In 1189-1190, during the Third Crusade, the Teutonic Order was founded, one of the organizations of knights who were supposed to protect the Crusaders ' possessions in Palestine. Its name indicates that it was created from knights of German origin. Not receiving an influx of new forces from Europe, the Order at the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII century. dragged out a miserable existence. In the 1920s of the 13th century, Polish princes invited knights of this Order to protect their possessions from the attacks of pagan Prussians. This was the beginning of the creation of a new military power in Europe - the Order State in Prussia. It "became famous" for its particularly brutal, organized "military" exploitation of the enslaved population, and its existence was based on a policy of constant aggression against neighboring countries and peoples. Human resources to supplement the administration and the army were provided to the Order State by the impoverished strata of German knighthood, who were looking for opportunities for elevation and enrichment in its ranks. The Order, as a defender of the faith and a fighter against pagans, relied on the support of all Catholic Europe, starting with its highest institutions - the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation and the papacy, which sanctioned the capture of the Crusaders, and ending with the knighthood of almost all European countries. With the support of these forces, the Order, which completed the conquest of the Prussians in the 80s of the XIII century and turned into a strong military power, began to increasingly turn the edge of its expansion against neighboring countries and peoples. The chronicler of the Order, Peter Dusburg, wrote in 1283: "The war with the Prussians is over. The war with the Lithuanians has begun. " 1 Castles built by the Crusaders at the mouth of the Neman and in the bay where the river flowed became a springboard for aggression. Initially, it was a question of weakening Lithuania by co ... Read more