# Conquest of Dąbrów (1410)

The Conquest of Dąbrów - the battle of the Polish-Lithuanian army against the Teutonic State at Dąbrówno (German: Gilgenburg), fought on 13 July 1410.

## Battle

The Polish-Lithuanian army, in order to march towards the north as planned, had to cross the road and capture this town.In the Chronicle of the Conflict by an unknown author, it is written that King Jagiello ordered the city to be captured by ‘good people’. Jan Długosz, on the other hand, in his Books of the Famous Kingdom of Poland, claims that this happened without the king's order. The battle began in the evening of 13 July 1410 and lasted three hours. We know its detailed course thanks to the description in Długosz's book.
   Frycz's Lords of Hungary, Władysław, King of Poland, on St. Margaret's Day, after hearing Mass, broke camp near Działdów. Having sent forward, two hours earlier, war trains and wagons, he set off with his army towards the town of Dąbrowno, which was fortified by towers and surrounded by a lake, called Gilgenburg in German. Here he turned a little off the road, and on the plains, almost half a mile from Dąbrowno, by the lake, which they call Dąbrowski's lake, he put up his tents. The sun was blazing hot that day. When it cooled down a little towards evening, many knights from the royal camp rushed out to see the town of Dąbrowno and its location. But the garrison sent to this place, fearing a blow against the town, came out in arms against them, and soon a lively encounter took place; it grew into such a fierce battle that the Polish knights, having slain the enemy and forced them to retreat, when a larger number from the camps came running, themselves, without the king's order, rushed into the town and began to take it.
   The town was not only fortified by a high and thick wall, towers and entanglements, but also strong in its location: a large part of it was surrounded by a lake and was surrounded by swamps and rivers, so that only one way to get to it was by land, and that too was narrow and cramped and closed by a deep ditch. There was a great commotion in the royal camp, which King Władysław heard and ordered the Polish knights to withdraw from the town, fearing that they might suffer defeat during the recapture of the town and weaken their forces for the next battle. However, the eager youth, disregarding the king's bans, gathered in considerable numbers, rushed to the assault, as if the fates themselves had already set this assault on the city. But the town's garrison was not lazy in resisting, either, as they bravely defended the approach by beating their cannons and pounding the walls of the fortifications. When, however, the Polish knights were not few in number, they jumped into the lake, and having reached the walls, some of them tried to break into the town through breaches and undercuts, others with the aid of ladders. In a short while they took possession of the town, which was filled with many people of both sexes, rich in wealth and riches, collected over a long period of time in peace; into which, moreover, the nobility and people from several nearby districts had taken refuge with their estates. All this was seized by the victors. In addition, almost the entire royal army, enriched with the spoils of the said town, loaded their wagons with huge supplies of food. For it is difficult to say how rich the town was and how abundant in food. The spoils had not yet all been taken from it when it was finally set on fire. Many people who had taken refuge in the church died in the fire. Several thousand men of both sexes were taken to the royal camps and handed over to King Vladislav. A considerable number also fell by the sword, and apart from a few who made it to the lake in dugouts and boats, none escaped death or captivity. There was no regard for age there, nor any mercy: The Poles inflicted their harshness on them not by the law of war, but rather out of hatred towards the Teutonic Knights, and revenge for the ravaging of the Dobrinland.
   When Ulrich, the Prussian champion, heard from his spies that Wladislaus, the Polish king, had captured and burnt Dabrowno and was planning to march with his army towards Marienburg, he was greatly alarmed and decided not to delay the battle any longer and to lead all his forces into battle. He set off as quickly as possible to strike at the royal camps. All the knights and Teutonic knights alike were burning with anger in their hearts, considering the misery they had suffered, and feeling with humiliation that when they had conquered Pomerania, Kuyavia and Dobrzyń lands along with their castles and seized them under their rule, when they buried half of the Polish kingdom in ashes, now, in a reverse turn, they had to watch the devastation of Prussia, the conflagration and plunder of its cities and the close siege of Marienburg Castle.
Długosz wrote that the day after the battle, on 14 July, Jagiełło stayed in burnt Dąbrówno to collect the spoils and food buried in pits and cellars and to take care of the captives captured in the town. He detained brother-knights, noblemen and landowners and released all townsmen, country folk and women, regardless of condition and age. In addition, he recommended a guard over them to ensure that none of the knights released from captivity did any harm. In the evening, the king announced the march for the following day and ordered the knights to rest so that they would be ready to set off before dawn. On 15 July 1410, the Battle of Grunwald took place.