remaining pagans, the Sudovians, and their Lithuanian allies. Moreover, the Teutonic Knights had to fight alone. Ottokar of Bohemia was now fighting Rudolf von Habsburg for possession of Austria and the throne, and until the decisive battle in 1278 the king needed his supporters to provide all the military aid they could – Brandenburg, Bavaria, Cracow, Silesia, Thuringia and Meissen all sent knights to Bohemia. As a result, although all of these rulers were traditional allies of the Teutonic Order, often men who had been on crusade themselves, each was too deeply involved in the struggle for empire to send help to Prussia in this moment of direst need.
War along the Frontier
The Sudovians were not an easy enemy for the crusaders to fight. First of all, they were good warriors and fairly numerous; secondly, their lands lay far to the east, in the midst of seemingly impenetrable swamps and forests. It was easier to find a great aurochs, that huge ox-like beast already on the verge of extinction, than to locate Sudovians hiding in the woods. Nor was it much easier to spot a Sudovian raiding party before it struck without warning at isolated settlements and garrisons.
The first Sudovian attacks came even as the Nattangians and Bartians were surrendering. The Sudovians fell on the construction party that was rebuilding Bartenstein, a strategic point on the Alle River in central Bartia, and killed all the men there, then burned the uncompleted structure. That was a hard blow to the Teutonic Knights. Bartenstein was to be the anchor of their defensive line facing the wilderness. The Sudovians, led by an intrepid leader named Scumand, were then able to raid freely among the disorganised and defenceless tribes that had so recently been their allies.
By terrorising the Nattangians and Bartians, however, the Sudovians drove those tribes, willy-nilly, into the arms of the Teutonic Order. Much as those tribesmen may have sympathised with the Sudovians, they were unwilling to see their families perish in Scumand’s frightening raids. Without a castle base from which to operate, the Teutonic Knights could do little to help them; therefore, it was up to the natives to protect themselves. At first the warriors who had survived the insurrection lacked confidence and leadership, and until 1274 they did little but hide in their forts. Then a stout-hearted matron – a relative of Herkus Monte, the most famous leader of an earlier Prussian rebellion – began to berate her sons, accusing them of being unable either to defend themselves or their people. Stung by her accusations, they gathered the warriors from several forts and fought a pitched battle against the Sudovians, killing 2,000 of the raiders. This cleared the country of most of the border ruffians and made it possible for the Teutonic Knights to rebuild Bartenstein. When Prussian natives in their own self-interest brought their formidable military skills to the service of the Teutonic Knights the balance of power tipped in favour of the Christians. The episode also proves that the Nattangians had hardly been exterminated or even reduced hopelessly in numbers.
New leaders were now heading the military order, and with them came new strategies and new tactics. Grand Master Anno von Sangerhausen had gone from Prussia to the Holy Land in 1266 and remained there until the conclusion of peace with Sultan Baibars in 1272; then he had returned to Germany to recruit those crusaders from Thuringia and Meissen who brought the war in Nattangia to a conclusion; shortly after returning from Prussia to Germany again, he died. The grand chapter that met in July of 1273 chose as his successor Hartmann von Heldrungen, a man of advanced years who as a youth had known Grand Master Conrad, Duke of Thuringia, who had witnessed personally the union with the Swordbrothers, and who had visited Prussia in 1255. Following tradition, Grand Master Hartmann went to Italy and took ship for the Holy Land, where
War along the Frontier
The Sudovians were not an easy enemy for the crusaders to fight. First of all, they were good warriors and fairly numerous; secondly, their lands lay far to the east, in the midst of seemingly impenetrable swamps and forests. It was easier to find a great aurochs, that huge ox-like beast already on the verge of extinction, than to locate Sudovians hiding in the woods. Nor was it much easier to spot a Sudovian raiding party before it struck without warning at isolated settlements and garrisons.
The first Sudovian attacks came even as the Nattangians and Bartians were surrendering. The Sudovians fell on the construction party that was rebuilding Bartenstein, a strategic point on the Alle River in central Bartia, and killed all the men there, then burned the uncompleted structure. That was a hard blow to the Teutonic Knights. Bartenstein was to be the anchor of their defensive line facing the wilderness. The Sudovians, led by an intrepid leader named Scumand, were then able to raid freely among the disorganised and defenceless tribes that had so recently been their allies.
By terrorising the Nattangians and Bartians, however, the Sudovians drove those tribes, willy-nilly, into the arms of the Teutonic Order. Much as those tribesmen may have sympathised with the Sudovians, they were unwilling to see their families perish in Scumand’s frightening raids. Without a castle base from which to operate, the Teutonic Knights could do little to help them; therefore, it was up to the natives to protect themselves. At first the warriors who had survived the insurrection lacked confidence and leadership, and until 1274 they did little but hide in their forts. Then a stout-hearted matron – a relative of Herkus Monte, the most famous leader of an earlier Prussian rebellion – began to berate her sons, accusing them of being unable either to defend themselves or their people. Stung by her accusations, they gathered the warriors from several forts and fought a pitched battle against the Sudovians, killing 2,000 of the raiders. This cleared the country of most of the border ruffians and made it possible for the Teutonic Knights to rebuild Bartenstein. When Prussian natives in their own self-interest brought their formidable military skills to the service of the Teutonic Knights the balance of power tipped in favour of the Christians. The episode also proves that the Nattangians had hardly been exterminated or even reduced hopelessly in numbers.
New leaders were now heading the military order, and with them came new strategies and new tactics. Grand Master Anno von Sangerhausen had gone from Prussia to the Holy Land in 1266 and remained there until the conclusion of peace with Sultan Baibars in 1272; then he had returned to Germany to recruit those crusaders from Thuringia and Meissen who brought the war in Nattangia to a conclusion; shortly after returning from Prussia to Germany again, he died. The grand chapter that met in July of 1273 chose as his successor Hartmann von Heldrungen, a man of advanced years who as a youth had known Grand Master Conrad, Duke of Thuringia, who had witnessed personally the union with the Swordbrothers, and who had visited Prussia in 1255. Following tradition, Grand Master Hartmann went to Italy and took ship for the Holy Land, where
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