Map 1239-1245

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

“Chronicle of the Grand Masters” (“Die jungere Hochmeisterchronik”, sometimes translated as “Chronicle of the Teutonic Order”), the official history of the Teutonic Order, written much later, speaks of the death of 70 order knights (literally “70 order gentlemen”, “seuentich Ordens Herenn” ), but unites those who died during the capture of Pskov by Alexander and on Lake Peipsi.

The immediate site of the battle, according to the conclusions of the expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences led by Karaev, can be considered a section of Warm Lake, located 400 meters west of the modern shore of Cape Sigovets, between its northern tip and the latitude of the village of Ostrov.

Consequences

In 1243, the Teutonic Order concluded a peace treaty with Novgorod and officially renounced all claims to Russian lands. Despite this, ten years later the Teutons tried to recapture Pskov. The wars with Novgorod continued.

According to the traditional point of view in Russian historiography, this battle, together with the victories of Prince Alexander over the Swedes (July 15, 1240 on the Neva) and over the Lithuanians (in 1245 near Toropets, near Lake Zhitsa and near Usvyat), had great value for Pskov and Novgorod, delaying the onslaught of three serious enemies from the west - at the very time when the rest of Rus' was greatly weakened Mongol invasion. In Novgorod Ice battle together with the Neva victory over the Swedes back in the 16th century, it was remembered at litanies in all Novgorod churches.

However, even in the “Rhymed Chronicle,” the Battle of the Ice is clearly described as a defeat of the Germans, unlike Rakovor.

Memory of the battle

Movies

• In 1938, Sergei Eisenstein shot the feature film “Alexander Nevsky”, in which the Battle of the Ice was filmed. The film is considered one of the most prominent representatives of historical films. It was he who largely shaped the modern viewer’s idea of ​​the battle.
• In 1992, the documentary film “In memory of the past and in the name of the future” was shot. The film tells about the creation of a monument to Alexander Nevsky for the 750th anniversary of the Battle of the Ice.
• In 2009, jointly by Russian, Canadian and Japanese studios, the full-length anime film “First Squad” was shot, in which the Battle of the Ice plays key role in the plot.

Music

• The score for Eisenstein's film, composed by Sergei Prokofiev, is a symphonic suite dedicated to the events of the battle.
• The rock band Aria on the album “Hero of Asphalt” (1987) released the song “ Ballad about an ancient Russian warrior", telling about the Battle of the Ice. This song has gone through a lot various treatments and reissues.

Literature

• Poem by Konstantin Simonov “Battle on the Ice” (1938)

Monuments

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

Monument to the squads of Alexander Nevsky on Sokolikha in Pskov

Monument to Alexander Nevsky and Worship Cross

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

In philately and on coins

Due to the incorrect calculation of the date of the battle according to the new style, the Day of Military Glory of Russia is the Day of the Victory of Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the Crusaders (established Federal law No. 32-FZ of March 13, 1995 “On the days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia”) is celebrated on April 18 instead of the correct new style April 12. The difference between the old (Julian) and new (Gregorian, first introduced in 1582) style in the 13th century would have been 7 days (counting from 5 April 1242), and the 13 day difference is only used for dates 1900-2100. Therefore, this day of military glory of Russia (April 18 according to the new style in the XX-XXI centuries) is actually celebrated according to its current corresponding April 5 according to the old style.

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. Only thanks to long-term research carried out by an expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences (under the leadership of G.N. Karaev), the location of the battle was established. The battle site is submerged in water in summer and is located approximately 400 meters from the island of Sigovec.

See also

Notes

Literature

• Lipitsky S.V. Ice battle. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1964. - 68 p. - (The heroic past of our Motherland).
• Mansikka V.Y. Life of Alexander Nevsky: Analysis of editions and text. - St. Petersburg, 1913. - “Monuments of ancient writing.” - Vol. 180.
• Life of Alexander Nevsky/Prep. text, translation and comm. V. I. Okhotnikova // Monuments of literature Ancient Rus': XIII century. - M.: Publishing house Khudozh. liters, 1981.
• Begunov Yu. K. Monument of Russian literature of the 13th century: “The Tale of the Death of the Russian Land” - M.-L.: Nauka, 1965.
• Pashuto V.T. Alexander Nevsky - M.: Young Guard, 1974. - 160 p. - Series “Life of Remarkable People”.
• Karpov A. Yu. Alexander Nevsky - M.: Young Guard, 2010. - 352 p. - Series “Life of Remarkable People”.
• Khitrov M. Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky. Detailed biography. - Minsk: Panorama, 1991. - 288 p. - Reprint edition.
• Klepinin N. A. Holy Blessed and Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. - St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 2004. - 288 p. - Series “Slavic Library”.
• Prince Alexander Nevsky and his era. Research and materials/Ed. Yu. K. Begunova and A. N. Kirpichnikov. - St. Petersburg: Dmitry Bulanin, 1995. - 214 p.
• Fennell John. Crisis medieval Rus'. 1200-1304 - M.: Progress, 1989. - 296 p.
• Battle of the Ice 1242 Proceedings of a complex expedition to clarify the location of the Battle of the Ice / Rep. ed. G. N. Karaev. - M.-L.: Nauka, 1966. - 241 p.

The Battle of Lake Peipsi, better known as the Battle of the Ice, is one of the most important battles in history. 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 of the Ice took place on April 5, 1242 on Lake Peipsi. The Russian army took the battle with Livonian Order who invaded 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 help.

The Order army concentrated its forces in the Dorpat bishopric, and Alexander Nevsky went to Izborsk, captured by the Livonian Order. Nevsky's reconnaissance detachments were defeated by 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 Lakes Pskov and Lake Peipus in order to reach Novgorod by a short route and cut off Russian troops in the Pskov area. The Novgorod army turned towards the lake and carried out an unusual maneuver to repel the attack of the German knights: it moved along the ice to the island of Voroniy Kamen. Thus, Alexander Nevsky blocked the path of the Order Army to Novgorod and chose a place for the battle that was important.

Progress of the battle.

The order’s 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 defeat the strong central regiment and then attack the flanks. But Alexander Nevsky figured out this plan and deployed the army differently. There were weak regiments in the center, and strong ones on the flanks. There was also an ambush regiment to the side.

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

The left and right regiments, meanwhile, forced the bollards, who were covering the knights from the rear, to retreat.

Having waited 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. Nevsky, meanwhile, 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 knights off their horses. Other warriors were equipped with cobbler knives, with which they disabled 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 cover, 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 thin ice and drowned, the other part 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 of the Ice is considered the first battle in which a foot army defeated heavy cavalry. Thanks to this victory, Novgorod maintained trade relations with Europe, and the threat posed by the Order was eliminated.

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

History of naval art

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ice battle. Background.

But Albert, who had not yet sailed far, was notified in time of the betrayal of the Russian prince, and returned with the knights to Riga, preparing for defense. True, the Germans did not have to defend themselves: the valiant Vyachko, having learned about Albert’s return, simply set fire to Kukenois and fled with his squad somewhere to Rus'. This time the Germans decided not to tempt fate and took control of Kukenois.

And then a strange thing happens: in 1210, the Germans sent ambassadors to the Prince of Polotsk, who were supposed to offer him peace. And Polotsk agrees to this peace on the condition that the Livonians, who were subordinate to Riga, will pay tribute to Polotsk and the bishop will be responsible for this. It’s amazing: Polotsk agrees to peace with the Germans, who captured two of its appanage principalities and are also spreading their influence over the pagans. However, on the other hand, what’s strange about this: contrary to the statements of our historians, who shout at every corner that the Russians from ancient times helped the Baltic tribes fight the Western occupiers, Polotsk did not care about these tribes from a high bell tower. The only thing he was interested in was profit.

In 1216, the first clash of the Germans with Novgorod took place. And again, the conflict was initiated by the Russian princes: the Novgorodians and Pskovites at the end of the year attacked the Estonian city of Odenpe (at that time already belonging to the Germans) and plundered it. In January 1217, the Estonians, with the help of the Germans, carried out a retaliatory attack on the Novgorod lands. But there was no talk of any territorial acquisitions - the Germans, having robbed the Novgorodians, went home. In the same year, the Novgorodians again gathered on a campaign against Odempe. Novgorod troops besieged the city, but were unable to take it, so the Novgorodians had to limit themselves to plundering the surrounding area. A hastily assembled army hurried to the aid of the besieged Odempe garrison.

However, due to its small numbers, it was unable to provide serious assistance to the Livonians in Odempe. All that this army had the strength to do was to break through to Odempe. As a result, the number of people in the city turned out to be quite large, but supplies were extremely scarce. Therefore, the Livonians were forced to ask for peace from the Russians. They, having taken a ransom from the Germans, left Livonia. What is characteristic: the Novgorodians, if they were really afraid of the excessive activity of the Catholic Church or fought for the freedom of the Baltic tribes, could quite easily simply starve out all the Germans in Odenpe, thereby destroying most of the Livonian army and stopping Catholic expansion for a long time.

However, the Novgorodians did not even think of doing this. The Catholics did not interfere with them in any way. On the contrary, they had even more money than the pagans, which means it was doubly fun to rob. So the Russians didn’t try to cut the branch they were sitting on - why kill the Germans, who in a year or two could again accumulate money, which could then be taken away from them in the next campaign? Actually, this is exactly what the Novgorodians did: in 1218, the Novgorod army again invaded Livonia. Once again, the Russians find themselves unable to take a single Livonian castle and again, having ravaged the surrounding area, return home with loot.

But in 1222 a significant event occurred: the Estonians rebelled against the Germans. Realizing that they cannot cope with the knights on their own, the Estonians turn to Novgorod for help. And the Novgorodians really come, plunder the surrounding area, and leave, leaving small garrisons in the castles donated by the Estonia. That is, the Novgorodians had little interest in annexing the Livonian lands. As usual, they were driven only by the thirst for profit. Of course, the few Russian troops left in German castles They could not resist the retaliatory actions of the Livonians for a long time, and by 1224 the Germans cleared the Estonian lands from the Russians. What is interesting is that while the Germans were destroying the Russian garrisons, the Novgorodians did not give a damn and did not even intend to help their comrades.

But when the Germans, having returned to themselves the lands seized by the Russians in 1223, asked Novgorod for peace, paying tribute at the same time, the Novgorodians happily agreed - of course, a freebie after all. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who was at that time the prince of Novgorod, decided to carry out the next campaign in 1228. However, Yaroslav was not very popular either in Novgorod or in Pskov, as a result of which first the Pskovites, and then the Novgorodians, refused to participate in the campaign. But the year 1233 became, to a certain extent, significant for Russian-Livonian relations, since it was a kind of forerunner of the events of 1240-1242.

In 1233, with the help of the Livonian army, the former Pskov prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich (expelled from the city, apparently on the initiative of the pro-Suzdal group that supported Yaroslav Vsevolodovich) captured Izborsk. Apparently, Izborsk surrendered to the prince without a fight, because if this perfectly fortified fortress decided to resist, it would have taken the Germans at least several weeks to take it, and during this time the Pskov fortress would have managed to approach the city. and the Novgorod militia, which would not leave a stone unturned from the “Western invaders.”

But the city fell quickly, which means that the Izborsk residents did not want to fight with their prince. And now the Livonians are given an excellent opportunity to begin the seizure of Novgorod lands, because Izborsk, a key point of the Pskov land and a wonderful fortress, is already in their hands. However, the Germans do not want to defend Izborsk, and in the same year the Pskovites (probably with the support of the same pro-Suzdal party inside the city) again captured Izborsk and captured Yaroslav Vladimirovich. Yaroslav Vladimirovich was sent first to Novgorod to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, and then to Pereyaslavl, from where after some time he somehow managed to escape, which played an important role in the “crusader aggression” of 1240-1242.

So what can we conclude? Livonia never pursued an aggressive policy towards the Russian principalities. She simply didn't have the strength for it. Neither before nor after 1242 was Livonia able to compete with Novgorod in economic and military potential. The Russian principalities constantly took advantage of the weakness of their western neighbor, conducting large and not very large raids. It should be noted that the Russian principalities were never interested in destroying the bridgehead of “Western aggression” in the Baltic states, although there were opportunities to crush weak Livonia (especially in initial period the Russians had plenty of its existence. However, the leitmotif of Rus'’s relations with Livonia was not at all the fight against “foreign invaders,” but profit from plunder.

Ice battle. From the capture of Izborsk to the Battle of Lake Peipsi.

So, Yaroslav Vladimirovich somehow managed to escape from Pereyaslavl. And where is he running? Back to their “sworn enemies” - the Germans. And in 1240, Yaroslav tries to repeat what did not work out for him in 1233. An extremely accurate (albeit somewhat anachronistic) definition of the actions of the Germans in 1233 and 1240 was given by Belitsky and Satyreva: “The so-called “captures” by the troops of the Order of Izborsk and Pskov in 1233 and 1240 can, in the light of the above, be considered as a temporary entry of a limited contingent of order troops into the Pskov principality, carried out at the request of the legal ruler of Pskov, Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich." ("Pskov and the Order in the first third of the 13th century").

Indeed, the actions of the Germans cannot be considered as an attempt to seize Russian lands or, even more so, an attempt to conquer Novgorod (for the Livonians this would be no less (and even more) a murderous undertaking than for the Swedes) - the Germans only sought to help Yaroslav Vladimirovich in the fight at the princely table. Someone may wonder: why did they need this? It's simple: the Livonians wanted to see in place of the Pskov Principality a kind of buffer state that would protect the Baltic states from the constant raids of the Novgorodians. The desire is quite understandable, it should be noted. What’s interesting is that both the Pskovians and the Novgorodians were also not at all opposed to being part of “Western civilization,” fortunately, they had much more in common with the West than with the Horde, to which they were not very happy to pay tribute.

And the power of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and his son, our hero, Alexander Yaroslavovich, who tried to curtail Novgorod liberties at every opportunity, had already had enough of them. Therefore, when in the fall of 1240 Yaroslav Vladimirovich, with the support of the Livonian army, invaded the Pskov lands and approached Izborsk, the city, apparently, again offered no resistance. Otherwise, how can one explain the fact that the Germans managed to take it at all? As mentioned above, Izborsk was an excellent fortress, which could only be taken as a result of a long siege. But the distance from Izborsk to Pskov is 30 km, that is, one day’s journey. That is, if the Germans had not managed to take Izborsk on the move, they would not have been able to take it at all, since the Pskov army that arrived in time would simply have defeated the invaders.

Thus, it can be assumed that Izborsk surrendered without a fight. However, in Pskov, where separatist sentiments were apparently also strong, supporters of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich are making an attempt to save their power: the Pskov army is sent to Izborsk. Under the walls of Izborsk, the Germans attack the Pskovites and defeat them, killing 800 people (according to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle). Next, the Germans advance to Pskov and besiege it. Once again, the Russians show little desire to fight: after only a week's siege, Pskov surrenders. It is significant that Novgorod did not at all strive to help the Pskovites: instead of sending an army to help Pskov, the Novgorodians calmly wait for the Germans to take the city.

Apparently, the Novgorodians did not consider the restoration of the princely power of Yaroslav Vladimirovich in Pskov to be an evil. What do the “crusaders” do after capturing such a large and significant center as Pskov? Nothing. According to LRH, the Germans are just leaving two Vogt knights there. Based on this, we can draw a completely logical conclusion: the Germans did not at all seek to seize the Novgorod lands - their only goal was to establish the power they needed in Pskov. That's all. That's the whole "deadly threat hanging over Russia."

After the capture of Izborsk and Pskov, the Germans commit the next “act of aggression” - they build the “fortress” of Koporye on the lands of the Vod tribe. Of course, our historians tried to present this fact as a clear demonstration that the Germans were trying to gain a foothold in new lands. However, this is not true. It’s just that the leaders, apparently, declared their intention to accept Catholicism and the patronage of the Livonian Church, after which the Germans built a small fort for them. The fact is that the Germans built fortifications for all the pagans who converted to Catholicism. This was the tradition in the Baltics.

After the founding of this terrible stronghold of Catholic aggression, the Germans took the city of Tesov and, in fact, that’s all. This is where all aggression ends. Having plundered the outskirts of Novgorod, the Germans and Estonians left the Novgorod lands, leaving Pskov in the possession of their old ally Yaroslav Vladimirovich. The entire German “occupation army” consisted of the two knights already mentioned above. However, our historians shout at the top of their voices that these two knights posed a terrible threat to the independence of Rus'.

As we see, the Germans did not come to Rus' with the goal of Catholicizing Pskov or, God forbid, capturing Novgorod. The Germans were just trying to protect themselves from the devastating raids of the Novgorodians. However, the theory of Catholic expansion continues to be persistently imposed on us. But, as in the case of the Swedes, there is not a single documentary evidence that the Pope called on the Livonians for a crusade against Rus'. Quite the contrary: the details of this campaign tell us that it was of a completely different nature.

The only hostile actions of the Pope against Novgorod were that he transferred the Russian lands captured by the Germans (and some others) under the jurisdiction of the Ezel bishopric. True, it is completely unclear what is special about this. Do not forget that Russian Orthodox Church a priori supported any Russian campaigns in the same Livonia, but for some reason no one believes that these campaigns were provoked precisely by the Church. So there was no crusade against Rus'." And it couldn’t be.

Paradoxically, Novgorod felt the threat looming over it only after the Germans left the Novgorod lands. Until this moment, the pro-German party in the city hoped that Novgorod would repeat the fate of Pskov. This party also hoped that the German knights would provide at least some assistance to Novgorod in the fight against Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and the Tatars. However, as it turned out, the Germans were not going to take Novgorod, much less provide any kind of support to the Russians in anything - they didn’t even want to leave a garrison in Pskov.

In addition, after the capture of Pskov, Novgorod, which had previously been reliably protected from the Baltic tribes by the lands of the Pskov Principality, now found itself open to Estonian raids, and this also could not please the Novgorodians. As a result, they turn to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich with a request to send them a prince (Alexander was kicked out by the Novgorodians a few months after the Battle of the Neva). Yaroslav first sends Andrei, but for some reason he did not suit the Novgorodians, and they ask Alexander.

On the second try, Yaroslav grants their request. The first thing Alexander does upon arrival is destroy the opposition. What is characteristic: when the Germans took Pskov, they did not carry out any punitive measures - on the contrary, everyone who did not like the new government was free to leave the city, which many did. But in Rus', those who disagreed were always treated harshly, and the Russian national hero Alexander was no exception.

After destroying the rivals inside his domains, Alexander goes to the external opponents: gathering an army. He advances to Koporye, which he immediately takes. Many of the leaders who were in the prison were hanged, and the “fortress” itself was razed. Alexander's next goal was Pskov. But the prince did not have to storm this citadel: Pskov surrendered himself. Apparently, Yaroslav Vladimirovich sensed the change in the situation in time, considered it more reasonable to remain without a principality, but with his head on his shoulders, he surrendered the city to the Novgorodians without a fight. For which, apparently, he was awarded the reign in Torzhok instead of the gallows that was due to him according to the logic of things and the tradition established by Alexander.

But the two knights who were in the city were less fortunate: according to LRH, they were expelled from the city. True, some of our historians are still sincerely confident that there were not even 2 knights in the city, but some countless number. For example, Yu. Ozerov writes about the capture of Pskov: “In the battle, 70 noble order brothers and many ordinary knights were killed” (“Like a “pig” ran into a “regimental” row”). I wonder what sacred meaning Ozerov puts into the term “ordinary knights”. But this, in general, is not so important, if only because there could not be 70 knights in Pskov by definition, since then it is necessary to admit that all the brothers of the German House of St. Mary in Livonia (as the Order came to be called) were in Pskov. Mechenostsev after joining the Teutonic Order in 1237), and then there was simply no one to fight on Lake Peipus.

Apparently, the myth about the 70 knights killed in Pskov goes back to the Chronicle of the Teutonic Order, which contains the following passage: “This prince Alexander gathered with a large army and great strength came to Pskov and took it. Despite the fact that the Christians defended themselves bravely, the Germans were defeated and captured and subjected to severe torture, and seventy knights of the order were killed there. Prince Alexander was glad of his victory, and the brother knights with their people who were killed there became martyrs in the name of God, glorified among Christians."

However, as we see, in this chronicle the author put together the capture of Pskov and the Battle of the Ice, thus we should talk about 70 knights who died in both of these battles. But this would also be incorrect, since the author of the KhTO borrowed information about events in the Russian lands in 1240-1242 from LRH, and all the differences between the text of the KhTO and the text of LRH are solely a figment of the imagination of the chronicler of the KhTO. Begunov, Kleinenberg and Shaskolsky, in their work devoted to the study of Russian and Western sources about the Battle of the Ice, wrote the following in relation to late European chronicles: “From the above texts and from the comments it is completely clear that all the texts of the late Baltic chronicles of the 14th - 16th centuries ., describing German aggression against Rus' in 1240 - 1242, go back to the corresponding part of the “Rhymed Chronicle” and are its greatly abbreviated retellings.

In the above texts there are several pieces of information that are missing from the Rhymed Chronicle, but, as was shown in the comments, none of these pieces of information can be traced back to any reliable additional source (written or oral); Apparently, all the discrepancies between the texts of the later chronicles and the text of the “Rhymed Chronicle” are simply the fruits of the literary creativity of the later chroniclers, who here and there added individual details from themselves (and according to their own understanding) to the coverage of events, entirely borrowed from the “Rhymed Chronicle” ( "Written sources about the Battle of the Ice"). That is, the only real and reasonable number of knights in Pskov should be considered to be the two Vogts mentioned in LRH.

The next stage of Alexander's campaign, apparently, was Izborsk. Not a single chronicle or chronicle reports about his fate. Apparently, this fortress, like Pskov, surrendered to the prince without a fight. Which, in general, is not surprising given complete absence in this extremely strategically important city of the Germans. And after the “foreign invaders” were finally expelled from the Russian lands, the Novgorodians began their favorite pastime: plundering the Livonian lands.

In the spring of 1242, Alexander’s army crossed to the western shore of Lake Peipus (possession of Livonia) and began to plunder the property of local residents. And it was during this glorious occupation that one of the Russian detachments under the command of the brother of the Novgorod mayor Domash Tverdislavovich was attacked by a knightly army and the Chud militia. The Novgorod detachment was defeated, many, including Domash himself, were killed, and the rest fled to Alexander’s main forces. After which the prince retreated to the eastern shore of the lake. The hastily assembled Livonian troops, apparently, decided to catch up with the Novgorodians in order to take away the loot from them. And that’s when the ice battle took place.

From the above events it clearly follows that there was no memory of any terrible “Western aggression” or “deadly threat to Novgorod”. The Germans came to the Novgorod lands with a single goal: to create a new state friendly to Livonia on the territory of the Pskov principality under the rule of their longtime ally Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich. This state was supposed to serve as a kind of shield of the Baltic states from the devastating raids of the Novgorodians.

Having completed their mission and established the power of Yaroslav in Pskov, the Germans left the Russian lands, leaving only two observers. This is where the “aggressive” actions of the Livonians ended. Of course, the Novgorodians were not satisfied with this state of affairs, and in 1241 Alexander set off on his “liberation campaign” through Koporye, Pskov and Izborsk straight to the lands of Livonia to plunder. A reasonable question: who threatened whom in 1242: Livonia to Novgorod or vice versa?

Ice battle. Number of participants.

For some reason, in Russian historiography, the following figures are most often taken as an axiom: Germans 10-12 thousand, Russians 15-17. However, where these thousands came from is completely unclear. Let's start with the Novgorodians: according to Tikhomirov's estimates, at the beginning of the 13th century the population of Novgorod reached 30 thousand people. Of course, the population of the entire Novgorod land was several times greater. However, it is likely that by the period of interest to us the real population of Novgorod and the Novgorod principality was lower. Than at the beginning of the century.

S.A. Nefedov in the article “On demographic cycles in the history of medieval Rus'” writes: “In 1207-1230, in the Novgorod land, characteristic features eco-social crisis: famine, epidemics, uprisings, death of large masses of the population, taking on demographic catastrophe, the decline of crafts and trade, high prices for bread, the death of a significant number of large owners and the redistribution of property."

The famine of 1230 claimed the lives of 48 thousand people in Novgorod alone, including residents of the surrounding lands who came to Novgorod in the hope of escaping this disaster. How many residents of the Novgorod principality died? Thus, the number in Novgorod land by 1242 had dropped significantly compared to the beginning of the 13th century. In the city itself, a third of the population died. That is, in 1230 the population of Novgorod did not exceed 20,000 people. It is unlikely that in 10 years it will again reach the 30 thousand mark. Thus, Novgorod itself could field an army of 3-5 thousand people with the maximum strain of all mobilization resources.

However, this could only happen in case of extreme danger for Novgorod (for example, if suddenly Batu’s army did not limit itself to the plunder of Torzhok, but reached the walls of Novgorod). And as we have already established above, there was absolutely no danger to the city in 1242. Therefore, the army that Novgorod itself would have assembled would not have exceeded 2,000 people (besides, do not forget that in Novgorod there was serious opposition to the prince, which would hardly have joined his army - however, the thirst for profit could make the Novgorodians forget about their enmity with the prince).

However, Alexander was planning a relatively large campaign in Livonia, so the army was gathered from all over the principality, and not just from Novgorod. But he did not collect it for long - no more than a few months, therefore, apparently, the total number of the Novgorod army did not exceed 6-8 thousand people. For example: if you believe the Chronicle of Henry, in 1218 the number of Russian troops that invaded Livonia was 16 thousand people, and this army was assembled over the course of two years.

So, the number of Novgorodians was 6-8 thousand. Several hundred more soldiers are Alexander's squad. And besides, Andrei Yaroslavovich also arrived from Suzdal to help his brother with some army (apparently, again, several hundred). Thus, the size of the Russian army was 7-10 thousand people. There was no time, and, apparently, no desire to recruit more troops.

With the German army, everything is much more interesting: there is no talk of any 12 thousand there. Let's start in order: in 1236, an important event for Livonia took place - the Battle of Saul. In this battle, the Order army was completely defeated by the Lithuanians. 48 knights of the Order of the Sword were killed along with the master. In essence, it was the complete destruction of the Order, of which no more than 10 people remained. For the first and only time in the Baltic states it was completely destroyed knightly order. It would seem that our historians should in every possible way explain this fact, talking about how our allies in the fight against Catholic expansion - the Lithuanians - destroyed the entire order.

However, no, the ordinary Russian does not know about this battle. Why? But because, together with the army of “dog knights”, a detachment of Pskovites of 200 people fought with the Lithuanians (with the total number of the German army not exceeding 3000, the contribution was quite significant), but that’s not the point. So, in 1236, the Order of the Swordsmen was destroyed, after which, with the participation of the pope, the remnants of the order in 1237 joined the Teutonic Order and became the German House of St. Mary in Livonia. In the same year, the new Landmaster of the Order, Herman Balke, arrived in Livonia along with 54 new knights.

Thus, the number of the Order increased to about 70 knights. As a result, we can say with confidence that the number of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order by 1242 could not have exceeded 100 people. Begunov, Kleinenberg and Shaskolsky write about this (op. cit.). However, there could have been even fewer knights, due to their rapid decline: for example, in 1238, the knights lost more than 20 of their brothers at Dorogichin. However, even if the number of knights was close to a hundred, not all of them could participate in the Battle of the Ice, since the order had other matters: only in 1241 the Estonian uprising on the island was suppressed. Saaremaa.

In 1242, a Curonian uprising broke out, which diverted significant forces of the Order. The master of the technical department in Livonia, Dietrich von Grüningen, did not participate in the Battle of Lake Peipus precisely because of his busyness with the affairs of Courland. As a result, we come to the conclusion that the number of the order’s army in the battle could not exceed 40-50 knights. Considering that there were 8 so-called half-brothers per knight in the Order, the total number of the Order’s army was 350-450 people. The Bishop of Dorpat could field a militia of a maximum of 300 people. The Danish Revel could provide several hundred more men to the allies. That's all, there were no more Europeans in the army. In total there is a maximum of 1000 people. In addition, in the “German” army there were militiamen from Chud - about another fifteen hundred. Total: 2500 people.

This was the maximum that the Order and Dorpat were able to put up at that time and under those conditions. There is no question of any 12,000. There were not so many warriors in all of Livonia. The Teutonic Order was also unable to help its Livonian branch: in 1242 all its forces were thrown into suppressing the uprising that broke out in Prussia. And the Order was pretty battered: in 1241, its army, which was part of the army of the Silesian prince Henry II, was recruited from Germans, Poles and Teutons to repel the Mongol army that was making its victorious march across Europe. On April 9, 1241, at the Battle of Legnica, the horde of Khan Kaidu completely defeated the Europeans. The combined forces, including the order, suffered huge losses.

The battle was truly enormous in scale, unlike our dwarf “Battle on the Ice.” However, our historians rarely remember her. Apparently, this fact does not fit into another favorite Russian theory: that Rus' allegedly took the brunt of the Mongol hordes and thereby saved Europe from this disaster. They say that the Mongols did not dare to go further than Rus', being afraid to leave huge and completely unconquered spaces in their rear. However, this is just another myth - the Mongols were not afraid of anything.

In fact, by the summer of 1241 they had already conquered everything Eastern Europe, occupying Hungary, Silesia, Romania, Poland, Serbia, Bulgaria, etc. defeating European armies one after another, taking Krakow and Pest, destroying European troops at Legnica and Chaillot. In a word, the Mongols quite calmly, without fear of any “attacks from the rear,” subjugated all of Europe until Adriatic Sea. By the way, in all these glorious achievements the Mongol khans were helped by Russian troops, who also took part in battles with the Europeans (these are the “saviors of Europe”).

In the summer and autumn of 1241, the Mongols suppressed all pockets of resistance in the already captured part of Europe, and in the winter of 1242 they began new conquests: their troops had already invaded Northern Italy and moved towards Vienna, but here a saving event for Europe occurred: the great Khan Ogedei. Therefore, all the Chingizids left Europe and went home to fight for the vacant position. Naturally, their army also left Europe for the khans.

There was only one tumen left in Europe under the command of Khan Baydar - he passed through Northern Italy and Southern France, invaded the Iberian Peninsula, and, having passed through it, reached the Atlantic Ocean, only after that going to Karakorum. Thus, the Mongols were able to make their way through the whole of Europe, and no Russia interfered with this, and Ögedei became the true “savior of Europe”.

But we digress. Let's return to the Teutonic Order. As we see, the Teutons were unable to help the Livonians in any way. They had neither the strength nor the time for this (after all, do not forget that Livonia was separated from the possessions of the territorial army by warlike Lithuania, so it would have taken a lot of time to transfer at least some troops to the Baltic states, and that was precisely the time they didn’t have ). What do we end up with? The number of opponents in the ice battle was as follows: 2000 - 2500 Germans, 7-10 thousand Russians.

Ice battle. German "pigs".

Of course, I would really like to talk about the course of the Battle of Peipus, however, this is not possible. We, in fact, have practically no data about how this battle took place, and we can only fantasize about a “weakened center,” “spare shelves,” “falling through the ice,” etc. somehow I don’t want to. Let's leave this to the science fiction writers of history, of whom there have always been many. It only makes sense to draw attention to what is perhaps the most noticeable flaw in the description of the battle by our historians. We will talk about the knightly “wedge” (in the Russian tradition - “pig”).

For some reason, the opinion became stronger in the minds of Russian historians that the Germans, having formed a wedge, attacked the Russian troops with this wedge, thereby “pushing through the center” of Alexander’s army, who then surrounded the knights with a flanking maneuver. Everything is great, only the knights never attacked the enemy with a wedge. This would be a completely pointless and suicidal operation. If the knights had actually attacked the enemy with a wedge, then only three knights in the front rank and the flanking knights would have participated in the battle. The rest would be in the center of the formation, not participating in the battle in any way.

But mounted knights are the main striking force of the army, and such irrational use of them could lead to very serious consequences for the entire army as a whole. Therefore, the cavalry army never attacked with a wedge. The wedge was used for a completely different purpose - getting closer to the enemy. Why was a wedge used for this?

Firstly, the knightly troops were distinguished by extremely low discipline (whatever one may say, they are only feudal lords, what is discipline for them), therefore, if rapprochement was carried out using a standard line, then there would be no question of any coordination of actions - the knights would simply disperse throughout battlefield in search of the enemy and prey. But in the wedge the knight had nowhere to go, and he was forced to follow the three most experienced horsemen who were in the first row.

Secondly, the wedge had a narrow front, which reduced losses from archer fire. Thus, the knights approached the enemy in an organized manner, and 100 meters before the enemy ranks, the wedge was rebuilt into a banal, but extremely effective line, with which the knights struck at the enemy. When attacking in a line, all cavalry participated in the battle, and thus they could inflict maximum damage on the enemy. It should be noted that the wedge approached the enemy at a step, as Matvey Parish wrote, “as if someone was riding on horseback, with his bride seated in front of him on the saddle.” I think there is no need to explain why this was necessary.

Horses are not able to gallop at the same speed, so a wedge moving at a gallop would soon fall apart, with half the riders falling from the saddle due to numerous collisions. The situation would have been aggravated by the falls of knights who died from enemy arrows, horses that would have fallen victims to the florists’ guns (which were also in the Russian army, only their devices were called not backs and flowers, but ragulki) and would certainly have resulted in the fall and other knights. Thus, the wedge would have died without even reaching the enemy ranks.

Ice battle. About losses.

In Russian historiography, the opinion has become stronger that 400 knights were killed in the battle, 50 were taken prisoner, and we don’t know how many fighters of a lower rank were killed. However, even the NPL contains slightly different information: “And Chudi fell into disgrace, and N?mets 400, and with 50 hands he brought him to Novgorod.” That is, the chronicle says that 400 Germans fell. And now this seems to be true. If you consider that there were about 800 Germans in total on the lake, then such losses seem quite real.

And we find data on losses among knights in LRH, where it is said that 26 knights died in the battle and 6 were captured. And again, the number of fallen knights fully corresponds to the number of brothers who participated in the battle. As for the losses of the Chud, apparently they also amounted to several hundred people. However, given that the Chud fled from the battlefield as soon as she had the opportunity, we must admit that it is unlikely that her losses exceeded 500 people. So we can conclude that total losses Livonian troops amounted to less than 1000 people.

It is difficult to talk about the losses of the Novgorodians due to the lack of any information on this matter.

Ice battle. Consequences.

Actually, there is no need to talk about any consequences of this battle, due to its mediocrity. In 1242, the Germans made peace with the Novgorodians, which they, in general, did all the time). After 1242, Novgorod still continued to disturb the Baltic states with raids. For example, in 1262 the Novgorodians plundered Dorpat. True, a fortress. Around which the city was built, they failed to take it, as usual - and they didn’t need it: the campaign paid off anyway.

In 1268, seven Russian princes again embarked on a campaign to the Baltic states, this time heading to the Danish Rakovor. Only now the strengthened Livonia also remained on the sidelines and carried out its raids on the Novgorod lands. For example, in 1253 the Germans besieged Pskov. In a word, relations between Livonia and Novgorod after 1242 did not undergo any changes.

Afterword.

So, having examined the history of the Neva and Chud battles in more detail, we can confidently speak about a significant exaggeration of their scope and significance for Russian history. In reality, these were completely ordinary battles, pale in comparison to other battles even in the same region. In the same way, theories about the exploits of Alexander, the “savior of Russia,” are only myths. Alexander did not save anyone or anything (fortunately, no one threatened Russia or even Novgorod at that time, neither the Swedes nor the Germans).

Alexander only won two relatively small victories. Against the background of the actions of his predecessors, descendants and contemporaries (Pskov prince Dovmont, Russian king Daniil of Galitsky, Novgorod prince Mstislav the Udal, etc.), this seems like a trifle. In the history of Russia there were dozens of princes who did more for Russia than Alexander, and fought much greater battles than the two we have discussed. However, the memory of these princes and their achievements has been completely supplanted from people's memory"exploits" of Alexander Yaroslavovich.

The “exploits” of a man who collaborated with the Tatars, a man who, in order to receive the Vladimir label, brought Nevryuev’s army to Rus', which in terms of the scale of the disasters brought to the Russian lands is comparable to the invasion of Batu; the person who. Probably destroyed the coalition of Andrei Yaroslavovich and Daniil Galitsky, who did not want to live under the khan's yoke.

A man who was ready to sacrifice anything to quench his own thirst for power. And all these actions of his are presented as committed “for the good” of Rus'. It becomes a shame for Russian history, from which all the pages of its glory miraculously disappear, and in their place comes admiration for such figures.

Sutulin Pavel Ilyich

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 captured, 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 stood under the city for a week, but didn’t take the city, but took the children from good husbands in the waist, and left 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. 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. The Order gathered great strength: here were almost all its knights with the “master” (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 help the queen,” that is, there were German knights, the local population and the army of the king of Sweden.