The Teutonic Order became a dangerous enemy for the whole of Eastern Europe. The rapid conquest of the Baltic gave the German knighthood an excellent springboard for further expansion to the East: the enslavement of the scattered tribes of the Livs, Estonians, Prussians and many others allowed the Catholic Church to extend its influence to the lands of Russia, whose wealth has always attracted the greedy European clergy.
Foundation of the Order
The third crusade of 1190 can be considered the date of the founding of the Teutonic Order: at the Syrian fortress of Akra, Chaplain Conrad and Canon Voorhard established a hospital, which was destined to turn into one of the most powerful knightly organizations in the world. Nine years later, Pope Innocent III issued a bull, according to which society became an autonomy, which received its own charter. The main tasks of the Ordo domus Sanctae Mariae Teutonicorum in Jerusalem ("Order of the house of St. Mary of the Teutonic in Jerusalem") were not only the protection of the German knights, but also an active struggle against the enemies of the Catholic Church.
Eastern European settlement
The Teutons came to Eastern Europe to fight the Polovtsians. They were invited by King Andras II of Hungary, inviting the knights of the order to settle on the southeastern border of Transylvania. A few years later, its own autonomous region will appear here, fortified by five castles: Marienburg, Schwarzenburg, Rosenau, Kreuzburg and Kronstadt will become an excellent springboard for the order for further expansion.
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Casus belli
We can say that the formal reason for the Teutonic Order to advance to the territory of Prussia, and then to launch the first attack on Russia, was given by the Russian wife of the Polish prince Konrad Mazovetsky. The prince's lands were seized by the Prussian pagans, and yielding to the persuasion of his wife, he decided to invite the knights to help. As usual, the cure turned out to be worse than the disease: the well-armed knights easily conquered the scattered Prussian tribes and soon subjugated the whole of Prussia.
Colonization
By the end of the XIII century, the Teutonic Order was a real state. Having seized the lands of Prussia, Livonia and Eastern Pomerania, the knights began to donate lands to the German peasantry. Colonization took place very quickly - and the Order, with the blessing of the Pope, continued its expansive invasion of the East.
Clash with Russian principalities
The main focus of the chapter of the Order was on the Russian principalities. It was only required to wait the right time for the first campaigns. At the end of 1240, Bishop Herman of Dorpat rightly decided that the Monogol invasion significantly weakened the Russian princes. Gathering a shock detachment of the knights of the Teutonic Order, the bishop captured Izborsk, and then Pskov. Then, on the land of the Novgorod principality, the knights of the Order rebuilt a fortress in Koporye - all the conditions for the complete conquest of the Russian principalities were created.
The collapse of all hopes
The decisive rebuff of Alexander Nevsky put an end to the plans of the order. Having suffered a crushing defeat near Lake Peipsi, the Bishop of Dorpat received a papal bull and was forced to conclude peace on very unpleasant conditions. The Crusaders abandoned all previously occupied lands and vowed not to return to Russia in the future.
Order of the Third Reich
The rebirth of the Teutonic Order took place already in Nazi Germany. Himmler's organization united the German military elite under its banner. Needless to say, the doctrine of the original Order of the Drang nach Osten was accepted by the Fuhrer with all his heart. However, the new "crusaders" were not destined to seize the Russian land.