History of naval art

After the defeat of the Swedes Alexander Nevskiy quarreled with the Novgorod boyars, who were afraid of strengthening princely power, and was forced to leave Novgorod for his inheritance - Pereyaslavl Zalessky . They took advantage of his departure German knights . In the autumn of 1240 they invaded the Russian land and captured Izborsk fortress and Koporye . Came out against the Germans Pskov voivode Gavrila Borislavich with his squad and the Pskov militia. However, the Pskovites were defeated by superior enemy forces. The governor and many warriors fell in the battle. The Russians retreated to Pskov. During the attack on Pskov, the knights mercilessly robbed and killed the Russian population, burned villages and churches. For a whole week the Germans unsuccessfully besieged Pskov. And only after a group of traitor boyars led by Tverdila entered into an agreement with the Germans and opened the city gates for them, Pskov was taken.

At this difficult time for the entire Russian land, at the request of the people, the boyars were forced to again call Alexander Nevsky to Novgorod.

Alexander Yaroslavich returned to Novgorod. On his behalf, the vigilantes called: “Get together, everyone from the smallest to the greatest: whoever has a horse is on the horse, and whoever doesn’t have a knight, let him go on the rook.” In a short time, he created a strong army of Novgorodians, Ladoga residents, Izhorians and Karelians.

Having gathered an army, Alexander Nevsky with a sudden blow knocked the Germans out of Koporye - an important strategic point from where they sent their troops deep into the Novgorod possessions. Anticipating fierce enemy resistance, Alexander Nevsky turned to his father, the Grand Duke, for help, asking him to send Vladimir-Suzdal regiments. Help was provided to him: Nevsky’s brother Andrei Yaroslavich brought him to Novgorod "lower" shelves . Having united with these regiments, Alexander Nevsky went to Pskov, surrounded and took it by storm. The capture of such a fortress as Pskov in such a short time testified to high level Russian military art and the presence of advanced siege and military equipment among our ancestors. The traitorous boyars were executed, and the captured knights were sent to Novgorod.

Having strengthened the borders of the liberated Novgorod land, Alexander Nevskiy led his army to the land of the Estonians , where the eye forces of the German knights were located. Faced with the threat of mortal danger, the knights increased their armed forces, headed by himself master of the order .

In the second half of March 1242 advance detachment of Russians under the command of Domash Tverdislavovich scouted the main forces of the Germans, but, forced to engage them in battle, was defeated by a numerically superior enemy and retreated to his main forces. Based on intelligence reports, Alexander Nevskiy decided to give battle to the enemy on ice Lake Peipsi. For this purpose, he transferred his troops to the eastern shore of this lake and stationed them in the Uzmen area, at the Crow Stone.

Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky knew well the weak and strengths your opponent. He chose a convenient position for battle on the ice of Lake Peipsi.

The spring ice was strong enough to withstand Russian soldiers armed with spears, swords, axes and axes, but the ice, as it soon became clear, could not withstand the knightly cavalry with riders clad in armor.

The strength of the knights lay not only in their excellent weapons, but also in their combat formation. The battle formation of the German knights was shaped like a wedge, or, as the Russian chronicle calls it, a “pig.”

According to historians, "pig" had the following appearance: from three to five mounted knights lined up in front; behind them, in the second rank, were already five to seven knights; subsequent rows increased by two or three people. The total number of rows that made up the “pig” could reach up to ten, and the number of knights - up to 150. The remaining knights were lined up in a column behind the “pig”.

This formation was repeatedly successfully used by knights to break through the enemy’s center and encircle his flanks.

Together with the knights, the infantry also acted, which consisted of squires, servants and partly from the population of the conquered countries. The infantry came into action when the “pig” broke the formation of the enemy’s central regiment and reached its flanks. But the infantry was always followed by a line of knights, for the crusaders did not place much hope in it.

Contrary to the usual formation of the battle formation of Russian troops, when in the center they placed big regiment , and on the flanks are weaker right and left hand shelves , Alexander Nevskiy , taking into account the enemy’s tactics, deliberately weakened its center, concentrating the main forces of the Russian army on the flanks. Was pushed forward a great distance insignificant vanguard , which, retreating, was supposed to lure the Germans on the ice of Lake Peipus . Alexander Nevsky placed the selected part of his squad behind the Crow Stone. This detachment was supposed to hit the enemy in the rear.

On the morning of April 5, 1242, the bulk of the German troops moved towards the Russians, who were standing in battle formation at the Raven Stone. As one would expect, this time the Germans used their favorite battle formation - wedge formation. The vanguard of the Russians retreated, dragging the knights with them. The Germans, as usual, attacked the Russian center, which they easily managed to break through. But at this time the main Russian forces, concentrated on the flanks, suddenly attacked them. Russian soldiers advanced quickly and acted decisively. In a relatively short time, they managed to surround the German wedge and cause confusion in the ranks of the knights. The German cavalry, pinched by the Russians, began to retreat, crushing their infantry. The ice could not withstand the weight of the enemy knights, horses and infantry huddled together. Many knights fell through the ice and died, along with their horses. The strike of the warriors from behind the Crow Stone into the rear of the Germans completed their defeat. “There was an evil slaughter,” writes the chronicler of the battle with the German knights, “and the Russian soldiers flogged them, chasing them as if through the air, and they had nowhere to hide.” 500 knights were killed and 50 captured.

The Russian victory at Lake Peipus was of historical significance. She saved Rus' from German slavery. Karl Marx highly appreciated this victory of Alexander Nevsky. "Alexander Nevsky opposes the German knights, smashes them on the ice of Lake Peipus, so that the scoundrels (die Lumpacii) were finally driven back from the Russian border ".

conclusions

Alexander Nevsky is a great Russian commander. His military activities are inextricably linked with the heroic struggle of the Russian people for their national independence.

In the fight against the Swedes and Germans, he showed high examples of strategic and tactical art. His strategy was active; it fully met the interests of the people, who sought to protect themselves from foreign invaders.

If, as a strategist, Alexander Nevsky unmistakably determined the main direction of the attack, then as a tactician he was no less skillfully able to concentrate the main forces and means in the decisive sector of the battle. Alexander Nevsky fought according to a pre-thought-out and carefully prepared plan. His tactics were active, offensive in nature.

“Prince Alexander won everywhere, was invincible” , wrote a contemporary of the prince in "The Lives of Alexander Nevsky."

At the Battle of the Neva, the Russians launched a surprise attack on the Swedish troops, who were completely defeated despite their numerical superiority.

At the first stage of the fight against the Germans, Alexander Nevsky showed high military art, taking the fortress of Koporye and Pskov by storm.

Having liberated their cities, the Russians moved their actions to enemy territory. Then, having lured his main forces to a pre-selected position on Lake Peipsi, they delivered a decisive blow to the enemy in Battle on the Ice .

After the Battle of the Ice, the knights recognized that the Russian people could neither be conquered nor enslaved. The ice of Lake Peipsi put a limit on the Germans' advance to the east.

“Whoever comes to us with a sword,” said Alexander Nevsky, “will die from the sword. This is where the Russian land stands and will stand.”

Alexander Nevsky was not only a great commander, but also a major statesman. During the Tatar invasion, he managed to subordinate the interests of the most important state centers of northwestern Rus' common cause saving the Russian people from German-Swedish aggression. At the same time, he upset the machinations of the Pope, who provoked the Russian people into an open armed uprising against the Tatars. Alexander Nevsky understood that a premature attack against the Tatars could break the resistance of the Russian people and would give the Germans and Swedes the opportunity to seize the northwestern part of the Russian land that had not been conquered by the Tatars.

***

After the defeat of the Swedes and Germans, Novgorod secured its possessions from invaders for a long time. The crushing blows of Alexander Nevsky were so strong that the enemies of Rus' could not recover from them for a long time. Only 44 years after the Battle of the Neva, the Swedes resumed their predatory campaigns against Novgorod. In 1248 they organized a campaign against the possessions of Novgorod with the aim of capturing Ladoga. But this campaign ended completely for themdestructionmom. The Novgorodians freely allowed the Swedes to enter the Neva, blocked them and then destroyed them.

In 1300, the Swedes, taking advantage of the difficult internal situation of Rus' (Tatar yoke) and the weakening of Novgorod itself due to the intensified struggle of boyar groups for power, decided to cut off Novgorod from the Baltic Sea. For this purpose, they sent their fleet of 111 ships to the Gulf of Finland and the Neva. Climbing up the Neva, the Swedes stopped at the mouth of the Okhta River, where, under the supervision of Italian engineers, they built the Landskrona fortress.

The Novgorodians, having learned about the arrival of the enemy fleet in the Neva, decided to destroy it with the help of burning ships sent downstream. But the Swedes, warned by their intelligence, managed to prevent this danger by driving piles above the parking lot of their fleet. Then the Novgorodians were forced to strengthen their ground force, which stormed Landskrona and destroyed it (1301).

In order to prevent the enemy from penetrating the Neva in the future, the Novgorodians built the Oreshek fortress (now Petrokrepost) at its source on Orekhov Island in 1323.

Due to the increased resistance of the Novgorodians, the Swedes suffered constant failures in their expensive campaigns against Rus', so in 1323 they sent their representatives to the Novgorodians in Oreshek with peace proposals. The latter accepted the Swedes' offer, and peace was signed in the Oreshek fortress.

According to the Orekhov Peace Treaty, the Sestra River became the border of Novgorod's possessions on the Karelian Isthmus, and the Narova River on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland.

The peace treaty of 1323 remained in force until 1348, when the Swedish king Magnus decided to cut off Russian access to the Baltic Sea, seize their land, and turn them into Catholic faith and enslave. In 1348, a large Swedish fleet under the command of the king himself entered the Gulf of Finland and, going up the Neva, took the Oreshek fortress.

To liberate Oreshek, the Novgorodians gathered a large militia and moved by water and land against the Swedes. The Swedish king, having learned about the movement of a large Russian army, left a strong garrison in Oreshka, and he and his retinue fled to Sweden. In 1349, the Novgorodians took the Oreshek fortress by storm.

After the liberation of Oreshek, the Novgorodians founded a new fortress, Kantsy, at the mouth of the Okhta River on the site of the former Swedish fortress of Landskrona.

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

Battle on 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. Such a “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 Catholic Order Swordsmen, after the defeat at the Battle of Saul (Šiauliai) in 1236, joined 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", and 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 “hound banner”: 35 knights making up the “wedge of banners”, plus their detachments (totalling 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 Peipus, 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 help in preparing the material to the historian and specialist in Ancient Rus' Igor Nikolaevich Danilevsky and military historian and medievalist Klim Aleksandrovich Zhukov.
© TASS INFOGRAPHICS, 2017

Worked on the material:

On April 5, 1242, the Battle of the Ice took place - a battle between the Novgorodians and Vladimirites led by Alexander Nevsky against the knights of the Livonian Order on the ice of Lake Peipsi.

Beginning of the war

Having taken the Koporye churchyard, the crusaders built a fortress here. In 1241 they planned to seize Veliky Novgorod, Karelia and lands in the Neva region. At the request of the veche, Prince Alexander Nevsky arrived in Novgorod, leaving him in the winter of 1240 after a quarrel with part of the Novgorod boyars.

Arriving in Novgorod in 1241, Alexander found Pskov and Koporye in the hands of the Order and immediately began retaliatory actions. Gathering an army of Novgorodians, Ladoga, Izhora and Karelians, he marched to Koporye, took it by storm and killed most of the garrison. Some of the knights and mercenaries from the local population were captured, but released, and the traitors from among the Chud were executed. The Novgorod army, joined by the Vladimir-Suzdal regiments, entered the land of the Estonians.

The Order did not have time to quickly gather reinforcements and send them to the besieged. Pskov was taken, the garrison was killed, and the order's governors (2 brother knights) were sent in chains to Novgorod.

Preparing for battle

In March 1242, the knights were only able to concentrate their forces in the Bishopric of Dorpat. The Novgorodians beat them in time.

Alexander led troops to Izborsk, his reconnaissance crossed the border of the Order. One of the reconnaissance detachments was defeated in a clash with the Germans, but in general Alexander was able to determine that the main forces of the knights moved much further north, to the junction between Pskov and Lake Peipsi.

Thus, they took a short road to Novgorod and cut off Russian troops in the Pskov region.

Ice battle

The knights gathered large forces. Near the village of Hammast, the Russian advanced detachment of Domash and Kerbet discovered a large knightly army; In the battle, the detachment was defeated, but the survivors reported the approach of the crusaders. Russian army retreated.

Alexander Nevsky positioned the Russian army (15-17 thousand people) in the narrow southern part of Lake Peipus. southwest of the island Raven Stone and forced a battle on the enemy in the place he had chosen, which covered the routes to Veliky Novgorod and Pskov. The enemy army - Livonian knights, knights and bollards (soldiers) of Dorpat and other bishoprics, Danish crusaders - lined up in a “wedge” (“pig”, according to Russian chronicles). The enemy’s plan was to crush and defeat the Russian regiments with the blow of a powerful armored “wedge”.

The Russian army met the German Livonian knights at dawn on April 5, 1242 on the ice of the southern part of Lake Peipsi. 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”, followed by a line 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.

Having crushed the advance detachment, the crusaders “hit a pig through the regiment” (through a large regiment) and considered the battle won.

But Alexander, striking the enemy from the side, mixed up their ranks and defeated them.

The Russian troops won a decisive victory: 400 knights were killed and 50 were captured; many more bollards, as well as warriors from Chud and Estonians, fell on the battlefield. The defeated knights fled to the west; Russian soldiers pursued them across the ice of the lake.

Ice myth

There is a persistent myth that the ice of Lake Peipsi could not withstand the weight of the armor of the Teutonic Knights and cracked, as a result most of the knights simply drowned.

This myth has been reflected in historical literature since the 16th century, and in the 20th century it was repeated in cinema.

However, if the battle actually took place on the ice of the lake, then it was more advantageous for the Order, since the flat surface made it possible to maintain formation during the massive cavalry attack that the sources describe.

Both armies had extensive experience in conducting combat operations in this region in all seasons, that is, it is unlikely that the Teutonic camp did not know about the degree of freezing of the rivers and the possibilities of their use in the spring.

In addition, the weight of the full armor of the Russian warrior and the order knight of that time were approximately comparable to each other, and the Russian cavalry could not gain an advantage due to lighter equipment.

It is quite possible that the battle itself did not take place on the ice of the lake, but on its shore, and only the retreat of the German soldiers took place along the lake. Whether this is true or not is almost impossible to establish, because... The shores of Lake Peipus are unstable and constantly change their position.

*) Due to the variability of the hydrography of Lake Peipus, historians for a long time It was not possible to determine exactly the place where the Battle of the Ice took place. As a result of careful research by the expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the real site of the battle was established. It is submerged in water in summer and is located approximately 400 meters from the island of Sigovec.

*) In 1938, Sergei Eisenstein shot the feature film “Alexander Nevsky”, in which the Battle of the Ice was filmed. The film is considered one of the most prominent representatives historical films. It was he who largely shaped the modern viewer’s idea of the battle.

*) Day of Military Glory of Russia - The Day of Victory of Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the Crusaders is celebrated on April 18 instead of the correct April 12 due to incorrect calculation of the date of the Battle of the Ice according to the New Style - because the difference between the old (Julian) and new (Gregorian) styles in dates of the 13th century was 7 days (relative to April 5 according to the old style), and 13 days only in dates of the 20th - 21st centuries.

*) In 1993, a monument was erected to the Russian squads of Alexander Nevsky, who defeated the German knights, on Mount Sokolikha in Pskov. This is almost 100 km away from the real site of the battle, but initially it was planned to create a monument on Vorony Island, which would have been a more accurate solution geographically.

*) The Battle of the Ice is depicted in the painting “Battle of the Ice” by V. A. Serov, and in the miniature of Litsevoy chronicle code(mid-16th century).

*) Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword. It is generally accepted that these words belong to the Novgorod prince Alexander Nevsky, the hero of the Battle of the Ice. This phrase is based on the well-known gospel expression: “Those who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

Prince Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1221-1263); Prince of Novgorod (1236-1240, 1241-1252 and 1257-1259), Grand Duke Kyiv (1249-1263), Grand Duke of Vladimir (1252-1263), famous Russian commander.

The second son of the Pereyaslavl prince (later the Grand Duke of Kyiv and Vladimir) Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and Rostislava (Feodosia) Mstislavna, Princess Toropetskaya, daughter of the Prince of Novgorod and Galicia Mstislav Udatny. Born in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky in May 1221.

Initially buried in the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir. In 1724, by order of Peter I, the relics of Alexander Nevsky were solemnly transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (since 1797 - Lavra) in St. Petersburg.

According to the canonical version, Alexander Nevsky is regarded as a saint, as a kind of golden legend of medieval Rus'. In the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, on one of the columns in the fresco of 1666, St. Alexander Nevsky is depicted (Fig. on the left).

One of the most significant events of the medieval Russian history became the Battle of the Ice of 1242, which took place on April 5 on the ice of Lake Peipsi. The battle summed up the war that lasted almost two years between the Livonian Order and the northern Russian lands - the Novgorod and Pskov republics. This battle went down in history as shining example the heroism of Russian soldiers who defended the freedom and independence of the country from foreign invaders.

Historical context and beginning of the war

The end of the first half of the 13th century was very difficult and tragic for Rus'. In 1237-1238, it swept through the northeastern principalities. Dozens of cities were destroyed and burned, people were killed or taken prisoner. The territory of the country was in severe desolation. In 1240, the western campaign of the Mongols began, during which the blow fell on the southern principalities. The western and northern neighbors of Rus' - the Livonian Order, Sweden and Denmark - decided to take advantage of this situation.

Back in 1237, Pope Gregory IX declared another crusade against the “pagans” who inhabited Finland. The fighting of the Order of the Sword against the local population in the Baltics continued throughout the first half of the 13th century. Repeatedly, German knights undertook campaigns against Pskov and Novgorod. In 1236, the Swordsmen became part of the more powerful Teutonic Order. The new formation was named the Livonian Order.

In July 1240, the Swedes attacked Rus'. Novgorod Prince Alexander Yaroslavich quickly set out with his army and defeated the invaders at the mouth of the Neva. It was for this feat of arms that the commander received the honorary nickname Nevsky. In August of the same year, the Livonian knights also began fighting. First they captured the Izborsk fortress, and after the siege, Pskov. They left their governors in Pskov. IN next year The Germans began to devastate the Novgorod lands, rob merchants, and take the population captive. Under these conditions, the Novgorodians asked the Vladimir prince Yaroslav to send his son Alexander, who reigned in Pereyaslavl.

Actions of Alexander Yaroslavich

Arriving in Novgorod, Alexander first decided to avert the immediate threat. For this purpose, a campaign was undertaken against the Livonian fortress of Koporye, built near the Gulf of Finland, on the territory of the Vod tribe. The fortress was taken and destroyed, and the remnants of the German garrison were taken prisoner.

Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky. Years of life 1221 - 1263

In the spring of 1242, Alexander set out on a campaign against Pskov. In addition to his squad, with him was the Vladimir-Suzdal squad of his younger brother Andrei and a regiment of the Novgorod militia. Having liberated Pskov from the Livonians, Alexander strengthened his army with the joining Pskovites and continued the campaign. Having crossed into the territory of the Order, reconnaissance was sent ahead. The main forces were deployed “in the villages,” that is, in local villages and hamlets.

Progress of the battle

The advance detachment met the German knights and entered into battle with them. Before superior forces, Russian soldiers had to retreat. After the return of reconnaissance, Alexander turned his troops, “backing up” back to the shore of Lake Peipsi. A convenient place for the battle was chosen here. Russian troops stood on the eastern shore of Uzmen (a small lake or strait between Lake Peipus and Pskov Lake), not far from the Crow Stone.

Battle map

The location was chosen in such a way that right behind the warriors there was a wooded snow-covered bank, on which the movement of cavalry was difficult. At the same time, the Russian troops were in shallow water, which was frozen to the very bottom and could easily withstand many armed people. But on the territory of the lake itself there were areas with loose ice- sigovitsy.

The battle began with a ramming attack by heavy Livonian cavalry directly into the center of the Russian formation. It is believed that Alexander stationed the weaker Novgorod militia here, and placed professional squads on the flanks. This construction provided a serious advantage. After the attack, the knights got stuck in the center; having broken through the ranks of the defenders, they could not turn around on the shore, having no room to maneuver. At this time, the Russian cavalry struck the flanks, surrounding the enemy.

The Chud warriors, allied to the Livonians, walked behind the knights and were the first to scatter. The chronicle notes that in total 400 Germans were killed, 50 were taken prisoner, and the Chuds died “innumerable.” The Sofia Chronicle says that some of the Livonians died in the lake. Having defeated the enemy, the Russian army returned to Novgorod, taking prisoners.

The meaning of the battle

First brief information about the battle are contained in the Novgorod Chronicle. Subsequent chronicles and lives of Nevsky provide additional information. Today there is a lot of popular literature devoted to the description of the battle. Here the emphasis is often placed on colorful pictures rather than on compliance real events. Summary books for children rarely allow us to fully describe the entire historical outline of the battle.

Historians assess the strengths of the parties differently. Traditionally, the number of troops is approximately 12-15 thousand people on each side. At that time these were very serious armies. True, German sources claim that only a few dozen “brothers” died in the battle. However, here we are talking only about members of the Order, of whom there were never many. In fact, these were officers, under whose command were ordinary knights and auxiliary warriors - bollards. In addition, along with the Germans, allies from Chud took part in the war, which Livonian sources did not take into account.

The defeat of the German knights in 1242 had great importance for the situation in northwestern Rus'. Under the conditions, it was very important to stop the Order’s advance on Russian lands for a long time. The next serious war with the Livonians will take place only in more than 20 years.

Prince Alexander Nevsky, who commanded the combined forces, was subsequently canonized. In the history of Russia, an order named after the famous commander was established twice - the first time, the second time - during the Great Patriotic War.

Of course, it is worth saying that the roots of this event go back to the era of the Crusades. And it is not possible to analyze them in more detail within the text. However, in our training courses there is a 1.5 hour video lesson, which in the form of a presentation examines all the nuances of this difficult topic. Become a participant in our training courses

Battle on the Ice


	Lake Peipsi
	Victory of Novgorod

Novgorod, Vladimir	Teutonic Order, Danish knights, Dorpat militia
Commanders
Alexander Nevsky, Andrey Yaroslavich	Andreas von Velven
Strengths of the parties
15-17 thousand people	10-12 thousand people

Significant	400 Germans (including 20 "brothers" of the Teutonic Order) killed, 50 Germans (including 6 "brothers") captured

Battle on the Ice(German) SchlachtaufdemEise), Also Battle of Lake Peipsi(German) SchlachtaufdemPeipussee) - the battle that took place on April 5 (in terms of Gregorian calendar (A new style) - April 12) 1242 (Saturday) between the Novgorodians and Vladimirites under the leadership of Alexander Nevsky and the knights of the Livonian Order, which by that time included the Order of the Sword Bearers (after the defeat at Saul in 1236), on the ice of Lake Peipsi. The general battle of the Order's unsuccessful conquest campaign of 1240-1242.

Preparing for war

The war began with the campaign of Bishop Herman, the Master of the Teutonic Order and their allies to Rus'. As the Rhymed Chronicle reports, during the capture of Izborsk, “not a single Russian was allowed to escape unharmed,” and “a great cry began everywhere in that land.” Pskov was captured without a fight, a small garrison remained in it, most of the troops returned. Arriving in Novgorod in 1241, Alexander found Pskov and Koporye in the hands of the Order and immediately began retaliatory actions. Alexander Nevsky marched on Koporye, took it by storm and killed most of the garrison. Some of the knights and mercenaries from the local population were captured, but released, and the traitors from among the Chud were executed.

By the beginning of 1242, Alexander waited for his brother Andrei Yaroslavich with the “grassroots” troops of the Suzdal principality. 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. 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 people of Novgorod and with his brother Andrey and with the Nizov people to the Chyud land to Nemtsi and Chyud and Zaya all the way to Plskov; and the prince of Plskov expelled, seized Nemtsi and Chud, and bound them to Novgorod, and he himself went to Chud.”

All these events took place in March 1242. The knights were only able to concentrate their forces in the Dorpat bishopric. The Novgorodians beat them in time. Alexander then led troops to Izborsk, his reconnaissance crossed the border of the Order. One of the reconnaissance detachments was defeated in a clash with the Germans, but in general Alexander was able to determine that the knights with the main forces moved much further north, to the junction between Pskov and Lake Peipsi. Thus, they took a short road to Novgorod and cut off Russian troops in the Pskov region.

The same chronicle says that “And as if there were on earth (Chudi), let the entire regiment prosper; and Domash Tverdislavichy Kerbet was in the crackdown, and I found Nemtsi and Chud at the bridge and fought that one; and killed that Domash, the brother of the mayor, an honest husband, and beat him with him, and took him away with his hands, and ran to the prince in the regiment; the prince turned back to the lake"

Position of Novgorod

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 “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. The total number of the Russian army was 15-17 thousand people, similar numbers were indicated by Henry of Latvia when describing Russian campaigns in the Baltic states in the 1210-1220s.

Position of the Order

According to the Livonian chronicle, for the campaign it was necessary to gather “many brave heroes, brave and excellent,” led by the master, plus Danish vassals “with a significant detachment.” Militia from Dorpat also took part in the battle. The latter included a large number of Estonians, but there were few knights. The Livonian rhymed chronicle reports that at the moment the knights were surrounded by the Russian squad, “the Russians had such an army that perhaps sixty people attacked each German”; even if the number “sixty” is a strong exaggeration, the numerical superiority of the Russians over the Germans most likely actually occurred. The number of troops of the Order in the Battle of Lake Peipsi is estimated at 10-12 thousand people.

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 recognition of the Order's defeat, Livonian sources do not contain information that any of the Order leaders were killed or captured

Battle

The opposing armies met on the morning of April 5, 1242. 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”, followed by a line 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 as follows:

Apparently, the archers did not inflict serious losses. Having fired at the Germans, the archers had no other choice but to retreat to the flanks of a large regiment. However, as the chronicle continues,

In Russian chronicles it is depicted as follows:

Then the troops of the Teutonic Order were surrounded by the Russians and destroyed, other German troops retreated to avoid the same fate:

There is a persistent myth, reflected in cinema, that the ice of Lake Peipsi could not withstand the weight of the armor of the Teutonic Knights and cracked, as a result of which most of the knights simply drowned. Meanwhile, if the battle really took place on the ice of the lake, then it was more advantageous for the Order, since the flat surface made it possible to maintain formation during a massive cavalry attack, which the sources describe. The weight of the full armor of the Russian warrior and the order knight of that time were approximately comparable to each other, and the Russian cavalry could not gain an advantage due to lighter equipment.

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 “Germans” are indicated by specific figures, which cause controversy. Russian chronicles say: “and Pade Chudi was beschisla, and NI had 400, and with 50 hands I arrived and brought it to Novgorod".

The Rhymed Chronicle specifically says that twenty knights were killed and six were captured. The discrepancy in assessments can be explained by the fact that the Chronicle refers only to “brothers”-knights, without taking into account their squads; in this case, out of 400 Germans who fell on the ice of Lake Peipsi, twenty were real “brothers”-knights, and from 50 prisoners were “brothers” 6.

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 to meet 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, at Lake Zhitsa and near Usvyat), was of great importance for Pskov and Novgorod , delaying the onslaught of three serious enemies from the west - at the very time when the rest of Rus' was greatly weakened Mongol invasion. In Novgorod, the Battle of the Ice, together with the Neva victory over the Swedes, was remembered in litanies in 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 Saul (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 events sources even describe the Battle of the Neva in more detail and give it higher value. However, even in the “Rhymed Chronicle,” the Battle of the Ice is clearly described as a defeat of the Germans, unlike Rakovor.

Memory of the battle

Movies

In 1938, Sergei Eisenstein shot the feature film “Alexander Nevsky”, in which the Battle of the Ice was filmed. The film is considered one of the most prominent representatives of historical films. It was he who largely shaped the modern viewer’s idea of the battle.

Filmed in 1992 documentary"In memory of the past and in the name of the future." The film tells about the creation of a monument to Alexander Nevsky for the 750th anniversary of the Battle of the Ice.

In 2009, jointly by Russian, Canadian and Japanese studios, animated film“The First Squad”, where the Battle on the Ice plays a key role in the plot.

Music

The score for Eisenstein's film, composed by Sergei Prokofiev, is a symphonic suite dedicated to the events of the battle.

The rock band Aria released the song “Hero of Asphalt” on the album “ Ballad about an ancient Russian warrior", telling about the Battle of the Ice. This song has gone through many different arrangements and re-releases.

Monuments

Monument to the squads of Alexander Nevsky on the town of Sokolikha

The monument to the squads of Alexander Nevsky was erected in 1993, on Mount Sokolikha in Pskov, almost 100 km away from the real site of the battle. Initially, it was planned to create a monument on Vorony Island, which would have been a more accurate solution geographically.

Monument to Alexander Nevsky and Worship Cross

In 1992, in the village of Kobylye Gorodishche, Gdovsky district, in a place as close as possible to the supposed site of the Battle of the Ice, a bronze monument to Alexander Nevsky and a wooden worship cross were erected near the Church of the Archangel Michael. The Church of the Archangel Michael was founded by Pskov residents in 1462. In the chronicles, the last mention of the legendary “Crow Stone” is associated with this church (Pskov Chronicle of 1463). The wooden cross gradually collapsed under the influence of unfavorable weather conditions. In July 2006, on the 600th anniversary of the first mention of the village. Kobylye Gorodishche in the Pskov Chronicles it was replaced with bronze.

The bronze worship cross was cast in St. Petersburg at the expense of patrons of the Baltic Steel Group (A. V. Ostapenko). The prototype was the Novgorod Alekseevsky Cross. The author of the project is A. A. Seleznev. The bronze sign was cast under the direction of D. Gochiyaev by the foundry workers of NTCCT CJSC, architects B. Kostygov and S. Kryukov. When implementing the project, fragments from the lost wooden cross by sculptor V. Reshchikov were used.

Cultural and sports educational raid expedition

Since 1997, an annual raid expedition has been conducted to the sites of military feats of Alexander Nevsky's squads. During these trips, participants in the race help improve areas related to monuments of cultural and historical heritage. Thanks to them, memorial signs were installed in many places in the North-West in memory of the exploits of Russian soldiers, and the village of Kobylye Gorodishche became known throughout the country.

Due to the variability of the hydrography of Lake Peipsi, historians for a long time were unable to accurately determine the place where the Battle of the Ice took place. Only thanks to long-term research carried out by an expedition from the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the location of the battle was established. The battle site is submerged in water in summer and is located approximately 400 meters from the island of Sigovets.