TEUTONIC FIELD ARTILLERY (1-ST HALF OF THE XV CENTURY).

The roots of the Teutonic Order probably date back to the Third Crusade to the Holy Land (1189-1192), and the origins of its presence in Poland are traditionally dated from 1226. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, the Order conquered large areas on the Baltic Sea - including, among others, Gdańsk Pomerania and created a strong and efficiently managed state. Fire artillery first appeared in his army in the 14th century, probably in the middle or at the end of that century. Source materials confirm, for example, iron cannon barrels in the armory of the castle in Toruń for the years 1392 and 1397. Similar information can also be found for, for example, the castles in Człuchów or Świecie from the beginning of the 15th century (more precisely for the years 1410-1411), but also several other Teutonic castles . Interestingly, at the beginning of the 15th century, the Teutonic army used both "siege" and "field" artillery. The first one was relatively heavy and difficult to transport. She probably fired mainly stone balls. The "field" artillery, on the other hand, consisted of much smaller bombards, which were mounted on a wooden "bed", and what's more, it was possible to change the angle of fire by them without any major problems. They were certainly used by the Teutonic army at Grunwald in 1410, but they did not play a major role in this battle.