The Battle of Vistula Lagoon - 1463

 The Battle of Vistula Lagoon (Polish: Bitwa na Zalewie Wiślanym or Polish: Bitwa w Zatoce Świeżej) was fought on September 15, 1463 between the navy of the Teutonic Order, and the navy of the Prussian Confederation which was allied with the King of Poland, as part of the Thirteen Years' War. The battle was the largest naval battle of the war, and one of the two battles (along with Battle of Świecino) which decided the final outcome of the war. The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ludwig von Erlichshausen, led the Teutonic fleet, in an attempt to come to the aid of the city of Mewe ("Gniew") via the Vistula River, which had been besieged by Polish forces since July, 1463. The Teutonic knights assembled 44 ships, mostly fishing boats, along with several galleys, staffed by 2500 men, of which around 1500 were armed.

The Battle

The Prussian ships were led by privateers Vincent Stolle and Matthew Kolmener, of Danzig (now Gdańsk); and Jacob Vochs of Elbing (now Elbląg); with support from troops of the Polish king, Casimir IV Jagiellon. Initially the Danzig sailors, facing the incoming Teutonic flotilla alone, had only ten "szniks" (light sail boats common in the Baltic in the 15th century) which were staffed with five hundred men armed with crossbows and arquebuses. To delay the enemy, they sank a galley at a narrow part of the Vistula, which blocked the entrance from the lagoon to the river. Coming upon the obstacle, von Erlichshausen stalled long enough for the Elbing ships to join up with those of Danzig. Together, the two cities had around 30 ships of various types, 600 to 700 armed men, and a similar number of sailors manning the ships themselves. Von Erlichshausen ordered a withdrawal into the lagoon where his ships bunched up close to the shore. The cities' ships on the other hand, came out of the river into the lagoon and formed themselves into a crescent formation. Despite having fewer ships, the Prussians (as more experienced sailors) were victorious. They gained control of the Vistula. Among the captured knights was Hans Hetzel, the komtur of Memel (Klaipėda).

Aftermath