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

Myths about the Battle of the Ice

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

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

But was it really so?

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

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

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

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

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

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

The lives of Alexander Nevsky can be considered a kind of “synthesis” of early chronicle references to the clash, but, according to experts, they are 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 of the Ice, mainly retelling what was already stated in the chronicles.

The beginning of the 20th century is characterized by an ideological rethinking of the battle, when the symbolic meaning of victory over “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 of the Ice was not even included in university lecture courses.

The myth of a united Rus'

In the minds of many, the Battle of the Ice is a victory of the united Russian troops over the forces of the German crusaders. This “generalizing” idea of ​​the battle was formed already in the 20th century, in the realities of the Great Patriotic War, when Germany was the main rival of the USSR.

However, 775 years ago, the Battle of the Ice was more of a “local” rather than a national conflict. In the 13th century, Rus' was experiencing a period of feudal fragmentation and consisted of about 20 independent principalities. Moreover, the policies of cities that formally belonged to the same territory could differ significantly.

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

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

As historian Igor Danilevsky notes, the main cause of territorial conflicts between Novgorod and the Order was the lands of the Estonians who lived on the western shore of Lake Peipsi (the medieval population of modern Estonia, who appeared in most Russian-language chronicles under the name “Chud”). At the same time, the campaigns organized by the Novgorodians practically did not affect the interests of other lands. The exception was the “border” Pskov, which was constantly subject to retaliatory raids by the Livonians.

According to historian Alexei Valerov, it was the need to simultaneously resist both the forces of the Order and Novgorod’s regular attempts to encroach on the city’s independence that could force Pskov to “open the gates” to the Livonians in 1240. In addition, the city was seriously weakened after the defeat at Izborsk and, presumably, was not capable of long-term resistance to the crusaders.

At the same time, as the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle reports, in 1242 there was not a full-fledged “German army” present in the city, but only two Vogt knights (presumably accompanied by small detachments), who, according to Valerov, performed judicial functions on controlled lands and monitored the activities of the “local Pskov administration”.

Further, as we know from the chronicles, the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich, together with his younger brother Andrei Yaroslavich (sent by their father, the Vladimir prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich), “expelled” the Germans from Pskov, after which they continued their campaign, going “to the chud” (i.e. e. in the lands of the Livonian Landmaster).

Where they were met by the combined forces of the Order and the Bishop of Dorpat.

The myth of the scale of the battle

Thanks to the Novgorod Chronicle, we know that April 5, 1242 was a Saturday. Everything else is not so clear.

Difficulties begin already when trying to determine the number of participants in the battle. The only figures we have tell us about losses in the ranks of the Germans. Thus, the Novgorod First Chronicle reports about 400 killed and 50 prisoners, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle reports that “twenty brothers were killed and six were captured.”

Researchers believe that these data are not as contradictory as they seem at first glance.

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

So, on the German side, these are 35–40 brother knights, about 160 knechts (an average of four servants per knight) and mercenaries-ests (“Chud without number”), who could “expand” the detachment by another 100–200 warriors . Moreover, by the standards of the 13th century, such an army was considered a fairly serious force (presumably, in its heyday, the maximum number of the former Order of the Swordsmen, in principle, did not exceed 100–120 knights). The author of the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle also complained that there were almost 60 times more Russians, which, according to Danilevsky, although an exaggeration, still gives reason to assume that Alexander’s army was significantly superior to the forces of the crusaders.

Thus, the maximum number of the Novgorod city regiment, the princely squad of Alexander, the Suzdal detachment of his brother Andrei and the Pskovites who joined the campaign hardly exceeded 800 people.

From chronicle reports we also know that the German detachment was lined up as a “pig”.

According to Klim Zhukov, we are most likely not talking about a “trapezoidal” pig, which we are used to seeing in diagrams in textbooks, but about a “rectangular” one (since the first description of a “trapezoid” in written sources appeared only in the 15th century). Also, according to historians, the estimated size of the Livonian army gives reason to talk about the traditional formation of the “hound banner”: 35 knights making up the “wedge of banners”, plus their detachments (totalling up to 400 people).

As for the tactics of the Russian army, the Rhymed Chronicle only mentions that “the Russians had many riflemen” (who, apparently, made up the first formation), and that “the army of the brothers was surrounded.”

We don't know anything else about it.

The myth that the Livonian warrior is heavier than the Novgorodian

There is also a stereotype according to which the combat clothing of Russian soldiers was many times lighter than the Livonian one.

According to historians, if there was a difference in weight, it was extremely insignificant.

After all, on both sides, exclusively heavily armed horsemen took part in the battle (it is believed that all assumptions about infantrymen are a transfer of the military realities of subsequent centuries to the realities of the 13th century).

Logically, even the weight of a war horse, without taking into account the rider, would be enough to break through the fragile April ice.

So, did it make sense to withdraw troops against him under such conditions?

The myth of the battle on ice and drowned knights

Let us disappoint you right away: there are no descriptions of how German knights fall through the ice in any of the early chronicles.

Moreover, in the Livonian Chronicle there is a rather strange phrase: “On both sides the dead fell on the grass.” Some commentators believe that this is an idiom meaning “to fall on the battlefield” (version of the medievalist historian Igor Kleinenberg), others - that we are talking about thickets of reeds that made their way from under the ice in the shallow waters where the battle took place (version of the Soviet military historian Georgy Karaev, shown on the map).

As for the chronicle references to the fact that the Germans were driven “across the ice,” modern researchers agree that this detail could have been “borrowed” by the Battle of the Ice from the description of the later Battle of Rakovor (1268). According to Igor Danilevsky, reports that Russian troops drove the enemy seven miles ("to the Subolichi shore") are quite justified for the scale of the Rakovor battle, but look strange in the context of the battle on Lake Peipsi, where the distance from shore to shore in the supposed location the battle is no more than 2 km.

Speaking about the “Raven Stone” (a geographical landmark mentioned in part of the chronicles), historians emphasize that any map indicating a specific location of the battle is nothing more than a version. No one knows where exactly the massacre took place: the sources contain too little information to draw any conclusions.

In particular, Klim Zhukov is based on the fact that during archaeological expeditions in the area of ​​Lake Peipsi, not a single “confirming” burial was discovered. The researcher associates the lack of evidence not with the mythical nature of the battle, but with looting: in the 13th century, iron was very highly valued, and it is unlikely that the weapons and armor of the dead soldiers could have remained intact to this day.

The Myth of the Battle's Geopolitical Significance

In the minds of many, the Battle of the Ice “stands apart” and is perhaps the only “action-packed” battle of its time. And it really became one of the significant battles of the Middle Ages, “suspending” the conflict between Rus' and the Livonian Order for almost 10 years.

Nevertheless, the 13th century was rich in other events.

From the point of view of the clash with the crusaders, these include the battle with the Swedes on the Neva in 1240, and the already mentioned Battle of Rakovor, during which the united army of seven Northern Russian principalities came out against the Livonian Landmaster and Danish Estland.

Also, the 13th century is the time of the Horde invasion.

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 Rus' and all its components.

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

TASS expresses gratitude for the assistance in preparing the material to the historian and specialist on Ancient Rus' Igor Nikolaevich Danilevsky and the military historian and medievalist Klim Aleksandrovich Zhukov.

© TASS INFOGRAPHICS, 2017

Worked on the material:

The Battle of the Ice is one of the greatest battles in Russian history, during which Prince of Novgorod Alexander Nevsky repelled the invasion of the knights of the Livonian Order on Lake Peipsi. For many centuries, historians have debated the details of this battle. Some points remain not entirely clear, including exactly how the Battle of the Ice took place. The diagram and reconstruction of the details of this battle will allow us to reveal the mystery of the mysteries of history associated with the great battle.

Background to the conflict

Beginning in 1237, when he announced the beginning of the next crusade in the lands of the eastern Baltic, between the Russian principalities on the one hand, and Sweden, Denmark and the German Livonian Order on the other, constant tension remained, which from time to time escalated into military action.

So, in 1240, Swedish knights led by Earl Birger landed at the mouth of the Neva, but the Novgorod army under the control of Prince Alexander Nevsky defeated them in a decisive battle.

In the same year he launched an offensive operation on Russian lands. His troops took Izborsk and Pskov. Assessing the danger, in 1241 she called Alexander back to reign, although she only recently expelled him. The prince gathered a squad and moved against the Livonians. In March 1242, he managed to liberate Pskov. Alexander moved his troops towards the possessions of the Order, towards the Bishopric of Dorpat, where the crusaders gathered significant forces. The parties prepared for the decisive battle.

The opponents met on April 5, 1242 on what was then still covered with ice. That is why the battle later acquired the name - Battle of the Ice. The lake at that time was frozen deep enough to support heavily armed warriors.

Strengths of the parties

The Russian army was of a rather scattered composition. But its backbone, undoubtedly, was the Novgorod squad. In addition, the army included the so-called “lower regiments”, which were brought by the boyars. The total number of Russian squads is estimated by historians at 15-17 thousand people.

The Livonian army was also varied. Its fighting backbone consisted of heavily armed knights led by Master Andreas von Velven, who, however, did not take part in the battle itself. Also included in the army were Danish allies and the militia of the city of Dorpat, which included a significant number of Estonians. The total number of the Livonian army is estimated at 10-12 thousand people.

Progress of the battle

Historical sources have left us rather meager information about how the battle itself unfolded. The battle on the ice began when the archers of the Novgorod army came forward and covered the line of knights with a hail of arrows. But the latter managed, using a military formation called a “pig,” to crush the shooters and break the center of the Russian forces.

Seeing this situation, Alexander Nevsky ordered the Livonian troops to be surrounded from the flanks. The knights were captured in a pincer movement. Their wholesale extermination by the Russian squad began. The order's auxiliary troops, seeing that their main forces were being defeated, fled. The Novgorod squad pursued the fleeing for more than seven kilometers. The battle ended in complete victory for the Russian forces.

This was the story of the Battle of the Ice.

Battle scheme

It is not without reason that the diagram below clearly demonstrates the military leadership gift of Alexander Nevsky and serves as an example of a well-executed military operation in Russian textbooks on military affairs.

On the map we clearly see the initial breakthrough of the Livonian army into the ranks of the Russian squad. It also shows the encirclement of the knights and the subsequent flight of the Order’s auxiliary forces, which ended the Battle of the Ice. The diagram allows you to build these events into a single chain and greatly facilitates the reconstruction of the events that took place during the battle.

Aftermath of the battle

After the Novgorod army won a complete victory over the forces of the crusaders, which was largely due to Alexander Nevsky, a peace agreement was signed in which the Livonian Order completely renounced its recent acquisitions on the territory of Russian lands. There was also an exchange of prisoners.

The defeat that the Order suffered in the Battle of the Ice was so serious that for ten years it licked its wounds and did not even think about a new invasion of Russian lands.

The victory of Alexander Nevsky is no less significant in the general historical context. After all, it was then that the fate of our lands was decided and the actual end was put to the aggression of the German crusaders in the eastern direction. Of course, even after this, the Order tried more than once to tear off a piece of Russian land, but never again did the invasion take on such a large-scale character.

Misconceptions and stereotypes associated with the battle

There is an idea that in many respects in the battle on Lake Peipus the Russian army was helped by the ice, which could not withstand the weight of the heavily armed German knights and began to fall under them. In fact, there is no historical confirmation of this fact. Moreover, according to the latest research, the weight of the equipment of the German knights and Russian knights participating in the battle was approximately equal.

German crusaders, in the minds of many people, which are primarily inspired by cinema, are heavily armed men-at-arms wearing helmets, often adorned with horns. In fact, the Order's charter prohibited the use of helmet decorations. So, in principle, the Livonians could not have any horns.

Results

Thus, we found out that one of the most important and significant battles in Russian history was the Battle of the Ice. The scheme of the battle allowed us to visually reproduce its course and determine the main reason for the defeat of the knights - the overestimation of their strength when they recklessly rushed to the attack.

“The men did not hesitate long, but they brought a small army to the lines. And the brothers were unable to gather a large army. But they decided, trusting this common strength, to launch a cavalry formation against the Russians, and a bloody battle began. And the Russian riflemen boldly entered the game in the morning, but the brothers’ banner detachment broke through the front Russian rank. And the clash of swords was heard there. And steel helmets were cut in half. The battle was going on - and you could see bodies falling into the grass from both sides.”

“The German detachment was surrounded by Russians - and they were so outnumbered by the Germans that any of the brother knights fought with sixty.”

“Although the brothers fought stubbornly, they were defeated by the Russian army. Some of the Derpet residents, seeking salvation, hastily left the battle: After all, twenty brothers bravely gave their lives in battle, and captured six.”

“Prince Alexander, they say, was very happy with the victory with which he was able to return. But he left many warriors here as collateral - and none of them will go on a campaign. And the death of the brothers - what I just read about for you, was mourned with dignity, Like the death of heroes - those who fought wars at the call of God and sacrificed many brave lives in fraternal service. Fighting the enemy for God’s cause and heeding the duty of knighthood.”

The Battle of Peipus - in German Schlacht auf dem Peipussee. Battle on the Ice - in German Schlacht auf dem Eise.

"Rhymed Chronicle"

Invasion of the Order

In 1240, the Germans crossed the borders of the Pskov principality and on August 15, 1240, the crusaders captured Izborsk.
“The Germans took the castle, collected loot, took away property and valuables, took horses and cattle out of the castle, and what was left was set on fire... They left none of the Russians; those who only resorted to defense were killed or captured. Screams spread throughout the land.”

News of the enemy invasion and capture of Izborsk reached Pskov. All Pskovites gathered at the meeting and decided to move to Izborsk. A 5,000-strong militia was assembled, led by governor Gavrila Ivanovich. But there were also traitor boyars in Pskov, led by the landowner Tverdila Ivanokovich. They notified the Germans of the upcoming campaign. The Pskovites did not know that the knightly army was twice as large as the Pskov army. The battle took place near Izborsk. The Russian soldiers fought bravely, but about 800 of them died in this battle, and the survivors fled into the surrounding forests.

The army of the crusaders, pursuing the Pskovites, reached the walls of Pskov and attempted to break into the fortress. The townspeople barely had time to close the gates. Hot tar poured onto the Germans storming the walls, and logs rolled. The Germans were unable to take Pskov by force.

They decided to act through the traitor boyars and the landowner Tverdila, who persuaded the Pskovites to give their children hostage to the Germans. The Pskovites allowed themselves to be persuaded. On September 16, 1240, the traitors surrendered the city to the Germans.
Arriving in Novgorod in 1241, Alexander Nevsky found Pskov and Konopriye in the hands of the order and immediately began retaliatory actions.

Taking advantage of the difficulties of the order, which was distracted by the fight against the Mongols (the Battle of Legnica), Alexander marched to Koporye, took it by storm and killed most of the garrison. Some of the knights and mercenaries from the local population were captured, but released, and the traitors from among the Chud were executed.

Liberation of Pskov

“So the great Prince Alexander had many brave men, just like David of old, the king of strength and strength. Also, the will of Grand Duke Alexander will be fulfilled by the spirit of our honest and dear prince! Now the time has come for us to lay down our heads for you!” This is what the author of the Life of the Holy and Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky wrote.

The prince entered the temple and prayed for a long time “Judge me, God, and judge my quarrel with the lofty people (Livonian Germans) and help me, God, as You helped Moses in ancient times to defeat Amalek, and helped my great-grandfather Yaroslav to defeat the damned Svyatopolk.” Then he approached his squad and the entire army and made a speech: “We will die for Saint Sophia and the free city of Novgorod!” Let us die for the Holy Trinity and free Pskov! For now, the Russians have no other destiny than to harrow their Russian land, the Orthodox Christian faith!”
And all the soldiers answered him with a single cry: “With you, Yaroslavich, we will win or die for the Russian land!”

At the beginning of January 1241, Alexander set out on a campaign. He secretly approached Pskov, sent out reconnaissance, and cut off all the roads leading to Pskov. Then Prince Alexander launched an unexpected and swift attack on Pskov from the west. “Prince Alexander is coming!”- the Pskovites rejoiced, opening the western gates. The Russians burst into the city and began a battle with the German garrison. 70 knights [the figure is not at all real, the Germans could not have had so many knights left in the city. Usually in captured cities there remained 2-3 governors (brother knights) and a small garrison] were killed, and countless ordinary warriors - Germans and bollards. Several knights were captured and released: “Tell your people that Prince Alexander is coming and there will be no mercy for the enemies!” Six officials were tried. They were found guilty of abusing the Pskov population, and then immediately hanged. The traitorous boyar Tverdila Ivankovich did not run away either. After a short trial, he was also hanged.

Preface to the Battle of Peipus

In the “Novgorod First Chronicle of the Senior and Younger Editions” it is said that, having freed Pskov from the knights, Nevsky himself went to the possessions of the Livonian Order (pursuing the knights west of Lake Pskov), where he allowed his warriors to live. (In the summer of 6750 (1242). Prince Oleksandr went with the Novgorodians and with his brother Andrei and from the Nizovtsi to the Chyud land on Nemtsi and Chyud and zaya all the way to Plskov; and the prince of Plsk expelled Nemtsi and Chyud, seizing Nemtsi and Chyud, and bound the stream to Novgorod , and I’ll go to Chud.” The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle testifies that the invasion was accompanied by fires and the removal of people and livestock. Having learned about this, the Livonian bishop sent troops of knights to meet him. The stopping place of Alexander's army was somewhere halfway between Pskov and Dorpat, not far from the borders of the confluence of the Pskov and Tyoploye lakes. Here was the traditional crossing near the village of Mosty.

And Alexander, in turn, having heard about the performance of the knights, did not return to Pskov, but having crossed to the eastern shore of Tyoploe Lake, he hurried in a northern direction to the Uzmen tract, leaving the detachment of Domish Tverdislavich Kerber (according to other sources, a reconnaissance detachment) in the rear guard.

And as if you were on earth (Chudi), let the entire regiment prosper; and Domash Tverdislavichy Kerbe was in the fray, and I found Nemtsi and Chyud at the bridge and that one was fighting; and killed that Domash, the brother of the mayor, an honest husband, and beat him with him, and took him away with his hands, and ran to the prince in the regiment; The prince turned back towards the lake.

This detachment entered into battle with the knights and was defeated. Domish was killed, but some of the detachment managed to escape and moved after Alexander’s army. The burial place of warriors from Domash Kerbert’s detachment is located at the south-eastern outskirts of Chudskiye Zakhody.

Battle tactics of Alexander Nevsky from Soviet history

Alexander knew well the favorite method of German tactics - an offensive in a battle formation in the form of a wedge or triangle, pointing forward. The tip and sides of the triangle, called the “pig,” were well-armed mounted knights in iron armor, and the base and center were a dense mass of foot soldiers. Having driven such a wedge into the center of the enemy's position and disrupted his ranks, the Germans usually directed the next attack on his flanks, achieving final victory. Therefore, Alexander lined up his troops in three echeloned lines, and on the northern side of the Raven Stone the cavalry army of Prince Andrei took refuge.

According to modern researchers, the Germans did not adhere to such tactics. In this case, not a significant part of the warriors, front and flank, would have participated in the battle. What should the rest of us do? “The wedge was used for a completely different purpose - getting closer to the enemy. Firstly, the knightly troops were distinguished by extremely low discipline due to lack of time for serious training, so if the rapprochement was carried out using a standard line, then there would be no talk of any coordinated actions - the knights would simply disperse throughout the entire field in search of the enemy and production 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. The wedge approached at a walk, since horses are not able to gallop at the same speed. Thus, the knights approached the enemy, and 100 meters away they turned into a line, with which they struck the enemy.
P.S. Nobody knows whether the Germans attacked like that.

Battle site

Prince Alexander stationed his army between Uzmen and the mouth of the Zhelchi River, on the eastern shore of Lake Peipsi “on Uzmen, at the Raven Stone”, it says so in the chronicle.

The attention of historians was attracted by the name of Voroniy Island, where they hoped to find the Raven Stone. The hypothesis that the massacre took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi near the island of Voronii was accepted as the main version, although it contradicted chronicle sources and common sense (in the old chronicles there are no mentions of Voronii Island near the battle site. They talk about the battle on the ground, on the grass. Ice is mentioned only in the final part of the battle). But why did Nevsky’s troops, as well as the heavy cavalry of the knights, have to go through Lake Peipsi on the spring ice to Voronii Island, where the water in many places does not freeze even in severe frosts? It should be taken into account that the beginning of April is a warm period for these places.

Testing the hypothesis about the location of the battle at Voronii Island dragged on for many decades. This time was enough for it to take a firm place in all textbooks. Considering the little validity of this version, in 1958 a comprehensive expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences was created to determine the true location of the battle. However, it was not possible to find the burial places of the soldiers who died in the Battle of Peipsi, as well as the Crow Stone, the Uzmen tract and traces of the battle.

This was done by members of a group of Moscow enthusiasts - lovers of the ancient history of Rus', under the leadership of I. E. Koltsov, in a later period. Using methods and instruments widely used in geology and archeology (including dowsing), the team members plotted on the terrain plan the suspected sites of mass graves of soldiers from both sides who died in this battle. These burials are located in two zones east of the village of Samolva. One of the zones is located half a kilometer north of the village of Tabory and one and a half kilometers from Samolva. The second zone with the largest number of burials is 1.5-2.0 kilometers north of the village of Tabory and approximately 2 kilometers east of Samolva. It can be assumed that the wedging of knights into the ranks of Russian soldiers occurred in the area of ​​the first burial, and in the area of ​​the second zone the main battle and the encirclement of the knights took place.

Research has shown that in those distant times, in the area south of the now existing village of Kozlovo (more precisely, between Kozlov and Tabory) there was some kind of fortified outpost of the Novgorodians. Presumably, here, behind the earthen ramparts of the now defunct fortification, there was a detachment of Prince Andrei Yaroslavich hidden in ambush before the battle. The group also managed to find the Crow Stone on the northern side of the village of Tabory. Centuries have destroyed the stone, but its underground part still rests under the strata of cultural layers of earth. In the area where the remains of the stone were located, there was an ancient temple with underground passages that led to the Uzman tract, where there were fortifications.

Army of Alexander Nevsky

At Uzmen, Alexander's troops were joined by Suzdal troops under the leadership of Alexander's brother Andrei Yaroslavich (according to other sources, the prince joined before the liberation of Pskov). The troops opposing the knights had a heterogeneous composition, but a single command in the person of Alexander Nevsky. The “lower regiments” consisted of Suzdal princely squads, boyar squads, and city regiments. The army deployed by Novgorod had a fundamentally different composition. It included the squad of Alexander Nevsky, the squad of the “lord”, the garrison of Novgorod, who served for a salary (gridi) and was subordinate to the mayor, the Konchan regiments, the militia of the towns and squads of the “povolniki”, private military organizations of boyars and rich merchants. In general, the army fielded by Novgorod and the “lower” lands was a fairly powerful force, distinguished by high fighting spirit.

The total number of Russian troops could be up to 4-5 thousand people, of which 800-1000 people were princely equestrian squads (Soviet historians estimated the number of Russian soldiers at 17,000 people). The Russian troops were lined up in three echeloned lines, and on the northern side of the Voronya Stone, in the Uzmen tract, the cavalry army of Prince Andrei took refuge.

Order army

The number of troops of the order in the Battle of Lake Peipsi was determined by Soviet historians to be usually 10-12 thousand people. Later researchers, referring to the German “Rhymed Chronicle,” name 300-400 people. The only figures available in chronicle sources are the losses of the order, which amounted to about 20 “brothers” killed and 6 captured.
Considering that for one “brother” there were 3-8 “half-brothers” who did not have the right to spoils, the total number of the order’s army itself can be determined at 400-500 people. Also participating in the battle were Danish knights under the command of princes Knut and Abel, and a militia from Dorpat, which included many Estonians and hired miracles. Thus, the order had a total of about 500-700 cavalry people and 1000-1200 Estonian and Chud militiamen. The encyclopedia says that the order’s army was commanded by Hermann I von Buxhoeveden, but not a single name of the German commander is mentioned in the chronicles.

Description of the battle from Soviet history

On April 5, 1242, early in the morning, as soon as the sun rose, the battle began. The leading Russian archers showered the attackers with clouds of arrows, but the “pig” steadily moved forward, and, in the end, swept away the archers and the poorly organized center. Meanwhile, Prince Alexander strengthened the flanks and placed the best archers behind the first echelon, who sought to shoot the slowly approaching crusader cavalry.

The advancing “pig,” led into battle by the patrician of the order Siegfried von Marburg, ran into the high shore of Lake Peipsi, overgrown with willows and dusted with snow. There was nowhere to advance further. And then Prince Alexander - and from the Crow Stone he could see the entire battlefield - ordered the infantry to attack the “pig” from the flanks and, if possible, divide it into parts. The united offensive of Alexander Nevsky's troops shackled the Germans: they could not rush into the attack, the cavalry had nowhere to go, and it began to retreat back, squeezing and crushing its own infantry. Huddled together in a small area, mounted knights in heavy armor pressed with their entire mass on the ice, which began to crack. Horse and foot soldiers began to fall into the resulting ice holes.

The spearmen pulled the knights off their horses with hooks, and the infantry finished them off on the ice. The battle turned into a bloody mess, and it was unclear where ours were and where the foes were.

The chronicler writes from eyewitnesses: “And that slaughter will be evil and great for the Germans and the people, and the coward from the breaking spears and the sound from the sword section will move like a frozen sea. And if you can’t see the ice, everything is covered in blood.”

The decisive moment of the battle has arrived. Alexander took off his mitten and waved his hand, and then the Suzdal cavalry of Prince Andrei rode out from the northern side of the Raven Stone. She struck the Germans and the Chuds from the rear at full gallop. The bollards were the first to fail. They fled, exposing the rear of the knightly army, which was dismounted at that moment. The knights, seeing that the battle was lost, also rushed after the bollards. Some began to surrender, begging for mercy on their knees with their right hands raised.

The German chronicler writes with undisguised sorrow: Those who were in the army of the brother knights were surrounded. The brother knights resisted quite stubbornly, but they were defeated there.

The poet Konstantin Simonov in his poem “Battle on the Ice” described the climax of the battle as follows:

And, retreating before the prince,
Throwing spears and swords,
The Germans fell from their horses to the ground,
Raising iron fingers,
The bay horses were getting excited,
Dust kicked up from under the hooves,
Bodies dragged through the snow,
Stuck in narrow strims.

In vain, Vice-Master Andreas von Felven (not a single name of the German commanders is mentioned in the German chronicles) tried to stop the fleeing people and organize resistance. It was all in vain. One after another, the military banners of the order fell onto the ice. Meanwhile, Prince Andrei's horse squad rushed to pursue the fugitives. She drove them across the ice 7 miles to the Subolichesky coast, mercilessly beating them with swords. Some of the runners did not reach the shore. Where there was weak ice, on the Sigovitsa, ice holes opened up and many knights and bollards drowned.

Modern version of the Battle of Peipus

Having learned that the order's troops had moved from Dorpat to Alexander's army, he withdrew his troops to an ancient crossing near the village of Mosty in the south of Lake Warm. Having crossed to the eastern bank, he retreated to the Novgorod outpost that existed at that time in the area south of the modern village of Kozlovo, where he expected the Germans. The knights also crossed at the Bridges and rushed in pursuit. They advanced from the southern side (from the village of Tabory). Not knowing about the Novgorod reinforcements and feeling their military superiority in strength, they, without thinking twice, rushed into battle, falling into the “nets” that had been placed. From here it can be seen that the battle itself took place on land, not far from the shore of Lake Peipsi.

The encirclement and defeat of the knights was facilitated by the additional troops of Prince Andrei Yaroslavich, who were in ambush for the time being. By the end of the battle, the knightly army was pushed back onto the spring ice of the Zhelchinskaya Bay of Lake Peipsi, where many of them drowned. Their remains and weapons are now located half a kilometer northwest of the Kobylye Settlement Church at the bottom of this bay.

Losses

The issue of the losses of the parties in the battle is controversial. The losses of the knights are indicated in the “Rhymed Chronicle” with specific numbers, which cause controversy. Some Russian chronicles, followed by Soviet historians, say that 531 knights were killed in the battle (there were not so many of them in the entire order), 50 knights were taken prisoner. The Novgorod First Chronicle says that 400 “Germans” fell in the battle, and 50 Germans were captured, and the “human” is even discounted: “beschisla.” Apparently they suffered really heavy losses. “The Rhymed Chronicle says that 20 knights died and 6 were captured.” So, it is possible that 400 German soldiers actually fell in the battle, 20 of whom were real brother knights (after all, according to modern ranks, a brother knight is equivalent to a general), and 50 Germans, of which 6 brother knights, were taken prisoner. In “The Life of Alexander Nevsky” it is written that, as a sign of humiliation, the boots of the captured knights were removed and they were forced to walk barefoot on the ice of the lake near their horses. The Russian losses are discussed vaguely: “many brave warriors fell.” Apparently, the losses of the Novgorodians were really heavy.

The meaning of the battle

According to the traditional point of view in Russian historiography, together with the victories of Alexander over the Swedes on July 15, 1240 at Narva and over the Lithuanians in 1245 near Toropets, at Lake Zhitsa and near Usvyat, the Battle of Peipus was of great importance for Pskov and Novgorod, delaying the onslaught of three serious enemies from the west - at a time when the rest of Rus' suffered great losses from princely civil strife and the consequences of the Tatar conquest.

The English researcher J. Funnell believes that the significance of the Battle of the Ice is greatly exaggerated: “ Alexander did only what numerous defenders of Novgorod and Pskov did before him and what many did after him - namely, they rushed to protect the long and vulnerable borders from the invaders.”

Memory of the battle

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, in many ways, shaped the modern viewer’s idea of ​​the battle. Phrase “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword” what the film’s authors put into Alexander’s mouth has nothing to do with reality, given the realities of that time.

In 1992, a documentary film “In Memory of the Past and in the Name of the Future” was shot.
In 1993, on Mount Sokolikha in Pskov, almost 100 kilometers away from the real site of the battle, a monument to “Alexander Nevsky’s Squads” was erected.

In 1992, in the village of Kobylye Gorodishche, Gdovsky district, in a place as close as possible to the supposed site of the Battle of the Ice, a bronze monument to Alexander Nevsky and a bronze worship cross were erected near the Church of the Archangel Michael. The cross was cast in St. Petersburg at the expense of patrons of the Baltic Steel Group.

conclusions

The Battle of Peipus was not as grandiose as Soviet historians tried to make it out to be. In terms of scale, it is in many ways inferior to the battles of Saule in 1236, and the battle of Rakovor in 1268.

And there was a slaughter of evil. And the crackle of spears and the blows of swords stood over the frozen lake. And the Russian soldiers drove the Germans away. And having won the victory, Prince Alexander punished the overwhelmed knights: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword.” On this the Russian land stands and will stand.”

10-12 thousand people Losses

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 Peipus.

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), was of great importance 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 by the Mongol invasion. In Novgorod, the Battle of the Ice, together with the Neva victory over the Swedes, was remembered in litanies in all Novgorod churches back in the 16th century.

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 on the Ice plays a 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 many different arrangements and re-releases.

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 NTCCT CJSC, 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 - the Day of Victory of Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the Crusaders (established by Federal Law No. 32-FZ of March 13, 1995 “On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia”) is celebrated 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 Peipsi, historians for a long time were unable to accurately determine 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. Battle on the Ice. - 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 of 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. The crisis of 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.

Links

• On the issue of writing the concept of the “Battle on the Ice” museum-reserve, Gdov, November 19-20, 2007.
• Place of the victory of Russian troops over German knights in 1242 // Monuments of history and culture of Pskov and the Pskov region, under state protection
• Monument to the history and culture of the peoples of the Russian Federation (monument code: 6000000460) The place where the battle with the German knights took place in 1242 “Battle on the Ice”
• The 430-kilogram bell "Blagovestnik" left St. Petersburg for the site of the Battle of the Ice

Wars and armed conflicts in Russia
Moskovskoe principality

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

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

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

We don't even know the details of what happened. We have only received information 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 become increasingly loud. They all want not only to know about which lake the Battle of the Ice took place on, but also to find out all the details of the event.

Official description of the battle

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

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

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

The Importance of Victory

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

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

About common myths

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

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

Armor is not for everyone!

The fact is that massive armor, which can be found everywhere in miniatures of the Battle of the Ice in history textbooks, appeared only in the 14th-15th centuries. In the 13th century, warriors dressed in a steel helmet, chain mail or (the latter were very expensive and rare), and wore bracers and greaves on their limbs. It all weighed about twenty kilograms maximum. Most of the German and Russian soldiers did not have such protection at all.

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

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

Water or land?

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

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

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

What did the researchers find?

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

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

German version

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

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

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

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

Crow Stone

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

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

New contradictions

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

Versions of events

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

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

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

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

Monument to the iconic battle

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

Artistic embodiment

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