The Battle of Rudau: Was it Lithuania’s Victory or Defeat?

Abstract

On 17 February 1370, a battle took place between the armies of Lithuania and the Teutonic Order near Rudau (Rūdava), close to Königsberg, in Prussia. The outcome of this battle has long been a subject of dispute.
Already in the sixteenth century there arose a debate among Prussian chroniclers about who won this battle, and this debate is still continuing in modern historiography. Different opinions exist among the historians of the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries concerning the Battle of Rudau: a victory of the Lithuanians, an inconclusive outcome (‘a draw’), or a victory of the Teutonic Order. The most popular view, however, tends to lean towards a victory of the Teutonic Order, although the Crusaders suffered significant losses and did not gain much advantage from it.
However we interpret the Battle of Rudau, it is clear that it did not have far-reaching consequences. It is true the Order lost several prominent commanders, in particular Marshal Hening von Schindekopf, yet the assaults of the Teutonic Order into Lithuania actually intensified in the following decade. Lithuania’s military strength did not weaken either: in the same year of 1370, Lithuanian forces launched successful campaigns into Poland and Moscow, and defended themselves effectively against the Order’s attacks.
One can conclude that the Lithuanians did not exactly lose this battle: they dealt a strong blow to the Teutonic Knights, experienced losses inevitable in such combat, of course, but managed to withdraw successfully preserving their main forces. For the Order, this battle was hardly a decisive victory – it was closer to a defeat, although one that did not shake the foundations of their state. Thus, the overall outcome of the battle was more like a draw.