After the western Prussians were pacified by the early 1250s, the Teutonic Knights continued their advance north and east, next facing the Sambians of thickly-populated Samland.
The 60,000-strong crusading army which gathered for the campaign included Bohemians and Austrians under the command of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, Moravians under Bishop Bruno of Olmütz, Saxons under Margrave Otto III of Brandenburg, and a contingent brought by Rudolph of Habsburg [REF].