In 1492, the Duchy of Courland found itself in a precarious position. Forced to pay homage to the Teutonic Order, half of the profits of this flourishing coastal trade center were lost to its greedy German overlords, while to the south and east loomed the mighty Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which clearly had designs on acquiring this small, but prosperous province. With only 6,000 men and a very small fortress to act as defense, a bold strategy was needed in order to achieve security. In secret, Courlander ambassadors met with John Albert, King of Poland, and played on the Polish desire to acquire the Teutonic Order's Baltic territories. We received a promise of his support in any future rebellion against the Order. However, the time for such action had not yet arrived. First, we needed to prepare the country for this great endeavor. Over two-thirds of the treasury was spent on upgrading our administrative structure in order to enhance our revenues, which we poured first into improving our military and then into increasing its size to 9,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 10 artillery pieces, which we had recently learned to manufacture. Finally, in April of 1497, we decided to act.
A messenger rode to Dorpat in Livonia, where a shocked Johann Tieffen learned that his subject state of Courland would no longer accept the rule of the Teutonic Order. Meanwhile, another messenger was sent to the court of John Albert, informing him that Courland was in need of his assistance, which he eagerly gave, seeing an opportunity to not only gain land on the eastern Baltic, but also to seize Pommerania from the Hansa, who were in alliance with the Order and had remained faithful to their commitment. We immediately offered Tieffen a white peace in return for acknowledgment of our independence, but, as this was refused, the entire Courland army of 11,000 was sent into the neighboring province of Memel, which was cut off from the rest of the Order's provinces and possessed minimal defenses. Although the Teutonic Knights had a sizable army in Livonia under the command of the capable Plattenberg, they were immediately met by large Polish forces arriving from Polotsk and Welikia and retreated northward with severe casualties. The Poles quickly captured Dorpat by storm and, having gained control of Livonia, moved southward to deal with invading Hanseatic forces. Unfortunately, due to our meager amount of artillery, the fortress at Memel did not fall to our forces until January of 1499, and by this time, the Teutonic army under Plattenberg had regrouped and liberated Livonia from the Poles. A force of 5,000 men had invested our capital of Riga, but our army in Memel, though reduced to 8,600 through attrition, marched to the northeast and was able to raise the siege. Although we had gained an advantage over the Order, they refused even to offer us money in exchange for peace, much less an entire province. Finally, in December, exhausted by war, we agreed to a white peace with the Order. Now that we have won our independence, expansion can wait for a more precipitous moment.
A messenger rode to Dorpat in Livonia, where a shocked Johann Tieffen learned that his subject state of Courland would no longer accept the rule of the Teutonic Order. Meanwhile, another messenger was sent to the court of John Albert, informing him that Courland was in need of his assistance, which he eagerly gave, seeing an opportunity to not only gain land on the eastern Baltic, but also to seize Pommerania from the Hansa, who were in alliance with the Order and had remained faithful to their commitment. We immediately offered Tieffen a white peace in return for acknowledgment of our independence, but, as this was refused, the entire Courland army of 11,000 was sent into the neighboring province of Memel, which was cut off from the rest of the Order's provinces and possessed minimal defenses. Although the Teutonic Knights had a sizable army in Livonia under the command of the capable Plattenberg, they were immediately met by large Polish forces arriving from Polotsk and Welikia and retreated northward with severe casualties. The Poles quickly captured Dorpat by storm and, having gained control of Livonia, moved southward to deal with invading Hanseatic forces. Unfortunately, due to our meager amount of artillery, the fortress at Memel did not fall to our forces until January of 1499, and by this time, the Teutonic army under Plattenberg had regrouped and liberated Livonia from the Poles. A force of 5,000 men had invested our capital of Riga, but our army in Memel, though reduced to 8,600 through attrition, marched to the northeast and was able to raise the siege. Although we had gained an advantage over the Order, they refused even to offer us money in exchange for peace, much less an entire province. Finally, in December, exhausted by war, we agreed to a white peace with the Order. Now that we have won our independence, expansion can wait for a more precipitous moment.
