There is an episode with Raven Stone. According to ancient legend, he rose from the waters of the lake at times of danger to the Russian land, helping to crush the enemies. So it was in 1242. This date appears in all domestic historical sources, being inextricably linked with the Battle of the Ice.

It is not by chance that we focus your attention on this particular stone. After all, historians are guided by it, who are still trying to understand on which 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 Peipus. Today, it is only known for certain that the battle took place on April 5. Year of the Battle on the Ice - 1242 from the beginning of our era. In the annals of Novgorod and in the Livonian chronicle, there is not a single coinciding detail at all: the number of soldiers participating in the battle and the number of wounded and killed also differ.

We don't even know the details of what happened. Only information has reached us that a victory was won on Lake Peipus, and even then in a significantly distorted, transformed form. This is in stark contrast to the official version, but in recent years, the voices of those scientists who insist on full-scale excavations and repeated archival research have been heard more and more loudly. All of them want not only to know on which lake the Battle of the Ice took place, but also to find out all the details of the event.

Official description of the course of the battle

The opposing armies met in the morning. It was 1242, the ice had not yet broken. The Russian troops had many riflemen who courageously stepped forward, taking the brunt of the German attack. Pay attention to how the Livonian Chronicle says: “The banners of the brothers (German knights) penetrated the ranks of the shooters ... many of the dead from both sides fell on the grass (!)”.

Thus, the "Chronicles" and the manuscripts of the Novgorodians in this moment completely converge. Indeed, a detachment of light shooters stood in front of the Russian army. As the Germans later found out from their sad experience, it was a trap. "Heavy" columns of German infantry broke through the ranks of lightly armed soldiers and went on. We did not just write the first word in quotation marks. Why? We will 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 you describe the Battle on the Ice briefly, then in this case this episode raises some questions.

The Importance of Winning

So, most of the witnesses say nothing at all about the "drowned" knights. Part of the German army was surrounded. Many knights were taken prisoner. In principle, 400 fallen Germans are reported, and another fifty people were captured. Chud, according to the chronicles, "fell without number." That's all Battle on the Ice briefly.

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

About common myths

Even in the local history museums of the Pskov region, they are 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 with rare enthusiasm broadcast that the Germans in their armor weighed "three times more" than the average Russian warrior.

But any armament specialist of that era will tell you with confidence that the soldiers on both sides were protected approximately the same.

Armor is not for everyone!

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

Finally, there was no particular point in such heavily armed infantry on the ice in principle. Everyone fought on foot, there was no need to be afraid of a cavalry attack. So why take the risk once again, going out on the thin April ice in such an amount of iron?

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

Water or land?

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

For almost half a century, no one doubted the results of these studies. The fact is that 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, they managed to create a “holistic vision of the problem”. So on which lake did the Battle of the Ice take place?

Here the conclusion is the same - on Chudsky. 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 out?

First of all, they read the chronicle again. It said that the slaughter was "on Uzmeni, at Voronei's stone." Imagine that you are telling your friend how to get to the stop, using terms that you and him understand. If you tell the same thing to a resident of another region, he may not understand. We are in the same position. What is Uzmen? What Raven Stone? Where was all this?

More than seven centuries have passed since then. Rivers changed their channels in less time! So there was absolutely nothing left of the real geographical coordinates. If we assume that the battle, in one way or another, really 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 for himself the image of a winner in order to give his figure more weight in the political arena. But the old German chronicles also told about the episode of the battle, so there really was a battle.

Russian scientists had real verbal battles! Everyone tried to find out the place of the battle that took place in ancient times. Everyone called “the same” piece of territory either on the western or on the eastern shore of the lake. Someone argued that the battle took place in general in the central part of the reservoir. In general, there was trouble with the Raven Stone: either mountains of small pebbles at the bottom of the lake were mistaken for it, or someone saw it in every ledge of rock on the banks of the reservoir. There were many disputes, but the matter did not move at all.

In 1955, everyone was tired of this, and the 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 Peipsi. Everyone was interested in where the Battle of the Ice took place. Alexander Nevsky was here, this is known for certain, but where did his troops meet with adversaries?

Several boats with teams of experienced divers were given to the full disposal of scientists. Many enthusiasts, schoolchildren from local historical societies also worked on the shores of the lake. So what gave the researchers Lake Peipsi? Nevsky was here with the army?

Raven stone

For a long time, among domestic scientists, there was an opinion that the Raven Stone was the key to all the secrets of the Battle on the Ice. His search was given special importance. Finally he was discovered. It turned out that it was a rather high stone ledge on the western tip of the island of Gorodets. 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 well known to contemporaries because of their importance.

New contradictions

That's just the location of such an important landmark in antiquity did not mean establishing the place where the massacre took place on Lake Peipus. Quite the opposite: the currents here are always so strong that ice as such does not exist here in principle. Arrange a battle here between the Russians and the Germans, everyone would drown, regardless of the armor. The chronicler, as was the custom of the time, simply indicated the Raven Stone as the nearest landmark that was visible from the battlefield.

Event versions

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

In addition, not a single armor has yet been found at the bottom of Lake Peipus. Neither Russian nor Teutonic. Of course, there were very few 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 make a quite convincing conclusion that the ice, under the weight of the Germans, who did not differ too much in armament from our soldiers, did not break through. In addition, finding armor even at the bottom of the lake is unlikely to prove anything for sure: more archaeological evidence is needed, since border clashes in those places happened all the time.

In general terms, it is clear on which lake the Battle of the Ice took place. The question of where exactly the slaughter took place still worries domestic and foreign historians.

Monument to the iconic battle

The 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 place of the battle. This stele is dedicated to the "Druzhinniks of Alexander Nevsky". Patrons collected money for it, which in those years was an incredibly difficult matter. That is why this monument has 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 made back in 1938. The tape was called "Alexander Nevsky". That's just not worth considering this magnificent (from an artistic point of view) film as a historical tool. Absurdities and obviously unreliable facts are present there in abundance.

Myths about the Ice Battle

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

For many, the battle, according to the annals, which took place on April 5, 1242, is not much different from the shots 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 on the ice really 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 in order to thoroughly study all the "components" of the battle.

But upon closer examination, it turns out that the popularity of a historical plot is by no means a guarantee of its comprehensive study.

Thus, the most detailed (and most quoted) description of the battle, recorded "in hot pursuit", is contained in the Novgorod First Chronicle of the senior version. And this description has just over 100 words. The rest of the references are even more concise.

Moreover, sometimes they include mutually exclusive information. For example, in the most authoritative Western source - the Senior 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 annalistic references to the collision, but, according to experts, they are a literary work and therefore can be used as a source only with "great restrictions."

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

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

The myth of a united Russia

In the minds of many, the Battle on the Ice is the victory of the united Russian troops over the forces of the German crusaders. Such a "generalizing" idea of ​​the battle was already formed 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" than a nationwide conflict. In the 13th century, Russia experienced a period of feudal fragmentation and consisted of approximately 20 independent principalities. Moreover, the policies of cities that formally belonged to the same territory could differ significantly.

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

One of these neighbors was the Catholic Order of the Sword, after the defeat in the battle of Saul (Shauliai) in 1236, attached 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 the historian Igor Danilevsky notes, the main reason for the territorial conflicts between Novgorod and the Order were the lands of the Estonians who lived on the western shore of Lake Peipsi (the medieval population of modern Estonia, in most Russian-language chronicles, appeared 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 subjected to retaliatory raids by the Livonians.

According to the historian Alexei Valerov, it was the need to simultaneously resist both the forces of the Order and the regular attempts of Novgorod to encroach on the independence of the city that could force Pskov in 1240 to “open the gates” to the Livonians. 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, according to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, in 1242, not a full-fledged "German army" was 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 annals, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich of Novgorod, together with his younger brother Andrei Yaroslavich (sent by their father, Vladimir Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich), "expelled" the Germans from Pskov, after which they continued their campaign, setting off "to the Chud" (i.e. 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 establish the number of participants in the battle. The only figures we have are those of German casualties. So, the Novgorod First Chronicle reports about 400 killed and 50 prisoners, the Livonian rhymed chronicle - that "twenty brothers remained killed and six were captured."

The researchers believe that these data are not as contradictory as it seems at first glance.

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

So, on the part of the Germans, these are 35–40 knight brothers, about 160 knechts (on average, four servants per knight) and Estonian mercenaries (“chud without number”), who could “expand” the detachment by another 100–200 soldiers . At the same time, by the standards of the 13th century, such an army was considered a fairly serious force (presumably, during the heyday, the maximum number of the former Order of the Sword-bearers, 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 suggests that Alexander's army significantly outnumbered the Crusaders.

So, 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 was unlikely to exceed 800 people.

From chronicles we also know that the German detachment was lined up by a "pig".

According to Klim Zhukov, most likely, this is not about the "trapezoid" pig, which we are used to seeing in the diagrams in textbooks, but about the "rectangular" one (since the first description of the "trapezium" in written sources appeared only in the 15th century). Also, according to historians, the estimated size of the Livonian army gives grounds to talk about the traditional construction of the "hound banner": 35 knights that make up the "wedge banner", plus their detachments (up to 400 people in total).

As for the tactics of the Russian army, the Rhymed Chronicle only mentions that "the Russians had many shooters" (who, apparently, made up the first line), and that "the brothers' army was surrounded."

We don't know anything more about this.

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

There is also a stereotype according to which the combat attire 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.

Indeed, on both sides, exclusively heavily armed horsemen participated 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 XIII 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 in such conditions to withdraw troops to it?

The myth of the battle on ice and drowned knights

Let's disappoint right away: there are no descriptions of how the 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 "fall on the battlefield" (version of the medievalist historian Igor Kleinenberg), others - that we are talking about thickets of reeds that made their way from under the ice in shallow water, where the battle took place (version of the Soviet military historian Georgy Karaev, displayed on the map).

As for the chronicles mentioning that the Germans were driven "on the ice", modern researchers agree that the Battle on the Ice could "borrow" this detail from the description of the later Battle of Rakovor (1268). According to Igor Danilevsky, reports that the Russian troops drove the enemy seven miles ("to the Subolichi coast") are quite justified for the scale of the Rakovor battle, but they look strange in the context of the battle on Lake Peipsi, where the distance from coast to coast at the supposed location battle is no more than 2 km.

Speaking of the "Raven Stone" (a geographical landmark mentioned in part of the annals), historians emphasize that any map indicating a specific battle site is nothing more than a version. Where exactly the massacre took place, no one knows: the sources contain too little information to draw any conclusions.

In particular, Klim Zhukov is based on the fact that during the archaeological expeditions in the area of ​​Lake Peipus not a single "confirming" burial was found. The researcher connects the lack of evidence not with the mythical nature of the battle, but with looting: in the 13th century, iron was highly valued, and it is unlikely that the weapons and armor of the dead soldiers could have been preserved to this day.

The myth of the geopolitical significance of the battle

In the view of many, the Battle on the Ice "stands apart" and is perhaps the only "action-packed" battle of its time. And it really became one of the most significant battles of the Middle Ages, "suspending" the conflict between Russia and the Livonian Order for almost 10 years.

Nevertheless, the XIII century is rich in other events.

From the point of view of the clash with the crusaders, they include the battle with the Swedes on the Neva in 1240, and the already mentioned battle of Rakovor, during which the combined army of the seven northern Russian principalities opposed the Livonian Landmaster and Danish Estland.

Also, the XIII century is the time of the Horde invasion.

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

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

TASS expresses gratitude for the help in preparing the material to the historian and specialist in Ancient Russia Igor Nikolaevich Danilevsky and the military medievalist historian Klim Aleksandrovich Zhukov.

© TASS INFOGRAPHICS, 2017

Materials worked on:

The tenth century in densely populated - by medieval standards, of course - Western Europe was marked by 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 en masse appeared 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 of the Eastern European countries, but at the same time created problems, creating rivalry and confrontation between the newcomer and the indigenous population. A particularly large wave of immigrants poured in from the German lands, where the rulers of the German Empire (following Emperor Frederick Barbarossa) supported the "onslaught on the East."

Soon the eyes of Europeans were 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 had laid claim to Estonia since the beginning of the 12th century.

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.

The Batu invasion gave rise to the hope among the crusaders that expansion could be expanded to the northern lands of the Orthodox, who in the West had long been considered heretics after the split of the churches in 1054. Lord Veliky Novgorod was especially attractive. 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 devastation of northeastern Russia by the Mongol Khan Batu, this battle opened a circle that was difficult for contemporaries: Alexander brought victory to Russia and, along with it, hope, faith in one's own strength! This victory brought him the honorary title of Nevsky.

Confidence that the Russians are capable of winning victories helped to survive in the difficult days of 1240, when a more dangerous enemy, the Livonian Order, invaded Novgorod. 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 the Saber 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.

In political and moral terms, the victory over the Swedes and the knights of the Livonian Order was 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.

It was church tradition that 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. In this case, Prince Alexander is in many ways a "brother" of Richard the Lionheart. The legendary "twins" of both monarchs obscured 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 Russian history is 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.

The Battle on Lake Peipus, better known as the Battle of the Ice, is one of the most important battles in the history of Kievan Rus. The Russian troops were commanded by Alexander Nevsky, who received his nickname after the victory in.

Date of the Battle of the Ice.

The battle on the ice took place on April 5, 1242 on Lake Peipus. The Russian army accepted the battle with the Livonian Order, which invaded the Russian lands.

A few years earlier, in 1240, Alexander Nevsky had already fought with the army of the Livonian Order. Then the invaders of Russian lands were defeated, but a few years later they again decided to attack Kievan Rus. Pskov was captured, but in March 1241 Alexander Nevsky was able to recapture it with Vladimir's help.

The order army concentrated its forces in the Derpt bishopric, and Alexander Nevsky went to Izborsk, captured by the Livonian Order. The reconnaissance detachments of Nevsky were defeated by the German knights, which affected the self-confidence of the command of the Order Army - the Germans went on the attack in order to win an easy victory as quickly as possible.

The main forces of the Order Army moved to the junction between the Pskov and Peipsi lakes in order to get to Novgorod in a short way and cut off the Russian troops in the Pskov region. The Novgorod army turned to the lake and carried out an unusual maneuver to repel the attack of the German knights: it moved across the ice to the island of Voronii Kamen. Thus, Alexander Nevsky blocked the path of the Order's army to Novgorod and chose a place for the battle, which was of great importance.

The course of the battle.

The order army lined up in a “wedge” (in Russian chronicles this order was called a “pig”) and went on the attack. The Germans were going to break a strong central regiment, and then attack the flanks. But Alexander Nevsky unraveled this plan and deployed the army differently. Weak regiments were in the center, and strong ones along the flanks. There was also an ambush regiment to the side.

The archers, who came out first in the Russian army, did not cause serious damage to the armored knights and were forced to retreat to strong flank regiments. The Germans, putting out long spears, attacked the Russian central regiment and broke through its defensive lines, a fierce battle ensued. The rear ranks of the Germans pushed the front ones, literally pushing them deeper and deeper into the Russian central regiment.

Meanwhile, the left and right regiments forced the knights, who covered the knights from the rear, to retreat.

After waiting until the whole "pig" was drawn into the battle, Alexander Nevsky gave a signal to the regiments located on the left and right flanks. The Russian army clamped the German "pig" in pincers. Meanwhile, Nevsky, together with his squad, struck the Germans from the rear. Thus, the Order army was completely surrounded.

Some Russian warriors were equipped with special spears with hooks to pull the knights off their horses. Other warriors are equipped with cobbler knives, with which they incapacitate horses. Thus, the knights were left without horses and became easy prey, and the ice began to crack under their weight. An ambush regiment appeared from behind the shelter, and the German knights began a retreat, which almost immediately turned into a flight. Some knights managed to break through the cordon and fled. Some of them rushed onto the thin ice and drowned, another part of the German army was killed (the Novgorod cavalry drove the Germans to the opposite shore of the lake), the rest was taken prisoner.

Results.

The battle on the ice is considered the first battle in which the foot army defeated the heavy cavalry. Thanks to this victory, Novgorod retained trade ties with Europe, and the threat posed by the Order was eliminated.

The Battle of Neva, the Battle of the Ice, the Battle of Toropets - battles that were of great importance for the whole of Kievan Rus, because attacks from the west were held back, while the rest of Russia suffered from princely strife and the consequences of the Tatar conquest.