This is the 1109 German-Polish War. For a list of all Polish-German Wars, see Polish-German Wars.
This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2024) |
Henry V's expedition to Poland | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
German–Polish War (1109) | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Poland | Holy Roman Empire Duchy of Bohemia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Bolesław III | Henry V Svatopluk | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | 10,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Heavy |
The Henry V's expedition to Poland was a conflict between Bolesław III Wrymouth and Henry V, the reason for the war was the exile from Poland of Bolesław's brother Zbigniew who sought support from the German Emperor to restore his power in the country. Henry V, Zbigniew and Bohemian Duke Svatopluk set out on an armed expedition into Poland, where they besieged the border town of Głogów, which they failed to conquer, but were also defeated in the Battle of Hundsfeld. The war ended with the defeat of German-Bohemian forces.
After a long-term rivalry within the ruling Piast dynasty, Bolesław III, in 1107, had finally expelled his older half-brother and co-ruler Duke Zbigniew from Poland. Zbigniew fled to the Holy Roman Empire where he sought help from King Henry V. The Emperor, however, did not take action as he was stuck in an inner-Hungarian rivalry, supporting the Árpád Prince Álmos against his brother King Coloman, and had started an armed expedition to Bratislava (Pozsony).
Henry tangled with Bolesław when the Polish duke, loyal to King Coloman, took the occasion to campaign in the Bohemian lands in 1108: as soon as the Bohemian Duke Svatopluk heard of the invasion, he left the Imperial army to oust the Polish troops. Left alone, King Henry was forced to abandon his Hungarian campaign.
Angered under this defeat, Henry finally associated himself with Zbigniew and requested Bolesław to reinstate his half-brother as co-ruler, as well as to pay an annual tribute to the Empire. The Polish Duke categorically rejected both demands. The next year, the German forces gathered at Erfurt, crossed the Polish border near Krosno on the Bóbr River, and on St. Bartholomew's Day approached the fortified town of Głogów (Svatopluk's troops arrived in September). At first they defeated a Polish garrison which was stationed near the town. Bolesław fortified the Oder River strongholds and himself attacked Pomerania, inflicting defeat on the Pomeranian army at the Battle of Nakło on August 10.
According to Gallus Anonimus' Gesta principum Polonorum , King Henry resorted to lay siege to Głogów but granted its citizens a five-day ceasefire to ask their King for permission to surrender. He allegedly even made the townsmen give up their children as hostages as a guarantee of the ceasefire, and promised to give them back alive no matter what Bolesław's answer would be. [1]
The Polish Duke, however, had no intention to hand over the city, and ordered the defense of Głogów. After the five days were up, King Henry began to barrage the town. Breaking his promise, he chained the child hostages to his siege engines, hoping that the people of Głogów would not shoot their own offspring, which would allow him to conquer the Polish settlement. [1] However, Gallus stated that his cruelty towards children only strengthened the resolve of Głogów's defenders. Several harsh attacks by the Imperial army were repulsed, while Henry suffered significant losses by Polish guerilla fighters. After many days of unsuccessful fighting, the King was forced to abandon the siege and march south.
The contemporary author Gallus Anonymus in his Gesta principum Polonorum , written between 1112 and 1118, mentioned several armed encounters with the Imperial forces led by King Henry V of Germany. After Bolesław III had invaded the Bohemian territory of Duke Svatopluk, the German king in turn started a campaign in Poland and laid siege to the towns of Bytom Odrzański and Głogów, before he moved further down the Oder River and marched against Wrocław, though to no avail, after being defeated at the Battle of Hundsfeld by Bolesław's forces. [2]
According to Wincenty Kadłubek, the Germans were ambushed by the Polish forces and the result was a complete victory of Bolesław III Wrymouth, whereafter King Henry withdrew from Poland. After the encounter, due to the many dead and dying left on the battlefield; Kadłubek remarked, that the "...dogs which, devouring so many corpses, fell into a mad ferocity, so that no one dared venture there." Hence, the site became known as "dogs' field" (Polish: Psie Pole, German: Hundsfeld).
Kadłubek's relation was questioned in the late 19th century Encyklopedia Powszechna by Samuel Orgelbrand. Present-day historians are split on the issue, with some arguing that the battle was rather an unimportant skirmish, and the Chronica, written at the court of Bolesław's son Casimir II the Just almost hundred years after the event, is not fully reliable. Though, regardless of the magnitude, the clash contributed to Henry V's retreat. [3] [4]
King Henry's campaign turned out to be a complete failure, when it ended in Bolesław's final victory at the Battle of Hundsfeld (Psie Pole). [5] Duke Svatopluk was assassinated - probably by Bohemian Vršovci liensmen - still at the Głogów camp on September 21. His successor, Vladislaus, reconciled with Bolesław, whereafter Zbigniew was able to return to Poland in 1111, only to be arrested and blinded by his half-brother shortly afterwards. Bolesław's position towards the Empire was strengthened, and in the following years he was able to consolidate his rule in Pomerania and Lubusz Land. It was not until 1157, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in aid of the Silesian Duke Władysław II the Exile launched a successful campaign to the Polish lands.
After centuries-long ambivalent relations with Germany, the successful defense and the tradition of Henry's cruelty had evolved to a key element in the memory of the Polish nation. A first memorial stone was erected by the Głogów citizens on the occasion of the 850th anniversary of the battle in 1959. On 1 September 1979 a large Socialist Realistic memorial to the Głogów children was inaugurated to commemorate not only the 870th anniversary but also the 40th memorial day of the German Invasion of Poland.
Year 1109 (MCIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
Władysław I Herman was the duke of Poland from 1079 until his death.
Bolesław III Wrymouth, also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the only child of Duke Władysław I Herman and his first wife, Judith of Bohemia.
Głogów is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Głogów is the sixth largest town in the Voivodeship; its population in 2021 was 65,400. The name of the town derives from głóg, the Polish name for hawthorn.
Bořivoj II was the duke of Bohemia from 25 December 1100 until May 1107 and from December 1117 until 16 August 1120. He was the younger half-brother and successor of Bretislaus II. His father was Vratislav II of Bohemia, his mother Świętosława of Poland.
Agnes of Babenberg was a scion of the Franconian House of Babenberg and by marriage High Duchess of Poland and Duchess of Silesia.
Miecław was a cup-bearer of king Mieszko II Lambert, who in c. 1038 had proclaimed independence of the state that he ruled, from the Duchy of Poland, beginning the rebellion that lasted until his death in 1047.
Zbigniew, was a duke of Poland during 1102–1107. He was the first-born son of Władysław I Herman and Przecława, possibly a member of the Prawdzic family.
The Battle of Nakło (1109) was fought between the forces of the Kingdom of Poland and Pomeranian tribes at Nakło nad Notecią. The Polish troops were led by Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth.
The siege of Głogów or Defense of Głogów was fought on 24 August 1109 at the Silesian town of Głogów, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Holy Roman Empire. Recorded by the medieval chronicler Gallus Anonymus, it is one of the most well known battles in Polish history. The Polish forces were led by Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth, while the Imperial forces were under the command of King Henry V of Germany. Bolesław was victorious.
The Battle of Hundsfeld or Battle of Psie Pole was said to be fought on 24 August 1109 near the Silesian capital Wrocław between the Holy Roman Empire in aid of the claims of the exiled Piast duke Zbigniew against his ruling half-brother, Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland. It was recorded by the medieval Polish chronicler Bishop Wincenty Kadłubek of Kraków in his Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae several decades later.
Svatopluk the Lion was Duke of Bohemia from 1107 until his assassination in 1109. His rule was overshadowed by the fierce conflict around the Bohemian throne in the 12th century.
Soběslav I was Duke of Bohemia from 1125 until his death in 1140. He was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, the youngest son of Vratislaus II, by his third wife Świętosława of Poland.
Lechites, also known as the Lechitic tribes, is a name given to certain West Slavic tribes who inhabited modern-day Poland and eastern Germany, and were speakers of the Lechitic languages. Distinct from the Czech–Slovak subgroup, they are the closest ancestors of ethnic Poles and of Pomeranians, Lusatians and Polabians.
The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his hereditary province and also the Lesser Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków according to the principle of agnatic seniority.
The siege of Niemcza took place during three weeks in August 1017, in the last phase of the German–Polish War (1002–18), when the forces of the Emperor Henry II besieged the town of Niemcza controlled by the Polish ruler Bolesław I the Brave. Despite the aid of Bohemian and Lutici allies, the Imperial attack was ultimately unsuccessful, according to medieval chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg due to the arrival of reinforcements which managed to break into the city and the illness among the German forces. The failure of the siege marked the end of Henry's campaign in Poland and led the emperor to agree to the Peace of Bautzen in 1018, which left the eastern March of Lusatia and the Milceni lands under Polish control.
Chronica principum Poloniae is a historiographical work written in Silesia, ca, 1382–1386. Its authorship is ascribed to Canon Peter of Byczyna (1328–1389).
Bolesław II the Bold, also known as the Generous was Duke of Poland from 1058 to 1076 and King of Poland from 1076 to 1079. He was the eldest son of Duke Casimir I the Restorer and Maria Dobroniega of Kiev.
The Miecław's State was a state located in Masovia with capital in Płock. It was formed around 1037 by Miecław by breaking away from Duchy of Poland during the crisis inside the country. It existed until 1047, when Casimir I the Restorer, duke of Poland, reconquered the state into Duchy of Poland.
The Pomeranian expedition to Santok was a Pomeranian attempt to conquer Santok, a key stronghold of Poland, through deception and then force, but they were repelled by the defenders. Undeterred, they built a new stronghold nearby. Prince Władysław tasked his sons Zbigniew and Bolesław with defending Santok. While Zbigniew struggled, Bolesław led a successful counterattack, defeating the Pomeranians.