Alexander Nevsky ice. Day of military glory of Russia - victory on Lake Peipsi. Reference

The 10th century in densely populated - by medieval standards, of course - Western Europe was marked by the beginning of expansion. Subsequently, from century to century, this expansion expanded, taking on a wide variety of forms.

The European peasant, bent under the burden of duties to the lord, ventured into the unruly forests. He cut down trees, cleared the land of bushes and drained swamps, obtaining additional arable land.

The Europeans were pushing back the Saracens (the Arabs who captured Spain), and the reconquista (“reconquest” of Spain) was underway.

Inspired by the lofty idea of ​​liberating the Holy Sepulcher and overwhelmed by a thirst for riches and new lands, the crusaders stepped into the Levant - as the territories located along the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea were called in the Middle Ages.

The European “push to the east” began; peasants, skilled city craftsmen, experienced traders, and knights appeared en masse in Slavic countries, for example, in Poland and the Czech Republic, and began to settle and settle there. This contributed to the rise of the economy, social and cultural life of the Eastern European countries, but at the same time gave rise to problems, creating rivalry and confrontation between the newcomer and indigenous populations. A particularly large wave of immigrants poured from the German lands, where the rulers of the German Empire (following Emperor Frederick Barbarossa) supported the “onslaught on the East.”

Soon the eyes of Europeans were drawn to the Baltic states. It was perceived as a forest desert, lightly populated by wild Letto-Lithuanian and Finno-Ugric pagan tribes who did not know state power. Since ancient times, Rus' and the Scandinavian countries have been expanding here. They colonized the areas bordering them. Local tribes were subject to tribute. Back in the time of Yaroslav the Wise, the Russians built their fortress Yuriev beyond Lake Peipsi in the land of the Finno-Ugric-Estonians (named after Yaroslav the Wise at his baptism, the name George). The Swedes advanced into the possessions of the Finns until they reached the borders of the Karelian land controlled by Novgorod.

At the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries, people from Western Europe appeared in the Baltic states. The first to come were Catholic missionaries carrying the word of Christ. In 1184, monk Maynard unsuccessfully tried to convert the Livs (ancestors of modern Latvians) to Catholicism. Monk Berthold in 1198 preached Christianity with the help of the swords of the crusading knights. Canon Albert of Bremen, sent by the Pope, captured the mouth of the Dvina and founded Riga in 1201. A year later, an order of monastic knights was created on the Livonian lands conquered around Riga. He called Order of the Swordsmen in the shape of a long cross, more like a sword. In 1215-1216, the Swordsmen captured Estonia. This was preceded by their struggle with the Russian and Lithuanian princes, as well as enmity with Denmark, which had laid claim to Estonia since the beginning of the 12th century.

In 1212, the Swordsmen came close to the borders of Pskov and Novgorod lands. Mstislav Udaloy, who reigned in Novgorod, successfully resisted them. Then, during the reign of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich's father in Novgorod, the Sword Bearers were defeated near Yuryev (modern Tartu). The city remained with the crusaders, subject to payment of tribute to Novgorod for it (Yuriev's tribute). By 1219, Denmark had reconquered Northern Estonia, but 5 years later the Swordsmen regained it.

The activity of the crusaders pushed the Lithuanian tribes (Lithuania, Zhmud) to unite. They, the only Baltic peoples, began to form their own state.

In the land of the Baltic tribe of Prussians, which was located near the Polish border, another order of crusaders was founded - the Teutonic. Previously, he was in Palestine, but the Polish king invited the Teutons to the Baltic states, hoping for their help in the fight against the pagan Prussians. The Teutons soon began to seize Polish possessions. As for the Prussians, they were exterminated.

But defeat in 1234 by Alexander Nevsky's father Yaroslav, and in 1236 by the Lithuanians led to the reform of the Order of the Sword. In 1237 it became a branch of the Teutonic Order, and it began to be called Livonian.

Batu’s invasion gave rise to the hope among the crusaders that expansion could be expanded to the northern lands of the Orthodox, who in the West had long been considered heretics after the split of the churches in 1054. Mister Veliky Novgorod was especially attractive. But the crusaders were not the only ones who were seduced by the Novgorod land. The Swedes were also interested in it.

Mr. Veliky Novgorod and Sweden fought more than once when their interests in the Baltic states collided. At the end of the 1230s, news was received in Novgorod that the son-in-law of the Swedish king, Jarl (title of the Swedish nobility) Birger, was preparing a raid on the Novgorod possessions. Alexander, the 19-year-old son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, was then sitting as prince in Novgorod. He ordered the Izhora elder Pelgusius to monitor the coast and report the Swedish invasion. As a result, when the Scandinavian boats entered the Neva and stopped at the confluence of the Izhora River, the Prince of Novgorod was notified in time. July 15, 1240 Alexander arrived at the Neva and, with the help of a small Novgorod detachment and his squad, unexpectedly attacked the enemy.

Against the backdrop of the devastation of northeastern Rus' by the Mongol Khan Batu, this battle opened a difficult circle for his contemporaries: Alexander brought victory to Rus' and with it hope, faith in one’s own strength! This victory brought him the honorary title of Nevsky.

Confidence that the Russians were capable of winning victories helped them withstand the difficult days of 1240, when a more dangerous enemy, the Livonian Order, invaded the Novgorod borders. Ancient Izborsk fell. The Pskov traitors opened the gates to the enemy. The crusaders scattered across the Novgorod land and plundered in the outskirts of Novgorod. Not far from Novgorod, the crusaders built a fortified outpost, carried out raids near Luga and Sabelny Pogost, which was located 40 versts from Novgorod.

Alexander was not in Novgorod. He quarreled with the independent Novgorodians and left for Pereyaslavl Zalessky. Under pressure from circumstances, the Novgorodians began to ask the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav for help. The Novgorodians wanted to see Alexander Nevsky at the head of the Suzdal regiments. Grand Duke Yaroslav sent another son, Andrei, with a cavalry detachment, but the Novgorodians stood their ground. In the end, Alexander arrived and brought his Pereyaslav squad and the Vladimir-Suzdal militia, which consisted mainly of peasants. Novgorodians also assembled shelves.

In 1241, the Russians launched an offensive, recapturing Koporye from the crusaders. The fortress built by the knights in Koporye was destroyed. In the winter of 1242, Alexander Nevsky unexpectedly appeared near Pskov and liberated the city.

Russian troops entered the Order, but soon their vanguard was defeated by the knights. Alexander took his regiments to the eastern shore of Lake Peipus and decided to give battle.

April 5, 1242 of the year A great slaughter took place on the melted ice. The Russians stood in the traditional “eagle”: in the center was a regiment consisting of Vladimir-Suzdal militias, on the sides were regiments of the right and left hands - heavily armed Novgorod infantry and princely equestrian squads. The peculiarity was that a significant mass of troops were located on the flanks; usually the center was the strongest. Behind the militia was a steep bank covered with boulders. A convoy's sleigh, fastened with chains, was placed on the ice in front of the shore. This made the coast completely impassable for knightly horses and was supposed to keep the faint-hearted in the Russian camp from fleeing. A cavalry squad stood in ambush near the island of Voroniy Kamen.

The knights moved towards the Russians "boar's head" This was a special system that more than once brought success to the crusaders. In the center of the “boar’s head”, bollard infantrymen marched in closed ranks. On the sides of them and behind them, in 2-3 rows, rode riders clad in armor; their horses also had armor. Ahead, narrowing to a point, the ranks of the most experienced knights moved. The "boar's head", nicknamed the "pig" by the Russians, rammed the enemy and broke through the defense. Knights destroyed the enemy with spears, battle axes, and swords. When it was defeated, bollard infantrymen were released to finish off the wounded and those fleeing.

The chronicle story about the battle on the ice reports “the speed of the slashing of evil, and the crackling from the spears, and the breaking, and the sound from the cutting of the sword.”

The knights crushed the Russian center and began to spin around, breaking their own formation. They had nowhere to move. “Regiments of the right and left hands” pressed on the knights from the flanks. It was as if they were squeezing the “pig” with pincers. There were many dead on both sides of the fighting. The ice turned red with blood. The enemy suffered mainly from infantry. Killing a knight was difficult. But if he was pulled off his horse, he became defenseless - the weight of the armor did not allow him to stand up and move.

Suddenly the April ice cracked. The knights mingled. Those who fell into the water sank like stones to the bottom. Alexander Nevsky's troops struck with redoubled energy. The crusaders ran. Russian horsemen pursued them for several kilometers.

The ice battle was won. The crusaders' plan to establish themselves in Northern Rus' failed.

In 1243, ambassadors of the Order arrived in Novgorod. Peace was signed. The Crusaders recognized the borders of the Lord of Veliky Novgorod as inviolable and promised to regularly pay tribute to Yuryev. The terms for the ransom of several dozen knights who were captured were agreed upon. Alexander led these noble captives from Pskov to Novgorod next to their horses, barefoot, with their heads uncovered, and with a rope around their necks. It was impossible to think of a greater insult to knightly honor.

In the future, military skirmishes occurred more than once between Novgorod, Pskov and the Livonian Order, but the border of the possessions of both sides remained stable. For the possession of Yuryev, the Order continued to pay tribute to Novgorod, and from the end of the 15th century - to the Moscow unified Russian state.

In political and moral terms, victories over the Swedes and the knights of the Livonian Order were very important: the scale of the Western European onslaught on the northwestern borders of Rus' was reduced. The victories of Alexander Nevsky over the Swedes and crusaders interrupted the series of defeats of the Russian troops.

For the Orthodox Church, it was especially important to prevent Catholic influence in Russian lands. It is worth remembering that the crusade of 1204 ended with the capture by the crusaders of Constantinople, the capital of the Orthodox empire, which considered itself the Second Rome. For more than half a century, the Latin Empire existed on Byzantine territory. The Orthodox Greeks “huddled” in Nicaea, from where they tried to recapture their possessions from the Western crusaders. The Tatars, on the contrary, were allies of the Orthodox Greeks in their fight against the Islamic and Turkish onslaught on the eastern Byzantine borders. According to the practice that has developed since the 10th century, most of the highest hierarchs of the Russian Church were by origin Greeks or southern Slavs who came to Rus' from Byzantium. The head of the Russian church - the metropolitan - was appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Naturally, the interests of the universal Orthodox Church were above all else for the leadership of the Russian Church. Catholics seemed much more dangerous than Tatars. It is no coincidence that before Sergius of Radonezh (second half of the 14th century), not a single prominent church hierarch blessed or called for the fight against the Tatars. The invasion of Batu and the Tatar armies were interpreted by the clergy as the “scourge of God,” the punishment of the Orthodox for their sins.

It was the church tradition that created around the name of Alexander Nevsky, canonized after his death, the aura of an ideal prince, warrior, “sufferer” (fighter) for the Russian land. This is how he entered the national mentality. In this case, Prince Alexander is in many ways a “brother” of Richard the Lionheart. The legendary “doubles” of both monarchs overshadowed their real historical images. In both cases, the “legend” was far removed from the original prototype.

In serious science, meanwhile, debates about the role of Alexander Nevsky in Russian history do not subside. Alexander's position in relation to the Golden Horde, his participation in the organization of the Nevryuev army in 1252 and the spread of the Horde yoke to Novgorod, the cruel reprisals even for that time, characteristic of Alexander in the fight against his opponents, give rise to conflicting judgments regarding the results of the activities of this undoubtedly bright hero of Russian history .

For Eurasians and L.N. Gumilyov Alexander is a far-sighted politician who correctly chose an alliance with the Horde and turned his back to the West.

For other historians (for example, I.N. Danilevsky), Alexander’s role in Russian history is rather negative. This role is the actual conductor of Horde dependence.

Some historians, including S.M. Solovyova, V.O. Klyuchevsky, does not at all consider the Horde yoke to be a “useful alliance for Rus',” but notes that Rus' did not have the strength to fight. Supporters of continuing the fight against the Horde - Daniil Galitsky and Prince Andrei Yaroslavich, despite the nobility of their impulse, were doomed to defeat. Alexander Nevsky, on the contrary, was aware of the realities and was forced, as a politician, to seek a compromise with the Horde in the name of the survival of the Russian land.

Alexander Nevsky - Defender of Rus'

We won

Alexander Nevsky enters Pskov

"Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword"

On April 5, 1242, the Russian army led by Prince Alexander Nevsky defeated the Livonian knights in the Battle of the Ice on the ice of Lake Peipsi. In the 13th century, Novgorod was the richest city in Rus'. Since 1236, the young prince Alexander Yaroslavich reigned in Novgorod.

In 1240, when the Swedish aggression against Novgorod began, he was not yet 20 years old.

However, by that time he already had some experience of participating in his father’s campaigns, was fairly well read and had an excellent command of the art of war, which helped him win the first of his great victories: on July 21, 1240, with the forces of his small squad and the Ladoga militia, he suddenly and with a swift attack defeated the Swedish army, which landed at the mouth of the Izhora River (at its confluence with the Neva). For the victory in the battle, named later, in which the young prince showed himself to be a skilled military leader, showed personal valor and heroism, Alexander Yaroslavich received the nickname Nevsky. But soon, due to the machinations of the Novgorod nobility, Prince Alexander left Novgorod and went to reign in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.

However, the defeat of the Swedes on the Neva did not completely eliminate the danger hanging over Russia: the threat from the north, from the Swedes, was replaced by a threat from the west - from the Germans.

In pursuit of new lands and free labor, under the guise of the intention to convert pagans to Christianity, crowds of German nobles, knights and monks went east. With fire and sword they suppressed the resistance of the local population, sitting comfortably on their lands, building castles and monasteries here and imposing unbearable taxes and tribute on the Russian people. By the beginning of the 13th century, the entire Baltic region was in German hands. The population of the Baltic states groaned under the whip and yoke of warlike aliens.

And already in the early autumn of 1240, the Livonian knights invaded the Novgorod possessions and occupied the city of Izborsk. Soon Pskov also shared his fate - the Germans were helped to take it by the betrayal of the Pskov mayor Tverdila Ivankovich, who went over to the side of the Germans.

Having subjugated the Pskov volost, the Germans built a fortress in Koporye. This was an important bridgehead that made it possible to control the Novgorod trade routes along the Neva and plan further advance to the East. After this, the Livonian aggressors invaded the very center of the Novgorod possessions, captured Luga and the Novgorod suburb of Tesovo. In their raids they came within 30 kilometers of Novgorod.

Disregarding past grievances, Alexander Nevsky, at the request of the Novgorodians, returned to Novgorod at the end of 1240 and continued the fight against the invaders. The following year, he recaptured Koporye and Pskov from the knights, returning most of their western possessions to the Novgorodians. But the enemy was still strong, and the decisive battle was still ahead.

In the spring of 1242, reconnaissance of the Livonian Order was sent from Dorpat (the former Russian Yuryev, now the Estonian city of Tartu) with the aim of “testing” the strength of the Russian troops. 18 versts south of Dorpat, the order's reconnaissance detachment managed to defeat the Russian "dispersal" under the command of Domash Tverdislavich and Kerebet. It was a reconnaissance detachment moving ahead of the army of Alexander Yaroslavich in the direction of Dorpat. The surviving part of the detachment returned to the prince and reported to him about what had happened. The victory over a small detachment of Russians inspired the order's command. He developed a tendency to underestimate Russian forces and became convinced that they could be easily defeated. The Livonians decided to give battle to the Russians and for this they set out from Dorpat to the south with their main forces, as well as their allies, led by the master of the order himself. The main part of the troops consisted of knights clad in armor.

The Battle of Lake Peipsi, which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice, began on the morning of April 5, 1242. At sunrise, noticing a small detachment of Russian riflemen, the knightly “pig” rushed towards him. Alexander contrasted the German wedge with the Russian heel - a formation in the form of the Roman numeral "V", that is, the angle with the hole facing the enemy. This very hole was covered by a “brow”, consisting of archers, who took the main blow of the “iron regiment” and with courageous resistance noticeably disrupted its advance. Still, the knights managed to break through the defensive formations of the Russian “chela”.

A fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued. And at its very height, when the “pig” was completely drawn into the battle, at a signal from Alexander Nevsky, the regiments of the left and right hands hit its flanks with all their might. Not expecting the appearance of such Russian reinforcements, the knights were confused and, under their powerful blows, began to gradually retreat. And soon this retreat took on the character of a disorderly flight. Then suddenly, from behind cover, a cavalry ambush regiment rushed into battle. The Livonian troops suffered a crushing defeat.

The Russians drove them across the ice for another seven miles to the western shore of Lake Peipsi. 400 knights were destroyed and 50 were captured. Some of the Livonians drowned in the lake. Those who escaped from the encirclement were pursued by Russian cavalry, completing their defeat. Only those who were in the tail of the “pig” and were on horseback managed to escape: the master of the order, commanders and bishops.

The victory of Russian troops under the leadership of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German “dog knights” has important historical significance. The Order asked for peace. Peace was concluded on terms dictated by the Russians. The order's ambassadors solemnly renounced all encroachments on the Russian lands that were temporarily captured by the order. The movement of Western invaders into Rus' was stopped.

The western borders of Rus', established after the Battle of the Ice, lasted for centuries. The Battle of the Ice has gone down in history as a remarkable example of military tactics and strategy. Skillful construction of the battle formation, clear organization of interaction between its individual parts, especially infantry and cavalry, constant reconnaissance and taking into account the enemy’s weaknesses when organizing the battle, correct choice of place and time, good organization of tactical pursuit, destruction of most of the superior enemy - all this determined the Russian military art as advanced in the world.

Myths about the Battle of the Ice

Snowy landscapes, thousands of warriors, a frozen lake and crusaders falling through the ice under the weight of their own armor.

For many, the battle, which according to the chronicles took place on April 5, 1242, is not much different from the footage from Sergei Eisenstein’s film “Alexander Nevsky.”

But was it really so?

The myth of what we know about the Battle of the Ice

The Battle of the Ice truly became one of the most resonant events of the 13th century, reflected not only in “domestic” but also in Western chronicles.

And at first glance, it seems that we have enough documents to thoroughly study all the “components” of the battle.

But upon closer examination, it turns out that the popularity of a historical plot is not at all a guarantee of its comprehensive study.

Thus, the most detailed (and most quoted) description of the battle, recorded “hot on its heels,” is contained in the first Novgorod chronicle of the older edition. And this description is just over 100 words. The rest of the mentions are even more succinct.

Moreover, sometimes they include mutually exclusive information. For example, in the most authoritative Western source - the Elder Livonian Rhymed Chronicle - there is not a word that the battle took place on the lake.

The lives of Alexander Nevsky can be considered a kind of “synthesis” of early chronicle references to the clash, but, according to experts, they are a literary work and therefore can be used as a source only with “great restrictions.”

As for the historical works of the 19th century, it is believed that they did not bring anything fundamentally new to the study of the Battle of the Ice, mainly retelling what was already stated in the chronicles.

The beginning of the 20th century is characterized by an ideological rethinking of the battle, when the symbolic meaning of victory over “German knightly aggression” was brought to the fore. According to historian Igor Danilevsky, before the release of Sergei Eisenstein’s film “Alexander Nevsky,” the study of the Battle of the Ice was not even included in university lecture courses.

The myth of a united Rus'

In the minds of many, the Battle of the Ice is a victory of the united Russian troops over the forces of the German crusaders. This “generalizing” idea of ​​the battle was formed already in the 20th century, in the realities of the Great Patriotic War, when Germany was the main rival of the USSR.

However, 775 years ago, the Battle of the Ice was more of a “local” rather than a national conflict. In the 13th century, Rus' was experiencing a period of feudal fragmentation and consisted of about 20 independent principalities. Moreover, the policies of cities that formally belonged to the same territory could differ significantly.

Thus, de jure Pskov and Novgorod were located in the Novgorod land, one of the largest territorial units of Rus' at that time. De facto, each of these cities was an “autonomy”, with its own political and economic interests. This also applied to relations with its closest neighbors in the Eastern Baltic.

One of these neighbors was the Catholic Order of the Sword, which, after the defeat at the Battle of Saul (Šiauliai) in 1236, was annexed to the Teutonic Order as the Livonian Landmaster. The latter became part of the so-called Livonian Confederation, which, in addition to the Order, included five Baltic bishoprics.

As historian Igor Danilevsky notes, the main cause of territorial conflicts between Novgorod and the Order was the lands of the Estonians who lived on the western shore of Lake Peipsi (the medieval population of modern Estonia, who appeared in most Russian-language chronicles under the name “Chud”). At the same time, the campaigns organized by the Novgorodians practically did not affect the interests of other lands. The exception was the “border” Pskov, which was constantly subject to retaliatory raids by the Livonians.

According to historian Alexei Valerov, it was the need to simultaneously resist both the forces of the Order and Novgorod’s regular attempts to encroach on the city’s independence that could force Pskov to “open the gates” to the Livonians in 1240. In addition, the city was seriously weakened after the defeat at Izborsk and, presumably, was not capable of long-term resistance to the crusaders.

At the same time, as the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle reports, in 1242 there was not a full-fledged “German army” present in the city, but only two knights-vogts (presumably accompanied by small detachments), who, according to Valerov, performed judicial functions on controlled lands and monitored the activities of the “local Pskov administration”.

Further, as we know from the chronicles, the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich, together with his younger brother Andrei Yaroslavich (sent by their father, the Vladimir prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich), “expelled” the Germans from Pskov, after which they continued their campaign, going “to the chud” (i.e. e. in the lands of the Livonian Landmaster).

Where they were met by the combined forces of the Order and the Bishop of Dorpat.

The myth of the scale of the battle

Thanks to the Novgorod Chronicle, we know that April 5, 1242 was a Saturday. Everything else is not so clear.

Difficulties begin already when trying to determine the number of participants in the battle. The only figures we have tell us about losses in the ranks of the Germans. Thus, the Novgorod First Chronicle reports about 400 killed and 50 prisoners, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle reports that “twenty brothers were killed and six were captured.”

Researchers believe that these data are not as contradictory as they seem at first glance.

Historians Igor Danilevsky and Klim Zhukov agree that several hundred people took part in the battle.

So, on the German side, these are 35–40 brother knights, about 160 knechts (an average of four servants per knight) and mercenaries-ests (“Chud without number”), who could “expand” the detachment by another 100–200 warriors . Moreover, by the standards of the 13th century, such an army was considered a fairly serious force (presumably, in its heyday, the maximum number of the former Order of the Swordsmen, in principle, did not exceed 100–120 knights). The author of the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle also complained that there were almost 60 times more Russians, which, according to Danilevsky, although an exaggeration, still gives reason to assume that Alexander’s army was significantly superior to the forces of the crusaders.

Thus, the maximum number of the Novgorod city regiment, the princely squad of Alexander, the Suzdal detachment of his brother Andrei and the Pskovites who joined the campaign hardly exceeded 800 people.

From chronicle reports we also know that the German detachment was lined up as a “pig”.

According to Klim Zhukov, we are most likely not talking about a “trapezoidal” pig, which we are used to seeing in diagrams in textbooks, but about a “rectangular” one (since the first description of a “trapezoid” in written sources appeared only in the 15th century). Also, according to historians, the estimated size of the Livonian army gives reason to talk about the traditional formation of the “banner hound”: 35 knights making up the “banner wedge”, plus their detachments (totaling up to 400 people).

As for the tactics of the Russian army, the Rhymed Chronicle only mentions that “the Russians had many riflemen” (who, apparently, made up the first formation), and that “the army of the brothers was surrounded.”

We don't know anything else about it.

The myth that the Livonian warrior is heavier than the Novgorod one

There is also a stereotype according to which the combat clothing of Russian soldiers was many times lighter than the Livonian one.

According to historians, if there was a difference in weight, it was extremely insignificant.

After all, on both sides, exclusively heavily armed horsemen took part in the battle (it is believed that all assumptions about infantrymen are a transfer of the military realities of subsequent centuries to the realities of the 13th century).

Logically, even the weight of a war horse, without taking into account the rider, would be enough to break through the fragile April ice.

So, did it make sense to withdraw troops against him under such conditions?

The myth of the battle on ice and drowned knights

Let us disappoint you right away: there are no descriptions of how German knights fall through the ice in any of the early chronicles.

Moreover, in the Livonian Chronicle there is a rather strange phrase: “On both sides the dead fell on the grass.” Some commentators believe that this is an idiom meaning “to fall on the battlefield” (version of the medievalist historian Igor Kleinenberg), others - that we are talking about thickets of reeds that made their way from under the ice in the shallow waters where the battle took place (version of the Soviet military historian Georgy Karaev, shown on the map).

As for the chronicle references to the fact that the Germans were driven “across the ice,” modern researchers agree that this detail could have been “borrowed” by the Battle of the Ice from the description of the later Battle of Rakovor (1268). According to Igor Danilevsky, reports that Russian troops drove the enemy seven miles (“to the Subolichi shore”) are quite justified for the scale of the Rakovor battle, but look strange in the context of the battle on Lake Peipsi, where the distance from shore to shore in the supposed location the battle is no more than 2 km.

Speaking about the “Raven Stone” (a geographical landmark mentioned in part of the chronicles), historians emphasize that any map indicating a specific location of the battle is nothing more than a version. No one knows where exactly the massacre took place: the sources contain too little information to draw any conclusions.

In particular, Klim Zhukov is based on the fact that during archaeological expeditions in the area of ​​Lake Peipsi, not a single “confirming” burial was discovered. The researcher associates the lack of evidence not with the mythical nature of the battle, but with looting: in the 13th century, iron was very highly valued, and it is unlikely that the weapons and armor of the dead soldiers could have remained intact to this day.

The Myth of the Battle's Geopolitical Significance

In the minds of many, the Battle of the Ice “stands apart” and is perhaps the only “action-packed” battle of its time. And it really became one of the significant battles of the Middle Ages, “suspending” the conflict between Rus' and the Livonian Order for almost 10 years.

Nevertheless, the 13th century was rich in other events.

From the point of view of the clash with the crusaders, these include the battle with the Swedes on the Neva in 1240, and the already mentioned Battle of Rakovor, during which the united army of seven Northern Russian principalities came out against the Livonian Landmaster and Danish Estland.

Also, the 13th century is the time of the Horde invasion.

Despite the fact that the key battles of this era (the Battle of Kalka and the capture of Ryazan) did not directly affect the North-West, they significantly influenced the further political structure of medieval Rus' and all its components.

Moreover, if we compare the scale of the Teutonic and Horde threats, the difference is calculated in tens of thousands of soldiers. Thus, the maximum number of crusaders who ever participated in campaigns against Rus' rarely exceeded 1000 people, while the estimated maximum number of participants in the Russian campaign from the Horde was up to 40 thousand (version by historian Klim Zhukov).

TASS expresses gratitude for the assistance in preparing the material to the historian and specialist on Ancient Rus' Igor Nikolaevich Danilevsky and the military historian and medievalist Klim Aleksandrovich Zhukov.

© TASS INFOGRAPHICS, 2017

Worked on the material:

By the middle of the 13th century, the Eastern Baltic became a place where the interests of several geopolitical players collided. Short truces were followed by outbreaks of hostilities, which sometimes developed into real battles. One of the greatest events in history was the Battle of Lake Peipsi.

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Background

The main center of power in medieval Europe was the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope had unlimited power, had colossal financial resources, moral authority and could remove any ruler from the throne.

The crusades to Palestine organized by the popes for a long time plagued the entire Middle East. After the defeat of the crusaders, the calm was short-lived. The object that was to taste “European values” were the pagan Baltic tribes.

As a result of the active preaching of the Word of Christ, the pagans were partly destroyed, some were baptized. The Prussians disappeared completely.

The Teutonic Order settled on the territory of modern Latvia and Estonia, whose vassal was the Livonian Order (the former clan of the Swordbearers). It had a common border with the feudal republics of Rus'.

States of medieval Rus'

Mister Veliky Novgorod and the Pskov state had their own plans for the Baltic states. Yaroslav the Wise founded the Yuriev fortress on Estonian land. The Novgorodians, having subjugated the bordering Finno-Ugric tribes, made their way to the sea, where they encountered Scandinavian competitors.

In the 12th century there were several waves of Danish invasions of the Baltic lands. Systematically capturing the territory of the Estonians, the Danes settled in the north and islands of the Moonsund archipelago. Their goal was to transform the Baltic Sea into a “Danish lake”. The Swedish expeditionary force, with which Alexander Nevsky fought, had the same goals as the Novgorodians.

The Swedes were defeated. However, for Alexander Yaroslavich himself, the victory on the Neva turned into an unexpected “surprise”: the Novgorod elite, fearing the strengthening of the prince’s influence, forced him to leave the city.

Composition and strengths of the warring parties

Lake Peipsi became the site of a clash between Novgorodians and Livonians, but there were many more parties interested and involved in this event. On the side of the Europeans were:

1. Livonian Landmastery of the Teutonic Order (what is commonly called the Livonian Order). His cavalry took a direct part in the conflict.
2. Bishopric of Dorpat (autonomous part of the Order). The war took place on its territory. The city of Dorpat deployed a foot militia. The role of the infantrymen is not fully understood.
3. The Teutonic Order, which exercised general leadership.
4. The Roman throne provided financial support, as well as moral and ethical justification for European expansion to the East.

The forces opposing the Germans were not homogeneous. The army consisted of representatives of different lands who had their own beliefs. Among them were those who adhered to traditional pre-Christian beliefs.

Important! Many participants in the battle were not Christians.

Forces of the Orthodox-Slavic military alliance:

1. Mister Veliky Novgorod. Nominally it was the main military component. The Novgorodians provided material supplies and provided rear support, and were also infantry during the battle.
2. Pskov feudal republic. Initially it acted in alliance with Novgorod, then stepped aside, taking a neutral position. Some Pskovites volunteered to fight on the side of Novgorod.
3. Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. Direct military ally of Alexander Nevsky.
4. Volunteers from among the Prussians, Curonians and other Baltic tribes. Being pagans, they were highly motivated to wage war against the Catholics.

The main military force of the Russians was the squad of Alexander Nevsky.

Enemy tactics

The Livonians chose an opportune moment to start the war. Strategically, the Russian lands represented an ineffective dynastic union, the members of which had no other connections other than mutual grievances and claims.

The unsuccessful war with Rus' reduced it to a semi-subordinate state to other states.

Tactically, the matter seemed no less winning. The Novgorodians who drove Alexander away were good traders, but not soldiers.

Their loose, poorly trained militia was not capable of meaningful and prolonged combat operations. There were no experienced governors (military specialists - professionals capable of leading troops). There was no talk of any unified management. The Novgorod veche, with all its positive aspects, did not contribute to the strengthening of state structures.

Another important “trump card” of the Livonians was the presence of agents of influence. In Novgorod itself there were supporters of maximum rapprochement with Catholics, but there were many more of them among the Pskovites.

The role of Pskov

The Pskov Republic carried greatest losses from the Slavic-Germanic conflict. Being at the very line of confrontation, the Pskovites were the first to come under attack. A small territory with limited resources was increasingly burdened by this situation. Both the authorities and the population, especially rural ones, had their place.

Beginning of the war

In August 1240, parts of the crusaders became more active, capturing the city of Izborsk. The few detachments of Pskovites who tried to recapture it were scattered, and Pskov itself was besieged.

After negotiations, the gates were opened, the Germans left their representatives in the city. Obviously, some agreements were concluded according to which the Pskov lands passed into the enemy zone of influence.

In official Russian history, Pskov’s behavior is characterized as shameful and treacherous. However, it should be borne in mind that it was a sovereign state that had the right to enter into any alliances with any side. Politically, Pskov was as independent as Novgorod or any Russian principality. Pskovites had the right to choose with whom to enter into alliances.

Attention! Novgorod did not provide assistance to its ally.

The Novgorodians also turned out to be unable to resist the enemy on the coast. Not far from the sea, the Livonians built a wooden fortress (Koporye) and imposed tribute on the local tribes. This move remained unanswered.

Alexander Nevsky came to the rescue

“Prince Alexander came to Novgorod, and for the sake of Novgorod,” says the chronicle. Realizing that further developments could lead to a sad outcome, the Novgorod authorities asked for help. The Grand Duke of Vladimir sent them a detachment of cavalry. However, only Alexander Yaroslavich, with whom the Novgorodians had recently been in conflict, could cope with the Germans.

The young commander, who had recently tried the sword on the Swedes, acted quickly. In 1241, his squad, reinforced by a militia of Karelians, Izhorians and the Novgorodians themselves, approached Koporye. The fortress was taken and destroyed. Alexander released some of the captured Germans. And the winner hanged the Vod (a small Baltic people) and the Chud (Estonians) as traitors. The immediate threat to Novgorod was eliminated. It was necessary to choose the location of the next strike.

Liberation of Pskov

The city was well fortified. The prince did not storm the fortified fortification, even after receiving reinforcements from Suzdal. In addition, the enemy garrison was small. The Livonians relied on their Pskov proteges.

After a short skirmish, the German army was blocked, the soldiers laid down their arms. Alexander left the Germans for later ransom, and the Russian traitors and ordered the Estonians to be hanged. Next the path went to Izborsk, which was also liberated.

In a short time, the area was cleared of uninvited guests. Before the princely squad there was a foreign land. Having pushed forward the vanguard for reconnaissance and robbery, Alexander entered the borders of Livonia. Soon the advance detachment came across enemy cavalry, retreating after a short battle. The opponents learned each other's location and began preparing for battle.

Great Battle

Both sides relied on heavy cavalry. At the time described troop effectiveness(briefly) was assessed as follows:

1. Regular heavy cavalry. The striking force of almost any European army.
2. Feudal militia. Knights who served for a certain number of days. Unlike the regular cavalry, they had low discipline and did not know how to fight on horseback.
3. Regular infantry. Almost absent. The exception was archers.
4. Foot militia. Europeans had almost none, but in the states of medieval Rus' they were forced to use it quite widely. Its combat effectiveness was very low. A hundred knights could defeat an army of thousands of irregular infantry.

The Order and Alexander Nevsky had at hand armored horsemen with iron discipline and many years of training. It was they who fought on April 5, 1242 on the shores of Lake Peipsi. This date became significant for Russian history.

Progress of hostilities

The knightly cavalry crushed the center of the Novgorod army, which consisted of infantrymen. However, the inconvenient terrain forced the crusaders slow down. They got stuck in a static cabin, stretching the front more and more. The Dorpat foot militia, which could have balanced the forces, did not come to the rescue.

Without room to maneuver, the cavalry lost its “move” and found itself squeezed into a small, inconvenient space for battle. Then the squad of Prince Alexander struck. Its location, according to legend, was the island of Voroniy Kamen. This turned the tide of the battle.

The cavalry of the Aloth Order retreated. The Russian cavalry pursued the enemy for several kilometers, and then, having collected prisoners, returned to the banner of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich. Nevsky won the battle. The victory was complete and received loud name - Battle on the Ice.

Data on the exact location of the battle, the number of participants, and losses vary. The map of the Battle of the Ice is approximate. There are different versions of the event. Including those who deny the very fact of the battle.

Meaning

The victory over the knights significantly reduced the pressure on the borders of Russian lands. Novgorod defended access to the sea and continued profitable trade with Europe. An important moral and political aspect of the victory was the disruption of the plans of the Roman Church to penetrate Catholicism into the East. A border was established between Western and Russian civilizations. With minor changes it still exists today.

Secrets and mysteries of the Battle of Lake Peipsi

Alexander Nevsky, ice battle

Conclusion

There is one more important significance of the battle to be noted. After a long series of defeats, the Mongol invasion and national humiliation, there was a resounding victory was won. The significance of the Battle of the Ice is that, in addition to military success, a significant psychological effect was achieved. From now on, Rus' realized that it was capable of defeating the most powerful enemy.

The battle of April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipsi is one of the glorious episodes of Russian history. Naturally, it constantly attracted the attention of researchers and popularizers of science. But the assessment of this event was often affected by ideological tendencies. The description of the battle is overgrown with speculation and myths. It is said that from 10 to 17 thousand people took part in this battle on each side. This equates to an exceptionally crowded battle.

For the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that positive results have been achieved in the study of the Battle of the Ice. They are associated with clarifying the location of the battle, bringing into the system all surviving Russian and foreign sources.

The main reliable information about the battle of 1242 is contained in Novgorod First Chronicle of the Elder edition. Her recording is contemporary with the event. The chronicler reported general information about the war between Novgorod and the Livonian Order in 1242. He also left several brief comments about the battle itself. The next Russian source is "The Life of Alexander Nevsky", created in the 1280s. Largely based on the stories of witnesses who knew and observed Prince Alexander Yaroslavich as a commander, it slightly complements the chronicle. Only the testimony of “a self-witness who allegedly saw a favorable sign in the heavens - the regiment of God” is given.

Data from the two named sources were reflected in many later chronicles. The latter rarely contain new factual additions, but add a number of decorative details. Summarizing the chronicle and hagiographic messages, we can state that they are quite laconic. We learn about the campaign of 1242, the failure of the reconnaissance detachment, the withdrawal of Russian troops onto the ice of Lake Peipus, the formation of the German detachment, its defeat and escape. Details of the battle are not given. There is no usual data about the disposition of their regiments, the exploits of combatants, or the behavior of the commander. The leaders of the German army are not mentioned either. There are no names of the dead Novgorodians, which was usually noted if their number was significant. Apparently, this was influenced by a certain etiquette of the chronicler, who often avoided many details of military clashes, considering them to be self-evident and unnecessary for weather records.

The laconicism of Russian sources is partly complemented by the presentation "The Elder Livonian Rhymed Chronicle". Compiled in the last decade of the 13th century. The chronicle was intended for reading among the Livonian brother knights, therefore many of the poetic stories given in it, despite the well-known stereotyping, are documentary and very valuable for ideas about the military side of the matter.

Political and military situation

In the first half of the 13th century, in the north-west of Rus', weakened by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the aggression of the German knights of the Livonian Order posed a great danger. They entered into an alliance with the Swedish and Danish knights for a joint attack on Rus'.

A formidable danger loomed over Russia from the West, from the Catholic spiritual knightly orders. After the founding of the Riga fortress at the mouth of the Dvina (1198), frequent clashes began between the Germans on the one hand, and the Pskovians and Novgorodians on the other.

In 1237, the Teutonic Order of the Knights of the Blessed Virgin Mary, united into one with the Livonian Order, began to carry out widespread forced colonization and Christianization of the Baltic tribes. The Russians helped the pagan Balts, who were tributaries of Veliky Novgorod and did not want to accept baptism from the Catholic Germans. After a series of minor skirmishes it came to war. Pope Gregory IX blessed the German knights in 1237 to conquer the indigenous Russian lands.

In the summer of 1240, German crusaders, gathered from all the fortresses of Livonia, invaded the Novgorod land. The army of invaders consisted of Germans, bears, Yuryevites and Danish knights from Revel. With them was a traitor - Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich. They appeared under the walls of Izborsk and took the city by storm. The Pskovites rushed to the rescue of their fellow countrymen, but their militia was defeated. There were over 800 people killed alone, including the governor Gavrila Gorislavich.

Following in the footsteps of the fugitives, the Germans approached Pskov, crossed the Velikaya River, set up their camp under the very walls of the Kremlin, set fire to the settlement and began to destroy churches and surrounding villages. For a whole week they kept the Kremlin under siege, preparing for the assault. But it didn’t come to that: the Pskovite Tverdilo Ivanovich surrendered the city. The knights took hostages and left their garrison in Pskov.

Prince Alexander Yaroslavich ruled in Novgorod from 1236. In 1240, when the aggression of the Swedish feudal lords against Novgorod began, he was not yet 20 years old. He took part in his father's campaigns, was well read and had an understanding of war and the art of war. But he didn’t have much personal experience yet. Nevertheless, on July 21 (July 15), 1240, with the help of his small squad and the Ladoga militia, he defeated the Swedish army, which landed at the mouth of the Izhora River (at its confluence with the Neva), with a sudden and swift attack. For his victory in the Battle of Neva, in which the young prince showed himself to be a skilled military leader and showed personal valor and heroism, he was nicknamed “Nevsky”. But soon, due to the machinations of the Novgorod nobility, Prince Alexander left Novgorod and went to reign in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.

The defeat of the Swedes on the Neva did not completely eliminate the danger hanging over Russia. The Germans' appetite increased. They have already said: “We will reproach the Slovenian language... to ourselves,” that is, we will subjugate the Russian people to ourselves. Already in the early autumn of 1240, the Livonian knights occupied the city of Izborsk. Soon Pskov shared his fate, captured with the help of traitors - the boyars. In the same autumn of 1240, the Livonians captured the southern approaches to Novgorod, invaded the lands adjacent to the Gulf of Finland, and created the Koporye fortress here, where they left their garrison. This was an important bridgehead that made it possible to control the Novgorod trade routes along the Neva and plan further advance to the East. After this, the Livonian aggressors invaded the very center of the Novgorod possessions and captured the Novgorod suburb of Tesovo. In the winter of 1240-1241, the knights again appeared as uninvited guests in the Novgorod land. This time they captured the territory of the Vod tribe, east of the river. Narova, “you fought everything and laid tribute on them.” Having captured the “Vodskaya Pyatina”, the knights took possession of Tesov (on the Oredezh River), and their patrols appeared 35 km from Novgorod. Thus, a vast territory in the Izborsk - Pskov - Sabel - Tesov - Koporye region was in the hands of the Germans.

The Germans already considered the Russian border lands to be their property; the pope “transferred” the coast of the Neva and Karelia under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Ezel, who entered into an agreement with the knights: he agreed for himself a tenth of everything that the land gives, and left everything else - fishing, mowing, arable land - to the knights.

Then the Novgorodians remembered Prince Alexander. The ruler of Novgorod himself went to ask the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich to release his son, and Yaroslav, realizing the danger of the threat emanating from the West, agreed: the matter concerned not only Novgorod, but all of Rus'.

Disregarding past grievances, at the request of the Novgorodians, Alexander Nevsky returned to Novgorod at the end of 1240 and continued the fight against the invaders. Alexander organized an army of Novgorodians, Ladoga residents, Karelians and Izhorians. First of all, it was necessary to decide on the method of action. Pskov and Koporye were in enemy hands. Alexander understood that simultaneous action in two directions would scatter his forces. Therefore, having identified the Koporye direction as a priority - the enemy was approaching Novgorod - the prince decided to strike the first blow at Koporye, and then liberate Pskov from the invaders.

This operation showed that success could be achieved with the combined forces of the Novgorodians and some Finnish tribes. The timing of the hike was well chosen. In the same year 1241, the prince recaptured Pskov from the knights. The Germans, who captured Pskov and its regions, did not have time to fortify there. Part of their forces fought against the Curonians and Lithuanians. But the enemy was still strong, and the decisive battle lay ahead.

The march of the Russian troops came as a surprise to the Order. As a result, the knights were expelled from Pskov without a fight, and Alexander’s army, after achieving this important goal, invaded the Livonian borders.

Preparing for war

Arriving in Novgorod in 1241, Alexander found Pskov and Koporye in the hands of the Order and immediately began retaliatory actions, taking advantage of the difficulties of the Order, which was then distracted by the fight against the Mongols (Battle of Legnica).

Before going against the knights, Alexander Nevsky prayed in the Church of Sophia, asking the Lord for help in victory: “Judge me, O God, and judge my quarrel with the generous people (with the Livonian Germans), and help me, O God, as You helped Moses in ancient times defeat Amalek, and helped my great-grandfather Yaroslav defeat the accursed Svyatopolk.”

After this prayer, he left the church and addressed the squad and militia with the words: “We will die for St. Sophia and Free Novgorod! Let us die for the Holy Trinity and free Pskov! For now, the Russians have no other destiny than to harrow their Russian land, the Orthodox Christian faith!” And all the Russian soldiers answered him: “With you, Yaroslavich, we will win or die for the Russian land!”

Thus, in 1241, Alexander set out on a campaign. The invasion of Livonian land pursued limited, “probing” goals. However, the Novgorodians were ready to accept a field battle. In anticipation of the enemy, reconnaissance was carried out, food supplies were replenished, and the “full” was captured. The regiments reached the Dorpat bishopric, but did not besiege castles and cities, but stayed in the coastal part of Lake Peipsi. The brother knights of the Livonian Order and the Dorpatites (the chronicle calls them Chud), perhaps with the support of the Danes who owned Northern Estonia, were preparing for retaliatory actions.

Alexander reached Koporye, took it by storm “and poured out hail from its foundations,” killed most of the garrison: “and beat the Germans themselves, and brought others with them to Novgorod.” Some of the knights and mercenaries from the local population were taken prisoner, but released: “but let others go, for you are more merciful than measure,” and the traitors from among the Chuds were hanged: “and the leaders and Chuds of the perevetniks (that is, traitors) were hanged (hanged )". Vodskaya Pyatina was cleared of Germans. The right flank and rear of the Novgorod army were now safe.

In March 1242, the Novgorodians set out on a campaign again and were soon near Pskov. Alexander, believing that he did not have enough strength to attack a strong fortress, was waiting for his brother Andrei Yaroslavich with the Suzdal ("Nizovsky") squads, who soon arrived. When the “grassroots” army was still on the way, Alexander and the Novgorod forces advanced to Pskov. The city was surrounded by it. The Order did not have time to quickly gather reinforcements and send them to the besieged. The army included Novgorodians (black people - wealthy townspeople, as well as boyars and city elders), the princely squad of Alexander himself, the "Nizovtsy" from the Vladimir-Suzdal land - a detachment of Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodich, detached under the leadership of Alexander's brother, Andrei Yaroslavich (in This detachment, according to the Rhymed Chronicle, were Suzdal). In addition, according to the Pskov First Chronicle, the army included Pskovites, who apparently joined after the liberation of the city. The total number of Russian troops is not known, but for its time it seemed significant. According to the Life, the regiments marched “in great strength.” The German source generally testifies to a 60-fold superiority of Russian forces, which is clearly exaggerated.

Pskov

Pskov was taken, the garrison was killed, and the order's governors (2 brother knights) were sent in chains to Novgorod. According to the Novgorod First Chronicle of the older edition (came down to us as part of the parchment Synodal list of the 14th century, containing records of the events of 1016-1272 and 1299-1333) “In the summer of 6750 (1242/1243). Prince Oleksandr went with the Novgorodians and his brother Andreem and from the Nizovtsi to the Chud land to Nemtsi and Chud and Zaya all the way to Plskov; and the prince of Plskov drove out, seized Nemtsi and Chud, and forged the streams to Novgorod, and he himself went to Chud.”

All these events took place in March 1242. After this defeat, the Order began to concentrate its forces within the Dorpat bishopric, preparing an offensive against the Russians. The Order gathered great strength: here were almost all its knights with the “master” (master) at the head, “with all their biskupi (bishops), and with all the multitude of their language, and their power, that there is in this country, and with help the queen,” that is, there were German knights, the local population and the army of the Swedish king. In the spring of 1242, reconnaissance of the Livonian Order was sent from Dorpat (Yuryev) in order to test the strength of the Russian troops.

The Novgorodians beat them in time. Alexander decided to transfer the war to the territory of the Order itself, led troops to Izborsk, his intelligence crossed the border. “And I went,” the chronicler reports, “to German land, although I would take revenge on Christian blood.” Alexander sent forward several reconnaissance detachments. One of them, the “dispersal” under the command of the mayor’s brother Domash Tverdislavich and Kerbet (one of the “Nizovsky” governors), came across German knights and Chud (Estonians), and was defeated approximately 18 kilometers south of Dorpat by an order reconnaissance detachment. At the same time, Domash died: “And as if on the earth (Chudi), let the entire regiment prosper; and Domash Tverdislavich and Kerbet were in dispersal, and I caught Nemtsi and Chud at the bridge and killed that one; and I killed that Domash, the brother of the mayor, She was honest with her husband, and she beat him with him, and took him away with her hands, and she ran to the prince’s regiment; the prince returned to the lake.”

The surviving part of the detachment returned to the prince and reported to him about what had happened. The victory over a small detachment of Russians inspired the order's command. He developed a tendency to underestimate Russian forces and became convinced that they could be easily defeated. The Livonians decided to give battle to the Russians and for this they set out from Dorpat to the south with their main forces, as well as their allies, led by the master of the order himself. The main part of the troops consisted of knights clad in armor.

Alexander was able to determine that the main forces of the knights moved much further north, to the junction between Pskov and Lake Peipsi. Alexander's reconnaissance found out that the enemy sent insignificant forces to Izborsk, and his main forces were moving towards Lake Peipsi. Thus, they took a short road to Novgorod and cut off Russian troops in the Pskov region.

The Novgorod army turned towards the lake, “and the Germans walked on them like crazy.” The Novgorodians tried to repel the outflanking maneuver of the German knights, carrying out an unusual maneuver: they retreated to the ice of Lake Peipsi, north of the Uzmen tract, near the island of Voroniy Kamen: “on Uzmeniu Voronen Kameni.”

Having reached Lake Peipus, the Novgorod army found itself in the center of possible enemy routes to Novgorod. The Order's army also approached there in battle formation. Thus, the site of the battle was proposed by the Russian side with the explicit expectation of carrying out a maneuverable battle simultaneously by several detachments against the German formation, called the “pig”. Now Alexander decided to give battle and stopped. “The howl of Grand Duke Alexander was filled with the spirit of war, for their heart was like a lion,” they were ready to “lay down their heads.” The forces of the Novgorodians were little more than the knightly army.

Position of Alexander Nevsky

The troops that opposed the knights on the ice of Lake Peipus had a heterogeneous composition, but a single command in the person of Alexander.

The Russian battle order is not described in the sources, however, according to indirect data, it can be interpreted. In the center was the princely regiment of the commander-in-chief, with regiments of the right and left hands standing nearby. Ahead of the main regiment, according to the Rhymed Chronicle, were archers. We have before us a three-part division of the main army, typical of its time, which could, however, have been more complex.

The “lower regiments” consisted of princely squads, boyar squads, and city regiments. The army deployed by Novgorod had a fundamentally different composition. It included the squad of the prince invited to Novgorod (that is, Alexander Nevsky), the squad of the bishop (“lord”), the garrison of Novgorod, who served for a salary (gridi) and was subordinate to the mayor (however, the garrison could remain in the city itself and not participate in the battle) , Konchansky regiments, militia of posads and squads of “povolniki”, private military organizations of boyars and rich merchants.

In general, the army fielded by Novgorod and the “lower” lands was a fairly powerful force, distinguished by high fighting spirit. A significant part of the Russian troops, judging by his mobility, significant marching movements across Estonian land, the desire to measure strength with mounted knights, and finally, the choice of the battle site, which created freedom of maneuver in a significant open space, could have been cavalry.

According to some historians, the total number of Russian troops reached 15 - 17 thousand people. However, this figure is most likely greatly overestimated. A real army could number up to 4 - 5 thousand people, of which 800 - 1000 people were princely equestrian squads. The majority of it consisted of foot soldiers of the militia.

Position of the Order

Particularly important is the question of the number of troops of the order who set foot on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Historians also differ in their opinions about the number of German knights. Domestic historians usually gave a number of 10 - 12 thousand people. Later researchers, citing the German “Rhymed Chronicle,” name three or four hundred people, supported by foot mercenaries armed with spears and the order’s allies, the Livs. The figures available in chronicle sources are the losses of the order, which amounted to about twenty “brothers” killed and six captured. Considering that for one “brother” there were 3 - 5 “half-brothers” who did not have the right to loot, the total number of the Livonian army itself can be determined at 400 - 500 people.

Given the recent defeat that the Teutons suffered from the Mongols at Legnica on April 9, 1241, the order could not provide assistance to its Livonian “branch”. Also participating in the battle were Danish knights and the militia from Dorpat, which included a large number of Estonians, but the knights could not be numerous. Thus, the order had a total of about 500 - 700 cavalry people and 1000 - 1200 Estonian militiamen. Like the estimates of Alexander's troops, these figures are debatable.

The question of who commanded the order’s troops in the battle is also unresolved. Given the heterogeneous composition of the troops, it is possible that there were several commanders.

Despite the defeat of the order, Livonian sources do not contain information that any of the order leaders were killed or captured.

Battle

The Battle of Lake Peipsi, which went down in history as the “Battle of the Ice,” began on the morning of April 5, 1242.

Alexander Nevsky positioned the Russian army on the southeastern shore of Lake Peipsi, opposite the island of Voroniy Kamen. There is no information about the order of battle of the troops. We can assume that this was a “regimental row” with a guard regiment in front. Judging by the chronicle miniatures, the battle formation was turned with its rear to the steep steep eastern shore of the lake, and Alexander’s best squad hid in ambush behind one of the flanks. The chosen position was advantageous in that the Germans, advancing on open ice, were deprived of the opportunity to determine the location, number and composition of the Russian army.

The army of the crusaders lined up in a “wedge” (“pig”, according to Russian chronicles). In chain mail and helmets, with long swords, they seemed invulnerable. The plan of the Livonian knights was to crush the large regiment of Alexander Nevsky with a powerful blow, and then the flanking regiments. But Alexander guessed the enemy’s plan. In the center of his formation he placed the weaker regiments, and the strongest ones on the flanks. An ambush regiment was hidden to the side.

At sunrise, noticing a small detachment of Russian riflemen, the knightly “pig” rushed towards him.

Historians considered the “pig” to be a kind of wedge-shaped formation of an army - a sharp column. The Russian term in this regard was an exact translation of the German Schweinkopf of the Latin caput porci. In turn, the mentioned term is related to the concept of wedge, tip, cuneus, acies. The last two terms have been used in sources since Roman times. But they cannot always be interpreted figuratively. Individual military units were often called this way, regardless of the method of their formation. For all that, the very name of such units hints at their unique configuration. Indeed, the wedge-shaped structure is not the fruit of the theoretical imagination of ancient writers. This formation was actually used in combat practice in the 13th - 15th centuries. in Central Europe, and fell out of use only at the end of the 16th century.
Based on surviving written sources, which have not yet attracted the attention of domestic historians, the construction with a wedge (in the chronicle text - “pig”) lends itself to reconstruction in the form of a deep column with a triangular crown. This construction is confirmed by a unique document - the military manual “Preparation for a Campaign,” written in 1477. for one of the Brandenburg military leaders. It lists three divisions-banners. Their names are typical - “Hound”, “St. George” and “Great”. The banners consisted of 400, 500 and 700 mounted warriors, respectively. At the head of each detachment were concentrated a standard bearer and selected knights, located in 5 ranks. In the first rank, depending on the size of the banner, there were lined up from 3 to 7-9 mounted knights, in the last - from 11 to 17. The total number of warriors of the wedge ranged from 35 to 65 people. The ranks were lined up in such a way that each subsequent one on its flanks increased by two knights. Thus, the outermost warriors in relation to each other were placed as if on a ledge and guarded the one riding in front from one of the sides. This was the tactical feature of the wedge - it was adapted for a concentrated frontal attack and at the same time was difficult to be vulnerable from the flanks.

The second, column-shaped part of the banner, according to “Preparation for the Campaign,” consisted of a quadrangular structure that included bollards. The number of bollards and each in the three detachments mentioned above was respectively 365, 442 and 629 (or 645). They were located in depth from 33 to 43 ranks, each of which contained from 11 to 17 cavalry. Among the bollards were servants who were part of the knight's battle retinue: usually an archer or crossbowman and a squire. All together they formed a lower military unit - a “spear” - numbering 3-5 people, rarely more. During the battle, these warriors, equipped no worse than a knight, came to the aid of their master and changed his horse. The advantages of the column-wedge banner include its cohesion, flank coverage of the wedge, ramming power of the first strike, and precise controllability. The formation of such a banner was convenient both for movement and for starting a battle. The tightly closed ranks of the leading part of the detachment did not need to turn around to protect their flanks when they came into contact with the enemy. The wedge of the approaching army made a terrifying impression and could cause confusion in the ranks of the enemy at the first onslaught. The wedge detachment was intended to break the opposing side's formation and achieve a quick victory.

The described system had its own shortcomings. During the battle, if it dragged on, the best forces - the knights - could be the first to be put out of action. As for the bollards, during the fight between the knights they were in a wait-and-see state and had little influence on the outcome of the battle.

It is also possible to more specifically determine the size of the Livonian combat detachment of the 13th century. In 1268 In the battle of Rakovor, as the chronicle mentions, a German iron regiment - the “great pig” - acted. According to the Rhymed Chronicle, 34 knights and militia took part in the battle. This number of knights, if supplemented by a commander, will be 35 people, which exactly corresponds to the composition of the knightly wedge of one of the detachments noted in the “Preparation for the Campaign” of 1477. (although for the “Hound” it is a banner, not the “Great”). In the same “Preparation for the Campaign” the number of bollards of such a banner is given - 365 people. Taking into account the fact that the figures for the head units of the detachments according to the data of 1477 and 1268 practically coincided, we can assume, without the risk of a big mistake, that in terms of their overall quantitative composition, these units were also close to each other. In this case, we can to a certain extent judge the usual size of the German wedge-shaped banners that took part in the Livonian-Russian wars of the 13th century.

As for the German detachment in the battle of 1242, its composition was hardly superior to the Rakovorskaya - “great pig”. During the period under review, the Livonian Order, distracted by the struggle in Courland, could not field a large army.

The details of the battle are poorly known - and much can only be guessed at. The German column, which was pursuing the retreating Russian detachments, apparently received some information from the patrols sent forward, and had already entered the ice of Lake Peipus in battle formation, with bollards in front, followed by a disorganized column of “chudins”, which were being pressed from the rear a line of knights and sergeants of the Bishop of Dorpat. Apparently, even before the collision with the Russian troops, a small gap had formed between the head of the column and the Chud.

The Rhymed Chronicle describes the moment the battle began: “The Russians had many riflemen who courageously stepped forward and were the first to take the onslaught in front of the prince’s squad.” Apparently the archers did not inflict serious losses. Having fired at the Germans, the archers had no choice but to retreat to the flanks of a large regiment. The riflemen took the brunt of the "iron regiment"'s attack and with courageous resistance significantly disrupted its advance.

Exposing their long spears, the Germans attacked the center (“brow”) of the Russian battle formation. This is what is written in the “chronicle”: “The banners of the brothers penetrated the ranks of the shooters, one could hear swords ringing, helmets being cut, and the fallen falling on the grass on both sides.” Most likely, this was recorded from the words of an eyewitness who was in the rear ranks of the army, and it is quite possible that the warrior mistook some other Russian unit for the advanced archers.

The chosen tactics paid off. A Russian chronicler writes about the enemy’s breakthrough of the Novgorod regiments: “The Germans fought their way through the regiments like pigs.” The knights broke through the defensive formations of the Russian "chela". However, having stumbled upon the steep shore of the lake, the sedentary, armor-clad knights could not develop their success. The knightly cavalry was crowded together, as the rear ranks of knights pushed the front ranks, which had nowhere to turn for battle. A fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued. And at its very height, when the “pig” was completely drawn into the battle, at a signal from Alexander Nevsky, the regiments of the left and right hands hit its flanks with all their might.

The German "wedge" was caught in pincers. At this time, Alexander’s squad struck from the rear and completed the encirclement of the enemy. "The brothers' army was surrounded."

Warriors who had special spears with hooks pulled the knights off their horses; warriors armed with “cobbler” knives disabled the horses, after which the knights became easy prey. “And that slash was evil and great for the Germans and the people, and there was a coward from the copy of the breaking, and the sound from the sword’s section, like a frozen lake moving, and not seeing the ice, for fear of blood.” The ice began to crack under the weight of the heavily armed knights huddled together. The enemy was surrounded.

Then suddenly, from behind cover, a cavalry ambush regiment rushed into battle. Not expecting the appearance of such Russian reinforcements, the knights were confused and, under their powerful blows, began to gradually retreat. And soon this retreat took on the character of a disorderly flight. Some knights managed to break through the encirclement and tried to escape, but many of them drowned.

The order's chronicler, wanting to somehow explain the fact of the defeat of the brothers in faith, extolled the Russian warriors: “The Russians had countless bows, a lot of beautiful armor. Their banners were rich, their helmets radiated light." He spoke sparingly about the defeat itself: “Those who were in the army of the brother knights were surrounded, the brother knights defended themselves quite stubbornly. But they were defeated there.”

From this we can conclude that the German formation was drawn into battle with the central opposing regiment, while the side regiments managed to cover the flanks of the German army. The “Rhymed Chronicle” writes that “part of the Derpt residents (“Chudi” in the Russian chronicle) left the battle, this was their salvation, they were forced to retreat.” We are talking about bollards who covered the knights from the rear. Thus, the striking force of the German army - the knights - was left without cover. Surrounded, they were apparently unable to maintain formation, reform for new attacks, and, moreover, were left without reinforcements. This predetermined the complete defeat of the German army, primarily its most organized and combat-ready force.

The battle ended with the pursuit of the fleeing enemy in panic. At the same time, some of the enemies died in the battle, some were captured, and some, finding themselves in a place of thin ice - “sigovina”, fell through the ice. The Novgorodian cavalry pursued the remnants of the knightly army, which fled in disarray, across the ice of Lake Peipus all the way to the opposite shore, seven miles, completing their defeat.

The Russians also suffered losses: "This victory cost Prince Alexander many brave men." The Novgorod First Chronicle reports that as a result of the battle, 400 Germans fell, 90 were taken prisoner and “the people fell into disgrace.” The above figures appear to be exaggerated. According to the Rhymed Chronicle, 20 knights were killed and 6 were captured. Taking into account the composition of an ordinary knight's spear (3 combatants), the number of killed and captured knights and bollards could reach 78 people. An unexpectedly close figure - 70 dead knights of the order - is given by German sources of the second half of the 15th-16th centuries. It is unknown where such an exact figure of “damage” came from. Didn’t the “late” German chronicler triple the losses indicated in the “Rhymed Chronicle” (20 + 6x3 = 78)?

The pursuit of the remnants of a defeated enemy outside the battlefield was a new phenomenon in the development of Russian military art. The Novgorodians did not celebrate the victory “on the bones,” as was customary before. The German knights suffered a complete defeat. In the battle, more than 400 knights and “countless numbers” of other troops were killed, and 50 “deliberate commanders,” that is, noble knights, were captured. All of them followed the horses of the winners on foot to Pskov. Only those who were in the tail of the “pig” and were on horseback managed to escape: the master of the order, commanders and bishops.

The numbers of incapacitated fighters given by the Rhymed Chronicle may be close to the true ones. The number of killed and captured knights, as mentioned, was 26. Probably, almost all of them were part of the wedge: these people were the first to enter the battle and were exposed to the greatest danger. Taking into account the five-rank formation, it can be assumed that the number of the wedge was no more than 30-35 knights. It is not surprising that most of them laid down their lives on the battlefield. This composition of the wedge assumes its maximum width in the form of a line of 11 fighters.

The number of bollards in this kind of columns was slightly more than 300 people. As a result, with all the calculations and assumptions, the total number of the German-Chud army that took part in the battle of 1242 hardly exceeded three to four hundred people, and most likely was even smaller.

After the battle, the Russian army went to Pskov, as stated in the Life: “And Alexander returned with a glorious victory, and there were many captives in his army, and they were led barefoot near the horses, those who called themselves “God’s knights.”

The Livonian troops suffered a crushing defeat. The “Battle on the Ice” dealt a severe blow to the order. This battle stopped the advance to the East launched by the crusaders, which had the goal of conquering and colonizing Russian lands.

The significance of the victory of Russian troops under the leadership of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German knights was truly historical. The Order asked for peace. Peace was concluded on terms dictated by the Russians.

In the summer of 1242, the “brothers of the order” sent ambassadors to Novgorod with a bow: “I entered Pskov, Vod, Luga, Latygola with the sword, and we are retreating from all of them, and what we have taken into full possession of your people (prisoners), and with those we will exchange, We’ll let your people in, and you’ll let our people in, and we’ll let Pskov in full.” The order's ambassadors solemnly renounced all encroachments on the Russian lands that were temporarily captured by the order. The Novgorodians agreed to these conditions, and peace was concluded.

The victory was won not only by the strength of Russian weapons, but also by the strength of the Russian faith. The squads continued to fight under the command of the glorious prince in 1245 against the Lithuanians, in 1253 again against the German knights, in 1256 against the Swedes, and in 1262 together with the Lithuanians against the Livonian knights. All this happened later, and after the Battle of the Ice, Prince Alexander lost his parents one after another, leaving him an orphan.

The Battle of the Ice went down in history as a remarkable example of military tactics and strategy and became the first time in the history of military art when heavy knightly cavalry was defeated in a field battle by an army consisting mostly of infantry. The Russian battle formation (“regimental row” in the presence of a reserve) turned out to be flexible, as a result of which it was possible to encircle the enemy, whose battle formation was a sedentary mass; the infantry successfully interacted with their cavalry.

Skillful construction of the battle formation, clear organization of interaction between its individual parts, especially infantry and cavalry, constant reconnaissance and taking into account the enemy’s weaknesses when organizing the battle, correct choice of place and time, good organization of tactical pursuit, destruction of most of the superior enemy - all this determined the Russian military art as advanced in the world.

The victory over the army of the German feudal lords was of great political and military-strategic significance, delaying their offensive to the East - “Drang nach Osten” - which was the leitmotif of German politics from 1201 to 1241. The northwestern border of the Novgorod land was reliably secured just in time for the Mongols to return from their campaign in Central Europe. Later, when Batu returned to Eastern Europe, Alexander showed the necessary flexibility and agreed with him to establish peaceful relations, eliminating any reason for new invasions.

Losses

The issue of the losses of the parties in the battle is controversial. The Russian losses are spoken of vaguely: “many brave warriors fell.” Apparently, the losses of the Novgorodians were really heavy. The losses of the knights are indicated by specific numbers, which cause controversy.

Russian chronicles, followed by domestic historians, say that about five hundred knights were killed, and the miracles were “beschisla”; fifty “brothers,” “deliberate commanders,” were allegedly taken prisoner. Five hundred killed knights is a completely unrealistic figure, since there was no such number in the entire Order.

According to the Livonian chronicle, the battle was not a major military clash, and the Order's losses were negligible. The Rhymed Chronicle specifically says that twenty knights were killed and six were captured. Perhaps the Chronicle means only the brother knights, without taking into account their squads and the Chud recruited into the army. The Novgorod “First Chronicle” says that 400 “Germans” fell in the battle, 50 were taken prisoner, and “chud” is also discounted: “beschisla”. Apparently, they suffered really serious losses.

So, on the ice of Lake Peipus, 400 German soldiers actually fell (of which twenty were real brother knights), and 50 Germans (of which 6 brothers) were captured by the Russians. “The Life of Alexander Nevsky” claims that the prisoners then walked next to their horses during the joyful entry of Prince Alexander into Pskov.

In the “Rhymed Chronicle,” the Livonian chronicler claims that the battle did not take place on the ice, but on the shore, on land. The immediate site of the battle, according to the conclusions of the expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences led by Karaev, can be considered a section of Warm Lake, located 400 meters west of the modern shore of Cape Sigovets, between its northern tip and the latitude of the village of Ostrov.

It should be noted that the battle on a flat surface of ice was more advantageous for the heavy cavalry of the Order, however, it is traditionally believed that the place for meeting the enemy was chosen by Alexander Yaroslavich.

Consequences

According to the traditional point of view in Russian historiography, this battle, together with the victories of Prince Alexander over the Swedes (July 15, 1240 on the Neva) and over the Lithuanians (in 1245 near Toropets, near Lake Zhitsa and near Usvyat), was of great importance for Pskov and Novgorod, holding back the onslaught of three serious enemies from the west - at the very time when the rest of Rus' was suffering heavy losses from princely strife and the consequences of the Tatar conquest. In Novgorod, the Battle of the Germans on the Ice was remembered for a long time: together with the Neva victory over the Swedes, it was remembered in the litanies of all Novgorod churches back in the 16th century.

The English researcher J. Funnel believes that the significance of the Battle of the Ice (and the Battle of the Neva) is greatly exaggerated: “Alexander did only what numerous defenders of Novgorod and Pskov did before him and what many did after him - namely, rushed to protect the extended and vulnerable borders from invaders." Russian professor I.N. Danilevsky also agrees with this opinion. He notes, in particular, that the battle was inferior in scale to the battles of Siauliai (1236), in which the Lithuanians killed the master of the order and 48 knights (20 knights died on Lake Peipsi), and the battle of Rakovor in 1268; Contemporary sources even describe the Battle of the Neva in more detail and give it greater significance.

“Battle of the Ice” is a monument in honor of the victory of Russian soldiers over German knights on April 5, 1242 on Lake Peipsi.

Located on Mount Sokolikha, Piskovichi volost, Pskov region. Opened in July 1993.

The main part of the monument is a bronze sculpture of Russian soldiers led by A. Nevsky. The composition includes copper ensigns, which indicate the participation of Pskov, Novgorod, Vladimir and Suzdal soldiers in the battle.