The battle of the ice
Battle of the Ice, from Wikepedia
The Battle of the Ice (Russian: Ледовое побоище, Ledovoe poboishche; German: Schlacht auf dem Eise; Estonian: Jäälahing; Latvian: Ledus kauja), also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus (German: Schlacht auf dem Peipussee), was a battle between the Republic of Novgorod and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights on April 5, 1242, at Lake Peipus.
The battle was a significant defeat sustained by Roman Catholic crusaders during the Northern Crusades, which were directed against pagans and Eastern Orthodox Christians rather than Muslims in the Holy Land. The crusaders' defeat in the battle ended campaigns against the Orthodox Novgorod Republic and other Russian territories for the next century.
Background
Hoping to exploit the Russians' weakness in the wake of the Mongol and Swedish invasions, the Teutonic Knights attacked the neighboring Novgorod Republic and occupied Pskov, Izborsk, and Koporye in the autumn of 1240. When they approached Novgorod itself, the local citizens recalled to the city 20-year-old Prince Alexander Nevsky, whom they had banished to Pereslavl earlier that year. During the campaign of 1241, Alexander managed to retake Pskov and Koporye from the crusaders.
The battle
In the spring of 1242, the Teutonic Knights defeated a detachment of Novgorodians about 20 km south of the fortress of Dorpat (Tartu). Led by Prince-Bishop Hermann of Dorpat, the knights and their auxiliary troops of local Ugaunian Estonians then met with Alexander's forces by the narrow strait that connects the northern and southern parts of Lake Peipus (Lake Peipus proper with Lake Pskovskoe) on April 5, 1242. Alexander, intending to fight in a place of his own choosing, retreated in efforts to draw the often over-confident Crusaders to the frozen lake.
The crusader forces likely numbered somewhere in the area of 500 to 1000. Most of them were probably Chud (Estonian) levies. The Russian force in contrast numbered around 5,000 soldiers: Alexander and his brother Andrei's bodyguards (druzhina), who numbered around 1,000, plus the militia of Novgorod and a Mongolian contingent.
According to contemporary Russian chronicles, after hours of hand-to-hand fighting, Alexander ordered the left and right wings of his archers to enter the battle. The knights by this time were exhausted from the constant fighting and struggling with the slippery surface of the frozen lake. The Crusaders started to retreat in disarray deeper onto the ice, and the appearance of the fresh Russian cavalry made them run for their lives. When the knights attempted to rally themselves at the far side of the lake the thin ice started to collapse, under the weight of their heavy armour, and many knights drowned.
[CW: History has repeated itself for 800 years imo. Russia always wins in the end]
The Battle of the Ice (Russian: Ледовое побоище, Ledovoe poboishche; German: Schlacht auf dem Eise; Estonian: Jäälahing; Latvian: Ledus kauja), also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus (German: Schlacht auf dem Peipussee), was a battle between the Republic of Novgorod and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights on April 5, 1242, at Lake Peipus.
The battle was a significant defeat sustained by Roman Catholic crusaders during the Northern Crusades, which were directed against pagans and Eastern Orthodox Christians rather than Muslims in the Holy Land. The crusaders' defeat in the battle ended campaigns against the Orthodox Novgorod Republic and other Russian territories for the next century.
Background
Hoping to exploit the Russians' weakness in the wake of the Mongol and Swedish invasions, the Teutonic Knights attacked the neighboring Novgorod Republic and occupied Pskov, Izborsk, and Koporye in the autumn of 1240. When they approached Novgorod itself, the local citizens recalled to the city 20-year-old Prince Alexander Nevsky, whom they had banished to Pereslavl earlier that year. During the campaign of 1241, Alexander managed to retake Pskov and Koporye from the crusaders.
The battle
In the spring of 1242, the Teutonic Knights defeated a detachment of Novgorodians about 20 km south of the fortress of Dorpat (Tartu). Led by Prince-Bishop Hermann of Dorpat, the knights and their auxiliary troops of local Ugaunian Estonians then met with Alexander's forces by the narrow strait that connects the northern and southern parts of Lake Peipus (Lake Peipus proper with Lake Pskovskoe) on April 5, 1242. Alexander, intending to fight in a place of his own choosing, retreated in efforts to draw the often over-confident Crusaders to the frozen lake.
The crusader forces likely numbered somewhere in the area of 500 to 1000. Most of them were probably Chud (Estonian) levies. The Russian force in contrast numbered around 5,000 soldiers: Alexander and his brother Andrei's bodyguards (druzhina), who numbered around 1,000, plus the militia of Novgorod and a Mongolian contingent.
According to contemporary Russian chronicles, after hours of hand-to-hand fighting, Alexander ordered the left and right wings of his archers to enter the battle. The knights by this time were exhausted from the constant fighting and struggling with the slippery surface of the frozen lake. The Crusaders started to retreat in disarray deeper onto the ice, and the appearance of the fresh Russian cavalry made them run for their lives. When the knights attempted to rally themselves at the far side of the lake the thin ice started to collapse, under the weight of their heavy armour, and many knights drowned.
[CW: History has repeated itself for 800 years imo. Russia always wins in the end]
This entry was posted by Colleen, on
10.01.2008.
You can leave your response.
October 2, 2008 2:29 PM
or it could be argued that after 800 years, they are overdue for another conquest by the likes of another emerging power along it's borders (as by mongols/swedes before).