What happened on Lake Peipus. Ice battle on Lake Peipus

Before my first year at university, I was sure that I knew the history of the Battle of the Ice. The legend that Russian warriors defeated the knights of the Livonian Order by cunning. And then at the university they ask me to find and analyze a problematic historical article. And then I am surprised to learn that everything I knew about the Battle of the Ice was a lie.

What year was the Battle of the Ice?

Perhaps the only truth from my knowledge was that The Battle of the Ice occurred in 1242. Presumably in the beginning of April. It's a long time ago, so, you know, the exact date cannot be determined. However, historians, based on chronicles, saythat the battle took place on the 5th. What other facts are known for certain about the battle:

  • The Danish king and the Master of the Order decided to divide Estonia and, with the help of the Swedes, defeat the power of Rus'. The Swedes, as you know, lost on the Neva, and Order came out after them.
  • Rus' was defended by Novgorodians and representatives of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality in the amount of 15-17 thousand people.
  • The Livonian Order and Denmark were represented by 10-12 thousand people.

The battle led by Alexander Nevsky is also called the Battle of Lake Peipsi . It is this very lake that haunts the Russian people and creates one of the main myths of Russian history.

The myth of the Battle of the Ice

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you remember the Battle of the Ice? I am sure that many will answer that the battle on Lake Peipsi was won because the knights wore too heavy armor. The ice cracked. And the warriors bravely sank. And the Russians, dressed in lighter chain mail, of course, avoided this fatal trouble. For some reason, it even seems to me that we were told about this at school. But - All lies. The knights did not drown. And that's why:

  • V historical sources(chronicles) there is no mention of this at all;
  • weight of equipment of the Livonian warrior and the Russian approximately same;
  • the exact geographical location of the battle has never been found, the battle most likely took place on a dry bank.

So where did the beautiful tale come from that the knights sank under the weight of their armor? This legend has no ancient roots. Everything is much more prosaic. In 1938 Eisenstein and Vasiliev made the film “Alexander Nevsky”, which included a scene with the drowning of enemies for entertainment purposes. This is the story of the battle, which took place in 1242 and became overgrown with a beautiful legend already in the 20th century.

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Last year we vacationed on the shores of Lake Peipsi. Before the trip, I decided to refresh my memory of the history of our country, and the further I plunged into the study of the famous Battle of the Ice, the more I realized that my idea of ​​many significant facts of the battle was very different from how it actually happened.


When was the Battle of the Ice?

Perhaps the only thing historians agree on regarding this battle is its year. The Battle of the Ice took place in April 1242 on Lake Peipsi between the knights of the Livonian Order and Novgorod troops led by Alexander Nevsky.

It is worth noting that a number of scientists believe that there was no battle at all. In their theory, they rely on the fact that its exact location has not yet been determined; no knightly armor or other traces of the battle were found in the vicinity of the lake. Others argue that the meaning of this historical event greatly exaggerated, but in fact it was an ordinary inter-feudal skirmish. But these theories are refuted by data from Russian and German chronicles.


Truth and myths about the Battle of the Ice

Main myth sounds like this: Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod meets hordes of German knights on the ice of a lake, where heavily armed knights suffer a crushing defeat, and, retreating, fall through the ice.


Real facts look a little different:

  • No more than 90 knights could participate in the battle. In the Baltics, the Order had exactly this number of castles by 1290. The rest of the army was a retinue, which could reach up to 100 people for each noble warrior.
  • Nevsky entered into an alliance with Batu Khan, who helped Novgorod defeat the foreign invaders.
  • The prince did not specifically plan to lure the knights onto thin ice so that they would drown under the weight of their armor. The Russian warriors were no worse equipped than the Germans, and such a strategy would have been suicidal.
  • The victorious strategy was that Nevsky lined up the weakest part of his army - the infantry - in the central part of his army, and the main forces struck the flanks of the enemy moving like a pig.

The victory in the Battle of the Ice helped stop the expansion of the Livonian Order into Rus'. This was the first example of the defeat of a knightly army by infantry.

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I live in the Pskov region, so I was lucky enough to visit places more than once great battle. On excursions, I always experienced twofold sensations: on the one hand, pride in the glorious warriors, on the other, sadness. After all, war is war - it means human sacrifices, first of all.


How did the Battle of the Ice take place?

The Battle of the Ice is a famous battle that took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi; the knowledge base about it is replenished with new facts every year. Sometimes fictitious.

But, nevertheless, it is known for sure that in 1238, Landmaster Herman Balk and the Danish king Valdemar decided to divide Estonia among themselves and seize Rus'. It was during this period that the defensive forces of Rus' were weaker than ever. They were exhausted by constant Mongol invasions.

The following military forces took part in the struggle:

  • Swedes and Livonian knights;
  • squad of Yaroslav Vladimirovich;
  • Estonian army;
  • Dorpat army.

The year in which the Battle of the Ice took place

They began their offensive in 1240. In the same year, Swedish troops were completely overthrown on the Neva.

The land battle continued for another 2 years, until in 1242 the main Russian troops entered the ice of Lake Peipsi to conduct the final battle. An important event took place on April 5, 1242 under the leadership of Alexander Nevsky (from the Russian side) and the military of the Livonian Order from the enemy.

Results

But there is still debate on whose side won. Some claim that she was behind Nevsky, others that she was not on a draw at all. Because in the same year Herman Balk and the Teutonic Order:

  • abandoned all previously captured Russian territories;
  • concluded a peace agreement with Novgorod;
  • returned the prisoners to their homeland.

True, 10 years later they attacked Pskov again, but that’s a completely different story...

In memory of the Battle of the Ice

It was enough important event in the life of Russia, therefore April 5 is considered one of the memorable days in our country.


In honor of the battle, many interesting and instructive films were made, it is written beautiful songs and books.

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Some consider the Battle of the Ice one of the main events of our ancient history, others attribute it to local battles that were not distinguished by either scale or historical significance. For me, this is a good reason to get to know this corner of Russia better, where the knightly armor once thundered and the Novgorodians and Suzdalians harrowed their native Rus' under the leadership of Alexander Nevsky.


When did the Battle of the Ice happen?

It is this date that is indicated in the Novgorod First Chronicle, which describes the massacre in more detail. The day of the week when it happened is even indicated - Saturday. But in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle (Russian troops fought with the knights of the Livonian Order, which was an offshoot of the Teutonic Order), where the battle is mentioned, it is noted that the dead fell into the grass. It turns out that the battle took place later, since there is still no grass in these parts at the beginning of April

Historical places

They remind us of the affairs of long-ago years in the Pskov region:

    the “Battle on the Ice” monument, which was opened in 1993 near Pskov, on Mount Sokolikha;

    Kobylye Settlement is an ancient village not far from the battle site;

    a museum in the village of Samolva, where materials from a scientific expedition that studied the events of 1242 were collected.


There are not even two dozen inhabitants in Kobylye Settlement now. But this place has been inhabited since time immemorial and is mentioned in ancient chronicles. The Church of the Archangel Michael, built in 1462, testifies to its past prosperity. The Poklonny Cross and the monument to Alexander Nevsky remind us of the Battle of the Ice.


The motor rally became a new chance for the development of these places." silver ring Alexander Nevsky”, which was invented and implemented by St. Petersburg residents. Every summer, since 1997, they start from the northern capital and make their way through the preserved fortresses and monasteries of the Leningrad, Novgorod, and Pskov regions to Kobylye Gorodishche. The rally participants have already improved this historical place and installed a new chapel.

Losses

Monument to the squads of A. Nevsky on Mount Sokolikha

The issue of the losses of the parties in the battle is controversial. The Russian losses are spoken of vaguely: “many brave warriors fell.” Apparently, the losses of the Novgorodians were really heavy. The losses of the knights are indicated by specific figures, which cause controversy. Russian chronicles, followed by domestic historians, say that about five hundred knights were killed, and the miracles were “beschisla”; fifty “brothers,” “deliberate commanders,” were allegedly taken prisoner. Four hundred to five hundred killed knights is a completely unrealistic figure, since there was no such number in the entire Order.

According to the Livonian chronicle, for the campaign it was necessary to gather “many brave heroes, brave and excellent,” led by the master, plus Danish vassals “with a significant detachment.” The Rhymed Chronicle specifically says that twenty knights were killed and six were captured. Most likely, the “Chronicle” means only the “brothers”-knights, without taking into account their squads and the Chud recruited into the army. The Novgorod First Chronicle says that 400 “Germans” fell in the battle, 50 were taken prisoner, and “chud” is also discounted: “beschisla.” Apparently, they suffered really serious losses.

So, it is possible that 400 German cavalry soldiers (of which twenty were real “brothers” knights) actually fell on the ice of Lake Peipus, and 50 Germans (of which 6 “brothers”) were captured by the Russians. “The Life of Alexander Nevsky” claims that the prisoners then walked next to their horses during the joyful entry of Prince Alexander into Pskov.

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. It should be noted that the battle on a flat surface of ice was more advantageous for the heavy cavalry of the Order, however, it is traditionally believed that the place for meeting the enemy was chosen by Alexander Yaroslavich.

Consequences

According to traditional Russian historiography point of view, this battle, together with the victories of Prince Alexander over the Swedes (July 15, 1240 on the Neva) and over the Lithuanians (in 1245 near Toropets, near Lake Zhitsa and near Usvyat), had great importance for Pskov and Novgorod, delaying the onslaught of three serious enemies from the west - at the very time when the rest of Rus' suffered great losses from princely strife and the consequences of the Tatar conquest. In Novgorod, the Battle of the Germans on the Ice was remembered for a long time: together with the Neva victory over the Swedes, it was remembered in the litanies of all Novgorod churches back in the 16th century.

The English researcher J. Funnel believes that the significance of the Battle of the Ice (and the Battle of the Neva) is greatly exaggerated: “Alexander did only what numerous defenders of Novgorod and Pskov did before him and what many did after him - namely, rushed to protect the extended and vulnerable borders from invaders." Russian professor I.N. Danilevsky also agrees with this opinion. He notes, in particular, that the battle was inferior in scale to the battles of Siauliai (city), in which the Lithuanians killed the master of the order and 48 knights (20 knights died on Lake Peipsi), and the battle of Rakovor in 1268; Contemporary sources even describe the Battle of the Neva in more detail and give it higher value. 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

Music

The score for Eisenstein's film, composed by Sergei Prokofiev, is a symphonic suite dedicated to the events of the battle.

Monument to Alexander Nevsky and Worship Cross

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

Cultural and sports educational raid expedition

Since 1997, an annual raid expedition has been conducted to the sites of military feats of Alexander Nevsky's squads. During these trips, participants in the race help improve areas related to monuments of cultural and historical heritage. Thanks to them, memorial signs were installed in many places in the North-West in memory of the exploits of Russian soldiers, and the village of Kobylye Gorodishche became known throughout the country.

Notes

Literature

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

The Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipsi occurred on April 5, 1242. It became known as one of the most important victories in the history of the country. The date of this battle put an end to the claims of the Livonian Order to Russian lands. But, as often happens, many facts related to an event that occurred in the distant past are controversial for modern scientists. And the reliability of most sources can be questioned. As a result, modern historians do not know the exact number of troops who took part in the battle. This information is not found either in the Life of Alexander Nevsky or in the chronicles. Presumably the number of Russian soldiers who took part in the battle was 15 thousand; the Livonian knights brought with them about 12 thousand soldiers, mostly militias.

Alexander's choice of the ice of Lake Peipsi (near the Raven Stone) as a place for the battle had important. First of all, the position occupied by the young prince’s soldiers made it possible to block the approaches to Novgorod. Surely, Alexander Nevsky also remembered that heavy knights are more vulnerable in winter conditions. So, the Battle of the Ice can be briefly described as follows.

The Livonian knights formed a well-known battle wedge. Heavy knights were placed on the flanks, and warriors with light weapons were located inside this wedge. Russian chronicles call this construction the “great pig.” But modern historians know nothing about what construction Alexander Nevsky chose. This could well have been a “regimental row”, traditional for Russian squads. On the offensive open ice The knights decided, even without accurate information about the number or location of the enemy troops.

The diagram of the Battle of the Ice is missing from the chronicle sources that have reached us. But it is quite possible to reconstruct it. The knight's wedge attacked the guard regiment and moved on, quite easily breaking through its resistance. However, the attackers encountered many completely unexpected obstacles on their further path. It is quite possible to assume that this success of the knights was prepared in advance by Alexander Nevsky.

The wedge was caught in pincers and almost completely lost maneuverability. The attack of the ambush regiment finally tipped the scales in favor of Alexander. The knights, dressed in heavy armor, were completely helpless, pulled from their horses. Those who were able to escape after the battle were pursued by the Novgorodians, according to the chronicles, “to the Falcon Coast.”

Alexander won the Battle of the Ice, which forced the Livonian Order to conclude peace and renounce all territorial claims. Warriors captured in battle were returned by both sides.

It is worth noting that the Battle of Lake Peipsi is unique in its own way. For the first time in history, a foot army was able to defeat heavily armed cavalry. Undoubtedly, important role weather conditions, terrain, and surprise played a role.

Thanks to the victory of Alexander Nevsky, the threat of the capture of the northwestern Russian territories by the Order was eliminated. Also, this allowed the Novgorodians to maintain trade ties with Europe.

Exactly 866 years ago, on April 5, 1242, the famous Battle of the Ice took place on Lake Peipsi. Let's find out in Once again some interesting details.

“On the day of remembrance of the martyr Claudius and the praise of the Holy Mother of God,” that is, April 5, 1242, the fate of Rus', the Baltic states and Germany was decided on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Prince Alexander Nevsky dealt a terrible blow to the Teutonic Order. Then it will be called the Battle of the Ice. This formulation in some circles causes a flurry of indignation: they say, this was not a battle at all, but just a skirmish between medieval “brothers” dividing spheres of influence. Did the Russians win? Well, maybe. But no traces of the battle seemed to be found. Russian chronicles? Lies and propaganda! They are good only to please national pride.

However, one fact is missing. News of the Battle of the Ice was preserved not only in Russian chronicles, but also “on the other side.” The manuscript “Livonian Rhymed Chronicle” was written 40 years after the battle from the words of eyewitnesses and participants in the events. So what did the Russian soldiers and the whole situation look like through the visor of a knight’s helmet?

The “cowardly Russian rabble” in sheepskin and with drekoly evaporates. Instead, the knights see the following: “In the kingdom of Russia there were people of very strong character. They did not hesitate, they got ready to march and galloped menacingly at us. They were all in shining armor, their helmets shone like crystal." Note: there are still two years left before the Battle of the Ice. The very beginning of the war is described - the capture by the Germans of the Russian cities of Izborsk and Pskov, which caused a retaliatory strike by Alexander Nevsky.

What the German author honestly says: “The Russians became offended by their failures. They quickly got ready. King Alexander came out to us, and with him many noble Russians. They had countless bows and a lot of beautiful armor. Their banners were rich. Their helmets emitted light."

These helmets, emitting light, and other wealth clearly haunted the author of the Chronicle. Presumably, the desire to rip them off Russian corpses was very great. But it turned out differently: “The brother knights stubbornly resisted, but they were defeated. King Alexander was glad that he had won.” The conclusion is logical and economical in German: “Who conquered good lands and occupied them poorly military force, he will cry because he will have a loss.”

The Chronicle talks in some detail about how exactly the “good lands” were conquered and what was planned to be done in Rus' later. Just enough to properly admire the European values ​​that the “warriors of the bright West” brought to us: “A great cry began everywhere in the Russian land. Whoever defended himself was killed. Those who fled were overtaken and killed. Whoever laid down his arms was captured and killed. The Russians thought that they would all die. The forests and fields rang with sorrowful cries.”

These are the means. What was the purpose that justified them? Maybe there really is a “redistribution of spheres of influence”, as they are trying to convince us?

“The brother knights pitched their tents in front of Pskov. Many knights and bollards well earned their right to flax in these battles.” In German tradition, a fief is a piece of land that the king grants to nobles for their service. Having broken into the borders of Rus' and carried out an outright massacre, the Germans immediately began to divide the devastated lands. There is no talk of any collection of tribute or “influence”. Continuous: “I have come to live with you forever.” And not just to settle.

“Two brother knights were left in Pskov, who were made Vogts and assigned to guard the land.” Vogt - executive endowed with administrative and judicial functions. The Vogts conducted office work according to German laws and in the German language.

Even the Tatars did not do this on Russian lands. They took tribute, but, say, polygamy was not introduced and they were not forced to speak Tatar.

The most interesting thing is the battle on Lake Peipus itself. The author of the Chronicle, a German of the 13th century, describes the course of the battle in the same way as modern historians. “The Russians had many riflemen who bravely took on the first onslaught. It was seen how a detachment of brother knights defeated the shooters. There the clanking of swords could be heard, and helmets could be seen being cut apart. Those who were in the army of the brother knights were surrounded. Some left the battle and were forced to retreat. On both sides, warriors fell onto the grass. There, 20 brother knights were killed and 6 were captured.”

Finally, you can say: “And yet: I don’t believe it! Why do they fall on the grass? This means there was no ice at this Battle of the Ice! And the Germans lost only 26 people. And Russian chronicles said that 500 knights died there!”

The grass is really fun. The original says: “In das Gras beisen.” Literal translation: "Bitten the grass." This is an old German expression that poetically and beautifully conveys the bitterness: “Fell on the battlefield.”

As for losses, too, oddly enough, everything agrees. The original speaks of the German attacking detachment as follows: “Banier”. This is a standard knightly formation - a “banner”. Total number- from 500 to 700 riders. Among them are from 30 to 50 brother knights. The Russian chronicler did not lie at all - the detachment was indeed destroyed almost completely. And who is the brother knight and who is on the sidelines is not so important.

Something else is more important. If anyone thinks that this number of killed Germans is not enough, let him remember how many he lost Warband literally a year earlier, in the battle of Legnica, when the famous knighthood was completely defeated by the Tatars. 6 knight brothers, 3 novices and 2 sergeants died there. The defeat was considered terrible. But only to Lake Peipus - there the order lost almost three times as much.

Battle on the ice: why did Alexander Nevsky defeat the Germans on the ice of Lake Peipsi?

German mounted knights in the Baltic states regularly used a special troop formation in the form of a wedge or trapezoid; Our chronicles called this system a “pig.” Servants went into battle on foot. The main goal the infantry helped the knights. Among the Teutons, the infantry consisted of townspeople-colonists, detachments fielded by conquered peoples, etc. The knights were the first to enter the battle, and the infantry stood under a separate banner. If infantry was also brought into the battle (which apparently took place in the Battle of Peipsi), then its formation was probably closed by a number of knights, since the infantry of the above composition was unreliable.

The task of the wedge was to fragment the central, strongest part of the enemy army. Using this formation, the German crusaders defeated scattered detachments of Livs, Latgalians, and Estonians. But the Russians (and later the Lithuanians) found ways to fight the armored “pig”.

A brilliant example of this is the battle on the ice of Lake Peipsi. The usual battle formation of Russian troops consisted of a strong center, where a large regiment (“brow”) was stationed, and two less strong flanks (“wings”). This formation was not the best in the fight against the “pig” of the crusaders, and Alexander Nevsky, boldly breaking the established tradition, changed the tactics of the Russian troops: he concentrated the main forces on the flanks, which greatly contributed to the victory. The new tactics caused the Russians to retreat to the ice of the lake. As one would expect, “the Germans are crazy about them.” Prince Alexander stationed a regiment on the steep eastern shore of Lake Peipus, at Voronie Kamen, opposite the mouth of the Zhelcha River. The chosen position was advantageous in that the enemy, moving on open ice, was deprived of the opportunity to determine the location, number and composition of the Russian troops.

On April 5, 1242, the entire mass of German troops rushed towards the Russians, “running into a regiment of Germans and people and punching a pig through the regiment...”. The Crusaders fought their way through Russian army and considered the battle won. Suddenly they were attacked by the main forces of the Russians, concentrated, contrary to tradition, on the flanks, and “there was a great slaughter of the Germans and the people.” Russian archers with crossbows brought complete disorder to the ranks of the surrounded knights.

A “self-witness” of the battle said that “the coward from the breaking spears and the sound from the sword section” was as if “the sea was frozen and you couldn’t see the ice: everything was covered in blood.”

The victory was decisive: the Russians furiously pursued the fleeing enemy across the ice to the Subolichi coast. 400 knights alone were killed, in addition 50 Russian knights “by the hands of Yasha”; many Estonians fell. The disgraced captive crusaders were led to Novgorod, as it is said in the Pskov Chronicle, “they were beaten and tied barefoot and led across the ice.” Apparently, the fleeing crusaders threw off their heavy armor and shoes.

Alexander Nevsky - Defender of Rus'

We won

Alexander Nevsky enters Pskov

"Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword"

On April 5, 1242, the Russian army led by Prince Alexander Nevsky defeated the Livonian knights in the Battle of the Ice on the ice of Lake Peipsi. In the 13th century, Novgorod was the richest city in Rus'. Since 1236, the young prince Alexander Yaroslavich reigned in Novgorod.

In 1240, when the Swedish aggression against Novgorod began, he was not yet 20 years old.

However, by that time he already had some experience of participating in his father’s campaigns, was fairly well read and had an excellent command of the art of war, which helped him win the first of his great victories: on July 21, 1240, with the forces of his small squad and the Ladoga militia, he suddenly and with a swift attack defeated the Swedish army, which landed at the mouth of the Izhora River (at its confluence with the Neva). For the victory in the battle, named later, in which the young prince showed himself to be a skilled military leader, showed personal valor and heroism, Alexander Yaroslavich received the nickname Nevsky. But soon, due to the machinations of the Novgorod nobility, Prince Alexander left Novgorod and went to reign in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.

However, the defeat of the Swedes on the Neva did not completely eliminate the danger hanging over Russia: the threat from the north, from the Swedes, was replaced by a threat from the west - from the Germans.

In pursuit of new lands and free labor force, under the guise of the intention to convert pagans to Christianity, crowds of German nobles, knights and monks went east. They suppressed resistance with fire and sword local population, sitting comfortably on its lands, built castles and monasteries here and imposed unbearable taxes and tribute on the Russian people. By the beginning of the 13th century, the entire Baltic region was in German hands. The population of the Baltic states groaned under the whip and yoke of warlike aliens.

And already in the early autumn of 1240, the Livonian knights invaded the Novgorod possessions and occupied the city of Izborsk. Soon Pskov also shared his fate - the Germans were helped to take it by the betrayal of the Pskov mayor Tverdila Ivankovich, who went over to the side of the Germans.

Having subjugated the Pskov volost, the Germans built a fortress in Koporye. It was an important springboard that allowed control of the Novgorod trade routes along the Neva, plan further advance to the East. After this, the Livonian aggressors invaded the very center of the Novgorod possessions, captured Luga and the Novgorod suburb of Tesovo. In their raids they came within 30 kilometers of Novgorod.

Disregarding past grievances, Alexander Nevsky, at the request of the Novgorodians, returned to Novgorod at the end of 1240 and continued the fight against the invaders. IN next year he recaptured Koporye and Pskov from the knights, returning them to the Novgorodians most their western possessions. But the enemy was still strong, and the decisive battle was still ahead.

In the spring of 1242, reconnaissance was sent from Dorpat (the former Russian Yuryev, now the Estonian city of Tartu) Livonian Order in order to “test” the strength of the Russian troops. 18 versts south of Dorpat, the order's reconnaissance detachment managed to defeat the Russian "dispersal" under the command of Domash Tverdislavich and Kerebet. It was a reconnaissance detachment moving ahead of the army of Alexander Yaroslavich in the direction of Dorpat. The surviving part of the detachment returned to the prince and reported to him about what had happened. The victory over a small detachment of Russians inspired the order's command. He developed a tendency to underestimate Russian forces and became convinced that they could be easily defeated. The Livonians decided to give battle to the Russians and for this they set out from Dorpat to the south with their main forces, as well as their allies, led by the master of the order himself. The main part of the troops consisted of knights clad in armor.

The Battle of Lake Peipsi, which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice, began on the morning of April 5, 1242. At sunrise, noticing a small detachment of Russian riflemen, the knightly “pig” rushed towards him. Alexander contrasted the German wedge with the Russian heel - a formation in the form of the Roman numeral "V", that is, the angle with the hole facing the enemy. This very hole was covered by a “brow”, consisting of archers, who took the main blow of the “iron regiment” and with courageous resistance noticeably disrupted its advance. Still, the knights managed to break through the defensive formations of the Russian “chela”.

A fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued. And at its very height, when the “pig” was completely drawn into the battle, at a signal from Alexander Nevsky, the regiments of the left and right hand. Not expecting the appearance of such Russian reinforcements, the knights were confused and began to gradually retreat under their powerful blows. And soon this retreat took on the character of a disorderly flight. Then suddenly, from behind cover, a cavalry ambush regiment rushed into battle. The Livonian troops suffered a crushing defeat.

The Russians drove them across the ice for another seven miles to the western shore of Lake Peipsi. 400 knights were destroyed and 50 were captured. Some of the Livonians drowned in the lake. Those who escaped from the encirclement were pursued by Russian cavalry, completing their defeat. Only those who were in the tail of the “pig” and were on horseback managed to escape: the master of the order, commanders and bishops.

The victory of Russian troops under the leadership of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German “dog knights” has important historical significance. The Order asked for peace. Peace was concluded on terms dictated by the Russians. The order's ambassadors solemnly renounced all encroachments on the Russian lands that were temporarily captured by the order. The movement of Western invaders into Rus' was stopped.

The western borders of Rus', established after the Battle of the Ice, lasted for centuries. The Battle of the Ice has gone down in history as a remarkable example of military tactics and strategy. Skillful formation of battle formation, clear organization of interaction between its individual parts, especially infantry and cavalry, constant reconnaissance and accounting weaknesses enemy when organizing a battle, right choice place and time, good organization tactical pursuit, the destruction of most of the superior enemy - all this determined Russian military art as advanced in the world.