The siege of Głogów or Defense of Głogów (german: Schlacht bei Glogau, pl, Obrona Głogowa) was fought on 24 August 1109 at the
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
n town of
Głogów
Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–199 ...
, between the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. Recorded by the medieval chronicler
Gallus Anonymus
''Gallus Anonymus'' ( Polonized variant: ''Gall '') is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in Latin between 1112 and 1118.
''Gallus'' is generally rega ...
, it is one of the most well known battles in
Polish history
The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political l ...
. The Polish forces were led by Duke
Bolesław III Wrymouth
Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between ...
, while the Imperial forces were under the command of King
Henry V of Germany. Bolesław was victorious.
Prelude
After a long-term rivalry within the ruling
Piast dynasty, Bolesław III, in 1107, had finally expelled his elder half-brother and co-ruler Duke
Zbigniew
Zbigniew () is a Polish masculine given name, originally Zbygniew . This West Slavic name is derived from the Polish elements ''Zby-'' (from ''zbyć, zbyć się, or pozbyć się'', meaning "to dispel", "to get rid of") and ''gniew'', meaning "ang ...
from Poland. Zbigniew fled to the Holy Roman Empire where he sought help from King Henry V. The King, however, did not take action as he was stuck in an inner-
Hungarian rivalry, supporting the
Árpád
Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or '' kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' g ...
Prince
Álmos
Álmos (), also Almos or Almus (c. 820 – c. 895), was—according to the uniform account of Hungarian chronicles—the first head of the "loose federation" of the Hungarian tribes from around 850. Whether he was the sacred ruler (''kende'') of ...
against his brother King
Coloman, and had started an armed expedition to
Bratislava (Pozsony).
Henry tangled with Bolesław when the Polish duke, loyal to King Coloman, took the occasion to campaign in the
Bohemian lands in 1108: as soon as the Bohemian Duke
Svatopluk heard of the invasion, he left the Imperial army to oust the Polish troops. Left alone, King Henry was forced to abandon his Hungarian campaign.
Chafing under this defeat, Henry finally associated himself with Zbigniew and requested Bolesław to reinstate his half-brother as co-ruler, as well as to pay an annual tribute to the Empire. The Polish Duke categorically rejected both demands. The next year, the German forces gathered at
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
, crossed the Polish border near
Krosno
Krosno (in full ''The Royal Free City of Krosno'', pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Krosno) is a historical town and county in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. The estimated population of the town is 47,140 inhabitants as of ...
on the
Bóbr
Bóbr ( cs, Bobr, german: Bober, ) is a river which carries water through the north of the Czech Republic and the southwest of Poland, a left tributary of the Oder.
Course
The Bóbr has a length of (3 in Czech Republic, 276 in Poland, 10th ...
River, and on
St. Bartholomew's Day approached the fortified town of Głogów (Svatopluk's troops arrived in September). At first they defeated a Polish garrison which was stationed near the town, while Bolesław rushed from his battle against the
Pomeranians at
Nakło.
Siege
According to Gallus' ''
Gesta principum Polonorum'', King Henry resorted to lay siege to Głogów but granted its citizens a five-day ceasefire to ask their King for permission to surrender. He allegedly even made the townsmen give up their children as hostages as a guarantee of the ceasefire, and promised to give them back alive no matter what Bolesław's answer would be.
The Polish Duke, however, had no intention to hand over the city, and ordered the defense of Głogów. After the five days were up, King Henry began to barrage the town. Breaking his promise, he chained the child hostages to his siege engines, hoping that the people of Głogów would not shoot their own offspring, which would allow him to conquer the Polish settlement.
However, Gallus stated that his cruelty towards children only strengthened the resolve of Głogów's defenders. Several harsh attacks by the Imperial army were repulsed, while Henry suffered significant losses by Polish
guerilla
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run t ...
fighters. After many days of unsuccessful fighting, the King was forced to abandon the siege and march south.
Aftermath
King Henry's campaign turned out to be a complete failure, when it ended in Bolesław's final victory at the
Battle of Hundsfeld (''Psie Pole'').
Duke Svatopluk was assassinated - probably by Bohemian
Vršovci
The Vršovci (also Vrshovici; singular: Vršovec) were a Czech noble family in the Duchy of Bohemia.
History
In Bohemia
First noted in the power struggles of the 10th–12th centuries in Bohemia. The Vršovci were the third most powerful politi ...
liensmen - still at the Głogów camp on September 21. His successor,
Vladislaus, reconciled with Bolesław, whereafter Zbigniew was able to return to Poland in 1111, only to be arrested and blinded by his half-brother shortly afterwards. Bolesław's position towards the Empire was strengthened, and in the following years he was able to consolidate his rule in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
and
Lubusz Land
Lubusz Land ( pl, Ziemia lubuska; german: Land Lebus) is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany on both sides of the Oder river.
Originally the settlement area of the Lechites, the swampy area was located east of Branden ...
. It was not until 1157, when Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa in aid of the
Silesian Duke
Władysław II the Exile launched a successful campaign to the Polish lands.
After centuries-long ambivalent
relations with Germany, the successful defense and the tradition of Henry's cruelty had evolved to a key element in the memory of the Polish nation. A first memorial stone was erected by the Głogów citizens on the occasion of the 850th anniversary of the battle in 1959. On 1 September 1979 a large
Socialist Realistic memorial to the Głogów children was inaugurated to commemorate not only the 870th anniversary but also the 40th memorial day of the German
Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
.
The Battle of Głogów is commemorated on the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ( pl, Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected af ...
, with the inscription "GLOGOW 1109".
References
External links
Battle of Głogów
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Glogow
1109 in Europe
12th century in Poland
History of Silesia
Glogow
Glogow
Glogow
1100s in the Holy Roman Empire
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor