There is an episode with the Crow Stone. According to ancient legend, he rose from the waters of the lake in moments of danger for the Russian land, helping to defeat enemies. This was the case in 1242. This date appears in all domestic historical sources, being inextricably linked with the Battle of the Ice.

It is no coincidence that we focus your attention on this stone. After all, historians are guided by it, who are still trying to understand on what lake it happened. After all, many specialists who work with historical archives still do not know where our ancestors actually fought with

The official point of view is that the battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Today, all that is known for certain is that the battle took place on April 5. The year of the Battle of the Ice is 1242 from the beginning of our era. In the chronicles of Novgorod and in the Livonian Chronicle there is not a single matching detail at all: the number of soldiers participating in the battle and the number of wounded and killed vary.

We don't even know the details of what happened. The only information that has reached us is that a victory was won at Lake Peipsi, and even then in a significantly distorted, transformed form. This is in stark contrast to the official version, but last years The voices of those scientists who insist on full-scale excavations and repeated archival research are becoming louder. They all want not only to know about what lake it happened on Battle on the Ice, but also to find out all the details of the event.

Official description of the battle

The opposing armies met in the morning. It was 1242 and the ice had not yet broken up. The Russian troops had many riflemen who courageously came forward, bearing the brunt of the German attack. Pay attention to how the Livonian Chronicle speaks about this: “The banners of the brothers (German knights) penetrated the ranks of those who were shooting... many killed on both sides fell on the grass (!).”

Thus, the Chronicles and the manuscripts of the Novgorodians completely agree on this point. Indeed, in front of the Russian army stood a detachment of light riflemen. As the Germans later found out in their sad experience, it was a trap. “Heavy” columns of German infantry broke through the ranks of lightly armed soldiers and moved on. We wrote the first word in quotation marks for a reason. Why? We'll talk about this below.

Russian mobile units quickly surrounded the Germans from the flanks and then began to destroy them. The Germans fled, and the Novgorod army pursued them for about seven miles. It is noteworthy that even at this point there are disagreements in various sources. If we describe the Battle of the Ice briefly, then even in this case this episode raises some questions.

The Importance of Victory

Thus, most witnesses say nothing at all about the “drowned” knights. Part of the German army was surrounded. Many knights were captured. In principle, 400 Germans were reported killed, with another fifty people captured. Chudi, according to the chronicles, “fell without number.” That's all the Battle of the Ice in brief.

The Order took the defeat painfully. In the same year, peace was concluded with Novgorod, the Germans completely abandoned their conquests not only on the territory of Rus', but also in Letgol. There was even a complete exchange of prisoners. However, the Teutons tried to recapture Pskov ten years later. Thus, the year of the Battle of the Ice became extremely important date, since it allowed the Russian state to somewhat calm down its warlike neighbors.

About common myths

Even in local history museums The Pskov region is very skeptical about the widespread assertion about the “heavy” German knights. Allegedly, because of their massive armor, they almost drowned in the waters of the lake at once. Many historians say with rare enthusiasm that the Germans in their armor weighed “three times more” than the average Russian warrior.

But any weapons expert of that era will tell you with confidence that the soldiers on both sides were protected approximately equally.

Armor is not for everyone!

The fact is that the massive armor, which can be found everywhere in miniatures of the Battle of the Ice in history textbooks, appeared only in XIV-XV centuries. In the 13th century, warriors dressed in a steel helmet, chain mail or (the latter were very expensive and rare), and wore bracers and greaves on their limbs. It all weighed about twenty kilograms maximum. Most of the German and Russian soldiers did not have such protection at all.

Finally, in principle, there was no particular point in such heavily armed infantry on the ice. Everyone fought on foot; there was no need to fear a cavalry attack. So why take another risk by going out on thin April ice with so much iron?

But at school the 4th grade is studying the Battle of the Ice, and therefore no one simply goes into such subtleties.

Water or land?

According to the generally accepted conclusions made by the expedition under the leadership of the USSR Academy of Sciences (led by Karaev), the place of the battle is considered to be small area Warm Lake (part of Chudskoye), which is located 400 meters from the modern Cape Sigovets.

For almost half a century, no one doubted the results of these studies. The fact is that back then scientists did a really great job, analyzing not only historical sources, but also hydrology and As the writer Vladimir Potresov, who was a direct participant in that very expedition, explains, it was possible to create a “complete vision of the problem.” So on what lake did the Battle of the Ice take place?

There is only one conclusion here - on Chudskoye. There was a battle, and it took place somewhere in those parts, but there are still problems with determining the exact localization.

What did the researchers find?

First of all, they read the chronicle again. It said that the slaughter took place “at Uzmen, at the Voronei stone.” Imagine that you are telling your friend how to get to the stop, using terms that you and he understand. If you tell the same thing to a resident of another region, he may not understand. We are in the same position. What kind of Uzmen? What Crow Stone? Where was all this even?

More than seven centuries have passed since then. Rivers changed their courses in less time! So from the real ones geographical coordinates there was absolutely nothing left. If we assume that the battle, to one degree or another, actually took place on the icy surface of the lake, then finding something becomes even more difficult.

German version

Seeing the difficulties of their Soviet colleagues, in the 30s a group of German scientists hastened to declare that the Russians... invented the Battle of the Ice! Alexander Nevsky, they say, simply created the image of a winner in order to give his figure more weight in the political arena. But the old German chronicles also talked about the battle episode, so the battle really took place.

Russian scientists were having real verbal battles! Everyone was trying to find out the location of the battle that took place in ancient times. Everyone called “that” piece of territory either on the western or eastern shore of the lake. Someone argued that the battle took place in the central part of the reservoir. There was a general problem with the Crow Stone: either mountains of small pebbles at the bottom of the lake were mistaken for it, or someone saw it in every rock outcrop on the shores of the reservoir. There were a lot of disputes, but the matter did not progress at all.

In 1955, everyone got tired of this, and that same expedition set off. Archaeologists, philologists, geologists and hydrographers, specialists in the Slavic and German dialects of that time, and cartographers appeared on the shores of Lake Peipus. Everyone was interested in where the Battle of the Ice was. Alexander Nevsky was here, this is known for certain, but where did his troops meet their adversaries?

Several boats with teams of experienced divers were placed at the complete disposal of the scientists. Many enthusiasts and schoolchildren from local historical societies also worked on the shores of the lake. So what did Lake Peipus give to researchers? Was Nevsky here with the army?

Crow stone

For a long time, there was an opinion among domestic scientists that the Raven Stone was the key to all the secrets of the Battle of the Ice. His search was given special meaning. Finally he was discovered. It turned out that it was a rather high stone ledge on the western tip of Gorodets Island. For seven centuries not too dense rock was almost completely destroyed by winds and water.

At the foot of the Raven Stone, archaeologists quickly found the remains of Russian guard fortifications that blocked the passages to Novgorod and Pskov. So those places were really familiar to contemporaries because of their importance.

New contradictions

But determining the location of such an important landmark in ancient times did not at all mean identifying the place where the massacre took place on Lake Peipsi. Quite the opposite: the currents here are always so strong that ice as such does not exist here in principle. If the Russians had fought the Germans here, everyone would have drowned, regardless of their armor. The chronicler, as was the custom of that time, simply indicated the Crow Stone as the nearest landmark that was visible from the battle site.

Versions of events

If you return to the description of the events, which was given at the very beginning of the article, then you will probably remember the expression “... many killed on both sides fell on the grass.” Of course, the "grass" in in this case could be an idiom denoting the very fact of fall, death. But today historians are increasingly inclined to believe that archaeological evidence of that battle should be looked for precisely on the banks of the reservoir.

In addition, not a single piece of armor has yet been found at the bottom of Lake Peipsi. Neither Russian nor Teutonic. Of course, there was, in principle, very little armor as such (we have already talked about their high cost), but at least something should have remained! Especially when you consider how many diving dives were made.

Thus, we can draw a completely convincing conclusion that the ice did not break under the weight of the Germans, who were not very different in armament from our soldiers. In addition, finding armor even at the bottom of a lake is unlikely to prove anything for sure: more archaeological evidence is needed, since border skirmishes in those places happened constantly.

IN general outline It is clear on which lake the Battle of the Ice took place. The question of where exactly the battle took place still worries domestic and foreign historians.

Monument to the iconic battle

A monument in honor of this significant event was erected in 1993. It is located in the city of Pskov, installed on Mount Sokolikha. The monument is more than a hundred kilometers away from the theoretical site of the battle. This stele is dedicated to the “Druzhinniks of Alexander Nevsky”. Patrons raised money for it, which was an incredibly difficult task in those years. Therefore, this monument is of even greater value for the history of our country.

Artistic embodiment

In the very first sentence we mentioned the film by Sergei Eisenstein, which he shot back in 1938. The film was called "Alexander Nevsky". But it’s definitely not worth considering this magnificent (from an artistic point of view) film as a historical guide. Absurdities and obviously unreliable facts are present there in abundance.

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

Start of the 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, the troops returned.

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 from 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.

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.

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 imposed a battle on the enemy in the place he had chosen, which covered the paths to Velikiy 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 Peipsi 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 of which 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 would be more profitable for the Order, since Smooth surface made it possible to maintain formation during a massive cavalry attack, which sources describe.

Both armies had great experience conducting military operations in this region at all times of the year, 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 Peipsi 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 filmed 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 military glory 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 the Front Chronicle (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).

The defeat of the German knights by the Novgorodians in 1241–1242.

In the summer of 1240, German knights invaded the Novgorod land. They appeared under the walls of Izborsk and took the city by storm. “None of the Russians were left alone; those who only resorted to defense were killed or taken prisoner, and cries spread throughout the land,” according to the “Rhymed Chronicle.” The Pskovites rushed to the rescue of Izborsk: “the whole city came out against them (the knights - E.R.)” - Pskov. But the Pskov city militia was defeated. The killed Pskovites alone numbered more than 800 people. The knights pursued the Pskov militia and captured many. Now they approached Pskov, “and they set the whole town on fire, and there was a lot of evil, and the churches were burned... many villages were abandoned near Plskov. I stayed under the city for a week, but didn’t take the city, but I got the children good husband in the waist, and off the rest.”

In the winter of 1240, German knights invaded the Novgorod land and captured the territory of the Vod tribe, east of the Narova River, “having fought everything and imposed tribute on them.” Having captured the “Vodskaya Pyatina”, the knights took possession of Tesov, and their patrols were 35 km from Novgorod. The German feudal lords turned the previously rich region into a desert. “There is nothing to plow (plow - E.R.) around the villages,” the chronicler reports.

In the same 1240, the “brethren of the order” resumed their attack on the Pskov land. The army of invaders consisted of Germans, bears, Yuryevites and Danish “royal men”. With them was a traitor to the motherland - Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich. The Germans approached Pskov, crossed the river. Great, they pitched tents right under the walls of the Kremlin, set fire to the settlement and began to destroy the surrounding villages. A week later, the knights prepared to storm the Kremlin. But the Pskovite Tverdilo Ivanovich surrendered Pskov to the Germans, who took hostages and left their garrison in the city.

The Germans' appetite increased. They have already said: “We will reproach the Slovenian language... to ourselves,” that is, we will subjugate the Russian people to ourselves. On Russian soil, the invaders settled in the Koporye fortress.

Despite the political fragmentation of Rus', the idea of ​​protecting their land was strong among the Russian people.

At the request of the Novgorodians, Prince Yaroslav sent his son Alexander back to Novgorod. Alexander organized an army of Novgorodians, Ladoga residents, Karelians and Izhorians. First of all, it was necessary to decide the question of the method of action. Pskov and Koporye were in enemy hands. Actions in two directions scattered forces. The Koporye direction was the most threatening - the enemy was approaching Novgorod. Therefore, Alexander decided to strike the first blow at Koporye, and then liberate Pskov from the invaders.

The first stage of hostilities was the campaign of the Novgorod army against Koporye in 1241.

The army under the command of Alexander set out on a campaign, reached Koporye, took possession of the fortress, “and tore down the city from its foundations, and beat the Germans themselves, and brought some with them to Novgorod, and released others with a grant, for he was more merciful than measure, and informed the leaders and the people of the war. "...Vodskaya Pyatina was cleared of the Germans. The right flank and rear of the Novgorod army were now safe.

The second stage of hostilities is the campaign of the Novgorod army with the aim of liberating Pskov.

In March 1242, the Novgorodians set out on a campaign again and were soon near Pskov. Alexander, believing that he did not have enough strength to attack a strong fortress, was waiting for his brother Andrei Yaroslavich with the “grassroots” troops, who soon arrived. The Order did not have time to send reinforcements to its knights. Pskov was surrounded and the knightly garrison was captured. Alexander sent the order's governors in chains to Novgorod. 70 noble order brothers and many ordinary knights were killed in the battle.

After this defeat, the Order began to concentrate its forces within the Dorpat bishopric, preparing reprisals against the Russians. “Let’s go against Alexander and the imam will triumphantly with his hands,” said the knights. Order collected great strength: here were almost all his knights with the “maester” (master) at the head, “with all their biskupi (bishops), and with all the multitude of their language, and their power, whatever is on this side, and with the help of the queen,” that is, there were German knights, the local population and the army of the King of Sweden.

Battle on the Ice (briefly)

Brief description of the ice battle

The Battle of the Ice takes place on April 5, 1242 on Lake Peipsi. This event became one of the most important battles in the history of Rus' and its victories. The date of this battle completely stopped any military actions on the part of the Livonian Order. However, as often happens, many facts that are associated with this event are considered controversial among researchers and historians.

As a result, today we do not know the exact number of soldiers in the Russian army, because this information is completely absent both in the Life of Nevsky himself and in the chronicles of that time. The estimated number of soldiers who took part in the battle is fifteen thousand, and the Livonian army has at least twelve thousand soldiers.

The position chosen by Nevsky for the battle was not chosen by chance. First of all, it made it possible to block all approaches to Novgorod. Most likely, Nevsky understood that knights in heavy armor were the most vulnerable in winter conditions.

Livonian warriors lined up in a fighting wedge, popular at that time, placing heavy knights on the flanks and light knights inside the wedge. This formation was called the “great pig” by Russian chroniclers. How Alexander positioned his army is unknown to historians. At the same time, the knights decided to advance into battle without having accurate information about the enemy army.

The guard regiment was attacked by a knightly wedge, which then moved on. However, the advancing knights soon encountered many unexpected obstacles on their way.

The knight's wedge was clamped in pincers, losing its maneuverability. With the attack of the ambush regiment, Alexander finally tipped the scales to his side. The Livonian knights, who were dressed in heavy armor, became completely helpless without their horses. Those who were able to escape were pursued according to chronicle sources “to the Falcon Coast.”

Having won the Battle of the Ice, Alexander Nevsky forced the Livonian Order to renounce all territorial claims and make peace. Warriors who were captured in the battle were returned by both sides.

It should be noted that the event called the Battle of the Ice is considered unique. For the first time in history, a foot army was able to defeat heavily armed cavalry. Of course, quite important factors that determined the outcome of the battle were surprise, terrain and weather conditions, which the Russian commander took into account.

Fragment of video illustration: Battle on the Ice

Choosing a battle location. The patrols reported to Prince Alexander that a small detachment of the enemy had moved towards Izborsk, and most of the army had turned towards Lake Pskov. Having received this news, Alexander turned his troops east to the shores of Lake Peipsi. The choice was dictated by strategic and tactical calculations. At this position, Alexander Nevsky with his regiments cut off all possible routes of approach to Novgorod for the enemy, thus finding himself in the very center of all possible enemy routes. Probably, the Russian military leader knew how 8 years ago his father, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, defeated the knights on the ice-bound waters of the Embakh River, and knew about the advantages of fighting with heavily armed knights in winter conditions.

Alexander Nevsky decided to give battle to the enemy on Lake Peipsi, north of the Uzmen tract, near the island of Voroniy Kamen. Several stories have reached us about the famous “Battle of the Ice”. important sources. From the Russian side - these are the Novgorod Chronicles and the "Life" of Alexander Nevsky, from Western sources - the "Rhymed Chronicle" (author unknown).

Question about numbers. One of the most difficult and controversial issues is the size of enemy armies. Chroniclers on both sides did not provide accurate data. Some historians believed that the number German troops amounted to 10-12 thousand people, and Novgorodians - 12-15 thousand people. It is likely that few knights took part in the battle on the ice, and most of the German army were militias from among the Estonians and Livonians.

Preparing the parties for battle. On the morning of April 5, 1242, the crusading knights lined up in battle formation, ironically called by Russian chroniclers the “great pig” or wedge. The tip of the “wedge” was aimed at the Russians. Knights clad in heavy armor stood on the flanks of the military formation, and lightly armed warriors were located inside.

There is no detailed information in the sources about the combat disposition of the Russian army. This was probably a “regimental row” with a guard regiment in front, common in the military practice of Russian princes of that time. The battle formations of the Russian troops were facing the steep bank, and Alexander Nevsky’s squad was hidden in the forest behind one of the flanks. The Germans were forced to advance along open ice, not knowing the exact location and number of Russian troops.

Progress of the battle. Despite the meager coverage of the course of the famous battle in the sources, the course of the battle is schematically clear. Exposing their long spears, the knights attacked the “brow”, i.e. center of the Russian army. Showered with a hail of arrows, the “wedge” crashed into the location of the guard regiment. The author of the “Rhymed Chronicle” wrote: “The banners of the brothers penetrated the ranks of the riflemen, swords were heard ringing, helmets were seen being cut, and the dead were falling on both sides.” The Russian chronicler also wrote about the Germans’ breakthrough of the guard regiment: “The Germans fought their way like pigs through the regiments.”

This first success of the crusaders was apparently foreseen by the Russian commander, as well as the difficulties encountered after that, insurmountable for the enemy. This is how one of the best Russian military historians wrote about this stage of the battle: “... Having stumbled upon the steep shore of the lake, the sedentary knights clad in armor could not develop their success. On the contrary, the knightly cavalry became crowded, because the rear ranks of the knights pushed the front who had nowhere to turn around for battle."

Russian troops did not allow the Germans to develop their success on the flanks, and the German wedge found itself firmly squeezed into pincers, losing the harmony of its ranks and freedom of maneuver, which turned out to be disastrous for the crusaders. At the most unexpected moment for the enemy, Alexander ordered the ambush regiment to attack and encircle the Germans. “And that slaughter was great and evil for the Germans and the people,” the chronicler reported.

Russian militias and warriors armed with special hooks pulled the knights off their horses, after which the heavily armed “God's nobles” became completely helpless. Under the weight of the crowded knights, the melted ice began to crack and crack in some places. Only part of the crusader army managed to escape from the encirclement, trying to escape. Some of the knights drowned. At the end of the “Battle of the Ice,” the Russian regiments pursued the adversary retreating across the ice of Lake Peipus “seven miles to the Sokolitsky shore.” The defeat of the Germans was crowned by an agreement between the order and Novgorod, according to which the crusaders abandoned all captured Russian lands and returned prisoners; for their part, the Pskovites also released captured Germans.

The meaning of the battle, its unique result. The defeat of the Swedish and German knights is a bright page military history Russia. In the Battle of the Neva and the Battle of the Ice, Russian troops under the command of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky, performing an essentially defensive task, were distinguished by decisive and consistent offensive actions. Each subsequent campaign of Alexander Nevsky's regiments had its own tactical task, but the commander himself did not lose sight of the overall strategy. So, in the battles of 1241-1242. Russian military leader inflicted whole line successive attacks on the enemy before the decisive battle took place.

The Novgorod troops made excellent use of the surprise factor in all battles with the Swedes and Germans. An unexpected attack destroyed the Swedish knights who landed at the mouth of the Neva, a swift and unexpected blow drove the Germans out of Pskov, and then from Koporye, and finally, a quick and sudden attack by an ambush regiment in the Battle of the Ice, which led to complete confusion of the enemy's battle ranks. The battle formations and tactics of the Russian troops turned out to be more flexible than the notorious wedge formation of the order’s troops. Alexander Nevsky, using the terrain, managed to deprive the enemy of space and freedom of maneuver, encircle and destroy.

The battle on Lake Peipus is also unusual in that for the first time in medieval military practice, heavy cavalry was defeated by foot troops. According to the fair remark of a historian of military art, “the tactical encirclement of the German knightly army by the Russian army, i.e. the use of one of the complex and decisive forms of military art, is the only case of all feudal period war. Only the Russian army under the command of a talented commander could carry out the tactical encirclement of a strong, well-armed enemy."

The victory over the German knights was extremely important in military and political terms. The German onslaught on the Eastern Europe. Novgorod the Great retained the opportunity to maintain economic and cultural ties with European countries, defended the possibility of access to Baltic Sea, defended Russian lands in the Northwestern region. The defeat of the crusaders pushed other peoples to resist crusader aggression. This is how I rated it historical meaning Battle on the Ice famous historian Ancient Rus' M.N. Tikhomirov: “In the history of the fight against German conquerors, the Battle of the Ice is the greatest date. This battle can only be compared with the Grunwald defeat of the Teutonic knights in 1410. The fight against the Germans continued further, but the Germans could never cause any significant harm to the Russian lands , and Pskov remained a formidable stronghold, against which all subsequent German attacks were broken." Despite the fact that we see the author’s well-known exaggeration of the significance of the victory on Lake Peipus, we can agree with him.

Another important consequence of the Battle of the Ice should be assessed within the framework general position Rus' in the 40s. XIII century In the event of the defeat of Novgorod, it would be created real threat the seizure of the northwestern Russian lands by the troops of the order, and if we take into account that Rus' had already been conquered by the Tatars, then it would probably have been twice as difficult for the Russian people to get rid of double oppression.

With all the severity of Tatar oppression, there was one circumstance that ultimately turned out to be in favor of Rus'. The Mongol-Tatars who conquered Rus' in the 13th century. remained pagans, respectful and wary of other people's faith and not encroaching on it. The Teutonic army, supervised personally by the Pope, tried by all means to introduce Catholicism in the conquered territories. Destruction or at least detonation Orthodox faith for the scattered Russian lands that had lost their unity would mean the loss of cultural identity and the loss of all hope of restoring political independence. It was Orthodoxy in the era of the Tatars and political fragmentation, when the population of numerous lands and principalities of Rus' almost lost their sense of unity, was the basis for the revival of national identity.

Read also other topics Part IX "Rus between East and West: battles of the 13th and 15th centuries." section "Rus and Slavic countries in the Middle Ages":

• 39. “Who is the essence and the split-off”: Tatar-Mongols by the beginning of the 13th century.
• 41. Genghis Khan and the “Muslim front”: campaigns, sieges, conquests
• 42. Rus' and the Polovtsians on the eve of Kalka
  • Polovtsy. Military-political organization and social structure of the Polovtsian hordes
  • Prince Mstislav Udaloy. Princely Congress in Kyiv - the decision to help the Polovtsians
• 44. Crusaders in the Eastern Baltic