Battle of Gransee
The Battle of Gransee was fought in August 1316 between the armies of a North German-Danish alliance led by the Duchy of Mecklenburg, and those of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and their allies. It took place near the village of Schulzendorf, Brandenburg, which is in present-day Germany. This was the final battle in the . It was a decisive victory for the Alliance, who were subsequently able to impose their demands through the Treaty of Templin.
Background
The immediate cause of conflict was a dispute over succession to the Lordship of Stargard following the death in 1314 of Beatrix of Brandenburg, wife of Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg. Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal, demanded the return of what he considered a fief of Brandenburg, which Beatrix had possessed only as part of her dowry. Henry countered by calling for military assistance from his allies – who included King Erik of Denmark, John of Werle, and other North German princes – and by invading Brandenburg. Waldemar assembled his forces at the walled city of Gransee to oppose them.Battle
Waldemar's forces consisted largely of knights in armour; Henry's of foot soldiers. It was conventional military wisdom in those days that heavy cavalry hopelessly outclassed light infantry. On John's advice, the Alliance decided on a surprise attack. Passing through a forest, they crossed the Mühlenfließ near Schulzendorf.According to the chroniclers, it was the foot soldiers who won the day. The knights, fighting on foot, were immobile and vulnerable. The battle swayed to and fro for several hours, and resembled a massacre. Henry caught an axe blow to the helmet in the initial phase of the battle, and had to be supported from the field; but later returned to fight with undiminished vigour.
Seven counts on the Brandenburg side, including Albrecht V of Wernigerode and the Count of Mansfeld, were taken prisoner. Waldemar himself only escaped because Count von Manseld fought to give him the opportunity. Waldemar and his retinue retreated in some disorder to Gransee, said by Fontane to have been the strongest place in the Lordship of Ruppin. On the Alliance side, John III, Count of Holstein-Plön was captured.
Aftermath
The victorious Alliance withdrew to Buchholz by way of Rheinsberg and Wesenberg, and celebrated their victory.The two sides now began to negotiate, at first in Zehdenick. The captured noblemen were important bargaining counters. Under the Treaty of Templin, Waldemar was forced to agree to cede Starburg to Mecklenburg.
Waldemar died in 1319. His cousin, Henry II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal, died in 1320, at the age of 12 or 13. The claims of the House of Ascania to the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its possessions thereupon became extinct, and the quarrel was never revived.