When there was an ice battle on Lake Peipus. Unknown Alexander Nevsky: was the battle “on ice”, did the prince bow to the Horde and other controversial issues

Battle on the Ice. Background.

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

And then a strange thing happens: in 1210 the Germans send ambassadors to the prince of Polotsk, who were supposed to offer him peace. And Polotsk agrees to this peace on the condition that the Livs, who were subordinate to Riga, will pay tribute to Polotsk and the bishop will be responsible for this. That's amazing: Polotsk, agrees to peace with the Germans, who captured two of its specific principalities and even extend their influence to the pagans. However, on the other hand, what is strange in this: contrary to the assertions of our historians, who shout on every corner that the Russians from ancient times helped the Baltic tribes fight the Western invaders, Polotsk did not care about these tribes from the high bell tower. The only thing that interested him was profit.

In 1216, the first clash of the Germans with Novgorod took place. And again, the Russian princes became the initiator of the conflict: at the end of the year, Novgorodians and Pskovians attacked the Estonian city of Odenpe (at that time already owned by 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 for a campaign against Odempe. Novgorod troops besieged the city, but they could not take it, so the Novgorodians had to limit themselves to plundering the surroundings. A hastily assembled army hastened to help the besieged garrison of Odempe.

However, due to its small number, it failed to provide serious assistance to the Livonians in Odempe. All that the strength of this army was enough for was to break through to Odempe. As a result, the number of people in the city turned out to be quite large, and supplies were extremely small. Therefore, the Livonians were forced to ask for peace from the Russians. Those, 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, quite calmly could simply starve out all the Germans in Odenpe, thereby destroying most of the Livonian army and stopping the Catholic expansion for a long time.

However, the Novgorodians did not even think of doing this. The Catholics did nothing to stop them. On the contrary, they had even more money than the pagans, which means that robbing is doubly fun. So the Russians did not seek to cut the branch on which they were sitting - why kill the Germans, who in a year or two could save up money again, 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 invades Livonia. Again, the Russians are unable to take a single Livonian castle and again, having ruined the surroundings, they return home with booty.

But in 1222, a significant event occurs: the Estonians raise a revolt against the Germans. Realizing that they will not be able to cope with the knights on their own, the Estonians turn to Novgorod for help. And Novgorodians really come, plunder the surroundings, and leave, leaving small garrisons in the castles donated by the Estonians. That is, the Novgorodians were little interested in annexing the Livonian lands. As usual, they were driven only by greed. It goes without saying that the few Russian troops left in German castles could not resist the retaliatory actions of the Livonians for a long time, and by 1224 the Germans had cleared the Estonian lands from the Russians. Interestingly, while the Germans were destroying the Russian garrisons, the Novgorodians did not blow their heads and were not even going to help their comrades.

But when the Germans, having regained the lands seized by the Russians in 1223, asked Novgorod for peace, while paying tribute, the Novgorodians happily agreed - still, a freebie after all. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who at that time was the Novgorod prince, decided to conduct the next campaign in 1228. However, Yaroslav was not very liked either in Novgorod or in Pskov, as a result of which, at first, the Pskovians, 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-Uzdal 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, the Germans would have taken at least a few weeks to take it, and during this time the Pskov one would have had time 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 inhabitants of Izbor did not want to fight with their prince. And now the Livonians are given a great opportunity to begin the seizure of Novgorod lands, because Izborsk, a key point of the Pskov land and a beautiful fortress, has already been in their hands. However, the Germans did not want to defend Izborsk, and in the same year, the Pskovites (probably with the support of the same pro-Uzdal party inside the city) recaptured 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 conclusion can we draw? Livonia has never pursued an aggressive policy towards the Russian principalities. She just didn't have the strength to do it. Neither before nor after 1242 was Livonia able to compete with Novgorod in terms of economic and military potential. The Russian principalities, on the other hand, 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 the Russians had plenty of opportunities to crush the weak Livonia (especially in the initial period of its existence). However, the leitmotif of Russia's relations with Livonia was not at all the fight against "foreign invaders", but making a profit from robberies.

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

So, Yaroslav Vladimirovich somehow managed to escape from Pereyaslavl. And where is he running? Again to their "sworn enemies" - the Germans. And in 1240, Yaroslav is trying to repeat what he failed 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 what has been said, be considered as a temporary entry of a limited contingent of order troops into the Pskov principality, made at the request of the legitimate ruler of Pskov, Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich. ("Pskov and the Order in the first third of the XIII century").

Indeed, the actions of the Germans cannot be regarded 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 prince's table. Someone may have a question: why did they need it? It's simple: the Livonians wanted to see a kind of buffer state in place of the Pskov principality, which would protect the Baltic states from the constant raids of the Novgorodians. The desire is quite understandable, it should be noted. Interestingly, both Pskovians and Novgorodians were also not at all opposed to being part of the "Western civilization", fortunately, they had much more in common with the West than with the Horde, paying tribute to which they did not really smile at all.

Yes, and the power of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and his son, our hero, Alexander Yaroslavovich, who, at every opportunity, tried to curtail Novgorod's liberties, had already gotten 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 did not resist. 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 march. That is, if the Germans had not been able to take Izborsk on the move, they would not have been able to take it at all, since the Pskov army that had arrived in time would simply have defeated the invaders.

Thus, it can be assumed that Izborsk surrendered without a fight. However, in Pskov, where the separatist mood, apparently, was also strong, supporters of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich make an attempt to save their power: the Pskov army is sent to Izborsk. Under the walls of Izborsk, the Germans attacked the Pskovites and defeated them, killing 800 people (according to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle). Further, the Germans advance to Pskov and besiege it. Once again, the Russians show little desire to fight: after only a week-long siege, Pskov surrenders. It is significant that Novgorod did not at all seek to help the Pskovians: 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 to be evil in Pskov. And what do the "crusaders" do after the capture of such a large and significant center as Pskov? But nothing. According to LRH, the Germans only leave two Vogt Knights there. Based on this, one 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. Only and everything. That's the whole "mortal threat hanging over Russia."

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

After the founding of this terrible stronghold of Catholic aggression, the Germans take the town of Tesov and, in fact, everything. This is where the aggression ends. Having plundered the environs of Novgorod, the Germans and Estonians leave 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, they say, these two knights posed a terrible threat to the independence of Russia.

As we can see, the Germans came to Russia not at all with the aim of converting Pskov to Catholicism 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 the Livonians for a crusade against Russia. Quite the opposite: the details of this campaign tell us that it was of a completely different character.

The only hostile action of the Pope against Novgorod was that he transferred the Russian lands captured by the Germans (and some other) under the jurisdiction of the Ezel bishopric. True, it is completely incomprehensible what is special about this. Do not forget that the 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 Russia". And it couldn't be.

Paradoxically, Novgorod felt threatened only after the Germans left the Novgorod lands. Until that 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 help 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 to provide any kind of support to the Russians in anything - they did not even want to leave the 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, was now 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 (the Novgorodians expelled Alexander a few months after the Battle of Neva). Yaroslav first sends Andrei, but he did not suit the Novgorodians for some reason, and they ask Alexander.

On the second attempt, Yaroslav satisfies their request. The very first thing Alexander does upon arrival is to destroy the opposition. What is characteristic: when the Germans took Pskov, they did not carry out any punitive measures in it - on the contrary, everyone who did not like the new government was free to leave the city, which many did. But in Russia, dissenters were always treated more abruptly, and the Russian national hero Alexander was no exception.

After the destruction of rivals within his possessions, Alexander goes over to external opponents: having gathered an army. He advances to Koporye, which he immediately takes. Many of the reins that were in prison were hanged, and the "fortress" itself was torn down. The next goal of Alexander was Pskov. But the prince did not have to storm this citadel: Pskov surrendered itself. Apparently, Yaroslav Vladimirovich felt the change in the situation in time, considered it more reasonable to remain without a principality, but with his head on his shoulders, and surrendered the city to the Novgorodians without a fight. For which, apparently, he was awarded the reign in Torzhok instead of the gallows tradition that was due to him according to the logic of things and the tradition of the gallows instituted 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 convinced that there were not even 2 knights in the city, but some countless number. Here, for example, Yu. Ozerov writes about the capture of Pskov: "In the battle, 70 noble order brothers and many ordinary knights were killed" ("How 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 must be recognized that in general all the brothers of the German House of St. Mary in Livonia were sitting in Pskov (as the Order Sword-bearers after joining the Teutonic Order in 1237), and then there was simply no one to fight on Lake Peipus.

Apparently, the myth of 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 came to Pskov with great force 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 order knights were killed there.Prince Alexander was glad of his victory, and the knight brothers 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 brought together the capture of Pskov and the battle on the ice, so we should talk about 70 knights who died in both of these battles. But even this would be wrong, since the author of the CTO borrowed information about the events in the Russian lands in 1240-1242 from LRH, and all the differences between the text of the CTO and the text of LRH are exclusively a figment of the CTO chronicler's fantasy. 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 regarding late European chronicles: “From the texts cited and from the comments, it is clear that all the texts of the late Baltic ., describing the German aggression against Russia in 1240-1242, date back to the corresponding part of the "Rhymed Chronicle" and are its highly abridged retellings.

In the cited texts there are several pieces of news that are missing from the Rhymed Chronicle, but, as was shown in the comments, none of these stories 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 work of the late chroniclers, who here and there added from themselves (and according to their own understanding) individual details in the coverage of events, entirely borrowed from the "Rhymed Chronicle" ( "Written sources about the Battle of the Ice"). That is, the only real and logical number of knights in Pskov should be the two Vogts mentioned in LRH.

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

In the spring of 1242, Alexander's army crossed to the western shore of Lake Peipsi (the possession of Livonia) and began to plunder the property of local residents. And it was during this glorious lesson that one of the Russian detachments under the command of the brother of the Novgorod posadnik Domash Tverdislavovich was attacked by the 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 that, 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 battle on the ice took place.

From the above events, it clearly follows that there was no such thing as a terrible "aggression by the West" or a "mortal threat to Novgorod". The Germans came to the Novgorod lands with the sole purpose of creating on the territory of the Pskov Principality a new, friendly state of Livonia under the rule of their longtime ally, Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich. This state was supposed to serve as a kind of shield for the Baltic states from the devastating raids of the Novgorodians.

Having fulfilled 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, this state of affairs did not suit the Novgorodians, and in 1241 Alexander set off on his "liberation campaign" through Koporye, Pskov and Izborsk straight to the lands of Livonia - to rob. A reasonable question: so who threatened whom in 1242: Livonia Novgorod or is it the other way around?

Battle on the Ice. Number of participants.

For some reason, in Russian historiography, such figures are most often taken as an axiom: 10-12 thousand Germans, 15-17 Russians. However, where these thousands came from is completely incomprehensible. Let's start with the Novgorodians: according to Tikhomirov, 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 larger. However, probably, 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 his article "On demographic cycles in the history of medieval Russia" writes: "In 1207-1230, characteristic signs of an eco-social crisis were observed in the Novgorod land: famine, epidemics, uprisings, the death of large masses of the population, which took on the character of a 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 from this disaster. And how many people died in Novgorod principality? Thus, the number in Novgorod land by 1242 had fallen significantly compared to the beginning of the 13th century. In the city itself, a third of the population perished. 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 mark of 30 thousand. Thus, Novgorod itself could put up an army of 3-5 thousand people with the maximum tension of all mobilization resources.

However, this could only be in case of extreme danger for Novgorod (for example, if suddenly Batu's army did not limit itself to sacking Torzhok, but would still reach 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 gathered did not exceed 2000 people (besides, one should not forget that in Novgorod there was a serious opposition to the prince, who would hardly have joined his army - however, the thirst for profit could make the Novgorodians and forget about their enmity with the prince).

However, Alexander planned a relatively large campaign in Livonia, so the army was going from all over the principality, and not just from Novgorod. But he did not assemble it for a long time - no more than a few months, therefore, apparently, the total number of the Novgorod army did not exceed 6-8 thousand people. For example: according to the Chronicle of Henry, in 1218 the number of the Russian army that invaded Livonia was 16 thousand people, and at the same time this army was gathering for two years.

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

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 utterly defeated by the Lithuanians. 48 knights of the Order of the Sword were killed along with the master. In fact, it was the complete destruction of the Order, from which no more than 10 people remained. For the first and only time on the territory of the Baltic States, the Order of Knights was completely destroyed. It would seem that our historians should in every possible way discuss this fact, talking about how our allies in the fight against Catholic expansion - the Lithuanians - destroyed an entire order.

However, no, the ordinary Russian does not know about this battle. Why? And because, together with the army of "dog-knights" with the Lithuanians, a detachment of Pskovians numbering 200 people fought (with a total number of German troops that did not exceed 3000, the contribution is 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 exceed 100 people. Begunov, Kleinenberg and Shaskolsky write about the same thing (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 approached a hundred, not all of them could participate in the Battle on the Ice, since the order had other things to do: only in 1241 was the Estonian uprising on about. Saaremaa.

In 1242, a Curonian uprising broke out, which diverted significant forces of the Order. Dietrich von Grüningen, the master of the TO department in Livonia, did not participate in the battle on Lake Peipsi precisely because of his busyness with the affairs of Courland. As a result, we come to the conclusion that the number of order troops 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 put up a militia of a maximum of 300 people. A few hundred more people could be provided by the Danish Revel to the allies. That's all, there were no more Europeans in the army. In total, a maximum of 1000 people is obtained. In addition, there were militias from the Chud in the "German" army - about a thousand and a half more. 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 can be no talk 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 directed to suppress the uprising that broke out in Prussia. Yes, and the Order was pretty battered: in 1241, his army, which was part of the army of the Silesian prince Henry II, recruited from Germans, Poles and Teutons to repel the Mongol army that was making its victorious march across Europe. On April 9, 1241, in the battle of Legnica, the horde of Khan Kaidu utterly defeated the Europeans. The united troops, including the order, suffered huge losses.

The battle was really huge in scale, unlike our dwarf "Battle on the Ice". However, our historians rarely remember her either. Apparently, this fact does not fit into another favorite Russian theory: that Russia supposedly took the brunt of the Mongol hordes and thereby saved Europe from this disaster. Like, the Mongols did not dare to go further than Russia, 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 all of 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 to the Adriatic Sea. By the way, in all these glorious deeds, the Mongol khans were assisted by Russian troops, who also participated in battles with Europeans (such are the "saviors of Europe").

In the summer and autumn of 1241, the Mongols crushed 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 an event saving for Europe occurred: the great Khan Ogedei. Therefore, all Genghisides left Europe and went home to fight for a vacant seat. Naturally, their army left Europe for the khans.

In Europe, only one tumen remained under the command of Khan Baidar - he passed through Northern Italy and Southern France, invaded the Iberian Peninsula, and, having passed through it, went out to the Atlantic Ocean, only after that he went to Karakorum. Thus, the Mongols managed to make their way through the whole of Europe, and no Russia interfered with this, and Ogedei became the true "savior of Europe".

But we digress. Let's return to the Teutonic Order. As you can see, the Teutons were not able to help the Livonians in any way. They had neither the strength nor the time for this (after all, one should not forget that militant Lithuania separated Livonia from the possessions of the TO, so it would take a lot of time to transfer at least some troops to the Baltic states, but it just didn’t exist ). What do we end up with? The number of opponents in the battle on the ice was as follows: Germans 2000 - 2500, Russians 7-10 thousand people.

Battle on the Ice. German pigs.

Of course, I would very much like to talk about the course of the Battle of Peipus, however, this is not possible. We, in fact, have practically no data on how this battle proceeded, and fantasize about a "weakened center", "reserve regiments", "falling through the ice", etc. somehow you don't want to. Let's leave it to science fiction writers from history, of which there have always been many. It only makes sense to pay attention to the most noticeable, perhaps, 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, in the minds of Russian historians, the opinion was strengthened that the Germans, having formed a wedge, attacked the Russian troops with this wedge, thereby "pushing through the center" of Alexander's rati, who then surrounded the knights with a flank maneuver. Everything is fine, only the knights never attacked the enemy with a wedge. It would be a completely pointless and suicidal operation. If the knights really attacked the enemy with a wedge, then only three knights in the front row and flank knights would participate in the battle. The rest would be in the center of the formation, not participating in the battle in any way.

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

Firstly, the knightly troops were distinguished by extremely low discipline (whatever one may say, some feudal lords, what discipline for them), so if the rapprochement was carried out by a standard line, then there would be no question of any coordination of actions - the knights would simply disperse around 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 front row.

Secondly, the wedge had a narrow front, which reduced losses from archery. Thus, the knights approached the enemy with a wedge 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 with a line, all horsemen participated in the battle, and thus they could inflict maximum damage on the enemy. At the same time, it should be noted that the wedge approached the enemy with a step, as Matthew Parissky wrote, "as if someone was riding, putting a bride in front of him on the saddle." I don't think it's necessary to explain what it was for.

Horses are not able to gallop at the same speed, so a cantering wedge would soon fall apart, with half of the riders falling off 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 victim to the tools of florists (which were also in the Russian army, only now their devices were called not backs and flowers, but ragulki) and would certainly entail a fall and other knights. Thus, the wedge would have died without even reaching the enemy ranks.

Battle on the Ice. About losses.

In Russian historiography, the opinion was strengthened that 400 knights were killed in the battle, 50 were taken prisoner, and it was not known how many fighters of a lower rank were killed. However, even the NPL contains somewhat different information: "And pada Chyudi was beschisla, and N? Metz 400, and 50 with the hands of Yash and brought to Novgorod" That is, the annals say that 400 Germans fell. And now it looks like the truth. Considering that there were about 800 Germans on the lake, such losses seem quite real.

And we find data on losses among the knights in LRH, where it is said that 26 knights died in battle and 6 were taken prisoner. 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 such an opportunity, it must be admitted that it is unlikely that her losses exceeded 500 people. Thus, we can conclude that the total losses of the Livonian army were 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.

Battle on the Ice. Effects.

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). Novgorod after 1242 still continued to disturb the Baltic states with raids. For example, in 1262 the Novgorodians sacked Dorpat. Indeed, a fortress. Around which the city was built, they failed to take, as usual - and they didn’t need it either: the campaign somehow paid off.

In 1268, seven Russian princes again undertook a campaign in the Baltic states, this time heading for the Danish Rakovor. Only now the strengthened Livonia also remained on the sidelines, and made 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 Peipsi battles in more detail, we can confidently speak of 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 from anything (fortunately, neither the Swedes nor the Germans threatened Russia and even Novgorod at that time).

Alexander only won two relatively small victories. Against the background of the deeds of his predecessors, descendants and contemporaries (the Pskov prince Dovmont, the Russian king Daniil of Galicia, the Novgorod prince Mstislav Udaly, etc.), this seems like a trifle. In the history of Russia there were dozens of princes who did more for Russia than Alexander, and much more great battles than the two we analyzed. However, the memory of these princes and their accomplishments has been completely ousted from the people's memory by the "exploits" of Alexander Yaroslavovich.

By the "feats" of a man who collaborated with the Tatars, a man who, for the sake of obtaining the Vladimir label, brought Nevryuyev's army to Russia, which, in terms of the scale of disasters brought to the Russian lands, is comparable to the invasion of Batu; the person who. He probably destroyed the coalition of Andrei Yaroslavovich and Daniel of Galicia, who did not want to live under the khan's oppression.

A man who was ready to sacrifice anything to satisfy his own thirst for power. And all these actions of his are presented as committed "for the good" of Russia. 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

April 18 is the Day of Military Glory of Russia, the day of the victory of the Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German knights on Lake Peipsi (the so-called Battle on the Ice, 1242). The date is celebrated in accordance with the Federal Law "On the days of military glory (victory days) of Russia" dated March 13, 1995 No. 32-FZ.

In the early 40s. XIII century, taking advantage of the weakening of Russia, which occurred as a result of the devastating invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, the German crusaders, Swedish and Danish feudal lords decided to seize its northeastern lands. Together they hoped to conquer the Novgorod feudal republic. The Swedes, with the support of the Danish knights, tried to capture the mouth of the Neva, but in the Battle of the Neva in 1240 they were defeated by the Novgorod army.

In late August - early September 1240, the crusaders of the Livonian Order, which was formed by the German knights of the Teutonic Order in 1237 in the Eastern Baltic in the territory inhabited by the tribes of Livs and Estonians, invaded the Pskov land. After a short siege, the German knights captured the city of Izborsk. Then they laid siege to Pskov and, with the assistance of the traitorous boyars, soon occupied it as well. After that, the crusaders invaded the Novgorod land, captured the coast of the Gulf of Finland and built their own on the site of the ancient Russian fortress of Koporye. Before reaching Novgorod 40 km, the knights began to rob its environs.

(Military Encyclopedia. Military Publishing. Moscow. in 8 volumes - 2004)

An embassy was sent from Novgorod to the great prince of Vladimir Yaroslav, so that he would release his son Alexander (Prince Alexander Nevsky) to help them. Alexander Yaroslavovich ruled in Novgorod from 1236, but because of the intrigues of the Novgorod nobility, he left Novgorod and went to reign in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Yaroslav, realizing the danger of the threat emanating from the West, agreed: the matter concerned not only Novgorod, but all of Russia.

In 1241, Prince Alexander Nevsky, returning to Novgorod, gathered an army of Novgorodians, Ladoga, Izhora and Karelians. Covertly making a quick transition to Koporye, it seized this strong fortress by storm. By taking Koporye, Alexander Nevsky secured the northwestern borders of the Novgorod lands, secured his rear and the northern flank for further struggle against the German crusaders. At the call of Alexander Nevsky, troops from Vladimir and Suzdal arrived to help the Novgorodians under the command of his brother Prince Andrei. United Novgorod-Vladimir army in the winter of 1241-1242. undertook a campaign in the Pskov land and, cutting off all roads from Livonia to Pskov, stormed this city, as well as Izborsk.

After this defeat, the Livonian knights, having gathered a large army, marched to the Pskov and Peipsi lakes. The basis of the army of the Livonian Order was the heavily armed knightly cavalry, as well as the infantry (bollards) - detachments of the peoples enslaved by the Germans (Ests, Livs, etc.), which many times outnumbered the knights.

Having found out the direction of movement of the main enemy forces, Alexander Nevsky sent his army there as well. Coming to Lake Peipsi, the army of Alexander Nevsky found himself in the center of possible enemy movement routes to Novgorod. In this place, it was decided to give battle to the enemy. The armies of the opponents converged on the shores of Lake Peipus at the Voronye stone and the Uzmen tract. Here, on April 5, 1242, a battle took place, which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice.

At dawn, the crusaders approached the Russian position on the ice of the lake at a slow trot. The army of the Livonian Order, according to the established military tradition, attacked with an "iron wedge", which appears in Russian chronicles under the name "pigs". On the tip was the main group of knights, some of them covered the flanks and rear of the "wedge", in the center of which the infantry was located. The wedge had as its task the fragmentation and breakthrough of the central part of the enemy troops, and the columns following the wedge were to crush the enemy flanks with coverage. In chain mail and helmets, with long swords, they seemed invulnerable.

Alexander Nevsky countered this stereotypical tactic of the knights with the new formation of the Russian troops. He concentrated the main forces not in the center ("chela"), as the Russian troops always did, but on the flanks. Ahead was the advanced regiment of light cavalry, archers and slingers. The battle order of the Russians was facing the rear towards the steep, steep eastern shore of the lake, and the princely cavalry squad hid in an ambush behind the left flank. The chosen position was beneficial in that the Germans, advancing on open ice, were deprived of the opportunity to determine the location, number and composition of the Russian troops.

The knight's wedge broke through the center of the Russian army. Having stumbled upon the steep shore of the lake, the inactive, armored knights could not develop their success. The flanks of the Russian battle order ("wings") clamped the wedge into pincers. At this time, Alexander Nevsky's squad struck from the rear and completed the encirclement of the enemy.

Under the onslaught of the Russian regiments, the knights mixed their ranks and, having lost their freedom of maneuver, were forced to defend themselves. A fierce battle ensued. Russian infantrymen pulled the knights off their horses with hooks and chopped them with axes. Clamped on all sides in a limited space, the crusaders fought desperately. But their resistance gradually weakened, it took on an unorganized character, the battle broke up into separate pockets. Where large groups of knights accumulated, the ice could not withstand their weight and broke. Many knights drowned. The Russian cavalry pursued the defeated enemy over 7 km, to the opposite shore of Lake Peipsi.

The army of the Livonian Order was completely defeated and suffered huge losses for those times: up to 450 knights died and 50 were captured. Several thousand knechts were destroyed. The Livonian Order was faced with the need to make peace, according to which the crusaders renounced their claims to Russian lands, and also renounced part of Latgale (a region in eastern Latvia).

The victory of the Russian troops on the ice of Lake Peipus was of great political and military significance. The Livonian Order was dealt a crushing blow, the advance of the crusaders to the East stopped. The battle on the ice was the first example in history of the defeat of the knights by an army consisting mainly of infantry, which testified to the advanced nature of Russian military art.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

I. Where?

Until now, historians are arguing not only about the number of soldiers who participated on both sides in the battle of April 5, 1242, but also about the place of this battle. It is not at all a fact that the Battle of the Ice took place, as many history textbooks say, on Lake Peipsi. In the versions of historians, there are references to both Lake Peipsi and Pskov Lake, as well as Lake Warm (in the 13th century it was called Uzmen - a bottleneck, a strait that connects Pskov and Lake Peipsi).

A quote from Alexander Shirokorad’s book “The Baltic Landmine of Peter the Great” (M.: AST, 2008): “Of the ten historians who dealt with this issue (Kostomarov, Vasiliev, Trusman, Lurie, Porfiridov, Bunin, Belyaev, Tikhomirov, Paklar, Kozachenko), only Estonian Paklar carried out special surveys on the spot, while the rest tried to find a solution in the silence of their offices. As a result, the alleged battle sites are scattered over a stretch of about a hundred kilometers!

Nazaruk V. M. "Battle on the Ice", 1984

In fact, G. N. Karaev (1959, 1960, 1962 plus a reconnaissance survey conducted by him in 1961) also went to the place with three expeditions of enthusiasts, but more on that later.

Archaeological research aimed at finding evidence of the battle of 1242 did not lead to any result. Firstly, if the battle really took place on the ice of the lake, then part of the armor could sink. Secondly, swords, shields, helmets, chain mail were of high value in the XIII century - and it is not surprising that what did not sink was cleaned up.

The Novgorod first chronicle of the older version points to Lake Peipsi: “When Prince Oleksandr and Novgorodians saw, they put up a regiment on Lake Chudskoye, on Uzmen, near the Voronya stone; and ran into the regiment of Nemtsi and Chyud and made a pig through the regiment ... ”(quoted from the edition: Novgorod First Chronicle of the senior and junior editions. M .: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1950, p. 78; quote adapted).

The Novgorod First Chronicle of the younger version also speaks of Lake Peipsi: “When Prince Alexander and the Novgorodians saw, they put up a regiment on Lake Chudskoye, on Uzmen, near the Voronya stone; and Lake Chudskoe came: there were a lot of both of them ”(pp. 295-296 cit. sources).

Let's look at the Laurentian Chronicle: “Grand Duke Yaroslav sent his son Andrea to Novgorod the Great, to help Oleksandrov on Nemtsi, and I won after Pleskov on the lake, and I was full of many captives, and Andrey returned to his father with honor” (quoted from the edition : The Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles, Volume One, Lavrentievskaya and Troitskaya Chronicles, St. Petersburg, 1846, p. 201). If the chronicler said “beyond Pleskov”, that is, beyond Pskov, then he probably meant Lake Pskov.

An excerpt from The Life of Alexander Nevsky (manuscript of the mid-16th century by the Grebenshchikov Old Believer community in Riga. In the book: Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature / Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House); Ed. V. P Adrianov-Peretz, M., L.: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1947. T. V. S. 190-191):

“After the victory of Oleksandrov, as if defeating the ship 3, and in the year of winter, and go to the German land in great strength, but do not boast more: we reproach the Slovenian language. Below you, it was better to take the city of Pleskv and plant them from them, the same prince Oleksandro was withdrawn, the city of Pleskov was freed from captivity, and having fought and burned their land and took it full, and cut others.

They copulated with pride and decided: let's go [and] defeat Oleksandr, take him with our hands. When approaching, and guarding Oleksandrovsky, Prince Oleksandro took up arms and walked against himself, advancing the sea of ​​\u200b\u200bChyudsky, besha a lot of both: his father be Yaroslav sent him to help his brother, his younger Andrei, in a large squad. So, here is the "sea of ​​\u200b\u200bChyudskoye."

N. M. Karamzin said almost nothing on the topic of “meeting place”: “The Livonian Chronicler says that 70 courageous Knights laid their heads there and that Prince Novogorodsky, having captured 6 officials, ordered to kill them. The victor entered Livonia, and when our soldiers dispersed to collect food supplies, the enemy defeated the small forward detachment of Novogorodsky. Here Alexander showed the art of a prudent Commander: knowing the strength of the Germans, he stepped back, looked for a favorable place and stood on Lake Peipus" ("History of the Russian State", Volume IV). As you can see, Karamzin - which has been repeatedly noted by Russian historians - avoids specifying the exact location of the battle. “... I was looking for a profitable place and ended up on Lake Peipus,” period.

N. I. Kostomarov: “Alexander sat down in Pskov; detachments were sent forward to the German Land for news. Alexander expected a new war; she had to follow from the Germans. And indeed, he soon heard that the German force had attacked the detachments sent to the German Land, defeated them and was marching on Pskov. Maester Valk and the Bishops marched on with the confidence that things would improve in their favor. The German militia walked on the ice on Lake Peipsi, with the goal of reaching Pskov on ice. But Alexander saw the path of the enemies, and he himself set out from Pskov on the ice with the Novgorodians and Pskovians. Alexander put his army in battle formation on the lake, at the rock of the Voronii Kamen, on Uzmen, when turning from Lake Pskov to Peipsi. This place is named so because crows are really constantly circling there ”(“ The Russian Republic. Northern Russian People’s Rules in the Times of the Appanage Veche Way. The History of Novgorod, Pskov and Vyatka ”). So, here is a turn from lake to lake, that is, a place, probably near the village of Pnevo - Uzmen, or Warm Lake.

S. M. Solovyov: “Arriving in Novgorod in 1241, Alexander immediately went to the Germans to Koporye, took the fortress, brought the German garrison to Novgorod, released part of it, only the traitors of the vozhan and the Chud hung. But it was impossible to free Pskov so soon; only in the next year 1242, having traveled to the Horde, Alexander went to Pskov and took it, and seventy knights died with many simple warriors, six knights were taken prisoner and tortured, as the German chronicler says. After that, Alexander entered the Peipsi land, into the possession of the Order; the army of the latter met one of the Russian detachments and utterly defeated him; when the fugitives brought news of this defeat to Alexander, he retreated to Lake Pskov and began to wait for the enemy on the ice, which was still strong on April 5. At sunrise, the famous battle began, which is known in our chronicles under the name of the Battle on the Ice ”(“ History of Russia from Ancient Times, Volume 3). Thus, according to Solovyov, the massacre took place on the ice of Lake Pskov.

Lev Gumilyov had no doubt that the place of the battle was Lake Peipsi: “In the winter of 1242, Alexander Nevsky with his Suzdal, or, as they used to say, “Nizovsky” squads, with the support of Novgorodians and Pskovians, attacked a German detachment stationed in Pskov. Having liberated Pskov, he moved on the main forces of the Livonians, who were retreating, bypassing Lake Peipsi. On the western shore of the lake, at the Raven Stone, the Germans had to take the fight" ("From Russia to Russia").

Take a modern history textbook. Everything is simple here: “The knights defeated the vanguard of Alexander and pushed the prince back to Lake Peipsi. Here, on April 5, one of the largest battles in the struggle for the lands of the Eastern Baltic took place. Alexander's military talent allowed him to defeat the crusaders. (Pavlenko N. I., Andreev I. L., Fedorov V. A. History of Russia from ancient times to 1861. 3rd ed., Rev. / Edited by N. I. Pavlenko. M .: Higher school, 2004, p. 79.)

I see no point in further citing different points of view on the question of where exactly the Battle of the Ice took place. Those who wish to get acquainted with the historiography of this confusing issue, I refer to containing maps and the book: Battle on the Ice of 1242 Proceedings of a comprehensive expedition to clarify the location of the Battle of the Ice / Responsible. ed. G. N. Karaev. Moscow - Leningrad: Nauka, 1966. 241 p. Historiographical materials from this publication can be found on the Internet here. Written sources, Western and Russian, - or.

About G. N. Karaev, a well-known researcher of the question of the place of the Battle of the Ice, I would like to say especially. Here is what he writes about him and his expedition:

“Research that would help clarify the events of seven centuries ago was undertaken by a military historian, a specialist in the Middle Ages, Major General G. N. Karaev. Today, everything that was in Soviet times is not so indiscriminately scolded. Because there is nothing to compare with. That expedition, which G. N. Karaev led and successfully conducted on a voluntary basis, would now be simply impossible to organize. So, for a number of years, from 1956 to 1963, dozens of people of various specialties worked completely free of charge on the expedition during vacations, vacations and student practical classes: archaeologists, hydrologists, toponymists, geologists and others. The military districts provided them with the most modern equipment for those years: airplanes, helicopters, special boats. Scuba divers and divers explored the bottom of the lake, and groups of tourists in kayaks found waterways that, in principle, Alexander Nevsky could move.

The expeditions carried out by the team of G. N. Karaev came to the following:

1) Warm lake - chronicle Uzmen - in the northern part in the XIII century was blocked by a peninsula, from which only the island of Mezha (Pirissar) survived.

2) Raven Stone - now the remains of a "dome-shaped structure, represented by red-brown sandstone. The height of this hill was, obviously, not less than the dome at the village. Kallaste, currently reaching a height of 12 m. Raven Stone, located on the northwestern tip of about. Raven, which in those days was the right bank of the river. Samolvy at its confluence with Uzmen, towering 12-15 m above the rest of the area, served as an excellent guide and guard post.

G. N. Karaev notes: “At this time, the marked hillock could still be found and mapped, but not much time will pass, and it will disappear completely, the remains of the Raven Stone will undergo further destruction, and, finally, there will come a time when only the historical the monument, erected as a result of the research work of Soviet historians, will remind posterity of the place of the great battle at the Raven Stone, this mute witness to the feat accomplished by our ancestors.

The annalistic Uzmenya is understood as a channel that connected the Pskov and Peipsi lakes and is now called the Warm Lake. Between the northern tip of Cape Sigovets, Stanok Island and the western tip of Gorodets Island in early April, the ice was too weak (“sigovitsa”). But between Cape Sigovets in the north and the village of Pnevo in the south, the ice in early April was quite strong and made it possible to cross the Uzmen. Moreover, as Karaev writes, “near the eastern shore of the Uzmen there was a wide strip of shallow water, on which the water froze to the bottom in winter. As hydrological surveys showed, shoals barely covered with water formed on this strip. Such shoals, usually overgrown with reeds, are a frequent occurrence even today. In winter, when the water freezes, reeds remain sticking out from under the snow on the ice surface, like islands overgrown with grass. The area of ​​the north-eastern part of Uzmen in the XIII century. was located at the crossroads of trade routes, was fortified (especially in the region of the mouth of the Zhelcha River) and was densely populated. Here "there were, apparently, vast lands on which, from ancient times, fish, hay and other agricultural products were harvested." All this was convenient for the location of the troops.

Karaev writes:

“If, considering all this, we carefully examine the outlines of the coastline of the Uzmeni Islands, as they were in the 13th century, according to the hydrological surveys carried out by the expedition, the following becomes obvious:

1) the battle could not take place directly at the Raven Stone due to the weakness of the ice on Sigovice;

2) north of the Raven Stone, i.e., between it and Cape Podborovsky, this is also excluded, since the chronicle says that the defeated enemy “become chasing, bish them 7 miles along the ice to the Subolichsky coast”, and to to the west of these places stretched vast islands overgrown with forests, and thus it was not possible to pursue the pursuit "on the ice";

3) there was a peninsula to the south-west of the Raven Stone, a significant part of which is currently flooded; it now bears the name Sigovets (cape), since its northernmost tip is adjacent to the "sigovitsy".

This section of the eastern bank of the Uzmen was located in the 13th century. (as now) against its widest part - to the opposite bank, if you look directly to the west, to vil. Parapalu is currently more than 6 km, and up to 8 km to Cape Ukhtinka, where, very likely, the defeated remnants of the German knightly troops fled. Thus, in this respect, the site near the western coast of Cape Sigovets is very close to the indication of the chronicle. It is located, however, not far from the Raven Stone - less than 1.5 km; this fully explains the circumstance that the chronicler, when indicating the place of the battle, named precisely this well-known landmark in the area.

In addition, it must be borne in mind that no one measured the distance between the banks in those days, and it could only be named very approximately by those participants in the victorious campaign, who later, from memory, told the chronicler about it. In addition, due to the fact that the description of the battle, placed in the annals, is embellished with the religious fabrications of the chronicler, it is natural to assume that the number "seven" is named by him in this case as apocryphal in order to express the fullness of the victory won over the enemy.

“Thus, - concludes G. N. Karaev, - the place of the Battle on the Ice is determined quite accurately by comparing the results of expeditionary surveys and those topographic data about it that are contained in the chronicle text. Due to the fact that the coastline at Cape Sigovets has now changed and moved 300-400 m to the east, the site of the battle should mean the section of the Warm Lake, located approximately 400 m west of the modern shore of Cape Sigovets, between its northern extremity and latitude of vil. Island".

In the XIII century. the lake at this place was already narrower than now (see on).

The second question "where" refers to the two options offered by history: on the ice after all - or on the shore?

“On both sides, the dead fell on the grass,” he says. Karaev answered this question as well: “... having formed up on a strip of shallow water adjoining the eastern bank of the Uzmen, the Russian army found itself among thickets of reeds sticking out from under the snow, which is mentioned in the chronicle as “grass”.

II. How much?

Let's get back to chronicles.

In the Novgorod First Chronicle of the senior version we read: “... and pada Chyudi was beschisla, and Nemets 400, and 50 with the hands of Yash and brought to Novgorod” (p. 78).

In the Novgorod First Chronicle of the younger edition, the numbers changed: “... and pada Chyudi was beschisla, and Nemets 500, and others 50 by the hands of Yash and brought to Novgorod” (p. 296).

So, there were 400 or 500 Germans killed, 50 captured, and “without a number” of Chuds were also destroyed.

The Laurentian Chronicle and the number of soldiers and those killed, alas, does not report anything. Her story "In the summer of 6750" generally fits into three lines.

"The Life of Alexander Nevsky" is a more artistic source than a historical documentary. Judge for yourselves: “Then it was Saturday, the rising sun, the wallpaper copulated, and there was a slash of evil, a coward from breaking spears, a sound from a sword cut, as if the sea was frozen to move, not to see the ice, covered everything with blood. Byashe many are full in his regiment, they are leading near intrigues and others are called God's rotori. As if the prince approached the city of Pleskov, raising him from the cross of the abbot, priest in robes on the city and in front of the city, singing the glory of the Lord Oleksandr: helping, Lord, the meek Davyd conquered the foreigners, the faithful prince of our godfather liberated the city of Pleskov from the foreigners from the foreigners with the hand Oleksandrova” (p. 191). In a word, "many".

Karamzin writes on this topic: “Winter still continued then in the month of April, and the army could safely operate on solid ice. The Germans in a sharp column crashed into our ranks; but the courageous Prince, hitting the enemies from the side, mixed them up; broke, exterminated the Germans and drove Chud until the darkest evening. 400 Knights fell from our swords; fifty were taken prisoner, including one who, in his arrogance, wanted to capture Alexander himself; Chud’s bodies lay seven miles away” (“History of the Russian State”, Volume IV). As you can see, the historian adheres to the information of the annals.

N. I. Kostomarov, unlike Karamzin, follows the Life of Alexander Nevsky, adding the maximum number of Germans killed from the annals: “The Germans moved against the Russians. According to the method of the then tactics, Alexander made his army a pig: this was the name of the formation of a triangle that formed a sharp end facing the enemy. Seeing the approaching enemies, Alexander raised his hands and said loudly in front of his entire army: “Judge me, God, and judge my dispute with this eloquent people; help me, Lord, as You helped my ancestor Yaroslav against the accursed Svyatopolk!” It was then the Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent, the day of the 5th of April. The sun had just risen. When the Germans approached, Alexander swiftly moved his pig snout at the enemy, and the German system was cut. Then, - says the chronicler, who conveys his story in the words of an eyewitness who reported the news about the glorious deed: - “then there was a crack from the breaking of spears and a sound from a sword cut. It seemed that the frozen sea was moving, and the great one began to cut the Germans and Chud with us, and the ice was not visible: everything was covered with blood. Torn apart, out of order, the Germans fled; the Russians triumphantly chased them seven miles across the ice, to the Subolichsky coast. The chronicler counts five hundred beaten Germans, and says about Chud that countless numbers of her disappeared; others drowned in the water: then, already in the spring, the ice was not strong; and of those who fled, many were with wounds, and were dying from their wounds. Fifty Germans were taken alive ”(“ Russian Republic. Northern Russian People’s Rules in the Times of the Specific Veche Way. History of Novgorod, Pskov and Vyatka ”).

S. M. Solovyov: “... the Russians drove the Germans across the ice to the coast at a distance of seven miles, killed 500 people from them, and countless miracles, captured 50 knights” (“History of Russia from Ancient Times”, Volume 3). Solovyov also used the "Life of Alexander Nevsky", and took the number from the annals.

Gumilyov: “The number of knights themselves was small - only a few dozen, but each knight was a formidable fighter. In addition, the knights were supported by foot mercenaries armed with spears, and the allies of the order - Livs. The knights lined up like a “pig”: the most powerful warrior in front, two others behind him, four behind those, and so on. The onslaught of such a wedge was irresistible for the lightly armed Russians, and Alexander did not even try to stop the blow of the German troops. On the contrary, he weakened his center and made it possible for the knights to break through it. Meanwhile, the reinforced flanks of the Russians attacked both wings of the German army. The Livs fled, the Germans resisted desperately, but since it was spring time, the ice cracked and the heavily armed knights began to fall into the water of Lake Peipus. The Novgorodians, on the other hand, did not allow the enemy to escape from the fatal trap. The defeat of the Germans on Lake Peipus on April 5, 1242 delayed their offensive to the East - Drang nach Osten - which was the leitmotif of German policy from 1202 to 1941 ”(“ From Russia to Russia ”). So, "several tens" plus "Livs".

“The Russians had such an army (schar),
that every German was attacked,
perhaps sixty people.
The knight brothers resisted quite stubbornly,
but they were overcome.
Part of the Derptians left
out of the fight, that was their salvation,
they were forced to retreat.
Twenty knight brothers were slain there,
and six were taken prisoner.

“Sixty” people against one is a clear exaggeration of the losers, but 20 knights killed and six captured seem to be true. Why? Because there were few knights at that time and it was very expensive to maintain a knight with squires and horses.

“... Pskov, for example, being captured by the Livonians, could contain only two such full-fledged warriors. Of course, they went on a campaign together with their servants and squires, but even with them, the number of such a knightly unit could not be more than 15-20 soldiers, and there were only 5-7 horsemen. As a rule, there was one knight per castle of the Livonian Order. He was called a komtur, and he led the komturstvo, which usually consisted of one castle and the lands adjacent to it. From 1230 to 1290, the order built about 90 castles in the Baltics. From here it is easy to calculate the military capabilities of the order and the number of its troops.

It should also be taken into account that a year before, on April 9, 1241, the Teutonic Order took part in the battle of Legnica. Then the army of the Golden Horde under the command of the grandson of Genghis Khan Baydar defeated the combined Polish-German army under the command of the Krakow prince Henry II the Pious. Considering that many Teutons died in that battle, no more than 60-70 knights of the order could take part in the Battle of the Ice (some old German sources talk about 30 knights, each of whom had 5-6 more cavalry soldiers). About one and a half thousand soldiers gathered with the infantry supporting them, including poorly armed Estonians "(

The battle on the ice or the Battle of Peipsi is the battle of the Novgorod-Pskov troops of Prince Alexander Nevsky with the troops of the Livonian knights on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipsi. In 1240, the knights of the Livonian Order (see Spiritual and Knightly Orders) captured Pskov and advanced their conquests into Vodskaya Pyatina; their patrols approached 30 versts to Novgorod, where at that time there was no prince, because Alexander Nevsky, having quarreled with the veche, retired to Vladimir. Hindered by the knights and Lithuania, which had raided the southern regions, the Novgorodians sent envoys to ask Alexander to return. Arriving at the beginning of 1241, Alexander cleared the Vodskaya Pyatina from the enemy, but decided to liberate Pskov only after the Novgorod detachments joined the grassroots troops, who arrived in 1242 under the command of his brother, Prince Andrei Yaroslavich. The Germans did not have time to send reinforcements to their insignificant garrison, and Pskov was taken by storm.

However, it was impossible to end the campaign on this success, as it became known about the preparation of the knights for the fight and about their concentration in the Derpt (Tartu) bishopric. Instead of the usual waiting for the enemy in the fortress, Alexander decided to go towards the enemy and deliver a decisive blow to him with a sudden attack. Following the well-known path to Izborsk, Alexander sent a network of advanced reconnaissance detachments. Soon one of them, probably the most significant, under the command of the mayor's brother Domash Tverdislavich, stumbled upon the Germans and Chud, was defeated and forced to retreat. Further reconnaissance revealed that the enemy, having sent an insignificant part of the forces to the Izborskaya road, moved with the main forces straight to the ice-covered Lake Peipus in order to cut off the Russians from Pskov.

Then Alexander “backed away on the lake; the Germans, on the other hand, went after them, ”that is, by a successful maneuver, the Russian army avoided the danger that threatened it. Turning the situation in his favor, Alexander decided to take the fight and remained at Lake Peipsi in the Uzmeni tract, at the Voronei Kameni. At dawn on April 5, 1242, the knightly army, together with the contingents of the Estonians (Chuds), formed a kind of closed phalanx, known as the “wedge” or “iron pig”. In this order of battle, the knights moved across the ice on the Russians and, crashing into them, broke through the center. Carried away by success, the knights did not notice the Russians bypassing both flanks, who, squeezing the enemy in pincers, inflicted a defeat on him. The pursuit after the Battle on the Ice was carried out to the opposite Sobolitsky shore of the lake, and the ice began to break under the crowded fugitives. 400 knights fell, 50 were taken prisoner, and the bodies of a lightly armed monster lay 7 miles away. The astonished master of the order awaited Alexander with trepidation under the walls of Riga and asked the Danish king for help against "cruel Russia".

Battle on the Ice. Painting by V. Matorin

After the Battle of the Ice, the Pskov clergy met Alexander Nevsky with crosses, the people called him father and savior. The prince shed tears and said: “Pskovites! If you forget Alexander, if my most distant descendants do not find a true home in misfortune with you, then you will be an example of ingratitude!”

The victory in the Battle of the Ice was of great importance in the political life of the Novgorod-Pskov region. The confidence of the pope, the Bishop of Dorpat and the Livonian knights in the imminent conquest of the Novgorod lands collapsed for a long time. They had to think about self-defense and prepare for a centuries-old stubborn struggle that ended with the conquest of the Livonian-Baltic coast by Russia. After the Battle of the Ice, the ambassadors of the order made peace with Novgorod, renouncing not only Luga and the Vodskaya volost, but also ceding a large part of Letgalia to Alexander.