Day of Military Glory: Battle on the Ice. Victory on Lake Peipsi - Day of Military Glory of Russia

(Serov V.A. Battle on the Ice)

Although the event itself took place on April 5, according to the old style, i.e. April 12 - according to the new, 1242, but officially the holiday - the Day of Military Glory - is celebrated on April 18. This is the cost 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 12th-13th centuries, 7 days are added to the old style (and 13 days were added out of habit).

Battle on the Ice(German Schlacht auf dem Eise, lat. Prolium glaciale - « ice battle”), also the battle on Lake Peipus (German: Schlacht auf dem Peipussee) - a battle that took place on the ice of Lake Peipus on April 5, 1242 (Saturday) between Novgorod and Vladimir, led by Alexander Nevsky, on the one hand, and the army of the Livonian Order, in the composition of which in 1237 included the Order of the Sword (after the defeat at Saul), on the other hand.

The favorite tactic of the German knights was the offensive " pig”(as the Russians called this battle formation). It was a blunt wedge extended forward, in front and on the sides of which there was a knightly cavalry; a row of knights also stood behind, as if pushing the whole “ pig».
The tip of the wedge, which consisted of dense ranks of heavily armed knights, was supposed to break the enemy’s system in two, and the knechts were foot soldiers standing inside. pigs"- to complete the rout. Resist against the iron-clad pigs It was usually very difficult. In numerous battles with the peoples of the Baltic States, the knights more than once proved the lethal reliability of this tactic.

In the early spring of 1242, Alexander Nevsky put forward several reconnaissance detachments " into the German land”, near Derpt (Yuriev, Tartu) roads that he was already familiar with on a campaign with his father to the banks of the Emajõgi in 1234. One of the detachments, under the command of Domash Tverdislavich, collided with a knightly army. The detachment was defeated, but the surviving soldiers brought accurate information to the prince: the main forces of the Germans were moving towards Lake Pskov. It was then, apparently, that Prince Alexander decided to lure his enemy onto the melting lake ice.

Lake Pskov is connected to Lake Peipus (Estonian name Peipus) by a relatively small channel with banks covered with mixed forest. This is Uzmen, now Lake Teploe. The ice surface Uzmeni Alexander chose for the general battle. Approximately two kilometers away, the 15-meter dark-brown mass of the Raven Stone towered, a rock from which the possessions of the order on the other side were clearly visible, it was possible to follow the approach of enemy forces. It was also convenient to observe the progress of the battle from this height. Russian troops began to prepare for battle.
The most characteristic combat formation of the Russian troops was the three-regiment strong " forehead”of pawns and wings, where the cavalry squads stood.

(Scheme of the Battle of the Ice)

« Chelo"was to take the first, most powerful blow of the enemy, stop him, tie him up in battle, and then horse wings attacked from the flanks. Prince Alexander, of course, knew about this formation. But he knew, emphasizes the researcher V.V. Kargalov, also that victory can only be won if forehead» will withstand the crushing onslaught of the German "pig".

Alexander Nevsky had no confidence in this: the foot militias from the Novgorod volosts were poorly armed and trained. It was necessary to find opposition to the first, most dangerous blow of the knightly cavalry, and the young commander found it, boldly violating the traditional formation of the army. He concentrated the main forces on the flanks, ambushed his elite squad to bypass the knightly " pigs", and on foot " forehead"covered behind a high lake shore: even if the knights break through the foot formation in the center, they will have to stop in front of the steep. And then you can hit the mixed knightly army from the flanks and rear.
It should be noted that Alexander Nevsky made excellent use of other features of the theater of operations. The right flank of the Russian army was covered by Sigovitsa, where underground keys were beaten, which made the ice fragile and loose. If you apply a knightly " pig» a strong blow from the left and drive heavily armed knights there, the ice will not stand it.

This is how the army was built. Dark rows of pawns froze in the center, shield-to-shield, stretching their long spears forward. Archers lined up in front of them. On the flanks - horse squads. The cavalry squad of Prince Alexander hid in the forest, behind the left flank. The hour of decisive battle has come.

According to military historians, the vice-master of the Livonian Order brought ten to twelve thousand troops to the ice of Lake Peipsi, Alexander Nevsky had a little more: fifteen to seventeen thousand warriors, but it must be borne in mind that a significant part of his troops were foot militias of the Novgorod volost, inferior knights in arms and combat training. In any case, about any overwhelming superiority "The Russian army was out of the question (and the Livonian chroniclers claimed that there were sixty soldiers of Alexander Nevsky for one German knight!). The outcome of the battle was decided by the military art of the young Novgorod prince, the courage and steadfastness of ordinary Russians. voev».

The defeat of the Teutons was crushing. The foot kiehts were the first who could not stand it and fled, then the mounted knights. The warriors of Alexander Nevsky drove them five miles away. Another part of the knight's army was driven out onto the fragile ice of Sigovica. Riders clad in iron armor and horses also drowned. In total, in that battle, according to the chronicler, 500 knights and 50 " deliberate governors The prince took him prisoner and brought him to Novgorod. However, the modern researcher A.V. Shishov considers the figures indicated in the annals to be greatly underestimated and proves that in reality 4-5 times more knights died - it’s not for nothing that this battle went down in history precisely as “ carnage". The losses of the Russians, as before in the Battle of the Neva, were much smaller. And this fact - the fact of victory with relatively little bloodshed - also clearly testifies to the deep military gift of Prince Alexander.

(Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky)

Military historians, even through the centuries, do not cease to emphasize this high military leadership, with which victory was won in the Battle of Ice. Alexander Nevsky used many tactics for the first time. For example, writes V.V. Kargalov, " for the first time, the conditions of the terrain were fully used: the high bank, against which the Russian infantry formation was leaning, did not allow the Germans to build on the initial success after the breakthrough of the foot regiment. For the first time, the pursuit of a defeated enemy outside the battlefield was organized.: Russian governors did not do this before. The tactical encirclement of the entire German army, which completed the defeat of the enemy, was the only such case for the entire Middle Ages. This complex maneuver required skillful leadership of the battle and determination. Finally, for the first time, heavy knightly cavalry was defeated in a field battle by an army, mainly consisting of infantry. And the losses of the Germans turned out to be incredible for knightly wars. For example, in a very famous battle near Brumel (1119) between the British and the French, ... three knights were killed! »

The victory on Lake Peipus was of outstanding importance both for Russia and for many peoples historically united with it. The researcher points out: She saved them from a cruel foreign yoke. It was this victory that first put a limit to the predatory "onslaught on the East", which the German rulers carried out for several centuries. » [Pashuto V.T. Foreign policy of Ancient Russia. M., 1968. S. 297.], as well as the rigid expansion of the Roman Catholic Church, which had also been striving for world domination for centuries, was stopped.

From now on, wrote N.I. Kostomarov, the idea of ​​conquering the northern Russian lands, of enslaving them on a par with Livonia, which would subject them to the fate of the Baltic Slavs, left the Germans forever ". Although, over time, minor border conflicts resumed, but the order could no longer go beyond the limit set by Alexander Nevsky.

The peace treaty of 1243, signed between Novgorod and the Livonian (Teutonic) Order, recorded the official recognition of the Germans: “ That we have entered Vod, Luga, Plskov, Lotgol with a sword, we are retreating everything, and that we have captured your husbands, and we will change them: we will let yours in, and you will let ours go ". In other words, the order openly admitted its defeat in Russia, left the previously conquered territories and recognized the former Novgorodian jurisdiction over these territories - i.e. Pskov, Vodsk and Latgall lands. He also agreed to the exchange of prisoners and hostages.

In 1992, on the territory of the village of Kobylye Gorodishche, Gdov District, in a place as close as possible to the alleged site of the Battle on the Ice, near the Church of the Archangel Michael, a bronze monument to Alexander Nevsky and a wooden bow cross were erected.

(Monument to Alexander Nevsky, to the 750th anniversary of the Victory in the Battle of the Ice)

And in 1993, on Mount Sokolikha in Pskov, almost 100 km away from the real battlefield, a monument was erected to the squads of Alexander Nevsky. Initially, it was planned to create a monument on the island of Voronie, which would be geographically more accurate. The reason for this can be found in an interview with the organizer of the work on the creation of this monument, A.A. Seleznev:
http://culture.pskov.ru/ru/objects/object/43/publications/98

(Monument Battle on the Ice Mount Sokolikh (Pskov region))

Lord, through the prayers of the Holy Right-believing Grand Duke Alexander and others like him, who fell in the struggle for Russia and the Orthodox faith, have mercy and protect our country Russia from any disorder external and internal, from the invasion of foreign tribes and internecine warfare, from all enemies visible and invisible and the strength of the army create our weapons and irresistible and protect with Your Grace!

With love,
RB Dmitry

The battle on the ice is one of those battles in the history of the Russian state, which for many generations has been described by the authors of various historical textbooks and teaching aids, regardless of the system existing in the country and the course of leadership. At the same time, the battle on Lake Peipus, in which the squad of Prince Alexander celebrated the victory, which is noteworthy, is described in a similar vein by historians who are difficult to blame for liberalism, as by historiographers who gravitate towards a liberal display of historical events. However, there are those who are ready to bring their own "nuances" to the description of the course of the battle. Thank God, it does not reach the "newfangled" in certain circles nonsense in the style of the fact that the victory in the Battle of the Ice was won not by Russian squads, but by "ethnic Novgorodians and Vladimir-Suzdalians." It would seem that such nonsense, by definition, cannot appear in textbooks, but who could have imagined a few years ago that, for example, in Ukraine, the authorities would claim that Ukraine was the winner in World War II.

By the way, even now we have to deal with very original interpretations, in which, although it is stated that the squads of Alexander Nevsky celebrated the victory, but supposedly the German knights did not fall through the ice, and that all this is “artistic fiction of later years”. It, of course ... Modern "historians", 773 years after that event, "know better" whether ice cracking took place on Lake Peipsi under the German knights or not.

The battle on the ice of 1242 entered Russian historiography as one of the most notable battles by no means by accident. The main reason is not even so much that it was the Russian warriors who defeated the enemy, because there were many victories of Russian weapons in other battles, often not so actively covered in historical literature. The main reason is a truly brilliant tactical move and a strategic "gift" to the enemy, prepared by Alexander Yaroslavich. A clear battle order, the coherence of individual units of the Russian army, the use of intelligence, flank attacks, the tactics of linked supplies, knowledge of the terrain (including the locations of the so-called "sigovits" - a special type of polynya formed under the influence of groundwater movement in the main volume waters of Lake Peipsi), the courage of the soldiers and the talent of the young (20-year-old) prince as a commander - all this played a role in the victory.

V.A.Serov, "Battle on the Ice"

By the way, about the so-called sigovice. This name of the polynya on Lake Peipsi became relatively widely known after a group of experts (historians and archaeologists) from the northern capital worked at the battle site. One of the questions that the specialists faced was to find out the reason why the ice, the thickness of which on the lake in the XIII century in early April could exceed half a meter, cracked under the “knight dogs”. Under normal conditions, such a thickness of ice could easily withstand several hundred people dressed in armor. As it turned out, there are several places on Lake Peipus where polynyas can form even in those places around which the ice is very strong and thick. Polynyas got their name due to the fact that since ancient times it was through them that whitefish were caught. It is possible that the Russian soldiers knew about the locations of the sigovits and used their knowledge to force the enemy to retreat there. Historians say that this is just an assumption, but this assumption actually explains a lot about how the Crusaders could go under water with a fairly impressive thickness of ice.

Their adapted translation of the chronicle text:

And there was an evil slash, and a crack from breaking spears, and a sound from a sword cut, and the frozen lake moved. And there was no ice to be seen: it was all covered with blood.

One of the tactical moves of Alexander Svyatoslavich is connected with the fact that he did everything to, so to speak, misinform the enemy, who could not decide on the main force of the Russian army 773 years ago. The fact is that the Crusaders were unable to conduct a full-fledged reconnaissance on the ground, as they met detachments of Russian archers on their way. As a result, the knights did not receive information about the location of the Russian heavy cavalry, which ultimately made a significant contribution to the victory in the Battle of the Ice.

The advanced regiment of the troops of Alexander Yaroslavich with a fight dragged a German wedge (“boar's head”) deep into the Russian positions. The knights pushed the soldiers of the advanced regiment to another regiment, called the “chelo”. As a result, the German crusaders were squeezed on both sides by wedges of foot and horse soldiers, and the road ahead was blocked by chained carts, reinforced with stones. A blow from the flanks on the "pig" with a simultaneous attack by an ambush regiment destroyed the formation of the knights, sowed panic in their ranks. German knights thrown from their saddles turned into clumsy targets and died under blows from several sides at once.

Konstantin Simonov ("Battle on the Ice"):
And, retreating before the prince,
Throwing spears and shields
The Germans fell from their horses to the ground,
Lifting iron fingers.
The bay horses got excited,
From under the hooves they raised dust,
Bodies dragged through the snow
Stuck in narrow stirrups.

It is interesting that Konstantin Simonov wrote the conclusion of his poem years after the other chapters. And the words written by the poet in 1937 connect not only the era of Simonov with the era of Alexander Nevsky, but also give food for thought today:

Now, when at the school desk
"Mein Kampf" is crammed by students,
And Nazi fingers on the cards
Russia is divided into pieces,

We will remind them in order -
First a terrible day when
Seven miles Livonians without looking back
They ran away from the Chudskoye ice.

April 18 - Day of military glory of Russia - the day of the defeat of the German knights by the squads of Alexander Nevsky on Lake Peipsi.

April 18 is the day of military glory of Russia in honor of the victory of Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German knights on Lake Peipus. In history, this event is also known as the Battle of the Ice.

The outstanding military leader and politician of that time, Alexander Yaroslavich, nicknamed Nevsky, led the Russian regiments to victory. Those were turbulent times. The Mongol-Tatars, the Teutonic and Livonian knightly orders, and the Swedes also attacked Russia. But Alexander Yaroslavich coped with all the tasks.

In 1240, about a hundred Swedish ships arrived on the banks of the Neva and set up camp there. Alexander, having gathered an army, without hesitation attacked the Swedish camp and defeated it. Most of the Swedes were destroyed, the other part was released. The local population that supported the Swedes was destroyed. For this battle, Alexander received the nickname Nevsky.
In 1242, part of the Russian lands was captured by the knights, and the main one was Pskov, the original Russian city. Alexander called for help his brother Andrei Yaroslavich, who ruled Suzdal. While the Suzdal troops went to the rescue, Alexander again defeated the knights with a swift blow and liberated Pskov and other cities. But the Order gathered an army and the decisive battle was to take place on the ice of Lake Peipus. Alexander positioned his troops so that the knights could be attacked from the flanks. The knights lined up in a familiar wedge-shaped column. Their blow to the foot Russian center was strong and broke it, but the flank blows of Alexander's cavalry overturned the knights and put them to flight. The Order suffered very heavy losses and practically no longer threatened the western borders of Russia. An agreement was signed under which the Order pledged to no longer attack Russia. The borders established under this treaty stood for hundreds of years.

Battle on the Ice / Image: vpodarok.su

On April 18, our country celebrates the Day of Military Glory of Russia - Victory Day of Russian soldiers of Prince Alexander Nevsky over German knights on Lake Peipsi(Battle on the Ice, 1242). The holiday was established by Federal Law No. 32-FZ of March 13, 1995 "On the days of military glory and memorable dates in Russia."

It is worth noting here that although the event itself took place on April 5 according to the old style, i.e. April 12 - according to the new, 1242, but officially the holiday - the Day of Military Glory - is celebrated on April 18. This is the cost 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 12th-13th centuries, 7 days are added to the old style (and 13 days were added out of habit).

In 1240, the knights of the Livonian Order captured Pskov and Koporye. Arriving in Novgorod in 1241, Prince Alexander Nevsky immediately began retaliatory actions. Taking advantage of the difficulties of the Order, which was then diverted to fight the Mongols, Alexander Nevsky marched on Koporye, took it by storm and killed most of the garrison. Some of the knights and mercenaries from the local population were taken prisoner, but released, and the traitors from among the Chud were hanged.

By the beginning of 1242, Alexander waited for his brother Andrei Yaroslavich with the "grassroots" troops of the Suzdal principality. When the "grassroots" army was still on the way, Alexander with the Novgorod forces marched near Pskov and surrounded him. The order did not have time to quickly gather reinforcements and send them to the besieged. Pskov was taken, the garrison was killed, and the order's governors in chains were sent to Novgorod.

Pictures: ispu.ru

According to chronicles, the Battle of the Ice began at sunrise near Voronei Kamen on Uzmen. The traditional scheme of the battle is as follows. The German cavalry column attacked the foot center of the Russian army, inflicted heavy losses on it, however, was flanked by the prince's cavalry and fled.

400 German soldiers fell on the ice of Lake Peipsi (twenty of them were real "brothers"-knights), 90 Germans (of which 6 were "brothers") were captured by the Russians. Sources testify that the prisoners walked near their horses during the joyful entry of Prince Alexander into Pskov.

Monument at the site of the battle / Photo: aikitime.ru

Day of military glory H Russia

On April 18, 1242 (5th according to the old style), the Russian troops of Prince Alexander Nevsky utterly defeated the German knights on Lake Peipsi. In honor of this victory, Day of military glory of Russia.

At the beginning of the XIII century, the Tatar invasion passed the northwestern lands of Russia, but Novgorod found other enemies, and the young Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich became famous for fighting them. Having defeated the Swedes in 1240, who claimed for the Finnish coast, he received the nickname Nevsky.

However, Pskov and Novgorod began to be threatened by the Livonian Order created in the Eastern Baltic by the German knights. The Germans crossed the Velikaya River, captured Pskov, and a little later invaded the Novgorod lands. Novgorodians turned for help to the great prince of Vladimir Yaroslav. He sent armed detachments to Novgorod, led by his sons Andrei and Alexander (Nevsky).
The Novgorod army, led by Alexander Nevsky, liberated Koporye and the Vodsk land, occupied by the knights, and captured Pskov by storm. Alexander learned that the knights sent insignificant forces to Izborsk, and their main forces were moving straight to Lake Pskov. There he sent his army. The armies of the opponents converged on the shores of Lake Peipus at the Voronye stone and the Uzmen tract.
It was here that on April 5 (18), 1242, the battle took place, which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice. The German army included 10-12 thousand people, Alexander Nevsky had an army of 15-17 thousand.

At dawn, the knights lined up in a “wedge” and moved against the Russians along the flimsy spring ice of the lake. By that time, Alexander had lined up the Novgorodians with a “heel”, the rear of which rested on the steep, steep eastern shore of the lake. Equestrian squads were located on the flanks of the Russians, infantry armed with spears lined up at the base of the "heel", and archers were in front. And the princely squad was hidden in ambush.
The German knights were met with a cloud of arrows, because the flanks of the "wedge" were forced to press closer to the center. Nevertheless, the Germans managed to break through the center of the battle order of the Novgorodians. Part of the Russian infantry even fled.
However, the knights stumbled upon the steep shore of the lake, their inactive formation was mixed up and could not build on their success. Meanwhile, the flank squads of the Novgorodians squeezed, like ticks, the German "pig" from the flanks. Wasting no time, Alexander with his retinue struck from the rear. The Russian infantry pulled the knights off their horses with hooks and destroyed them. The Germans could not stand the tension of the battle and rushed to flee. For seven kilometers, Alexander's army pursued the fugitives. The ice broke under the knights, many of them drowned, many were taken prisoner.
The victory of the Russian troops over the "dog-knights" is of great historical importance. The Order asked for peace. Peace was concluded on terms dictated by the Russians. Order ambassadors solemnly renounced all encroachments on Russian lands, which were temporarily captured by the order. The movement of Western invaders to Russia was stopped. The western borders of Russia, established after the Battle of the Ice, held out for centuries.

The battle on the ice also went down in history as a remarkable example of military tactics and strategy. Skillful formation of a battle order, a clear organization of the interaction of its individual parts, especially infantry and cavalry, constant reconnaissance and taking into account the weaknesses of the enemy in organizing the battle, the correct choice of place and time, good organization of tactical pursuit, the destruction of most of the superior enemy - all this was then determined by the Russian military art as advanced in the world.