Poland’s 1331 Battle of Płowce: The Truth Behind the Myth

The news in Polish

1. bitwa  (f.)
   Walka zbrojna między dwoma lub więcej stronami. ↩︎
2. odkryć
   Znaleźć coś nowego lub nieznanego wcześniej. ↩︎
3. odbyć się
   Mieć miejsce, wydarzyć się w określonym czasie lub miejscu. ↩︎
4. pokonać
   Zwyciężyć kogoś w walce lub rywalizacji. ↩︎
5. Krzyżak  (m.)
   Członek zakonu rycerskiego Krzyżaków, działającego w średniowieczu. ↩︎
6. nieprawda  (f.)
   Coś, co jest fałszywe lub niezgodne z rzeczywistością. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Where did Professor Jurek discover the real battle took place?

Question 2: What happened in the afternoon during the Battle of Płowce?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
bitwa  (f.)	battle
odkryć	to discover
odbyć się	to take place
pokonać	to defeat
Krzyżak  (m.)	Teutonic Knight
nieprawda  (f.)	untruth

Read the full story

For centuries, the Battle of Płowce has been celebrated in Poland as a triumphant victory over the Teutonic Knights. Now, research by Professor Tomasz Jurek of the Institute of History at the Polish Academy of Sciences is challenging that long-held belief — and the findings may surprise many Poles.

According to Prof. Jurek, the true location of the decisive morning engagement on 27 September 1331 was not Płowce itself, but a site he calls Radziejowskie Pole — near the town of Radziejów, several kilometres away. That morning, a roughly 7,000-strong Teutonic army had split into two groups after spending the night in Radziejów. The larger force, led by commander Otto von Lutterberg, marched towards Płowce and on to Brześć Kujawski. The smaller group, under Grand Marshal Dietrich von Altenburg, remained to prepare supplies.

It was this smaller force that King Władysław Łokietek’s army — numbering around 4,000 — encountered in thick fog at approximately 9 o’clock in the morning. “Such a fog arose that one could barely see or recognise the other,” the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order later wrote. The Polish battle cry “Kraków!” rang out as knights under Wincenty z Szamotuł launched the first attack. The fighting was ferocious, and the outnumbered Teutonic force eventually collapsed after the standard-bearer’s horse was struck by an arrow, causing the Order’s great banner to disappear from view. Fifty-six Teutonic brothers were killed, along with several commanders.

However, the day did not end with Polish victory. Between 10 and 11 o’clock, the main Teutonic force turned back on hearing news of the battle. By midday it clashed with Łokietek’s troops near Płowce itself. The fighting was chaotic. Although the Poles initially captured some Teutonic commanders, the knights eventually pushed the Polish forces back into retreat — among those who fled was Crown Prince Kazimierz.

The Grand Master recorded that “the whole field was covered with corpses,” while the Olivian chronicler wrote that “the king fled with his army.” Bishop Maciej of Włocławek counted 4,187 dead from both sides on the battlefield, with Teutonic losses slightly higher. Of the roughly 200 Teutonic brothers who took part, 73 were killed.

Yet despite their overall victory, the Teutonic Knights retreated towards Toruń immediately afterwards and their own chroniclers paid little attention to the engagement. As Prof. Jurek explains, “Waging war against Christian Poland was somewhat shameful for the Teutonic Knights. It was not something they particularly wanted to boast about.”

Meanwhile, Polish propagandists had been busy. The myth of a great Polish triumph was spread across Europe, claiming 20,000 enemies had been slain at minimal Polish cost. Prof. Jurek notes that historians have long known the battle was in fact lost, “but nobody wanted to say so openly.”