Previous Page	Thirteen Years’ War
. The Prussian Confederation was an organization formed on February 21, 1440 at Marienwerder (Kwidzyn) by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. A dispute between Poland and the Teutonic Order over control of Gdańsk Pomerelia had lasted since the 1308 Teutonic takeover and annexation. This dispute resulted in the Thirteen Years’ War, a conflict fought in 1454–1466 between the Prussian Confederation, allied with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, and the State of the Teutonic Order.
The Battle of Vistula Lagoon was fought on September 15, 1463 between the navy of the Teutonic Order, and the navy of the Prussian Confederation which was allied with the King of Poland
Many bloody battles took place near Konitz during the Thirteen Years’ war, when in 1454 almost all the towns surrendered to Kazimierz Jagiełłon, the Polish king. Konitz was the only exception. It was decided at a rally in Iłżyca, Poland to take the town by force before the 1st of May of that year. Many soldiers were brought from Poland; the King took command of the assault. When the attackers approached the town it was advised to let the Teutonic Knights heavy cavalry into the town, then starve the besieged town by surrounding it with Polish regiments. Five thousand strong Lithuanian troops arrived, and the troops from the Poland commanded by Jan Koniecpolski started mocking the defenders of Konitz saying that they would be able to defeat them using just whips. In a buoyant mood, the original plan was changed and the orders for the battle with the Teutonic Knights were issued. The bloody battle started. At first, Poles were winning. However, when defenders from Konitz undertook a counter attack, the Polish army was taken by surprise and eventually defeated on 18th September. Besides the dead, a great number of attackers were captured and became prisoners. The entire wealth of the camp, up to four thousand carts loaded with expensive things, was captured as well. King Kazimierz Jagiełłon, endangering himself, barely escaped imprisonment! In 1461 the King, with his army, tried to conquer Konitz in 1461 for a second time; but after 14 days he had to go back to Poland due to his mother’s funeral. Finally, on 28 September 1466, the third attempt by the king was successful and the town was conquered. This time attackers had shot projectiles with flames. Consequently, one forth of the town houses burned down. The State of the Teutonic Order (which included the town of Konitz) became identified as Royal Prussia under the rule of Poland from 1466 to 1525.
Kazimierz Jagiełłon, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death in 1492