The Battle on the Ice


In the Battle of Lake Peipus (also: Battle on the Ice) on April 5, 1242, a Russian army destroyed a force of the Catholic Livonian Order - the union of the Teutonic Order and the Order of the Brothers of the Swords.



The Russian principalities saw themselves threatened from three sides at the beginning of the 13th century:

In the south, the Kievan Rus succumbed to several attacks by the Mongols under Genghis Khan and Batu Khan between 1223 and 1240.

At the same time, other areas - including the Novgorod Republic and the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, which were able to maintain a certain independence by paying tribute to the Mongols - saw increasing attacks by the Danes and Swedes from the north and by the troops of the Bishop of Dorpat as well the Knights of the Teutonic Order and the Order of the Brothers of the Sword from the West exposed.



In the same year the threat from the German Crusaders and the Knights of the Teutonic Order, into which the Order of the Brothers of the Sword, which mainly operates in Livonia, was incorporated in 1237, became acute.

Under the leadership of the Bishop of Dorpat, Hermann I. von Buxthoeven, they advanced from Estonia to the Novgorod area.

The situation became dangerous for the city when the order of knights took the Pskow (Pleskau) south of Lake Peipus, which was important for the protection of the Novgorod trade routes.

Under Nevski's leadership, however, the Novgorodians succeeded in retaking the Koporje fortress in 1241 and Pskov themselves in March 1242.

The decision will be made on April 5th on the ice of the frozen Lake Peipus!

The battle takes place in the southeast corner of Lake Peipus near the island of Woroni Kamen (= Ravenstone).



The leader of the united knights is the Bishop of Dorpat himself, Hermann I. von Buxthoeven ...:



The bishop bears the Bremen key in his coat of arms, as he was previously (until 1220) the abbot of the now defunct Paul monastery in my hometown of Bremen.

The Russians are led by the Novgorod Prince Aleksandr Yaroslavich, who bears the honorary name "Nevsky" after a battle on the Neva that he won earlier. ...:



There are around 500 to 600 mounted men and 1,000 to 1,200 Estonian foot soldiers on the Catholic side and 3,000 to 4,000 fighters on the Russian side.



Earlier - and far higher! - Figures have now been revised downwards considerably by modern research!



The battle opens at daybreak with an attack by the mounted troops of the order's army. They advanced in a wedge formation against the Russian center, which consisted of foot troops from the Novgorod militia.



These retreated to the shore of the lake, and their ranks were almost broken. On the sloping and icy embankments, however, the knights could not fully develop their power...:



In addition, the left and right flanks of the Russian army withstood all attacks and prevented the knights of the order from being able to use their partial success in the center.



The final phase of the battle begins when Nevsky sends his Druzhina cavalry, which he had previously held back in an ambush, into battle...:



The cavalry bypasses the right wing of the knight army and attacked it in the back. Now surrounded on all sides and crowded together in a very small space, the knights no longer succeed in using their usual fighting technique, the massive shock attack.





In contrast, the Novgorod infantry could push the knights from their horses with lances and then kill them. Many are said to have drowned when the ice gave way in places under the weight of the armored riders...:





Only a few knights managed to break through the encirclement and flee across the ice in the direction of the west bank, about ten kilometers away.



According to Russian sources, around 500 knights and numerous fighters from the Estonian infantry are said to have been slain and 50 noble members of the Teutonic Order were taken prisoner. Bishop Hermann I survived and was able to flee.



Western historians put the number of victims far lower.

This memorial stands at the site of the battle today ...:



The knights of the order tried it one last time at Pakrowskaja or Rakvere in what is now Estonia (German: Wesenberg)...



... on Februay 18, 1268 but fail again due to the Russian defense.

Was it Sergei Eisenstein who made the movie "Alexander Nevsky"? I remember watching it many years ago - can't remember where, may have been at school.
Good stuff as usual Martin, and interesting pictures!

Phil