Description of the Battle of the Neva and the Battle of the Ice. On what lake did the Battle of the Ice take place? Battle of the Ice: date, description, monument

Before my first year at university, I was sure that I knew the history of the Battle of the Ice. The legend that Russian warriors defeated the knights of the Livonian Order by cunning. And then at the university they ask me to find and analyze a problematic historical article. And then I am surprised to learn that everything I knew about the Battle of the Ice was a lie.

What year was the Battle of the Ice?

Perhaps the only truth from my knowledge was that Ice battle happened in 1242. Presumably early April. This is a long-standing matter, so, you know, exact date cannot be determined. However, historians, based on chronicles, saythat the battle took place on the 5th. What other facts are known for certain about the battle:

The Danish king and the Master of the Order decided to divide Estonia and, with the help of the Swedes, defeat the power of Rus'. The Swedes, as you know, lost on the Neva, and Order came out after them.
Rus' was defended by Novgorodians and representatives of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality in the amount of 15-17 thousand people.
The Livonian Order and Denmark were represented by 10-12 thousand people.

The battle led by Alexander Nevsky is also called the Battle of Lake Peipsi . It is this very lake that haunts the Russian people and creates one of the main myths of Russian history.

The myth of the Battle of the Ice

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you remember the Battle of the Ice? I am sure that many will answer that the battle on Lake Peipsi was won because the knights wore too heavy armor. The ice cracked. And the warriors bravely sank. And the Russians, dressed in lighter chain mail, of course, avoided this fatal trouble. For some reason, it even seems to me that we were told about this at school. But - everything is a lie. The knights did not drown. And here's why:

V historical sources(chronicles) there is no mention of this at all;
weight of equipment of the Livonian warrior and the Russian approximately same;
exact geographical location the battle was never found, the battle most likely took place on a dry bank.

So where did the beautiful tale come from that the knights sank under the weight of their armor? This legend has no ancient roots. Everything is much more prosaic. In 1938 Eisenstein and Vasiliev made the film “Alexander Nevsky”, which included a scene with the drowning of enemies for entertainment purposes. This is the story of the battle, which took place in 1242 and became overgrown with a beautiful legend already in the 20th century.

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Last year we vacationed on the shores of Lake Peipsi. Before the trip, I decided to refresh my memory of the history of our country, and the further I plunged into the study of the famous Battle of the Ice, the more I realized that my idea of many significant facts of the battle was very different from how it actually happened.

When was the Battle of the Ice?

Perhaps the only thing historians agree on regarding this battle is its year. The Battle of the Ice took place in April 1242 on Lake Peipus between the knights of the Livonian Order and Novgorod troops led by Alexander Nevsky.

It is worth noting that a number of scientists believe that there was no battle at all. In their theory, they rely on the fact that its exact location has not yet been determined; no knightly armor or other traces of the battle were found in the vicinity of the lake. Others argue that the meaning of this historical event greatly exaggerated, but in fact it was an ordinary inter-feudal skirmish. But these theories are refuted by data from Russian and German chronicles.

Truth and myths about the Battle of the Ice

The main myth goes like this: Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod meets hordes of German knights on the ice of a lake, where heavily armed knights suffer a crushing defeat and, retreating, fall through the ice.

The real facts look a little different:

No more than 90 knights could participate in the battle. In the Baltics, the Order had exactly this number of castles by 1290. The rest of the army consisted of a retinue, which could reach up to 100 people for each noble warrior.
Nevsky entered into an alliance with Batu Khan, who helped defeat Novgorod foreign invaders.
The prince did not specifically plan to lure the knights onto thin ice so that they would drown under the weight of their armor. The Russian warriors were no worse equipped than the Germans, and such a strategy would have been suicidal.
The victorious strategy was that Nevsky lined up the weakest part of his army - the infantry - in the central part of his army, and the main forces struck the flanks of the enemy moving like a pig.

The victory in the Battle of the Ice helped stop the expansion of the Livonian Order into Rus'. This was the first example of the defeat of a knightly army by infantry.

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I live in the Pskov region, so I have been lucky enough to visit places more than once great battle. On excursions, I always experienced twofold sensations: on the one hand, pride in the glorious warriors, on the other, sadness. After all, war is war - it means human sacrifices, first of all.

How did the Battle of the Ice take place?

The Battle of the Ice is famous battle, which took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi, the collection of knowledge about it is replenished with new facts every year. Sometimes fictitious.

But, nevertheless, it is known for sure that in 1238, Landmaster Herman Balk and the Danish king Valdemar decided to divide Estonia among themselves and seize Rus'. It was during this period protective forces The Russians were weaker than ever. They were exhausted by constant Mongol invasions.

The following military forces took part in the struggle:

Swedes and Livonian knights;
squad of Yaroslav Vladimirovich;
Estonian army;
Dorpat army.

The year in which the Battle of the Ice took place

They began their offensive in 1240. In the same year, Swedish troops were completely overthrown on the Neva.

The land battle continued for another 2 years, until in 1242 the main Russian troops entered the ice of Lake Peipsi to conduct the final battle. An important event took place on April 5, 1242 under the leadership of Alexander Nevsky (from the Russian side) and the military of the Livonian Order from the enemy.

Results

But there is still debate on whose side won. Some claim that she was behind Nevsky, others that she was not on a draw at all. Because in the same year Herman Balk and the Teutonic Order:

abandoned all previously captured Russian territories;
concluded a peace agreement with Novgorod;
returned the prisoners to their homeland.

True, 10 years later they attacked Pskov again, but that’s a completely different story...

In memory of the Battle of the Ice

It was enough important event in the life of Russia, therefore April 5 is considered one of memorable days in our country.

In honor of the battle, many interesting and instructive films were made, beautiful songs and books were written.

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Some consider the Battle of the Ice one of the main events of our ancient history, others attribute it to local battles that were not distinguished by either scale or historical significance. For me, this is a good reason to get to know this corner of Russia better, where they once thundered knight armor and the Novgorodians and Suzdalians harrowed their native Rus' under the leadership of Alexander Nevsky.

When did the Battle of the Ice happen?

It is this date that is indicated in the Novgorod First Chronicle, which describes the massacre in more detail. The day of the week when it happened is even indicated - Saturday. But in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle (Russian troops fought with the knights of the Livonian Order, which was an offshoot of the Teutonic Order), which mentions the battle, it is noted that the dead fell into the grass. It turns out that the battle took place later, since there is still no grass in these parts at the beginning of April

Historical places

About things for a long time past years in the Pskov region they remind:

the “Battle on the Ice” monument, which was opened in 1993 near Pskov, on Mount Sokolikha;

Kobylye Settlement is an ancient village not far from the battle site;

a museum in the village of Samolva, where materials from a scientific expedition that studied the events of 1242 were collected.

There are not even two dozen inhabitants in Kobylye Settlement now. But this place has been inhabited since time immemorial and is mentioned in ancient chronicles. The Church of the Archangel Michael, built in 1462, testifies to its past prosperity. The Poklonny Cross and the monument to Alexander Nevsky remind us of the Battle of the Ice.

The motor rally became a new chance for the development of these places." Silver ring Alexander Nevsky”, which was invented and implemented by St. Petersburg residents. Every summer, since 1997, they start from the northern capital and make their way through the preserved fortresses and monasteries of the Leningrad, Novgorod, and Pskov regions to Kobylye Gorodishche. The rally participants have already improved this historical place and installed a new chapel.

5 April 1242, on Lake Peipsi, near the Crow Stone, a battle took place between the Russian squad led by Prince Alexander Nevsky with the knights of the Teutonic Order. This battle went down in history under the name “Battle of the Ice.”

After the defeat at the Battle of the Neva in 1240, the Swedes no longer accepted active participation in speeches against Rus', but the German knights sought to strengthen themselves on the borders of the Novgorod and Pskov lands. In 1240, the Russian fortresses of Izborsk and Pskov fell. Sensing a new danger, the Novgorodians, led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, rose up to fight the enemy. In March 1242, Pskov was liberated. Having recaptured Pskov from the enemy, Russian army moved to Izborsk. Meanwhile, intelligence found out that the enemy sent insignificant forces to Izborsk, and sent the main ones to Lake Peipsi.

According to military historians, 10-12 thousand knights gathered on the ice of Lake Peipus. Alexander Nevsky had 15-17 thousand soldiers. The majority were foot soldiers, who were significantly inferior to the knights in weapons and combat training.

At dawn on April 5, the crusaders lined up their army in a triangle, with the sharp end facing the enemy (“pig”). Alexander Nevsky concentrated his main forces not in the center ("chele"), as Russian troops always did, but on the flanks. In front was an advanced regiment of light cavalry, archers and slingers. The Russian battle formation was turned with its rear to the steep steep eastern shore of the lake, and the princely cavalry squad hid in ambush behind the left flank.

As the troops approached, Russian archers showered the knights with a hail of arrows, but the armored knights managed to crush the front regiment. Having “cut through” the front troops, the knights ran into steep bank lakes and were unable to build on the success of the operation. Russian troops hit the “pig” right and left, and the selected squad of Alexander Nevsky himself rushed to the rear. As the chronicler wrote: “That slaughter was great... and you couldn’t see the ice: everything was covered in blood.” The battle continued until late in the evening. When the knightly army wavered and fled, the Russians drove them to the modern Cape Sigovets. Thin coastal ice broke under horses and heavily armed knights.

The immediate result of the Battle of Lake Peipus was the conclusion of an agreement between the Germans and Novgorod, according to which the crusaders left all Russian lands they had captured.

In the history of the struggle against the German conquerors, the Battle of the Ice is important date. The Germans did not stop their campaigns against Rus', but they could no longer deal a significant blow to the northern lands.

Lit.: Begunov Yu. K., Kleinenberg I. E., Shaskolsky I. P. Written sources about the Battle of the Ice // Battle of the Ice 1242, M; L., 1966; Danilevsky I. Battle on the Ice: change of image // Otechestvennye zapiski. No. 5 (20) 2004; Zverev Yu. The battle on the ice took place: on land // Equipment and weapons. 1995. No. 1. P. 20-22; Kirpichnikov A.N. Battle of the Ice 1242: New understanding // Questions of history. 1994. No. 5. P. 162-166; Novgorod first chronicle of the older and younger editions. M; L., 1950. P. 72-85; Trusman Yu. I. About the place of the Battle of the Ice in 1242 // Journal of the Ministry of Public Education. 1884. No. 1. P. 44-46.

See also in the Presidential Library:

Belyaev I. D. Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky. M., 184? ;

Voskresensky N. A. Nikolai Alexandrovich Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky: in memory of the Tsar-Peacemaker: a brief biography. M., 1898;

The life of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky in the monastic life of Alexy. St. Petersburg, 1853 ;

Kazansky P.S. The Life of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky in the monastic life of Alexy: for public reading. St. Petersburg, 1871 ;

On April 5, 1242, the Russian army led by Prince Alexander Nevsky defeated the Livonian knights in the Battle of the Ice on the ice of Lake Peipsi.

In the 13th century, Novgorod was the richest city in Rus'. Since 1236, the young prince Alexander Yaroslavich reigned in Novgorod. In 1240, when the Swedish aggression against Novgorod began, he was not yet 20 years old. However, by that time he already had some experience of participating in his father’s campaigns, was fairly well read and had an excellent command of the art of war, which helped him win the first of his great victories: on July 21, 1240, with the forces of his small squad and the Ladoga militia, he suddenly and with a swift attack smashed Swedish army, who landed at the mouth of the Izhora River (at its confluence with the Neva). For the victory in the battle, later called the Battle of the Neva, in which the young prince showed himself to be a skilled military leader and showed personal valor and heroism, Alexander Yaroslavich received the nickname Nevsky. But soon, due to the machinations of the Novgorod nobility, Prince Alexander left Novgorod and went to reign in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.

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

Back in the 12th century, the advance of German knightly detachments from East Prussia to the east was noted. In pursuit of new lands and free labor force, under the guise of the intention to convert pagans to Christianity, crowds of German nobles, knights and monks went east. With fire and sword they suppressed the resistance of the local population, sitting comfortably on their lands, building castles and monasteries here and imposing exorbitant taxes and tribute on the people. By the beginning of the 13th century, the entire Baltic region was in the hands of German rapists. The population of the Baltic states groaned under the whip and yoke of warlike aliens.

And already in the early autumn of 1240, the Livonian knights invaded the Novgorod possessions and occupied the city of Izborsk. Soon Pskov also shared his fate - the Germans were helped to take it by the betrayal of the Pskov mayor Tverdila Ivankovich, who went over to the side of the Germans. Having subjugated the Pskov volost, the Germans built a fortress in Koporye. This was an important bridgehead that made it possible to control the Novgorod trade routes along the Neva and plan further advance to the East. After this, the Livonian aggressors invaded the very center of the Novgorod possessions, captured Luga and the Novgorod suburb of Tesovo. In their raids they came within 30 kilometers of Novgorod. Neglecting past grievances, Alexander Nevsky, at the request of the Novgorodians, returned to Novgorod at the end of 1240 and continued the fight against the invaders. The following year, he recaptured Koporye and Pskov from the knights, returning most of their western possessions to the Novgorodians. But the enemy was still strong, and decisive battle there was more to come.

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

The Battle of Lake Peipsi, which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice, began on the morning of April 5, 1242. At sunrise, noticing a small detachment of Russian riflemen, the knightly “pig” rushed towards him. Alexander contrasted the German wedge with the Russian heel - a formation in the form of the Roman numeral "V", that is, the angle with the hole facing the enemy. This very hole was covered by a “brow”, consisting of archers, who took the main blow of the “iron regiment” and with courageous resistance noticeably disrupted its advance. Still, the knights managed to break through the defensive formations of the Russian “chela”. A fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued. And at its very height, when the “pig” was completely drawn into the battle, at a signal from Alexander Nevsky, the regiments of the left and right hand. Not expecting the appearance of such Russian reinforcements, the knights were confused and began to gradually retreat under their powerful blows. And soon this retreat took on the character of a disorderly flight. Then suddenly, from behind cover, a cavalry ambush regiment rushed into battle. The Livonian troops suffered a crushing defeat.

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

The victory of Russian troops under the leadership of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German “dog knights” is important historical significance. The Order asked for peace. Peace was concluded on terms dictated by the Russians. The order's ambassadors solemnly renounced all encroachments on the Russian lands that were temporarily captured by the order. The movement of Western invaders into Rus' was stopped. The western borders of Rus', established after the Battle of the Ice, lasted for centuries. The Battle of the Ice went down in history as a wonderful example military tactics and strategies. Skillful construction order of battle, clear organization of interaction between its individual units, especially infantry and cavalry, constant reconnaissance and accounting weaknesses enemy when organizing a battle, right choice place and time, good organization of tactical pursuit, destruction of most of the superior enemy - all this determined the Russian military art as the best in the world.

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Myths about the Battle of the Ice

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

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

But was it really so?

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

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

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

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

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

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

The lives of Alexander Nevsky can be considered a kind of “synthesis” of early chronicle references to the clash, but, according to experts, they are 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 symbolic meaning the victory over the “German knightly aggression” was highlighted. 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 “autonomous”, with its own political and economic interests. This also applied to relations with its closest neighbors in the Eastern Baltic.

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

As historian Igor Danilevsky notes, the main cause of territorial conflicts between Novgorod and the Order was the lands of the Estonians who lived on the western shore of Lake Peipsi (the medieval population of modern Estonia, who appeared in most Russian-language chronicles under the name “Chud”). At the same time, the campaigns organized by the Novgorodians practically did not affect the interests of other lands. The exception was the “border” Pskov, which was constantly subject to retaliatory raids by the Livonians.
According to historian Alexei Valerov, it was the need to simultaneously resist both the forces of the Order and Novgorod’s regular attempts to encroach on the city’s independence that could force Pskov to “open the gates” to the Livonians in 1240. In addition, the city was seriously weakened after the defeat at Izborsk and, presumably, was not capable of long-term resistance to the crusaders.

At the same time, as the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle reports, in 1242 there was not a full-fledged “German army” present in the city, but only two Vogt knights (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, Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich together with his younger brother Andrei Yaroslavich (sent by their father, Prince of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich) “expelled” the Germans from Pskov, after which they continued their campaign, going “to Chud” (i.e., to 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're talking about about the thickets of reeds that made their way from under the ice into the shallow waters where the battle took place (the version of the Soviet military historian Georgy Karaev, shown on the map).
As for the chronicle references to the fact that the Germans were driven “across the ice,” modern researchers agree that this detail could have been “borrowed” by the Battle of the Ice from the description of the later Battle of Rakovor (1268). According to Igor Danilevsky, reports that Russian troops drove the enemy seven miles (“to the Subolichi shore”) are quite justified for the scale of the Rakovor battle, but look strange in the context of the battle on Lake Peipsi, where the distance from shore to shore in the supposed location the battle is no more than 2 km.

Speaking about the “Raven Stone” (a geographical landmark mentioned in part of the chronicles), historians emphasize that any map indicating a specific location of the battle is nothing more than a version. No one knows where exactly the massacre took place: the sources contain too little information to draw any conclusions.
In particular, Klim Zhukov is based on the fact that during archaeological expeditions in the area of Lake Peipsi, not a single “confirming” burial was discovered. The researcher associates the lack of evidence not with the mythical nature of the battle, but with looting: in the 13th century, iron was very highly valued, and it is unlikely that the weapons and armor of the dead soldiers could have remained intact to this day.

The Myth of the Battle's Geopolitical Significance

In the minds of many, the Battle of the Ice “stands apart” and is perhaps the only “action-packed” battle of its time. And it really became one of the significant battles of the Middle Ages, which “suspended” the conflict between Rus' and 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.
Even though 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 subsequent political system 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:

Sources brought to us very scanty information about the Battle of the Ice. This contributed to the fact that the battle gradually grew a large number myths and contradictory facts.

Mongols again

It is not entirely correct to call the Battle of Lake Peipus a victory of Russian squads over German knighthood, since the enemy, according to modern historians, was a coalition force that, in addition to the Germans, included Danish knights, Swedish mercenaries and a militia consisting of Estonians (Chud).

It is quite possible that the troops led by Alexander Nevsky were not exclusively Russian. Polish historian of German origin Reinhold Heidenstein (1556-1620) wrote that Alexander Nevsky was pushed to battle mongol khan Batu (Batu) and sent his detachment to help him.
This version has the right to life. The middle of the 13th century was marked by a confrontation between the Horde and Western European troops. Thus, in 1241, Batu’s troops defeated the Teutonic knights in the Battle of Legnica, and in 1269, Mongol troops helped the Novgorodians defend the city walls from the invasion of the crusaders.

Who went underwater?

In Russian historiography, one of the factors that contributed to the victory of Russian troops over the Teutonic and Livonian knights was the fragile spring ice and the bulky armor of the crusaders, which led to the massive flooding of the enemy. However, if you believe the historian Nikolai Karamzin, the winter that year was long and the spring ice remained strong.

However, it is difficult to determine how much ice could withstand a large number of warriors dressed in armor. Researcher Nikolai Chebotarev notes: “it is impossible to say who was heavier or lighter armed at the Battle of the Ice, because there was no uniform as such.”
Heavy plate armor appeared only in the XIV-XV centuries, and in the XIII century the main type of armor was chain mail, over which a leather shirt with steel plates could be worn. Based on this fact, historians suggest that the weight of the equipment of the Russian and order warriors was approximately the same and reached 20 kilograms. If we assume that the ice could not support the weight of a warrior in full equipment, then there should have been sunken ones on both sides.
It is interesting that in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and in the original edition of the Novgorod Chronicle there is no information that the knights fell through the ice - they were added only a century after the battle.
On Voronii Island, near which Cape Sigovets is located, the ice is quite weak due to the characteristics of the current. This gave rise to some researchers to suggest that the knights could fall through the ice precisely there when they crossed a dangerous area during their retreat.

Where was the massacre?

Researchers to this day cannot pinpoint the exact location where the Battle of the Ice took place. Novgorod sources, as well as historian Nikolai Kostomarov, say that the battle took place near the Raven Stone. But the stone itself was never found. According to some, it was high sandstone, washed away by the current over time, others claim that the stone is Crow Island.
Some researchers are inclined to believe that the massacre is not at all connected with the lake, since the accumulation large quantity heavily armed warriors and cavalry would make it impossible to conduct a battle on a thin April ice.
In particular, these conclusions are based on the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, which reports that “on both sides the dead fell on the grass.” This fact is supported by modern research using the latest equipment from the bottom of Lake Peipsi, during which no weapons or armor of the 13th century were found. Excavations also failed on the shore. However, this is not difficult to explain: armor and weapons were very valuable booty, and even damaged they could be quickly carried away.
However, still in Soviet era An expedition group from the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences, led by Georgiy Karaev, established the supposed site of the battle. According to researchers, this was a section of Teploe Lake, located 400 meters west of Cape Sigovets.

Number of parties

Soviet historians, determining the number of forces clashing on Lake Peipsi, state that Alexander Nevsky’s troops numbered approximately 15-17 thousand people, and the number of German knights reached 10-12 thousand.
Modern researchers consider such figures to be clearly overestimated. In their opinion, the order could produce no more than 150 knights, who were joined by about 1.5 thousand knechts (soldiers) and 2 thousand militia. They were opposed by squads from Novgorod and Vladimir in the amount of 4-5 thousand soldiers.
The true balance of forces is quite difficult to determine, since the number of German knights is not indicated in the chronicles. But they can be counted by the number of castles in the Baltic states, which, according to historians, in the middle of the 13th century there were no more than 90.
Each castle was owned by one knight, who could take from 20 to 100 people from mercenaries and servants on a campaign. In that case maximum quantity soldiers, excluding the militia, could not exceed 9 thousand people. But, most likely, the real numbers are much more modest, since some of the knights died in the Battle of Legnica a year before.
Modern historians can say only one thing with confidence: none of the opposing sides had significant superiority. Perhaps Lev Gumilyov was right when he assumed that the Russians and Teutons collected 4 thousand soldiers each.

Victims

The number of deaths in the Battle of the Ice is as difficult to calculate as the number of participants. The Novgorod Chronicle reports about the enemy’s victims: “and Chudi fell, and Nemets fell 400, and with 50 hands he brought them to Novgorod.” But the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle speaks of only 20 dead and 6 captured knights, although without mentioning the casualties among soldiers and militia. The Chronicle of Grandmasters, written later, reports the death of 70 order knights.
But none of the chronicles contains information about the losses of Russian troops. There is no consensus among historians on this matter, although according to some data, the losses of Alexander Nevsky’s troops were no less than those of the enemy.