| Abstract [eng] |
In the middle of the 13th century, Samogitian and Curonian armies were formed of lightly armed soldiers. A heavily-armed soldier could have a sword, a helmet, a shield, and a wide blade battle axe. Heavily-armed troops would make a cavalry platoon, while lightly armed soldiers who fought with spears, shields, fighting knives, and sometimes axes, made an infantry platoon. Archers constituted a separate segment of an army. During the Order invasions and in defensive battles, Samogitians and Curonians were inferior to the enemy in their weaponry. Therefore, Samogitians and Curonians used different defensive tactics: lured the enemy into wet and wooded areas, made barricades of trees, before the retreatment of the enemy with the loot, carried out attacks, fought defensive battles from hill-forts, and in favorable situations conducted surprise attacks from hill-forts In an armed conflict, Samogitian and Curonian soldiers were match to the enemy. Therefore, the Order failed to overcome the resistance of Samogitians. Historical sources of information about the Curonian and Samogitian weaponry and fighting techniques are often distorted, and therefore historians should also consider other sources of the same period, e.g., the archaeological research data. |
