Video Game Review: Kingdom Come Deliverance

My recent fascination with Central European history the past two months has been inspired by the game Kingdom Come Deliverance. I've heard of the game for some time (released in 2018), and knew it was a highly regarded open-world game. I also knew it was a medieval setting during the early 1400s in the Kingdom of Bohemia. Since I love the Assassin Creed games mostly because of their historical open-world format, I knew I would enjoy this one. Especially because I didn't know too much about this historical region of Bohemia. To be fair, even though I visited Czechia I was never aware that it was once referred to as a Kingdom of Bohemia.

This game dives into the rural parts of Bohemia, following the death of the great Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. It deals with the brotherly succession dispute between Wenceslaus IV and Sigismund. Sigismund has enlisted a Hungarian army of Cumans to lay waste to the Bohemian countryside. Also in the backdrop is the rising reformation movement led by Jan Hus (However the Hussite War does not happen until 20 years later). The game offers a great fictional story of a hero's rise from rags-to-riches amidst this fascinating historical period. The game provides great insight into what life was like during this medieval time in Bohemia, the Holy Roman Empire, and early phase of the Protestant Reformation. 

The Story

The game is mostly set in the rural region of Czechia referred to as Rataje nad Sazavou (about 25 miles from Prague). The game offers many real towns in central Bohemia during the early 15th century known as Skalitz, Talmberg, Sasau, Uzhitz, Merhojed, Ledetchko, and the booming trade center of Rattay. Sadly Prague is not included in the game, but it's quite refreshing to get the full-on rural experience. The protagonist of the game is the son of a blacksmith named Henry who lives in the mining town of Skalitz. He seeks adventure while his father is passionate about the blacksmith trade. At the beginning of the game Henry must help his father build a new sword for their nobleman Sir Radzig. However the town is then attacked by Sigismund army of Cuman soldiers. Both of Henry's parents are killed and he must flee to Talmberg. There he finds favor with the nobles of Talmberg, which include Sir Davish, Sir Hanush, and Sir Radzig.

Henry recovers in Talmberg for some time, before returning to Skalitz to bury his parents. The town is completely ruined and Henry is ambushed by a group of bandits led by Runt. He is saved however by a fellow Skalitz refugee Theresa, and a band of Talmberg soldiers led by Captain Robard. Both Henry and Theresa find refuge in the outskirts of the city of Rattay with a miller named Peshek. Henry finds work as a guardian of the city of Rattay and must escort a noble price Lord Hans Capon on a hunting trip. During this trip Capon is assaulted by cumans and Henry is able to save him. This heroic act wins him a higher rank and he begins working for Sir Radzig and Divish.

One of Henry's first investigations is to locate a bandit camp that is leading an insurgency with the Cumans against the local noblemen. Henry eventually finds the camp in Pribyslavitz and joins Radzig on the assault. During this battle Henry faces Runt, the bandit who stole his father's sword (but after defeating him it is discovered that Runt no longer has the sword). However the vengeance story gets overrun by the historical story as Henry becomes more of a prominent player in the military affairs. He is then assigned a new mission to locate an insurgency operating near Sasau. He discovers a complex plot of counterfeit coins and must infiltrate a seminary as a priest to uncover more information. When Henry finally discovers the bandit camp led by Toth, he is captured and tortured. However he is freed by a fellow Skalitz native.

Henry escapes to Rattay to share what he found with Radzig. At this point it is revealed that Radzig is Henry's true father, and thus Henry is of noble-blood. Henry joins his father Radzig and Sir Divish on an assault of the bandit camp, however it is mostly empty. It is a ploy which leaves the fortress of Talmberg open for Toth to capture with his bandit army. Sir Divish is furious and commissions a trebuchet be built to lay siege to re-capture the fortress. After some time and preparation Henry joins Divish to recapture the fortress. It is another bloody battle, however Toth escapes with Henry's father's sword. Although Talmberg has been captured the threat of Toth, Sigismund, and recovering his father's sword have been unresolved. Henry is welcomed to a noble's counsel at the end of the game to seek a new alliance. In the epilogue he must journey with Hans Capon to further discuss this new peace treaty. The ending is clearly leading to the sequel game which just came out this year. 

The Gameplay

I put in about 100 hours in this game, and honestly I did not like it at first. I enjoyed the historical setting but I just hated the game format. It was just quite different in general than what I was use to with the AC games. I think what I especially disliked at first was the 1st person view. However with all new things, I know there is a learning curve, so I stook with it and eventually got over this hump. (I remember it was a similar case with Elden Ring where I was just too unfamiliar with the Dark Souls format). While this was an open-world format game it had a much heavier emphasis on the RPG genre. I've never played such a realistic role-playing-game. Where time, sleep, cleanliness, and eating are essential (aside from the usual health bar). Even the NPCs are running on their own realistic schedule. While this can be somewhat annoying it does offer a unique realistic aspect once you get use to it. I would say this is definetely an appeal for someone who truly wants to submerge themselves in a gaming environment. 

Another part that really drove me crazy at first was the saving mechanism. Most games these days will save atomically as you play or after you complete a big quest. However that was not the case for this game and it took me some time to understand that. In this game, you had to buy save potions or sleep in certain area. Saving strategy was key to move your development along. It also took me some time to get familiar with the fighting format where defense is just as essential as attack. Of course there is also training and leveling-up that is required to improve Henry's combat skills. Plus good armor and weapons can make things much easier.

Henry is a likeable dimwit and I just love the finger-wagging throughout the game. He has many skills in the game that need constant upgrading. This ranges from speech, combat, pickpocketing, lockpicking, stealth, hunting, hound-master, blacksmithing, herbalism, alchemy, horsemanship, and even drinking (Czechs are notorious for their beer consumption rate after all). In order to improve these skills you must practice them throughout the game, and then meet with an expert to officially advance your level. The character also has main stats consisting of his strength, agility, vitatlity, speech, and even reputation. As well as combat skills ranging from sword, defense, bow, axe, mace, and even unarmed. My weapon of choice was the sword but I also did pretty good at the unarmed boxing quests. I found archery and hunting to be very challenging in this game. I was bare essential with the locksmith/pickpocket/stealth components. But I did enjoy the horse and dog companionship elements. 

I always love a resourceful game, and this game certainly had it's business element to it. Henry has various ways to acquire tools, weapons, or resources that will aid him on his journey. This ranges from armor and weapons, but also to food and potions. He can collect herbs and use alchemy to brew potions that can improve his health or save the game at any point. The game has many merchant categories (especially in Rattay) ranging from swordsmith, armorer, butcher, apothecary, cobbler, tailor, baker, grocer, horse trader, innkeeper, and bathhouse maids. I always enjoy a game that offers a trade component where you can buy new gear but also sell acquired resources. The game even has a town-building element but I only got about half-way thru developing Pribyslavitz. 

All-in-all what I most loved about the game was the historical setting. It's no question the developers put a lot of thought in the setting and the historical content of Bohemia. What I didn't like however was the 1st person view. The graphics were decent, but I just like to see my character in action. A lot of times the character's movement was limited, blocked, and even parts where he would just get stuck in general. Granted this is an older game from 2018 and it was a PS4 game playing on a PS5 console, but still it was a bit on the quirky side. But I eventually did get the hang of it, and can truly say I enjoyed it overall. I'd say the biggest challenge was getting familiar with the format and all it's RPG rules. It's a game where survival and decisions were more important than sheer combat. I don't think it would make my top 25 all time games, but it was a very entertaining gameplay, especially from the historical aspect. I will most definitely play the sequel at some point.   

2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics

The past couple weeks I've enjoyed yet another Winter Olympics event this time hosted in Milan-Cortina, Italy. The city of Cortina hosted the events on their own in 1956. It is located in the Dolomtic Alps, which makes it fitting for the mountain ski events. The city of Milan is one of the biggest northernmost Italian cities closest to the Alp mountains. It hosted the opening ceremony in the football stadium, San Siro as well as many of the indoor skating events. It's quite a beautiful historical city, highlighted by their iconic spire-loaded cathedral, the Doumo di Milano. It was also once a part of the Holy Roman Empire, which made for a fitting tie to my ongoing historical study.     

Since the games were abroad once again, I had to watch most the coverage during the prime-time window on NBC from 8 to 11pm. This of course is always tricky to block out the news of the results that happened during the daytime. There were a few times where I accidently stumbled upon a result on Instagram or Facebook during the daytime. However for the most part, each night felt like an authentic live viewing of a sport. And with each night I tend to grow more and more invested in the athletes, their stories, and the games in general. I love watching and learning all about these unique sports (except for curling and hockey). I especially love hearing that famous Olympic fanfare anthem come on at 8pm. It's truly an inspiring music, and captures the overall spirit of the glorious Olympic games. 

The Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony took place on a Friday night in the San Siro football stadium (home to AC and Inter Milan). It was the usual elaborate dance and musical sequences celebrating Greek and Italian culture. Their was modern performances as well as a heavy dose of classical music which I enjoyed. For me the highlight was when Andrea Bocelli sang a riveting Nessa Dorma. There were also musical performances by Mariah Carey and and Italian singer Laura Pausini (who kinda looked like a witch from Wicked). The parade of athletes was uniquely divided with Milan and Cortina, where each nation sent some athletes to Milan and others to Cortina. The Olympic flame was lit by Italian skiing legends Alberto Tomba, Deborah Compagnoni, and Sofia Goggia. The cauldron was quite impressive like an atom floating in the midst of the beautiful Porta Sempione (Arch of Peace). Meanwhile a second Olympic flame was lit in the central town square of Cortina. 

Snowboarding

I watched various snowboarding events from the halfpipe, the freestyle, to the exciting snowboard cross racing. This was actually the first Winter Games in nearly twenty years where the superstar and face of snowboarding, Shaun White was no longer participating. He did however do some commentating which was good to see. The new American face of snowboarding is now Chloe Kim, who won gold in the halfpipe in 2018 and 2022. She came up just shy of three-peating, and finished with a silver. She's a very likable personality and is dating football star Myles Garrets. I watched most of the snowboard cross events live during the weekends which was exciting racing. Japan cleaned house at these games with an impressive 9 total medals in all the snowboarding events (US only had 2). 

Cross Country Skiing

An event I gained a new appreciation for this time around was the cross country skiing. It seemed like it was on all the time. I came to really admire the endurance aspect of this event, as a runner myself. While they do occasionally ski down-hill, they are also literally running and climbing hills with their skis. The distances range from sprints, 10k, 20k, 50k, and various relay events. There are a total of 12 events, 6 for the men and 6 for the women. The Norwegians always dominate this event, and they have a true superstar in Johannes Hosflot Klaebo. He went 6 for 6 gold medals at this game, to add to his previous medals he earned in Pyeonchang and Beijing. The way he attacked the hills was not only funny and meme worthy, but also quite inspiring. He now has a total of 11 Olympic gold medals, 1 silver, and 1 bronze. He just needs four more to pass the Norwegian legend Marit Bjorgen as the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time. This is very likely to happen since Klaebo is only 29 years old. 

Speedskating

I surprisingly watched a lot more speedskating then short-track skating this time around. It's funny how some nations excel in a certain discipline then others. The Germans dominate the bobsled races, the Norwegians dominate the ski events, and the Dutch dominate the speedskating events. They won an impressive 13 total medals. The female star and blonde bombshell Jutta Leerdam won gold in the 1000 meters and silver in the 500 meters. A new American superstar, Jordan Stolz emerged in the men's events winning 2 golds and a silver. He's only 21 so he'll surely be the new American face of the Winter Olympics. The mass start event was exciting but also extremely flawed by rules. It's a 6.4km long distance race, where they reward sprint points in the middle phases of the race, but the highest points at the end of the race. So normally the last 3 finishers win the race. The men's race demonstrated the flaw of this structure where two leaders broke free early and were never caught for most the race. Also on the matter of ice speedskating, I can't help but wonder why roller inline speed skating isn't in the summer Olympics. Heck they could probably also include roller figure skating for that matter.  

Alpine Skiing

While Norway dominates the cross country skiing, usually it's Austria and Switzerland that dominate the alpine skiing. However this time around the Italians made a very impressive showing. Their superstar Federica Brignone, became the Italian hero of the games winning two gold medals in Super G and Giant slalom. I watched both her gold medals run and this was exciting to watch. Meanwhile the pressure was once again heavy on American superstar Mikala Shiffrin (all the more after Lindsay Vonn crashed out once again). After winning gold in Sochi and Pyeongchang, she came up short last games in Beijing 2022. This time however she delivered in the Slalom event to win her third gold medal, the first American skier to do so. 

Figure Skating 

For me the main marquee event of these games is always the figure skating especially the women's event. It's quite an exciting event that mixes athleticism with artistry, but also extreme mental pressure. These athletic dancers need to perform on the highest of stages, and quite often they just get this one chance to compete at the Olympic games. This of course heightens the pressure. It was sadly the case for many of the favorites in these games, most of all the American skater Ilia Malinin (also referred to as the quad-god). At first I did not care for this guy, but the more I watched him skate and perform the incredible quad spin (four complete rotations) I felt he was the best in the field. He helped America secure the team gold medal, however he completely blew it in the individual event and finished 8th overall. It was sad to see such an American superstar who was without question the best out there to lose his one chance to become a true skating legend.      

Meanwhile in the women's event the story was quite similar for American Amber Glenn. She was also one of the favorites, but completely blew it in her short program event. It was difficult to see her emotional reaction to this, in which the cameras showed her no mercy with their close-ups. She did however respond with a solid second performance but it was still too little too late. However the spotlight then turned to a new American superstar, Alysa Liu who won everyone's heart with her natural personality and smile. Her story was such an inspiring one, as someone who left the sport and later returned to it, out of passion instead of competition. I've never seen someone skate so free and relaxed with a constant smile on her face. She was a true joy to watch and rightfully won the gold medal (the first American female gold since 2002). The Japanese skaters also put on a solid show and went on to win silver and bronze. They also won gold in the pair event which was an impressive performance to witness. I will say as exciting as the event was, I greatly missed the Russian skaters who are always the best of the best. 

Other Events and Closing Ceremony

Unfortunately I didn't watch much of the short-track racing which is normally one of my favorite (maybe because NBC didn't air it as much). I think I saw one relay race and came to the conclusion that as exciting as the race is, it is extremely flawed with the crashes. I saw some of the sledding events and further came to admire the courage of the skeleton riders. Germany dominated the bobsled, skeleton, and luge events winning 19 total medals. However American star Elana Meyers Taylor added a gold medal to her impressive bobsled resume making her the most decorated American bobsledder with a total of 6 medals. In the freestyle skiing event, the superstar/model Eileen Gu had another solid performance with 2 silvers and a gold. Meanwhile the men's hockey team won gold against Canada for the first time since their famous Miracle on Ice victory over the Soviets in 1980.   

The closing ceremony was held in the ancient Roman stadium known as the Arena di Verona. This is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters, even older then the Colosseum and held an impressive 20,000 in the audience. The ceremony included more Italian musical performances by artists such as Joan Thiele, Achille Lauro, Meduza, and Major Lazer. Then came the final parade of athletes in unison. Then the handover to France who will host the Olympics in the French Alps of Nice in 2030. It's always quite bittersweet to watch the games come to a close, cause it's just such a positive celebration of culture and global unity. I just love world competitions like this, and really wish we had more events to match the spirit of the Olympics and the World Cup.   

Final Medal Count

2026 Winter Olympics medal table

Rank	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Norway	18	12	11	41
2	United States	12	12	9	33
3	Netherlands	10	7	3	20
4	Italy*	10	6	14	30
5	Germany	8	10	8	26
6	France	8	9	6	23
7	Sweden	8	6	4	18
8	Switzerland	6	9	8	23
9	Austria	5	8	5	18
10	Japan	5	7	12	24
11	Canada	5	7	9	21
12	China	5	4	6	15
13	South Korea	3	4	3	10
14	Australia	3	2	1	6
15	Great Britain	3	1	1	5
16	Czech Republic	2	2	1	5
17	Slovenia	2	1	1	4
18	Spain	1	0	2	3
19	Brazil	1	0	0	1
	Kazakhstan	1	0	0	1
21	Poland	0	3	1	4
22	New Zealand	0	2	1	3
23	Finland	0	1	5	6
24	Latvia	0	1	1	2
25	Denmark	0	1	0	1
	Estonia	0	1	0	1
	Georgia	0	1	0	1
–	Individual Neutral Athletes[A][B]	0	1	0	1
28	Bulgaria	0	0	2	2
29	Belgium	0	0	1	1
Totals (29 entries)		116	118	115	349

          

Historical Study: The Teutonic Order

As I study the history of the Holy Roman Empire and Central Europe I continue to discover new regions of great interest. I was actually looking at some of the medieval maps of the 1200-1300s when I stumbled upon something new and very interesting. Up in the Baltic region that is now Estonia and Latvia, was once a sovereign territory known as the State of the Teutonic Order. Sure I've heard of the German Teutonic knights from the crusades, one of the most famous of crusade orders alongside the French Knights Templar. However I never knew they actually had their own territory and sovereign state. This was more then just a society of knights, it was an administrative district that was heavily backed by the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire. The whole thing is truly like something out of a fantasy movie. A society of warrior monks (like Jedi Knights) who fought against Muslims and Pagans. However their religious crusade later turned into a political one, as they sought to further expand their territory into Poland. It was the kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania that finally halted their momentum and brought their state to a swift end by the 1500s. 

While their were many Christian military orders established during the Crusade era, none had such a vast territorial region as the Teutonic Knights did. Other crusader states such as in Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli, and Edessa were just a fraction of the Teutonic's size. Once the Teutons captured Prussia, their territorial state stretched all along the Baltic Sea from northern Poland, into Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia (68,000 square miles). Their main headquarters were in Kaliningrad (which today is a Russian state nestled between Poland and Lithuanian). This was to be a true theocratic state, on par with the papal states, where the government was to follow the laws of God and the church above all. 

It was a new era of chivalry where the knights fought for the down-trodden in what they considered a righteous pursuit. While their intentions may have been true it also demonstrated the flaws and hypocrisies of their faith. The sheer notion of going to war in the name of God, is very contradictory to the central Christian message of peace and love of one's neighbor. These Teutonic knights were eventually driven by political ambition and power which lead to their downfall. However while their tenure was brief at only 300 years, it was quite a rare mindset and society they upheld. I find it all to be a very fascinating component of the history of the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, and Germany. Henrich Himmler eventually incorporated this knightly ethos into his SS soldiers (however with a much higher emphasis on racism and occultism instead of Christian ideals). 

The Crusades

I've hit on the Crusades before (see History of Christianity) and find it to be a very fascinating period in world history. By the 11th century the majority of western Europe was aligned in their belief of Christianity (despite continuous other political disputes). Meanwhile the new faith of Islam emerged in the middle east by the 7th century and quickly expanded throughout the region. They eventually captured the city of Jerusalem from the Byzantine Empire in 638 AD and established a stronghold throughout the Middle East. This went mostly unchallenged for 500 years until Pope Urban III called for a new crusade at the Council of Clermont. This was to be a new Holy War to reclaim the Holy Land as a Christian capital.

The 1st Crusade was actually a success for the Christian crusade alliance and a new Kingdom of Jerusalem was established in 1099 AD. It was around this time the church established new holy military orders to defend the region. The first order of the Knights Hospitaller emerged in 1113, then came the most famous French order of the Knights Templar in 1119. They established crusader states within the Levant region such as Edessa, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Tripoli. This Christian stronghold on the Holy Land lasted for about 100 years until once again the Muslims returned with vengeance. During the 2nd Crusade (1147-1149) the Muslims recaptured Edessa, and then in the Third Crusade (1189-1192) they recaptured Jerusalem. It was during the third crusade where the holy military orders made their big debut such as the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and the newly established German Teutonic Order.        

Establishment of the Teutonic Order

After the Muslims recaptured Jerusalem in 1187, the city of Acre became the new Christian stronghold. It was here where the Crusader armies regrouped to launch their next assault during the Third Crusade. It was also during this time in Acre, where a group of German knights established their fraternal order known as the Teutonic Knights. Their first grand master was Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim. This was modelled after the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitallers, as a hospital to care and defend Christian pilgrims. Pope Clement III and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa fully endorsed the military order and they played a part in the fighting. However the Crusader army was unable to recapture Jerusalem and instead had to settle in Acre (which became the 2nd kingdom of Jerusalem for another hundred years). The Crusaders were eventually fully expelled from the Holy Land in 1291.

Throughout the 1200s the Teutonic Order had quickly begun to spread from the Holy Land of Jerusalem to establish strongholds in Mediterranean Islands such as Cyprus. Meanwhile the Holy Roman Empire fully supported the order out of Germany, and actively recruited and financed their operation. While they continued to aid other crusades against the Muslims such as the Fifth and Sixth Crusade their attention begin to turn more towards Central Europe by the late 1200s. They were officially invited to establish a stronghold in Transylvania and help the Kingdom of Hungary defend their borders against the eastern Cumans. While this was a brief stint for about ten years, it served as their first major fortress and military training ground. The Teutonic Order was then invited to Poland at the behest of the Holy Roman Empire to help drive back the pagan Prussians in 1230.

The Prussian and Livonian Crusade

Poland was it's own kingdom during this time, separate from the Holy Roman Empire however they still were considered allies. They ultimately shared a common interest in Christianity and sought to drive out enemies of the faith. It was in the northeastern Polish region of Prussia where paganism still reigned supreme. The Polish duke was unable to convert them and thus called upon the Teutonic Knights to help his cause. However a deal was struct with the backing of the pope and the Holy Roman Empire, that the Teutons would be able to acquire whatever land they conquered in the Prussian region. This was to be the start of a new Teutonic State that was officially recognized thru a papal bull in 1226.  

So the Teutonic Knights arrived to northern Poland in 1226 under the leadership of Grand Master Hermann von Salza. They established their stronghold in Chelmno along the Cistula River where they began their early military campaigns. This Prussian Campaign was part of a larger Christian effort known as the Northern Crusades to drive out pagans within the Scandinavia and Baltic region. From 1233-1275 the Teutonic Knights waged war against some of the last Germanic barbarian clans such as the Pomesanians, Natangians, Warmians, Sambians, and Nadruvians. After some of the their early victories the Teutons began to colonize the district and bring in German immigrants to settle the land. However they were often met with fierce Prussian resistance and uprisings. By around the 1270s they had stabilized the region and established a functioning administrative government known as the State of the Teutonic Order.

As they gained a strong foothold in Prussia during the 1230s, the Teutonic Order also joined the Livonian Crusades in Terra Mariana (modern day Latvia and Estonia). They merged with the Christian military order known as the Sword Brothers in 1237, and eventually took control of the order and the Livonian region. The Livonian Crusade lasted until 1290 when the final pockets of Baltic pagans were eliminated or converted. This territory known of Terra Mariana, became a branch of the Teutonic State, under the administration of the Livonian Order. They were somewhat independent but still fully answered to the State of the Teutonic Order, who answered to the Holy Roman Empire, who answered to the Papacy.

Lithuanian Crusade

Once the Teutons has established strongholds in Prussia and Livonia, they built their new headquarters in Marienburg (Malbork) Poland in 1309. It was here that their ionic Malbork Castle was built from 1274 to 1406 a massive Gothic fortress along the Nogat River. They also began to turn their attention to the Lithuanian Pagans and launched another Northern Crusade from 1283-1422. This was one of the most difficult of the northern crusades and the Lithuanians and Samogitians fought fiercely against the Teutonic Knights and their allies. The Teutons gained minimal territory from this Lithuanian Crusade, aside from the region of Konigsberg in 1309 (now known as Kaliningrad, Russia). It was during this war that the Teutons began to make enemies with the Kingdom of Poland.

Nonetheless the 1300s were the zenith of the Teutonic Order's power. They had established a firm grip of the Baltic region with numerous castles, towns, and booming trade. Their economy was supplemented by merchant trade from the Hanseatic League and the Holy Roman Empire in cities such as Lubeck, Hamburg, Gdansk, Konigsberg, Riga, and even Stockholm. It's no doubt that around this time their ambitions evolved from a Christian theocracy to an imperial power in the likes of their patron the Holy Roman Empire. The rising tension with Poland was mostly over territory and geopolitics as the Teutons sought to further expand their region.

War against Poland

In 1385 the Kingdom of Poland and the Duchy of Lithuania established a new alliance thru royal marriage. This strengthened their fight against the Teutons who were now waging a war of expansionism instead of Christian conversion. The tension began to escalate during Teutonic raids into Samogitia which led to outright uprisings from 1401-1409. The Teutonic Knights were able to subdue the first uprising and sustain control of the region in 1404. However during the second uprising in 1409 the Kingdom of Poland came to the Lithuanians aid and waged war against the State of the Teutonic Order. The Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War would become the pivotal event of the medieval history in the Baltic Region.

The Teutonic Order had lost favor with the Holy Roman Empire at this point due to their growing wealth and expansion. Thus they no longer had the full support of their big brother and had to face the full wrath of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance. The decisive event came at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 which became one of the largest battles in medieval Europe. Teutonic Grandmaster Ulrich von Jungingen lead a force of 27,000 Teutonic knights against King Wlaydslaw II Jagiello's Polish/Lithuanian army of 39,000. It was a devastating defeat for the Teutonic order in which many of their leaders were killed including their grand master.

The Polish/Lithuanian army continued to advance into the Teuton's Prussian territory and laid siege on their fortress of Marienburg (Malbork). The Teutonic Order however was able to repel the assault and come to peace terms with the King Wladyslaw's army. This marked a sudden sharp decline of the Teutonic Order's control of Central-eastern Europe. The Polish-Lithuanian union had emerged as the new power of the region. Throughout the 1450s they continued their fight against the Teutons during the Thirteen Years War and completely expelled them from the Polish/Baltic regions by 1466.

Following this defeat the State of the Teutonic Order was significantly reduced, however they still maintained some presence in Prussia. Their order however suffered further defeat during the Polish-Teutonic Wars of 1519-1521. To add insult to injury their grandmaster converted to Lutheranism in 1525. By this point they were completely expelled from Prussian territory and retreated to German pockets within the Holy Roman Empire. The state of Teutonic Order came to an official end in 1561. The order however continued to exist despite losing it's sovereign territory. They eventually reorganized into a charitable order instead of a military order. They still exist today with papal recognition as one of the oldest Catholic military orders.