Battle of Streva
Encyclopedia
Battle of Strėva, Strebe, or Strawe was fought on February 2, 1348 between the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

 and pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

 on the banks of the Strėva River
Streva River
Strėva River is a river in Trakai and Kaunas district municipalities, Lithuania. In 1348 Battle of Strėva between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights was fought on the frozen river. In 1962 the river was damed to create Elektrėnai Reservoir, the third-largest artificial lake in...

, a right tributary of the Neman River
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...

, near present-day Žiežmariai
Žiežmariai
Žiežmariai is a city in the Kaišiadorys district municipality, Lithuania. It is located south of Kaišiadorys.Žiežmariai has a rare, surviving wooden synagogue.-References:...

. Wigand of Marburg
Wigand of Marburg
Wigand of Marburg was a German herald of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia and one of the notable chroniclers of the Middle Ages.Wigand expanded upon the earlier work of Nikolaus von Jeroschin...

 publicized this battle as a great victory for the Knights: he claims that some 18,000 Lithuanians were killed or drowned while only 8 knights and 60 other soldiers died on the Knights' side. Narimantas and Manvydas
Manvydas
Manvydas or Monwid was the eldest son of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and inherited Kernavė and Slonim after his father's death in 1341. It is believed that he died in the Battle of Strėva in 1348.-References:...

, two sons of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, are thought to be killed in the battle. Because of the change in leadership (the Grand Master Heinrich Dusemer
Heinrich Dusemer
Heinrich Dusemer von Arfberg was the 21st Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1345 to 1351.Dusemer hailed from Swabia and joined the Teutonic Order in 1311. As a young knight he fought against the Lithuanians. Legend has it that he frequently would duel with Grand Duke Vytenis...

 was troubled by poor health and died in 1351) and spreading Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

, the Knights did not take full advantage of one of the biggest defeats of the Grand Duchy.

In 1347 the Teutonic Knights saw an influx of crusaders from France and England, where a truce was made during the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...

. Their expedition started in late January 1348 but due to bad weather bulk of the forces did not proceed further than Insterburg
Chernyakhovsk
Chernyakhovsk is a town and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Instruch and the Angrapa Rivers, forming the Pregolya...

. Small army led by Grand Commander and future Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode
Winrich von Kniprode
Winrich von Kniprode was the 22nd Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. He was the longest serving Grand Master, holding the position for 31 years ....

 invaded and pillaged central Lithuania for a week before being confronted by Lithuanian troops. The Knights were in a difficult position: they could cross the frozen Strėva River only a few men at a time and once major forces had crossed, remainder soldiers would be annihilated. Knights had limited supplies and could not wait. Lithuanians, led by Kęstutis
Kestutis
Kęstutis was monarch of medieval Lithuania. He was the Duke of Trakai and governed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1342–82, together with his brother Algirdas , and with his nephew Jogaila...

 or Narimantas, also had short supplies and decided to attack by hurling arrows and spears injuring a great number. However, at the critical moment crusaders counterattacked with their heavy cavalry and Lithuanians lost their formation
Tactical formation
A tactical formation is the arrangement or deployment of moving military forces such as infantry, cavalry, AFVs, military aircraft, or naval vessels...

. So many of them drowned in the river that Knights could cross it with "dry feet." This episode caused much criticism of the source: the Strėva River is shallow, especially during winter, and could not have caused such a massive drowning.

As a result of the defeat Lithuanians were weakened: the same year the Knights attacked and pillaged Šiauliai
Šiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...

 area without much of opposition and destroyed a castle in Veliuona
Veliuona
Veliuona is a small town on the Nemunas River in the Jurbarkas district municipality in Lithuania.Veliuona was first mentioned in 1291 in the chronicle of Peter of Duisburg....

. In the east Lithuania lost influence in Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...

 and Novgorod in 1348 and in Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...

 the following year. The Knights attributed the victory to the Virgin Mary and in her honor Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode established a Cistercian nunnery in Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...

.
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