Kriegstechnische Innovationen in den mittelalterlichen Deutschordenslanden Preußen und Livland

摘要

There is a fundamental difference between the conquest and conversion of Livonia and Prussia, both of which later became states of the order of the Teutonic Knights, by armed Christian pilgrims under the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. Whereas merchants initiated the undertaking in Livonia, power and land gains took center stage in Prussia. In order to lower the transaction costs in the Baltic trade market as soon as possible, the merchants provided their mercenaries and allies with the latest warfare technology from the very beginning. The Livonian Order, however, soon became independent. The Teutonic Knights, on the other hand, were called to Prussia to help and came at first as an independent force. They were later able to prevail with insufficient means in a secondary theater of war involving several fronts. The Teutonic Knights (like their pagan and Christian adversaries) achieved this at the cost of many lives, which has resulted in the charge of genocide by ideological historians. During the conflicts in the Baltic region, all sides adopted innovations, made modifications and pursued independent developments in the fields of both tactics and strategy. Examples of this include castle construction, horse-breeding, the spiked helmet, and the blitzkrieg.