 14th-century German chronicler of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. Nikolaus joined the Teutonic Order as a chaplain of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights, during the time of Grand Master Gottf ...

an
''Chronica nova Prutenica''
(

for ''New Prussian Chronicle'') by

Wigand of Marburg Wigand of Marburg (german: Wigand von Marburg)Note that ''von Marburg'' is a purely descriptive title added to his original name of Wigand by later historians, rather than a proper surname. Also the ''von'' should not be confused with a preposition ...

Campaign and battle

On 3 April 1311, at the head of a force of 4,000 men (according to '' The Chronicle of the Prussian Land'' by

an
''The Chronicle of Prussia''
by

)

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

invaded

Warmia Warmia ( pl, Warmia; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian: ''Warńija''; lt, Varmė; Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia. Its historic capitals ...

, which was inhabited by baptized

Warmians Warmians (also ''Warmi'') were a Prussian tribe that lived in Warmia ( pl, Warmia, la, Varmia, german: Ermland, lt, Varmė), a territory which now mostly forms part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland, with a small northern portion l ...

and German immigrants. His army totally looted and destroyed the lands of Warmia, killing most of local

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and captured 1,200 people (according to Peter of Dusburg) or 1,300 (according to Nikolaus von Jeroschin). Vytenis decided to return through the lands of

Bartia The Bartians (also ''Barthi'', ''Barthoni'', ''Bartens'', or ''Barti'') were an Old Prussian tribe who were among the last natives following a pre-Christian religion before the Northern Crusades forced their conversion to Christianity at the cost ...

. On 6 April, having reached the area near Woklauken, the Lithuanian army set up a camp on the hill, encircling it with

abatis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...

. In the meantime, the Teutonic Order gathered an army under the command of Grosskomtur

and sent it to chase Vytenis. The army consisted of

numbering 80 according to Nikolaus von Jeroschin or 150 according to Peter of Dusburg. Reporting on the number of the Teutonic Knights themselves, however, neither Peter of Dusburg nor Nikolaus von Jeroschin provides any data on the number of Sariantbrothers, i.e. not knighted members of the Order, who used to make up the bulk of the Order’s army at the time (including

lances fournies The lance fournie (French: "equipped lance") was a medieval equivalent to the modern army squad that would have accompanied and supported a man-at-arms (a heavily armoured horseman popularly known as a "knight") in battle. These units formed compan ...

). Peter of Dusburg just confines his report to "many men," as well as Nikolaus von Jeroschin mentions "many other valiant heroes" and "many skilled and tested bold warriors." Another chronicler of the Order, Wigand of Marburg, provides in ''Chronica nova Prutenica'' the titles of the units led by Heinrich von Plötzke: the

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

of the

Commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

Ragnit Neman (russian: Не́ман; german: Ragnit; lt, Ragainė; pl, Ragneta), is a town and the administrative center of Nemansky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located in the historic region of Lithuania Minor, on the steep southern bank ...

, the Banner of the

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Insterburg Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a town in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, where it is the administrative center of ...

, the Banner of Saint George, the Banner of Saint Mary and the Banner of

Preußisch Holland Preußisch is the German language adjective for "Prussian". Preußisch may refer to: ;Places in Germany *Preußisch Oldendorf, town in North Rhine-Westphalia ;Places outside of Germany *Preußisch Eylau, now Bagrationovsk, Russia *Preußisch F ...

. Besides, according to Konrad Gesselen (who translated into

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

the aforementioned ''Chronica nova Prutenica''), a part of the army was composed of

militiamen. However, none of these authors provides the number of the not knighted crusaders or the Prussian militiamen. The vanguard led by

Komtur Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

of Christburg Günther von Arnstein was dispatched ahead. On 7 April, having reached Vytenis’ camp, the vanguard immediately attacked the

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

The first storming was successfully repulsed by the Lithuanians. Taking advantage of the camp’s location, showering the crusaders with arrows and javelins, the Lithuanians forced them to retreat. At that time the main part of the army led by von Plötzke had arrived and formed up for battle. Joined by the vanguard, the main body launched a new assault on the camp. This time, the Lithuanian warriors were unable to withstand the onslaught. Being overcome with panic, the Lithuanian fighters began to retreat in disorder, and then the battle turned into a mass slaughter. All the captured Christians were released, according to Nikolaus von Jeroschin.

Casualties

Lithuanian casualties

According to Nikolaus von Jeroschin, the crusaders captured 2,800 horses whose owners were killed in the camp, which in turn suggests that more than half of the Lithuanian riders were killed in pursuit. Another source�
''Canonici Sambiensis epitome gestorum Prussie''
��states that 3,000 Lithuanians were killed in this battle. As to Vitenus, he managed to survive together with the remnants of his army and reached his domain.

Crusaders casualties

According to Nikolaus von Jeroschin, "In the first assault the Christians lost 40 men," whereas Peter of Dusburg claims that 60 crusaders died in the first assault. Besides, there are no data of the crusaders’ total death toll.

Aftermath

The victory at Wopławki allowed the Teutonic Knights to gain a foothold on the border with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by building the castle of

Christmemel Christmemel (Latin: ''Christi Memela'', ''Kyrsmemel'', ''Kirsmomela'') was a frontier fortress (''Ordensburg'') of the Teutonic Knights on the banks of the Neman River. It was constructed of wood and earth between April 8 and 22, 1313, by Grand Mast ...

, as attested in the abovementioned chronicles both by Peter of Dusburg and Nikolaus von Jeroschin In 1315, Vytenis tried to capture Christmemel but did not succeed.''The Chronicle of Prussia''
by

, Lines 24,544–619; III, 324

References

Sources

Primary sources

''The Chronicle of Prussia''
by

''A History of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia 1190-1331: The Kronike Von Pruzinlant''
by

''Chronicon terrae Prussiae''
by

*
''Canonici Sambiensis epitome gestorum Prussie''

Secondary sources

* * * * {{cite web , url=https://rep.polessu.by/handle/123456789/16004 , title=Bitva pod Voplavkami: krakh antikrestovykh pokhodov velikogo knyazya litovskogo Vitenya , last=Gagua , first=R.B , website=Repozitoriy Polesskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta , trans-website=Palessie State University Repository , access-date=July 11, 2020 , language=Russian , trans-title=The Battle of Woplawki: the Fall of Anticrusaders Campaigns of Grand Duke of Lituania Vitenes Northern Crusades Teutonic Order Wars involving the Teutonic Order Wars involving the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Conflicts in 1311