(^98) JOGALIA
in huge six-horse wagons, which could keep on the move over vast distances or
which could be chained together and formed square to make an instant fortress
anywhere in the wilderness. A Polish Tabor besieged by twenty or thirty
thousand Tartars must have closely resembled the overland trains of American
pioneers attacked by Red Indians in the West. Tarnowski also developed the
headquarters services of a modern army; horse-artillery; field hospitals provided
at royal cost; the corps of Szancknechte (sappers); the Probantmaster's logistical
department; the 'Herman's Articles' or code of discipline; the system of courts
martial; and the corps of army chaplains. His practical experiences were sum-
marized in a theoretical book, Consilium Rationis Bellicae (An Outline of
Military Method), published in 1558. His watchword was 'Know your adver-
sary'; and he preached the doctrine of flexibility.
The centrepiece of the struggle with the Teutonic Order was contested near
the village of Grunwald in Prussia, on 15 July 1410. Five days before the end of
the previous truce, Wladyslaw-Jagiello and his Chief-of-staff, Zyndram z
Maszkowic, had crossed the Vistula near Czerwinsk on a bridge of pontoons,
secretly prepared. They were joined by Witold with the host of the Grand
Duchy, by a Bohemian detachment under Zyzka, and by a contingent of Polish
knights under Zawisza Czarny z Garbowa, the Black Knight. The Grand
Master, Ulrich von Jungingen, expecting an attack on the district of Dobrzyn,
was taken by surprise and was forced to ride swiftly to the north to bar the road
to the Marienburg. Some 27,000 knights including many foreign guests were
supported by mortars, and faced a motley collection of some 39,000 Poles,
Czechs, Lithuanians, Samogitians, Ruthenians, Tartars, and Wallachians. By
the end of the day, almost half of the Teutonic Knights were dead. The Grand
Master was slain. Fourteen thousand prisoners were taken for ransom. The
Teutonic camp was captured, and with it a score of carts loaded with iron
shackles intended for the Polish captives, who had now turned captor.
Wladyslaw-Jagiello, resplendent in his silver armour on the crest of a hillock,
received the standard of the Prussian Bishop of Pomerania, and sent it as a tro-
phy to Cracow. With it, he dispatched a letter to his second wife, Anna of Cilli,
describing the events of the day:
Most serene, excellent, Princess, dearest Spouse! On Tuesday, the Feast of the Apostles,
the Grand Master with all his power drew close to our forces, and demanded that battle
be joined.... After we had stood and watched each other for a time, the Grand Master
sent two swords over to us with this message: 'Know you, King and Witold, that this very
hour we shall do battle with you. For this, we send you these swords for your assistance.'
We replied: 'We accept the swords you send us, and in the name of Christ, before whom
all stiff-necked pride must bow, we shall do battle.' At which, with the troops standing
in full order, we advanced to the fray without delay. Among the numberless dead, we
ourselves had few losses.... We cut down the Grand Master, and the Marshal,
SCHWARTSBURG, and many of the Komturs, forcing many others to flee.... The pur-
suit continued for two miles. Many were drowned in the lakes and rivers, and many
killed, so that very few escaped....^4
c. jardin
(C. Jardin)
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