“In thunderstorms and lightning, the Russian people are forging their glorious destiny. Review the entire Russian history. Each collision turned into overcoming. And the fire and strife only contributed to the greatness of the Russian land. In the splendor of the enemy's swords, Rus listened to new fairy tales and studied and deepened her inexhaustible creativity."
N. Roerich
On April 18, our country celebrates 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 (Battle of the Ice, 1242).
It is worth noting that the event itself took place on April 5 according to the old style, that is, on April 12 according to the new, 1242, but officially the holiday, the Day of Military Glory, is celebrated on April 18. This is the overhead of converting dates from the old style to the new one. Apparently, when setting the date, the rule was not taken into account: when translating dates of the XII-XIII centuries, 7 days are added to the old style (and 13 days were added out of habit).
The situation before the battle
The middle of the 13th century was a time of severe trials for Russia. During this period, the Russian land was fragmented into about a dozen and a half independent states and even more autonomous princely estates. They had several models of development: 1) South Russian and Western Russian (Kiev, Pereyaslav, Chernigov, Polotsk, Smolensk, Galicia-Volyn Rus and other principalities). Southern and Western Russia in the previous period was severely ruined and weakened by internal strife, the invasion of the so-called. "Mongols" (The myth of the "Mongol-Tatar" invasion; The myth of the "Mongols from Mongolia in Russia"; Russian-Horde Empire), which caused a strong outflow of the population to the inner (forest) regions of Russia. This eventually led to the fact that South and West Russia was included in Hungary, Poland and Lithuania;
2) northeastern (Vladimir-Suzdal and Ryazan principalities), which gradually became a new passionary core of Russia with a strong central princely power, the center of unity of all Russian lands;
3) northwestern (the Novgorod Republic, and since the XIV century and the Pskov Republic), with the power of the aristocratic trade elite, which put its narrow-group interests above the national interests, and was ready to surrender the territory to the West (to the German knights, Sweden, Lithuania), only to keep their wealth and power. The West, after capturing a significant part of the Baltic, tried to extend its power to the northwestern lands of Russia. Taking advantage of the feudal fragmentation of Russia and the "Mongol" invasion, which weakened the military power of the Russian lands, the troops of the crusaders and Swedish feudal lords invaded the north-western borders of Russia.
The influence of Novgorod in Karelia and Finland violated the interests of Rome, which, with fire and sword, planted Catholicism in the Baltic States (it was previously also part of the sphere of influence of Russia), and planned to continue military-religious expansion with the help of German and Swedish feudal lords interested in the growth of the dependent population and robbery rich Russian cities. As a result, Novgorod clashed with Sweden and the Livonian Order, behind which was Rome. From the second half of the XII century. to the middle of the fifteenth century. The Novgorod Republic was forced to fight 26 times with Sweden and 11 times with the Livonian Order.
In the late 1230s, Rome prepared a campaign against Russia with the aim of seizing the northwestern Russian lands and planting Catholicism there. Three forces were to take part in it - the German (Teutonic) Order, Sweden and the Danes. In the opinion of Catholic Rome, after the Batu invasion, the bloodless and plundered Russia, moreover, divided by the feuds of large feudal lords, could not offer any serious resistance. The German and Danish knights were to strike at Novgorod from land, from their Livonian possessions, and the Swedes were going to support them from the sea through the Gulf of Finland. In July 1240, the Swedish fleet entered the Neva. The Swedes planned to take Ladoga with a sudden blow, and then Novgorod. However, the brilliant and lightning-fast victory of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich over the Swedes on July 15, 1240 on the banks of the Neva temporarily knocked Sweden out of the camp of enemies.
But another enemy, the Teutonic Order, was much more dangerous. In 1237, the Teutonic Order, which owned Slavic Prussia, united with the Livonian Order of the Swordsmen, thereby extending its power to Livonia. Thus uniting the forces directed by the papal throne and receiving support from the Holy Roman Empire, the Teutonic Knights began to prepare for the Drang nach Osten. The masters of the West - at this time, the "command post" of the Western world was located in Rome, they planned to seize and subjugate Russia in parts, destroy and partially assimilate the eastern branch of the Rus super-ethnos, just as they had destroyed the western ethno-linguistic core of the Rus super-ethnos in Central Europe over several centuries (the territory of Germany, Austria, Prussia, etc.) - the land of the Wends-Wends, Lyut-lyutichi, Bodrich-cheer, Ruyan, Poruss-Pruss, etc.
At the end of August 1240, Bishop Herman of Dorpat, having gathered a militia from his subjects and the knights of the Order of the Swordsmen, with the support of Danish knights from Revel, invaded the Pskov lands and captured Izborsk. The Pskovians gathered a militia and decided to recapture their suburb. An attempt by the Pskov militia in September 1240 to recapture the fortress ended in failure. The knights besieged Pskov itself, but could not take it on the move and left. A strong fortress could withstand a long siege, the Germans were not ready for it. But the knights soon took Pskov, taking advantage of the betrayal among the besieged. Earlier, the outcast prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, who reigned in Pskov, got in touch with the boyars inside the city, headed by the Pskov mayor Tverdilo Ivankovich, pleasing them with money and power. These traitors allowed the enemy into the fortress at night. German governors were imprisoned in Pskov. By the end of 1240, the crusaders firmly established themselves in the Pskov land and began to prepare for a further offensive, using the previously captured territory as a stronghold.
The knights acted according to the traditional scheme: they seized the land, destroyed the enemy manpower of the enemy, terrorized the remaining inhabitants with terror, built their temples (often on the site of already existing shrines), converted them to the "holy faith" with fire and sword and erected base castles for defense. captured lands and further expansion. So, the knights invaded the Novgorod possessions of Chud and Vod, devastated them, imposed tribute on the inhabitants. They also built a fortress in Koporye. The castle was built on a steep and rocky mountain and it became the base for further eastward movement. Soon after, the crusaders occupied Tesovo, an important trading post in the Novgorod land, and from there it was already a stone's throw to Novgorod itself.
The Novgorod elite at the beginning of the war did not act in the best way. After the Battle of the Neva, when the people greeted with glee the victorious squad of the young prince, the merchant-aristocratic elite of Novgorod, who looked at the prince with suspicion, fearing the growth of his power and influence, fell out with Alexander Yaroslavich. At the convened veche, he was thrown a number of unfair accusations, and the very victory over the Swedes was presented as an adventure that brought Novgorod more harm than good. Furious, Alexander Nevsky left Novgorod and went with his family to his own inheritance - Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. As a result, the break with the young, but talented and decisive military leader had a disastrous effect on the position of Novgorod. However, the impending threat led to popular indignation, the Novgorodians forced the boyar "lord" to call for help from Alexander. The Novgorod ruler Spiridon went to him in Pereyaslavl, who begged the prince to forget his previous grievances and lead a protest against the German knights. Alexander at the beginning of 1241 returned to Novgorod, where he was greeted with popular jubilation.
Battle on the Ice
In the spring of 1241, Alexander Yaroslavich, at the head of his squad and militia from Novgorod, Ladoga and Korely, took Koporye. The fortress was dug down, the captive knights were sent hostage to Novgorod, and the soldiers from Chudi and Vodi who served with them were hanged. Then Alexander defeated the small detachments of the enemy, who were plundering in the vicinity, and by the end of 1241 the Novgorod land was almost completely cleared of the enemy. In the winter of 1242, Prince Alexander, together with his brother Andrei, who brought reinforcements from the Vladimir-Suzdal land, recaptured Pskov. The German Rhymed Chronicle tells the following about the capture of Pskov by the troops of Alexander Yaroslavich: “He arrived there with great force; he brought many Russians to free the Pskovites … When he saw the Germans, he did not hesitate after that for a long time, he expelled both knight brothers, putting an end to their fortune, and all their servants were driven out. The traitorous Pskov boyars were hanged.
Then Russian troops, reinforced by the Pskov militia, moved into the lands of the Order. The news of the movement of Russian troops soon reached Dorpat, and the local bishop turned to the Order for help. The crusaders gathered a large army, which, with auxiliary detachments of the Chudi, was ready for a decisive battle. One of the leading detachments of the Russian army was ambushed and defeated. Alexander, realizing that the knightly army itself was looking for a general battle, decided to give it to him in favorable conditions. He withdrew his regiments from the Livonian borders and stood on Uzmen, a narrow channel connecting the Peipsi and Pskov lakes, at the Crow stone (an island-cliff, now hidden by the water of Lake Peipsi). This position was very comfortable. The crusaders, having passed to the lake, could then go to Novgorod bypassing Lake Peipsi to the north, or Pskov - along the western coast of Lake Pskov to the south. In each of these cases, Alexander Yaroslavich could intercept the enemy, moving along the eastern coast of the lakes. If the crusaders decided to act directly and tried to overcome the strait in the narrowest place, then they would directly face the Russian troops.
The Russian army goes to Lake Peipsi. Chronicle miniature
The Teutonic army, commanded by the Landmaster of the Teutonic Order, Andreas von Felven, in addition to the order's knight brothers, included the detachments of the Dorpat bishopric and Danish knights led by the sons of the Danish king Valdemar II. The German crusaders usually lined up in order of battle known as the "boar's head" ("pig"). It was a narrow but rather long column. At the head was a wedge of several tapering ranks of the most experienced and battle-hardened brother knights. Behind the wedge, gradually expanding in depth, detachments of squires and bollards stood. Knightly heavily armed cavalry also moved on the sides of the column. In the center of the column was the infantry from the mercenary bollards (from the Baltic tribes subordinate to the Germans), who were assigned a secondary role in the battle (to finish off the defeated enemy). Few opponents managed to withstand the blow of the heavy knightly cavalry. Knights on strong horses, like a battering ram, split the enemy's formation in two with a powerful blow, then split them into smaller groups and destroyed them in parts (with the participation of the infantry). But this construction also had its drawbacks. It was almost impossible to maintain order of battle after the main attack was delivered. And it was extremely difficult to make a maneuver in a situation that suddenly changed during the battle in such a formation. To do this, it was necessary to withdraw the army back, to bring it in order.
Knowing this, Alexander Nevsky placed his shock forces on the flanks. The basis of the battle formation of the Russian troops of that time were three regiments: the "chelo" - the main regiment, located in the center, and the "right and left hand" regiments, located on the flanks of the "chela" ledges backward or forward. All three regiments made up one main line. Moreover, the "chelo" was usually formed from the most trained warriors. But the Novgorod prince placed the main forces, mainly cavalry, on the flanks. In addition, behind the regiment of the left hand, the horse squads of Alexander and Andrey Yaroslavich were in ambush to bypass the flank and strike the enemy's rear. In the center was the Novgorod militia, which was supposed to take the first and most difficult blow. Archers stood in front of everyone, and behind the Russian army, near the steep bank, chained sleds of the convoy were placed in order to give additional support to the Russian infantry and stop, deprive the enemy cavalry of maneuver.
Behind the back of the Russian army was a bank overgrown with a dense forest with steep slopes, which excluded the possibility of maneuver; the right flank was protected by a zone of water called Sigovitsa. Here, due to some features of the current and a large number of underground springs, the ice was very fragile. Local residents knew about this and, undoubtedly, informed Alexander. The left flank was protected by a high coastal promontory, from where a wide panorama opened up to the opposite shore. In Soviet historiography, the Battle of the Ice was considered one of the largest battles in the entire history of the German knightly aggression in the Baltic States, and the number of troops on Lake Peipsi was estimated at 10-12 thousand people for the Order and 15-17 thousand Russians.
Source: Beskrovny L. G. Atlas of maps and diagrams of Russian military history. M., 1946.
The battle took place on April 5 (12), 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipsi. The "Rhymed Chronicle" describes the moment of the beginning of the battle as follows: "The Russians had many riflemen who courageously stepped forward and were the first to take the onslaught in front of the prince's retinue." Further: "The banners of the brothers penetrated the ranks of the shooting, swords were heard clanging, helmets were chopped off, as the fallen fell on the grass from both sides." Thus, the news of the Chronicle about the battle formation of the Russians as a whole is combined with the reports of the Russian chronicles about the separation of a separate rifle regiment in front of the center of the main forces. In the center, the Germans broke through the line of Russians: "The Germans and the chud have made their way like a pig through the shelves."
The knights broke through the Russian center and got stuck at the convoy. From the flanks they began to squeeze the shelves of the right and left hands. “And there was that slash of evil and great by the German and the chudi, and he did not care from the spears of breaking, and the sound of the cross section, and did not see ice, covered with fear of blood,” noted the chronicler. The final turning point was outlined when the princely squads entered the battle. The crusaders began a retreat, which turned into a flight. Part of the knightly army was driven by Russian warriors to Sigovitsa. In a number of places, the spring ice broke, and the heavy knights went to the bottom. The victory remained with the Russians. The Russians pursued the runners on the ice for 7 miles.
The captured knights, barefoot and with bare heads, were led on foot alongside their horses to Pskov, the captured hired soldiers were executed. The Livonian "Rhymed Chronicle" claims that 20 knight brothers died in the Battle of the Ice and 6 were captured, that is, it clearly underestimates the losses. The Chronicle of the Teutonic Order is apparently more accurate and reports the death of 70 knight brothers. At the same time, these losses do not take into account the fallen secular knights and other order soldiers. It is also worth remembering that the Germans took into account the death of only the knight brothers. Behind each knight stood a "spear" - a combat unit. Each spear consisted of a knight, his squires, servants, swordsmen (or spearmen), and archers. As a rule, the richer the knight was, the more fighters his spear numbered. Poor "one-shielded" knights could be part of the spear of a rich "brother". Also noble people could be a page (close servant) and the first squire. Therefore, in the First Novgorod Chronicle, the losses of the opponents of the Russians are presented as follows: "and … the chudi fell beschisla, and Numets 400, and 50 with the hands of a yash and brought them to Novgorod."
The defeat in the battle on Lake Peipsi forced the Livonian Order to ask for peace: “That we entered with the sword … we retreat from everything; How many have taken your people captive, we will exchange them: we will let yours in, and you will let ours in”. For the city of Yuryev (Dorpat), the Order pledged to pay Novgorod "Yuryev's tribute". And although the war of 1240-1242. did not become the last between the Novgorodians and the crusaders, their spheres of influence in the Baltic did not undergo noticeable changes for three centuries - until the end of the 15th century.
Battle on the Ice. Miniature of the Obverse Chronicle Arch, mid-16th century
V. A. Serov. Battle on the Ice
After this battle, Alexander Nevsky forever entered Russian history as an image of Russian national and state identity. Alexander Yaroslavich shows that no "peaceful coexistence", no compromise with the West is possible in principle. Russia and the West are two worlds that have different worldview, conceptual principles ("matrices"). The Western matrix is materialism - the "golden calf", slave-owning society - the parasitism of the "chosen" over the rest, which leads to self-destruction and death of the entire civilization (hence the modern crisis of capitalism, the white race, humanity and the biosphere in general). The Russian matrix is the domination of ethics of conscience, justice, striving for an ideal society of service and creation ("the Kingdom of God")
Therefore, Westerners in Russia are trying in every possible way to denigrate and belittle the importance of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky and his victories, to knock out one of the foundations from the historical memory of the Russian people. They are trying to turn Alexander Yaroslavich from a hero into an antihero, who allegedly agreed to an alliance with the "Mongols", instead of cooperating with the "civilized and enlightened West."
Monument to Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky. Installed in 1993 on Mount Sokolikha in Pskov. Designed by sculptor I. I. Kozlovsky and architect P. S. Butenko
