History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 260

and six.

The Episode 262, the Baltic Crusades, the Samagetian Crusade Part 3, Grandmaster Carl Von Tria.

Hello again.

Last week we saw the opening battles in the Samagetian Crusade.

Battles fought not against the Samagetzian Crusade, battles fought not against the Samagetians, but between the Prussian

chapter of the Teutonic Order, under commander Heinrich von Plutzka and the Lithuanians under their Grand Duke Vitanus.

The goal of the Teutonic Order in the last episode was not to secure Samagetia, but to target a Lithuanian town located

in the upper reaches of the Namunas River, the town of Gardinas.

We saw at the end of last week's episode that following the death of Grandmaster

Siegfried, a new Grand Master was appointed, Grand Master Carl von Tria, and Grand Master

Carl's focus will see the Order cease its attacks on Gardenus and instead revert to the

original plan to secure Samagetia as the first step towards eventually subduing Lithuania.

Firstly though we should ask ourselves who was this new player on the scene, Grand Master Carl?

Well, William Urban points out that Grand Master Carl was only 46 years old

when appointed to the position of Grand Master, and handily for dealing with a French

Pope he was fluent in both French and Latin. Shortly after he arrived in Prussia to take up his position he did a

quick tour of the Order's holdings in Prussia, then devised a new strategy for the orders military campaigns.

Determining that Lavonia was the orders priority, not Lithuania, he suspended the attacks on Gardenus and

instead stipulated that securing Samagizia and re-establishing the land corridor between Prussia and Livonia was the Order's new primary goal.

To that end in April of 1313 the Grandmaster sent a fleet of ships loaded with

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