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Changes in the Organization and Tactics of the Lithuanian Army in the 13Th, 14Th and the First Half of the I5th Century

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Changes in the Organization and Tactics of the Lithuanian Army in the 13Th, 14Th and the First Half of the I5th Century FASCICULI ARCHAEOLOGIAE HISTORICAE, Fase. VII, PL ISSN 0860-0007 ALVYDAS NIKZENTAITIS CHANGES IN THE ORGANIZATION AND TACTICS OF THE LITHUANIAN ARMY IN THE 13TH, 14TH AND THE FIRST HALF OF THE I5TH CENTURY The Lithuanian army of the Middle Ages has not be- the armies of the Baltic tribes me concerned. In the pe- en systematically studied so far. Although a few mono- riod of "war democracy" the community of the Baits did graphs devoted to the Baits'1 arms and armour mid the not have any regular army despite small body-guard tro- army of the Lithuanian Republic" have already been ops belonging to the lords. The example of the Lithu- published, the history of the army of the Grand Duchy anian duke, Daumantas, shows that such an army of Lithuania has only been presented in few general ar- contingent consisted of over a dozen or even several ticles3. This situation has recently started to change4. hundred men5 (the Lithuanian State already existed at However, no fundamental monographs have appeared. that time). The Baits' armed forces did not constitute a Therefore the ideas presented in this paper should be permanent formation then. In the period preceding the treated as an introduction to broader elaborations mid appearance of the Lithuanian State the army used to be the conclusions may constitute a prelude to further inve- organized in case of an enemy's attack or before a big stigations. war expedition. Shortly after it, as soon as the menace The lack of thorough research on the medieval Lit- of the war had been over, the army was dismissed. The- huanian army is best manifested in the fact that the fun- refore, as a regular army did not exist, a coordination of damental question about the structure of this army and the army's activities can hardly be imagined. its transformations cannot be answered. Therefore the In the 13th century, before the emergence of the Lit- aim of this article is to determine the basic changes in huanian State, participation in military actions weighed the organization and tactics of the army. most heavily on the armies of particular tribes or pro- As no detailed archaeological research has been car- vinces. Bigger military expeditions orgmiized by the ried out, this paper is based on data coming from the united forces of several provinces were rare. Issues of historical sources exclusively. These sources allow us to strategy or tactics used to be solved during the expedi- divide the Middle Ages into three periods: tions. In this historical period the ravaging of neighbou- 1. From the beginning of the 13th century till the ring territories was the main aim of the Baits' army and first decades of the 14th century; after a successful expedition it was difficult to make the 2. From the beginning till the 80s and 90s of the army go into action again. 14th century; The situation was changed when the Lithuanian Sta- 3. Alter the 80s and 90s of the 14th century. te came into being, especially in the first years of its The remark found in archaeological literature about existence. Besides the armies of particular provinces, a the lack of any important differences between the milita- bigger state army appeared, which was in fact the sum ry sciences of the tribes living in the Baltic region in the of the provincial armies, at least in the first period of its 12th mid the 13th century appears to be crucial for char- functioning. The Grmid Duke of Lithuania could direct- acterizing the first period. It justifies the use of all mate- ly control the army of his own province only. The role rials referring to the Baits, while discussing the of this army was to coordinate the actions of the other Lithuanian army of the 13th century. On the basis of provinces the country consisted of. The provincial ar- data available for study the common duty of military mies enjoyed a considerable autonomy and were com- service (which means that every man was a potential manded by the tillers of the provinces. The civil war in warrior then) may be assumed to be the rule as far as all the middle of the 13th century seems to be the evidence of the Duke of Lithuania's victory over Vykintas, Taut- 'V. Kazakevicius. Oruzje. baltskich plemion na teritorii vila mid Gedvidas' army6. Litvy, Vilnius 1988. Generally, in the 13th century the ruler's role in the V. S t a t к u s, Lietuvos ginkluotosios pajegos, Chicago 1987. 3 A. A ś с i к. O szyku bojowym Bałtów, "Studia i materiały do army was a considerable one. He had the right to call up historii wojskowości", 1970, vol. 16, part 1. pp. 3-10. 4 R. В a t u r a, Lietuviskos taktikos reiksme Zalgirio muyje, 5 Polnoe sobranie russkich lelopisei, 1841, vol. 3, p. 58. "Mokslas ir gyvenimas", 1990. No. 7. pp. 4-6; Lietuviu karaś su 0 More information about the Civil War in Lithuania in: E. G u- kiyźiuociais, Vilnius 1964, pp. 84-109. d a v i с i u s, KiyzJaus karai Pabaltijyje ir Lietuva XIII amźiuje, 1989, pp. 92-110. http://rcin.org.pl 46 ALVYDAS NIKŹENTAITIS the army and suggest where the castles were to be erec- As the priority of the infantry in the communities of ted7; his death or injury resulted in the cease of all mili- both the Baits and the Lithuanians in the 13th century tary actions8. On the other hand, however, before the has been acknowledged, the coordination of actions of emergence of the State, in the community of the Baits, the cavalry and the infantry on battlefield should subse- the ruler received an unlimited power as a result of the quently be analysed. There me numerous written sources election held by the council of the tribe's potentates. providing information relevant to this topic. Two episo- Subsequently, he had to prove his valour in battle9. He des from the middle of the 13th century may be selected was obliged to take an active part in military activities. here. The activities of the Prussian army commmided by Therefore, a potentate or a duke who aspired to leaders- Henricus Monte in the last stage of the battle described hip, should not only be of noble birth but prove to be an by Peter of Dusburg me recounted in the first of these excellent warrior, too. It was only during military expe- episodes. When the army of the Teutonic Knights was ditions that the ruler was granted wide authority. In case retreating from battlefield, Henricus Monte caught one of capitulation, for example, the ruler had to recover his 15 of the knights and killed him with a spear . The battle own castle by attacking it assisted by the Teutonic of Karusa of 1270 is the second episode that may be Knights10. quoted here. The author of the Livonian Rhymed Chro- In Samogitia the custom of electing the ruler is still nicle points out that the Lithuanians travelled to Estonia recorded in the middle of the 13th century. The last on sleighs16. From the above episodes it appears that in election of 1259 A.D. was held before the greatest battle the 13th century Lithuanian mmy horses served as a me- of the 13th century in the Baltic region, namely the bat- 11 ans of transport exclusively and were not used in battle. tle of Durbe in 1260 A.D. This custom preserved in Thus the question mises of whether we me allowed to the Samogitian community may be considered anachro- draw conclusions based on two short mentions only. nistic, as in the contemporary Lithuanian State different Sources offering contrary information can also be found. rules had already been established. The State authority One of the numerous battles fought between the Lithua- as well as the status of commander-in-chief of the nians mid the Teutonic Knights is described by Henry of grand-ducal army became hereditary. Livonia. In his account the role of the Lithuanian caval- In the period of "war democracy" the armies of the ry is stressed and the fact that it was the Lithuanian ca- Baltic tribes used to be very big. According to the chro- 17 nicle writer Peter of Dusburg, the army of Sambia con- valry that dispersed the Teutonic Knights' battle array sisted of 4000 mounted warriors and 40000 infantry is mentioned. Henry of Livonia's account appears to be 12 inconsistent. The details connected with the last and the warriors . It may be risky to consider these numbers as most interesting for us stage of the battle me missing accurate mid precise; they may, however, be important if and the question about the author of the ultimate defeat one wmits to estimate the general numerical force of mi of the Teutonic Knights cannot be answered. Therefore anil у (big, medium, small). The evidence provided by we do not know whether the decisive victory was won the Teutonic Knights' chronicle writer appears to be ex- by the cavalry or the infantry. The actual battle situation tremely helpful in researching the structure of the Baits' seems to speak in favour of the infantry. The Teutonic army. It should be pointed out that the above quoted Knights carefully prepared themselves for the fight mid relation: 1 mounted warrior to 10 infantry ones is quite were reinforced by mi auxilimy mmy composed of war- probable. It has already been pointed out by E. Guda- riors from the Baltic tribes. The Lithuanian mmy must viius that a 13th century mounted warrior may be consi- have also been numerous.
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