Foes of the Tutonic knights

[ciaphas]

Hi, whilst clearing out i found an old Tutonic knight army (10mm) that was built to play WAB on the cheap, as it is not a period that holds much interest.  it is painted and finished i have stopped attending the club where i was intending to use the force, but now i have found it again i would like to use it, if i recall it was around 1500-2000 pts.

so to get to my question what armies can i run against it, i have the "armies of chivalry" book and the only option there is Poles and or lithuanians, so what i am looking for is for someone to point me in the right direction as to what other options are open if any, and what figures i can use to buiild either a polish force or this new force if any are available.

i know that that is a little convoluted but i hope it conveys my question, if not feel free to ask and i will clarify.

jon

[Fenton]

Mongols...Well Russian Teutonic knights I think fought the Mongols didnt they?

[Ithoriel]

Not as far as I know Fenton.

As well as fighting in the Holy Land they fought the Prussians, the Poles, the Lithuanians, the Rus of the Novgorod Republic,the Kipchacks and the Victual Brothers pirates. They probably fought others I've forgotten!

The most significant battle they fought, as far as I remember, was Tannenberg, where they lost to a Polish-Lithuanian coalition.

I have fond memories of a DBA campaign set in the period of their conquests of Prussia and Lithuania and played with lots of 6mm figures on 25mm scale bases.

[Fenton]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Legnica..  know nothing of the period..i am presuming this is correct

[OldenBUA]

For what it's worth, the lists in the DBA book mention the Early/late Polish, Early/late Russian, various Baltic armies (Lithuanian/Samogitian/Estonian/Prussian), the Mongols and Scandinavans.

[Ithoriel]

My understanding, mentioned in the Wikipedia entry, was that the Teutonic Knights weren't present but were added to the account of the battle later - perhaps because the Hospitallers and Templars were there. If any Teutonic Knights were present it looks likely that they were very few in numbers. As a "what if" scenario however, Mongols would be a plausible opponent ... and the new figures deserve to be fielded at every opportunity

[Subedai]

From my research, the majority of information we have on Liegnitz has come from a Polish historian by the name of Jan Dlugosz and was written a couple of centuries after the battle. Some of it ties in with what we now know but other parts are questionable. It is now thought that the Teutonic presence was added after Dlugosz wrote his book because Poppo von Osterna (1222-1256/57) DID visit Liegnitz but some years after the battle to visit the grave of his wife. He did die in the area but not at the battle. And, apparently, there is no mention of any casualties for the Order at that time or place, not least that of the Grand Master of the Order. He may have been there but his knights weren't.   

This link gives a transaltion of the salient bits of the battle
http://bluedragon.mordy.pl/pliki/publikacje/dlugosz.pdf

[Hertsblue]

They were, of course, present at the Battle of Lake Peipus (The Battle on the Ice) against Alexander Nevski. About 150 years before Tannenberg, of course.

[DanJ]

Hi,

Try this book for infomation The Northern Crusades by Eric Christiansen

Dan