Battle of Saule: The Deadly Confrontation of 1236

In 1236, the Battle of Saule was fought between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of the Semigallians. This battle, which took place on September 22, 1236, was the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were under the leadership of Master Volkwin. Reluctant to launch offensive actions against Lithuanian lands due to internal conflicts with the bishopric of Riga and a lack of knowledge about the lands south of their territory, the crusaders marched south into Samogitia.

The Semigallians only had a few days to gather troops for defense. On the knights’ northward return, they encountered a determined group of Semigallians at a river crossing. The Holsteiners refused to fight on foot, forcing the knights to camp for the night. The next morning, on the day of Saint Maurice, the main pagan forces arrived at the camp. The Lithuanian light cavalry flung javelins at short range, which were highly effective against the unwieldy Livonian heavy cavalry. Master Volkwin and many other members of the order died in the battle. Only one tenth of the Crusaders reached Riga.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons