Who fought Nevsky on Lake Peipus. Where did the "Battle of the Ice" take place?

Losses

Monument to the squads of A. Nevsky on Mount Sokolikh

The question of the losses of the parties in the battle is controversial. About Russian losses, it is said 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, and after them domestic historians, say that about five hundred people were killed by the knights, and the Chud were “pade beschisla”, as if fifty “brothers”, “deliberate governors” were taken prisoner. Four hundred or five hundred killed knights is a completely unrealistic figure, since there were not such a number in the entire Order.

According to the Livonian chronicle, for the campaign had to collect "a lot brave heroes, brave and excellent" led by the master, plus Danish vassals "with a significant detachment." The Rhymed Chronicle specifically says that twenty knights died and six were taken prisoner. Most likely, the "Chronicle" refers only to the "brothers" - knights, not 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 the "chud" is also discounted: "beschisla". Apparently, they suffered really serious losses.

So, it is possible that 400 German cavalry soldiers really fell on the ice of Lake Peipsi (twenty of them were real "brothers" - knights), and 50 Germans (of which 6 were "brothers") were captured by the Russians. The Life of Alexander Nevsky claims that the prisoners then walked near their horses during the joyful entry of Prince Alexander into Pskov.

According to the conclusions of the expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences led by Karaev, the immediate place of the battle can be considered a section of the 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 ice surface was more beneficial for the heavy cavalry of the Order, however, it is traditionally believed that Alexander Yaroslavich chose the place to meet the enemy.

Effects

According to the point of view traditional 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 Zhiztsa and near Usvyat), had great importance for Pskov and Novgorod, holding back the pressure of three serious enemies from the west - at the very time when the rest of Russia was suffering from princely strife and the consequences of the Tatar conquest big losses. 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 in all Novgorod churches back in the 16th century.

The English researcher J. Fannel believes that the significance of the Battle of the Ice (and the Battle of the Neva) is greatly exaggerated: “Alexander did only what the numerous defenders of Novgorod and Pskov did before him and what many did after him - namely, they rushed to protect the extended and vulnerable borders from invaders. The Russian professor I. N. Danilevsky agrees with this opinion. He notes, in particular, that the battle was inferior in scale to the battles near Siauliai (city), in which the master of the order and 48 knights were killed by the Lithuanians (20 knights died on Lake Peipsi), and the battle near Rakovor in 1268; contemporary sources even describe the Battle of the Neva in more detail and attach more importance to it. However, even in the Rhymed Chronicle, the Battle of the Ice is unequivocally described as a defeat for the Germans, in contrast to Rakovor.

The memory of the battle

Films

Music

The Eisenstein film score, composed by Sergei Prokofiev, is a symphonic suite commemorating the events of the battle.

Monument to Alexander Nevsky and Poklonny Cross

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. A bronze sign was cast under the direction of D. Gochiyaev by the foundry workers of ZAO NTTsKT, architects B. Kostygov and S. Kryukov. During the implementation of 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 places of feats of arms of Alexander Nevsky's squads. During these trips, the participants of the race help to improve the territories related to the monuments of cultural and historical heritage. Thanks to them, in many places in the North-West, memorial signs were erected in memory of the exploits of Russian soldiers, and the village of Kobylye Gorodishche became known throughout the country.

April 18 is the Day of Military Glory of Russia, the day of the victory of the Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German knights on Lake Peipsi (the so-called Battle on the Ice, 1242). The date is marked according to federal law"On the days of military glory (victorious days) of Russia" dated 13.03.1995 No. 32-FZ.

In the early 40s. XIII century, taking advantage of the weakening of Russia, which occurred as a result of the devastating invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, the German crusaders, Swedish and Danish feudal lords decided to seize its northeastern lands. Together they hoped to conquer the Novgorod feudal republic. The Swedes, with the support of the Danish knights, tried to capture the mouth of the Neva, but in the Battle of the Neva in 1240 they were defeated by the Novgorod army.

In late August - early September 1240, the crusaders of the Livonian Order, which was formed by German knights, invaded the Pskov land Teutonic Order in 1237 in the Eastern Baltic in the territory inhabited by the tribes of Livs and Estonians. After a short siege, the German knights captured the city of Izborsk. Then they laid siege to Pskov and, with the assistance of the traitorous boyars, soon occupied it as well. After that, the crusaders invaded the Novgorod land, captured the coast of the Gulf of Finland and built their own on the site of the ancient Russian fortress of Koporye. Before reaching Novgorod 40 km, the knights began to rob its environs.

(Military Encyclopedia. Military Publishing. Moscow. in 8 volumes - 2004)

An embassy was sent from Novgorod to the great Vladimir prince Yaroslav to release his son Alexander (Prince Alexander Nevsky) to help them. Alexander Yaroslavovich ruled in Novgorod from 1236, but because of the intrigues of the Novgorod nobility, he left Novgorod and went to reign in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Yaroslav, realizing the danger of the threat emanating from the West, agreed: the matter concerned not only Novgorod, but all of Russia.

In 1241, Prince Alexander Nevsky, returning to Novgorod, gathered an army of Novgorodians, Ladoga, Izhora and Karelians. Covertly making a quick transition to Koporye, it seized this strong fortress by storm. By taking Koporye, Alexander Nevsky secured the northwestern borders of the Novgorod lands, secured his rear and the northern flank for further struggle against the German crusaders. At the call of Alexander Nevsky, troops from Vladimir and Suzdal arrived to help the Novgorodians under the command of his brother Prince Andrei. United Novgorod-Vladimir army in the winter of 1241-1242. undertook a campaign in the Pskov land and, cutting off all roads from Livonia to Pskov, stormed this city, as well as Izborsk.

After this defeat, the Livonian knights, having gathered a large army, marched to the Pskov and Peipsi lakes. The basis of the army of the Livonian Order was the heavily armed knightly cavalry, as well as the infantry (bollards) - detachments of the peoples enslaved by the Germans (Ests, Livs, etc.), which many times outnumbered the knights.

Having found out the direction of movement of the main enemy forces, Alexander Nevsky sent his army there as well. Coming to Lake Peipus, the army of Alexander Nevsky was in the center possible ways enemy movement on Novgorod. In this place, it was decided to give battle to the enemy. The armies of the opponents converged on the shores of Lake Peipus at the Voronye stone and the Uzmen tract. Here, on April 5, 1242, a battle took place, which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice.

At dawn, the crusaders approached the Russian position on the ice of the lake at a slow trot. The army of the Livonian Order, according to the established military tradition, attacked with an "iron wedge", which appears in Russian chronicles under the name "pigs". On the tip was the main group of knights, some of them covered the flanks and rear of the "wedge", in the center of which the infantry was located. The wedge had as its task the fragmentation and breakthrough of the central part of the enemy troops, and the columns following the wedge were to crush the enemy flanks with coverage. In chain mail and helmets, with long swords, they seemed invulnerable.

Alexander Nevsky countered this stereotypical tactic of the knights with the new formation of the Russian troops. He concentrated the main forces not in the center ("chela"), as the Russian troops always did, but on the flanks. Ahead was the advanced regiment of light cavalry, archers and slingers. The battle order of the Russians was facing the rear towards the steep, steep eastern shore of the lake, and the princely cavalry squad hid in an ambush behind the left flank. The chosen position was advantageous in that the Germans, advancing along open ice, were deprived of the opportunity to determine the location, number and composition of the Russian troops.

The knight's wedge broke through the center of the Russian army. Having stumbled upon the steep shore of the lake, the inactive, armored knights could not develop their success. Russian flanks order of battle("wings") clamped the wedge in tongs. At this time, Alexander Nevsky's squad struck from the rear and completed the encirclement of the enemy.

Under the onslaught of the Russian regiments, the knights mixed their ranks and, having lost their freedom of maneuver, were forced to defend themselves. A fierce battle ensued. Russian infantrymen pulled the knights off their horses with hooks and chopped them with axes. Clamped on all sides confined space The Crusaders fought desperately. But their resistance gradually weakened, it took on an unorganized character, the battle broke up into separate pockets. Where large groups of knights accumulated, the ice could not withstand their weight and broke. Many knights drowned. The Russian cavalry pursued the defeated enemy over 7 km, to the opposite shore of Lake Peipus.

The army of the Livonian Order was completely defeated and suffered huge losses for those times: up to 450 knights died and 50 were captured. Several thousand knechts were destroyed. The Livonian Order was faced with the need to make peace, according to which the crusaders renounced their claims to Russian lands, and also renounced part of Latgale (a region in eastern Latvia).

The victory of the Russian troops on the ice of Lake Peipus was of great political and military significance. The Livonian Order was dealt a crushing blow, the advance of the crusaders to the East stopped. The battle on the ice was the first example in history of the defeat of the knights by an army consisting mainly of infantry, which testified to the advanced nature of Russian military art.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Battle on the Ice


	Lake Peipsi
	Novgorod's victory

Novgorod, Vladimir	Teutonic Order, Danish knights, Derpt militia
Commanders
Alexander Nevsky, Andrey Yaroslavich	Andreas von Velven
Side forces
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 on Lake Peipsi(German SchlachtaufdemPeipussee) - the battle that took place on April 5 (in terms of the Gregorian calendar (New style) - April 12) 1242 (Saturday) between Novgorod and Vladimir under the leadership of Alexander Nevsky and the knights of the Livonian Order, which by that time included the Order of the Sword (after defeat at Saul in 1236), on the ice of Lake Peipus. General battle of the unsuccessful conquest campaign of the Order of 1240-1242.

Preparing for war

The war began with the campaign of Bishop German, Master of the Teutonic Order and their allies against Russia. According to the Rhymed Chronicle, when Izborsk was taken, “not a single Russian was allowed to escape unharmed”, “great lamentation 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 taken prisoner, 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 with the Novgorod forces marched near Pskov. The city was surrounded by them. 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 knight brothers) in chains were sent to Novgorod. According to the Novgorod First Chronicle of the senior edition (reached us as part of the parchment Synodal list of the XIV 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 from Nizov to the Chud land to Nemtsi and Chud and Zaya all the way to Plskov; and drive out the prince of Plskov, seizing Nemtsi and Chud, and fettering the streams 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 Derpt bishopric. The Novgorodians outplayed them in time. Alexander then led troops to Izborsk, his intelligence crossed the border of the Order. One of the reconnaissance detachments was defeated in a collision with the Germans, but in general, Alexander was able to determine that the knights moved with their main forces much further north, to the junction between Pskov and Peipus Lakes. Thus, they went to Novgorod by a short road and cut off the Russian troops in the Pskov region.

The same chronicle says that “And as if bysh on the earth (chud), let the whole regiment live; and Domash Tverdislavichi Kerbet was in dispersal, and I killed Nemtsi and Chud at the bridge and bisha that; and kill that Domash, the brother of the posadnik, the husband is honest, and beat him with him, and take him with his hands, and run to the prince in the regiment; the prince is back on the lake"

Position of Novgorod

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

"Grassroots regiments" consisted of princely squads, squads of boyars, city regiments. The army sent 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 posadnik (however, the garrison could remain in the city itself and not participate in the battle) , Konchansky regiments, militia of settlements and squads of "freemen", private military organizations of boyars and wealthy merchants.

On the whole, the army deployed by Novgorod and the "grassroots" lands was quite powerful force with high fighting spirit. Total population 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 collect "many brave heroes, brave and excellent" led by the master, plus Danish vassals "with a significant detachment." The militia from Dorpat also participated in the battle. The latter included a large number of Estonians, but there were few knights. The Livonian rhymed chronicle reports that at the time of the encirclement of the knights 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, really took place. The number of troops of the Order in the battle on Lake Peipsi is estimated at 10-12 thousand people.

The question of who commanded the troops of the Order in battle is also unresolved. Given the heterogeneous composition of the troops, it is possible that there were several commanders. Despite the recognition of the defeat of the Order, the Livonian sources do not contain information that any of the Order's chiefs was 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, pursuing the retreating Russian detachments, apparently received some information from the patrols sent ahead, and already entered the ice of Lake Peipus in battle formation, the bollards walked ahead, followed by a discordant column of “chudins”, after which there was a line knights and sergeants of the Derpt bishop. Apparently, even before the collision with the Russian troops, a small gap formed between the head of the column and the Chud.

The Rhymed Chronicle describes the moment of the beginning of the battle as follows:

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

In Russian chronicles, this is displayed as follows:

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

There is a persistent myth, reflected in the 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 profitable for the Order, since the flat surface made it possible to maintain formation during a massive horse attack, which the sources describe. The weight of the full armor of a Russian warrior and an 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 question of the losses of the parties in the battle is controversial. About Russian losses, it is said vaguely: "many brave soldiers fell." Apparently, the losses of the Novgorodians were really heavy. The losses of the "Germans" are indicated by specific numbers, which cause controversy. Russian chronicles say: “and pade Chyudi beschisla, and Nѣmets 400, and 50 with the hands of Yash and brought to Novgorod ".

The Rhymed Chronicle specifically says that twenty knights died and six were taken prisoner. The discrepancy in estimates can be explained by the fact that the “Chronicle” refers only to “brothers”-knights, not taking into account their squads, in this case, out of 400 Germans who fell on the ice of Lake Peipus, twenty were real “brothers”-knights, and from 50 captured "brothers" were 6.

According to the conclusions of the expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR under the leadership of Karaev, the site of the 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, can be considered the immediate place of the battle. It should be noted that the battle on a flat surface of ice was more beneficial for the heavy cavalry of the Order, however, it is traditionally believed that Alexander Yaroslavich chose the place to meet the enemy.

Effects

According to the point of view traditional 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 Zhiztsa and near Usvyat), was of great importance for Pskov and Novgorod. , delaying the pressure of three serious enemies from the west - at the very time when the rest of Russia was greatly weakened Mongol invasion. In Novgorod, the Battle on the Ice, together with the Neva victory over the Swedes, was recalled at litanies in all Novgorod churches back in the 16th century.

The English researcher J. Fannel believes that the significance of the Battle of the Ice (and the Battle of the Neva) is greatly exaggerated: “Alexander did only what the numerous defenders of Novgorod and Pskov did before him and what many did after him - namely, they rushed to protect the extended and vulnerable borders from invaders. The Russian professor I. N. Danilevsky agrees with this opinion. He notes, in particular, that the battle was inferior in scale to the battles of Saul (1236), in which the master of the order and 48 knights were killed by the Lithuanians (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 attach more importance to it. However, even in the Rhymed Chronicle, the Battle of the Ice is unambiguously described as a defeat for the Germans, in contrast to Rakovor.

The memory of the battle

Films

In 1938 Sergei Eisenstein removed Feature Film"Alexander Nevsky", in which the Battle on 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.

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 on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the Battle on the Ice.

In 2009, the joint efforts of Russian, Canadian and Japanese studios filmed animated film"First Squad", where the Battle on the Ice plays a key role in the plot.

Music

The musical accompaniment to the Eisenstein film, written by Sergei Prokofiev, is a symphonic suite dedicated to the events of the battle.

Rock band Aria on the album "Hero of Asphalt" released the song " ballad about old Russian warrior ”, telling about the Battle of the Ice. This song has gone through many different adaptations and re-releases.

monuments

Monument to the squads of Alexander Nevsky on 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 battlefield. Initially, it was planned to create a monument on the island of Voronie, which geographically would be a more accurate solution.

Monument to Alexander Nevsky and Poklonny Cross

In 1992, on the territory of the village of Kobylye Gorodishche, Gdov District, in a place as close as possible to the alleged site of the Battle on the Ice, near the Church of the Archangel Michael, a bronze monument to Alexander Nevsky and a wooden bow cross were erected. The Church of the Archangel Michael was founded by the people of Pskov in 1462. In the annals, the last mention of the legendary "Raven Stone" is associated with this church (Pskov chronicle of 1463). wooden cross gradually destroyed under the influence of adverse weather conditions. In July 2006, on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the first mention of the village. Mare Gorodishche in the Pskov Chronicles, it was replaced by a bronze one.

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. A bronze sign was cast under the direction of D. Gochiyaev by the foundry workers of ZAO NTTsKT, 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

Due to the variability of the hydrography of Lake Peipsi, historians long time it was not possible to accurately determine the place where the Battle of the Ice took place. Only thanks to long-term research carried out by the expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the place of the battle was established. The battle site is submerged in summer and is located approximately 400 meters from the island of Sigovets.

The battle on the ice or the battle on Lake Peipsi is the battle of the Novgorod-Pskov army of Prince Alexander Nevsky with the troops of the Livonian knights, which took place on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipus. She put a limit to the advancement of German chivalry to the East. Alexander Nevsky - Prince of Novgorod, Grand Duke of Kyiv, Grand Duke of Vladimir, legendary commander, saint of Russia Orthodox Church.

Causes

In the middle of the 13th century, foreign invaders threatened Russian lands from all sides. From the east, the Tatar-Mongols were advancing, from the north-west, the Livonians and Swedes claimed Russian land. In the latter case, the task of repelling fell on powerful Novgorod, which had a vested interest in not losing its influence in the region and, most importantly, in preventing anyone from controlling trade with the Baltic countries.

How it all began

1239 - Alexander took measures to protect the Gulf of Finland and the Neva, which were strategically important for the Novgorodians, and therefore was ready for the invasion of the Swedes in 1240. In July, on the Neva, Alexander Yaroslavich, thanks to extraordinary and swift actions, was able to defeat the Swedish army. A number of Swedish ships were sunk, Russian losses were extremely insignificant. After that, Prince Alexander was nicknamed Nevsky.

The offensive of the Swedes was coordinated with the next attack of the Livonian Order. 1240, summer - they took the border fortress of Izborsk, and then captured Pskov. The situation for Novgorod became dangerous. Alexander, not counting on help from the Vladimir-Suzdal Russia devastated by the Tatars, laid on the boyars large expenses for preparing for the battle and, after the victory on the Neva, tried to consolidate his power in the Novgorod Republic. The boyars turned out to be stronger and in the winter of 1240 they were able to remove him from power.

And the German expansion, meanwhile, continued. 1241 - the Novgorod land of Vod was taxed, then Koporye was taken. The crusaders intended to capture the coast of the Neva and Karelia. Fired up in the city popular movement for an alliance with the Vladimir-Suzdal principality and organizing a rebuff to the Germans, who were already 40 miles from Novgorod. The boyars had no choice but to ask Alexander Nevsky to return. This time he was given emergency powers.

With an army of Novgorodians, Ladoga, Izhorians and Karelians, Alexander drove the enemy out of Koporye, after which he liberated the lands of the Vod people. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich sent Vladimir regiments re-formed after the Tatar invasion to help his son. Alexander took Pskov, then moved to the lands of the Estonians.

Movement, composition, disposition of troops

The German army was located in the Yuryev area (aka Derpt, now Tartu). The order gathered significant forces - there were German knights, local population, troops of the King of Sweden. The army that opposed the knights on the ice of Lake Peipsi had a heterogeneous composition, but a single command in the person of Alexander. "Grassroots regiments" consisted of princely squads, squads of boyars, city regiments. The army that Novgorod put up had a fundamentally different composition.

When Russian army was located on the western shore of Lake Peipsi, here, in the area of the village of Mooste, a patrol detachment led by Domash Tverdislavich reconnoitered the location of the main part German troops, started a fight with them, but was defeated. Intelligence managed to find out that the enemy sent insignificant forces to Izborsk, and the main parts of the army moved to Lake Pskov.

In an effort to prevent this movement of enemy troops, the prince ordered a retreat to the ice of Lake Peipsi. The Livonians, realizing that the Russians would not let them make a detour, went straight to their army and also stepped on the ice of the lake. Alexander Nevsky deployed his army under the steep eastern bank, north of the Uzmen tract near the island of Voronii Kamen, against the mouth of the Zhelcha River.

Battle of the Ice

The two armies met on Saturday 5 April 1242. According to one version, Alexander had 15,000 soldiers at his disposal, and the Livonians had 12,000 soldiers. The prince, knowing about the tactics of the Germans, weakened the "brow" and strengthened the "wings" of his battle formation. The personal squad of Alexander Nevsky took refuge behind one of the flanks. A significant part of the prince's army was a foot militia.

The Crusaders traditionally advanced in a wedge ("pig") - a deep formation, shaped like a trapezoid, the upper base of which was turned towards the enemy. At the head of the wedge were the strongest of the warriors. The infantry, as the most unreliable and often not at all a knightly part of the army, was located in the center of the battle formation, mounted knights covered it in front and behind.

At the first stage of the battle, the knights were able to defeat the advanced Russian regiment, and then broke through the "brow" of the Novgorod military order. When, after some time, they scattered the "brow" and rested against the steep, precipitous shore of the lake, they had to turn around, which was not easy to do for a deep formation on the ice. In the meantime, Alexander's strong "wings" struck from the flanks, and his personal squad completed the encirclement of the knights.

A stubborn battle was going on, the whole neighborhood was resounded with shouts, crackling and clanging of weapons. But the fate of the crusaders was sealed. The Novgorodians dragged them off their horses with spears with special hooks, ripped open the stomachs of their horses with knives - “bootmakers”. Crowded in a narrow space, skillful Livonian warriors could not do anything. Stories about how ice cracked under heavy knights are widely popular, but it should be noted that a fully armed Russian knight weighed no less. Another thing is that the crusaders did not have the opportunity to move freely and they crowded into a small area.

In general, the complexity and danger of conducting hostilities with the help of cavalry on ice in early April leads some historians to conclude that the general course of the Battle on the Ice was distorted in the annals. They believe that not a single sane commander would have led an army rattling with iron and riding horses to fight on the ice. Probably, the battle began on land, and during it the Russians were able to push the enemy back onto the ice of Lake Peipus. Those knights who were able to escape were pursued by the Russians to the Subolich coast.

Losses

The question of the losses of the parties in the battle is controversial. During the battle, about 400 crusaders were killed, and many Estonians fell, attracted by them into their army. The Russian annals say: “and the fall of Chudi was beschisla, and Nemets 400, and 50 with the hands of Yash and brought to Novgorod.” Death and captivity a large number professional soldiers in the European measure turned out to be a rather heavy defeat, bordering on disaster. About Russian losses it is said vaguely: "many brave soldiers fell." As you can see, the losses of the Novgorodians were actually heavy.

Meaning

The legendary battle and the victory of the troops of Alexander Nevsky in it had exclusively importance for all Russian history. The advance of the Livonian Order to the Russian lands was stopped, the local population was not converted to Catholicism, access to Baltic Sea. After victory Novgorod Republic led by the prince, she moved from defensive tasks to the conquest of new territories. Nevsky made several successful campaigns against the Lithuanians.

The blow inflicted on the knights on Lake Peipus reverberated throughout the Baltic. The 30,000th Lithuanian army launched large-scale military operations against the Germans. In the same year, 1242, a powerful uprising broke out in Prussia. The Livonian knights sent ambassadors to Novgorod, who reported that the order renounces claims to the land of Vod, Pskov, Luga and asks for an exchange of prisoners, which was done. The words that were spoken to the ambassadors by the prince: “Whoever comes to us with a sword, will die by the sword,” became the motto of many generations of Russian commanders. For their feats of arms Alexander Nevsky received the highest award - he was canonized by the church and declared a Saint.

German historians believe that while fighting on the western frontiers, Alexander Nevsky was not pursuing any coherent political program, but successes in the West provided some compensation for the horrors of the Mongol invasion. Many of the researchers believe that the very scale of the threat that the West posed to Russia is exaggerated.

On the other hand, L. N. Gumilyov, on the contrary, believed that not the Tatar-Mongol "yoke", but precisely Catholic Western Europe, represented by the Teutonic Order and the Archbishopric of Riga, was a mortal threat to the very existence of Russia, and therefore the role of Alexander's victories Nevsky in Russian history is especially great.

Due to the variability of the hydrography of Lake Peipus, historians for a long time could not accurately determine the place where the Battle of the Ice took place. Only thanks to long-term research, which was carried out by the expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, they were able to establish the place of the battle. The battle site is submerged in summer and is located about 400 meters from the island of Sigovets.

Memory

The monument to the squads of Alexander Nevsky was erected in 1993, on Mount Sokolikha in Pskov, almost 100 km away from the actual battlefield. Initially, it was planned to create a monument on the island of Voronie, which geographically would be a more accurate solution.

1992 - on the territory of the village of Kobylye Gorodishche, Gdov District, in a place close to the alleged battle site, near the Church of the Archangel Michael, a bronze monument to Alexander Nevsky and a wooden bow cross were erected. The Church of the Archangel Michael was founded by the people of Pskov in 1462. The wooden cross was destroyed over time under the influence of adverse weather conditions. 2006, July - on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the first mention of the village of Kobylye Gorodishche in the Pskov Chronicles, it was replaced with a bronze one.

X century in a densely populated - by medieval standards, of course - Western Europe marked the beginning of expansion. In the future, from century to century, this expansion expanded, taking the most diverse forms.

The European peasant, bent under the burden of obligations to the seigneur, dared to invade the unruly forests. He cut down trees, cleared the land of bushes, and drained the swamps to produce additional arable land.

The Europeans pressed the Saracens (the Arabs who captured Spain), there was a reconquista ("reconquest" of Spain).

Inspired by the lofty idea of the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher and overwhelmed by a thirst for wealth and new lands, the crusaders stepped into the Levant - that was the name in the Middle Ages of the territories located along the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

The European "onslaught to the east" began; villagers, skilled urban craftsmen, experienced merchants, knights appeared en masse in the Slavic countries, for example, in Poland and the Czech Republic, began to settle and settle down there. This contributed to the rise of the economy, social and cultural life Eastern European countries, but at the same time gave rise to problems, creating rivalry and confrontation between the newcomer and the indigenous population. Especially a big wave settlers gushed from the German lands, where the rulers German Empire(following Emperor Frederick Barbarossa) supported the "onslaught on the East".

Soon the eyes of Europeans were riveted to the Baltic states. It was perceived as a forest desert, slightly populated by wild Letto-Lithuanian and Finno-Ugric pagan tribes who did not know state power. Russia and the Scandinavian countries have been expanding here since ancient times. They colonized the border regions. Tribute was imposed on the local tribes. Back in the time of Yaroslav the Wise, the Russians built their fortress Yuryev behind Lake Peipus in the land of the Finno-Ests (named after the given Yaroslav the Wise at the baptism of 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 the west of Europe appeared in the Baltic states. Catholic missionaries bearing the word of Christ came first. In 1184, the monk Meinard unsuccessfully tried to convert the Livs (ancestors of modern Latvians) to Catholicism. The monk Berthold in 1198 preached Christianity already with the help of the swords of the crusader knights. Bremen canon Albert, sent by the Pope, seized the mouth of the Dvina and founded Riga in 1201. A year later, on the Livonian lands conquered around Riga, an order of monk-knights was created. He called Order of the Sword in the form 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, with early XII century claimed Estonia.

In 1212, the sword-bearers came close to the borders of the Pskov and Novgorod lands. Mstislav Udaloy, who reigned in Novgorod, successfully resisted them. Then, during the reign of father Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in Novgorod, the swordsmen were defeated near Yuryev (modern Tartu). The city remained with the crusaders, provided that tribute was paid to Novgorod (Yuriev tribute). By 1219, Denmark had conquered Northern Estonia, but after 5 years the swordsmen regained it.

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

In the land of the Baltic tribe of the Prussians, which was located near the Polish border, another order of the crusaders, the Teutonic Order, was founded. 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 the defeat in 1234 from the father of Alexander Nevsky Yaroslav, and in 1236 from the Lithuanians led to the reform of the Order of the Sword. In 1237 it became a branch of the Teutonic Order, and it became known as Livonian.

Batu's invasion gave rise to the hope among the crusaders that expansion could be expanded to northern lands Orthodox, who in the West for a long time - after the split of the churches in 1054 - were considered heretics. Especially attracted Mr. Velikiy Novgorod. But not only the crusaders were seduced by the Novgorod land. She was also interested in the Swedes.

Mr. Veliky Novgorod and Sweden fought more than once when their interests in the Baltics clashed. In the late 1230s, news was received in Novgorod that the son-in-law of the Swedish king, Jarl (the title of the Swedish nobility), Birger, was preparing a raid on Novgorod possessions. Alexander, the 19-year-old son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, was then the prince in Novgorod. He ordered the Izhorian elder Pelgusius to watch the coast and report the invasion of the Swedes. As a result, when the Scandinavian boats entered the Neva and stopped at the place where the Izhora River flows into it, Prince Novgorodsky was notified in time. July 15, 1240 Alexander arrived at the Neva and, with the forces of a small Novgorod detachment and his squad, unexpectedly attacked the enemy.

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

Confidence that the Russians were capable of winning victories helped to endure the difficult days of 1240, when more than dangerous enemy- Livonian order. The ancient Izborsk fell. The Pskov traitors opened the gates to the enemy. The crusaders scattered over the Novgorod land and plundered in the vicinity 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 independent Novgorodians and left for Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Under the pressure of 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, brought his Pereyaslav squad and the Vladimir-Suzdal militia, which consisted mainly of peasants. Gathered regiments and Novgorodians.

In 1241, the Russians launched an offensive, recapturing Koporye from the crusaders. The fortress erected 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 led the regiments to the eastern shore of Lake Peipus and decided to give battle.

April 5, 1242 of the year there was a great battle on the melted ice. The Russians stood in the traditional "eagle": in the center a regiment consisting of Vladimir-Suzdal militia, on the sides - regiments of the right and left hands - heavily armed Novgorod infantry and princely cavalry squads. The peculiarity was that a significant mass of troops was located precisely on the flanks, usually the center was the strongest. Behind the militia was a steep bank covered with boulders. On the ice in front of the shore they put the sleigh of the convoy, fastened with chains. This made the coast completely impassable for knightly horses and was supposed to keep the cowardly in the Russian camp from fleeing. At the islet of Voronii Kamen, an equestrian squad stood in ambush.

The knights moved on the Russians "boar head". It was a special system, more than once bringing success to the crusaders. In the center of the "boar's head" walked, closing ranks, foot soldiers-bollards. On the sides of them and behind them in 2-3 rows rode riders clad in armor, their horses also had shells. Ahead, tapering to a point, moved the ranks of the most experienced knights. "Boar's head", nicknamed by the Russians "pig", rammed the enemy, broke through the defense. Knights with spears, battle axes, swords destroyed the enemy. When he was defeated, infantry bollards were released, finishing off the wounded and fleeing.

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

The knights crushed the Russian center and spun on the spot, breaking their own formation. They had nowhere to move. From the flanks, the “regiments of the right and left hands” pressed on the knights. As if they were squeezing the “pig” with ticks. There were many casualties on both sides of the fighting. The ice turned red with blood. The enemy suffered mainly infantry. It was difficult to kill a knight. 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 went like a stone to the bottom. The troops of Alexander Nevsky struck with redoubled energy. The crusaders ran. Russian horsemen pursued them for several kilometers.

The ice slash was won. The Crusaders' plan to establish themselves in Northern Russia failed.

In 1243, ambassadors of the Order arrived in Novgorod. Peace was signed. The crusaders recognized the borders of the Lord Veliky Novgorod as inviolable, promised to regularly pay tribute to St. George. The conditions for the ransom of several dozen knights who were captured were agreed. Alexander led these noble captives from Pskov to Novgorod near their horses, bare-shod, bare-headed, with a rope around their necks. It was impossible to think of a greater insult to knightly honor.

In the future, between Novgorod, Pskov and the Livonian Order there were more than once military skirmishes, 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 united Russian state.

Politically and morally, victory over the Swedes and knights Livonian Order were very important: the scale of the Western European onslaught on the northwestern borders of Russia decreased. The victories of Alexander Nevsky over the Swedes and the Crusaders interrupted the series of defeats of the Russian troops.

For the Orthodox Church, it was especially important to prevent Catholic influence in the 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 win back their possessions from the Western crusaders. The Tatars, on the contrary, were allies of the Orthodox Greeks in their struggle against the Islamic and Turkish onslaught on the eastern Byzantine borders. According to the practice that has developed since the tenth century, most of the highest hierarchs of the Russian church were by origin Greeks or southern Slavs who came to Russia 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 for the leadership of the Russian Church. The Catholics seemed much more dangerous than the Tatars. It is no coincidence that before Sergius of Radonezh (second half of the 14th century), not a single prominent church hierarch blessed the fight against the Tatars and did not call for it. The invasion of Batu and the Tatar rati were interpreted by the clergy as the "scourge of God", the punishment of the Orthodox for their sins.

Exactly church tradition created around the name of Alexander Nevsky, canonized after death, the halo of an ideal prince, warrior, "sufferer" (fighter) for the Russian land. So he entered the popular mentality. AT this case Prince Alexander is in many ways a "brother" of Richard the Lionheart. The legendary "twins" of both monarchs overshadowed their real historical images. In both cases, the "legend" is far removed from the original prototype.

Meanwhile, in serious science, disputes about the role of Alexander Nevsky in Russian history do not subside. The position of Alexander in relation to the Golden Horde, his participation in the organization of the Nevryuev rati of 1252 and the spread of the Horde yoke to Novgorod, the cruel reprisals characteristic of Alexander in the fight against his opponents, even for that time, cause 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, turning his back on the West.

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

Some historians, including S.M. Solovieva, V.O. Klyuchevsky, does not at all consider the Horde yoke "a union useful for Russia", but notes that Russia 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.