In what year did the ice battle take place? Everything impossible is possible! In philately and on coins

Many books and articles have been written about the famous battle on the ice of Lake Peipus in April 1242, but it itself has not been fully studied - and our information about it is replete with blank spots...

At the beginning of 1242, German Teutonic knights captured Pskov and advanced towards Novgorod. On Saturday, April 5, at dawn, a Russian squad led by Novgorod prince Alexander Nevsky, met the crusaders on the ice of Lake Peipus, at the Raven Stone.

Alexander skillfully surrounded the knights, built in a wedge, from the flanks, and with a blow from an ambush regiment, he encircled them. The Battle of the Ice, famous in Russian history, began. “And there was an evil slaughter, and a crackling sound from the breaking of spears, and a sound from the cutting of a sword, and the frozen lake moved. And there was no ice visible: it was all covered in blood...” The chronicle reports that the ice cover could not withstand the retreating heavily armed knights and failed. Under the weight of their armor, the enemy warriors quickly sank, choking in the icy water.

Some circumstances of the battle remained a real “blank spot” for researchers. Where does truth end and fiction begin? Why did the ice collapse under the feet of the knights and withstand the weight of the Russian army? How could the knights fall through the ice if its thickness near the shores of Lake Peipus reaches a meter in early April? Where did the legendary battle take place?

The domestic chronicles (Novgorod, Pskov, Suzdal, Rostov, Laurentian, etc.) and the “Elder Livonian Rhymed Chronicle” describe in detail both the events preceding the battle and the battle itself. Its landmarks are indicated: “On Lake Peipsi, at the Uzmen tract, at the Crow Stone.” Local legends specify that the warriors fought just outside the village of Samolva. The chronicle miniature drawing depicts the confrontation between the parties before the battle, and defensive ramparts, stone and other buildings are shown in the background. In the ancient chronicles there is no mention of Voronii Island (or any other island) near the site of the battle. They talk about fighting on land, and mention ice only in the final part of the battle.

In search of answers to numerous questions from researchers, Leningrad archaeologists led by military historian Georgy Karaev were the first to go to the shores of Lake Peipsi in the late 50s of the 20th century. Scientists were going to recreate the events of more than seven hundred years ago.

At first, chance helped. Once, talking with fishermen, Karaev asked why they called the section of the lake near Cape Sigovets a “cursed place.” The fishermen explained: in this place to the very severe frosts What remains is the polynya, “whitefish,” because whitefish have been caught in it for a long time. In cold weather, of course, even the “sigovitsa” will be caught in ice, but it is not durable: a person will go there and disappear...

So it's no coincidence southern part lakes local residents called Warm Lake. Perhaps this is where the crusaders drowned? Here is the answer: the bottom of the lake in the Sigovits area is replete with groundwater outlets that prevent the formation of a durable ice cover.

Archaeologists have established that the waters of Lake Peipus are gradually advancing on the shores, this is the result of a slow tectonic process. Many ancient villages were flooded, and their inhabitants moved to other, higher shores. The lake level is rising at a rate of 4 millimeters per year. Consequently, since the time of the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky, the water in the lake has risen by a good three meters!

G.N. Karaev removed depths from the lake map less than three meters, and the map is “younger” by seven hundred years. This card suggested: the most bottleneck In ancient times, the lake was located right next to “Sigovitsy.” This is how the chronicle “Uzmen” received an exact reference, a name that does not exist on modern map lakes.

The most difficult thing was to determine the location of the “Crow Stone”, because on the map of the lake there are more than a dozen Crow stones, rocks and islands. Karaev's divers examined Raven Island near Uzmen and discovered that it was nothing more than the top of a huge sheer underwater cliff. A stone shaft was unexpectedly discovered next to it. Scientists decided that the name “Raven Stone” in ancient times referred not only to the rock, but also to a fairly strong border fortification. It became clear: the battle began here on that distant April morning.

The expedition members came to the conclusion that the Raven Stone several centuries ago was a high fifteen-meter hill with steep slopes; it was visible from afar and served as a good landmark. But time and waves did their job: the once high hill with steep slopes disappeared under water.

Researchers also tried to explain why the fleeing knights fell through the ice and drowned. In fact, at the beginning of April, when the battle took place, the ice on the lake was still quite thick and strong. But the secret was that not far from the Crow Stone they beat from the bottom of the lake warm springs, forming “sigoviches”, so the ice here is less durable than in other places. Previously, when the water level was lower, underwater springs undoubtedly hit directly on the ice cover. The Russians, of course, knew about this and avoided dangerous places, and the enemy ran straight.

So this is the solution to the riddle! But if it is true that in this place the icy abyss swallowed up an entire army of knights, then somewhere here his trace must be hidden. Archaeologists set themselves the task of finding this last piece of evidence, but current circumstances prevented their achievement. ultimate goal. It was not possible to find the burial places of the soldiers who died in the Battle of the Ice. This is clearly stated in the report of the complex expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences. And soon allegations appeared that in ancient times the dead were taken with them for burial in their homeland, therefore, they say, their remains cannot be found.

A few years ago, a new generation of search engines - a group of Moscow amateur enthusiasts ancient history Rus' again tried to resolve the centuries-old mystery. She had to find burials hidden in the ground related to the Battle of the Ice on a large territory of the Gdovsky district of the Pskov region.

Research has shown that in those distant times in the area south of the now existing village of Kozlovo there was some kind of fortified outpost of the Novgorodians. It was here that Prince Alexander Nevsky went to join the detachment of Andrei Yaroslavich, hidden in an ambush. At a critical moment in the battle, an ambush regiment could go behind the knights' rear, surround them and ensure victory. The area here is relatively flat. Nevsky’s troops were protected on the northwestern side by the “sigovits” of Lake Peipsi, and on the eastern side by the wooded part where the Novgorodians settled in the fortified town.

On Lake Peipsi, scientists were going to recreate events that took place more than seven hundred years ago.

The knights advanced from the southern side (from the village of Tabory). Not knowing about the Novgorod reinforcements and feeling their military superiority in strength, they, without hesitation, rushed into battle, falling into the “nets” that had been placed. From this it can be seen that the battle itself took place on land, not far from the shore of the lake. By the end of the battle, the knightly army was pushed back onto the spring ice of Zhelchinskaya Bay, where many of them died. Their remains and weapons are still at the bottom of this bay.

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, and after them domestic historians they say that about five hundred knights were killed, and the Chuds 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 collect “a lot 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 “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 value for Pskov and Novgorod, delaying the onslaught of three serious enemies from the west - at the very time when the rest of Rus' was suffering from princely strife and consequences Tatar conquest big losses. 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." I agree with this opinion Russian professor I. N. Danilevsky. 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 events 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

Bronze worship cross cast in St. Petersburg with funds from 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 carried out to places feats of arms squads of Alexander Nevsky. 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 site of the Battle of the Ice - a monument in honor of the 750th anniversary of the famous battle on Lake Peipus, installed as close as possible to the supposed site of the battle, in the village of Kobylye Gorodishche, Gdov district, Pskov region.

The Battle of the Ice is one of the largest military clashes of the 13th century. During the period when Rus' was weakened from the east by Mongol raids, from the west the threat came from Livonian Order. The knights captured the fortresses and, as well as, got as close as possible to. In 1241, the Novgorodians turned to Prince Alexander Nevsky. From there the prince went to Novgorod, and then marched with an army to Koporye, liberating the fortress and destroying the garrison. In March 1242, having united with the troops of his younger brother- Prince of Vladimir and Suzdal Andrey Yaroslavich, Alexander marched to Pskov and freed him. Then the knights retreated to Dorpat (the modern Estonian city of Tartu). Alexander committed unsuccessful attempt attacks on the Order's possessions, after which the prince's troops retreated to the ice of Lake Peipsi.

The decisive battle took place on April 5, 1242. Livonian army numbered about 10-15 thousand soldiers, the forces of the Novgorodians and allies exceeded the German ones and numbered about 15-17 thousand soldiers. During the battle, the knights initially broke through to the center of the Russian defense, but were later surrounded and defeated. The remaining Livonian forces retreated, the Novgorodians pursued them for about 7 versts. The losses of the knights amounted to about 400 killed and 50 captured. Novgorodians lost from 600 to 800 killed (in various historical sources casualty figures on both sides vary greatly).

The significance of the victory on Lake Peipsi has not yet been fully determined. Some historians (mostly Western) believe that its importance is greatly exaggerated, and the threat from the west was insignificant compared to Mongol invasion from the east. Others believe that it was the expansion of the Catholic Church that posed the main threat to Orthodox Rus', and Alexander Nevsky is traditionally called one of the main defenders of Russian Orthodoxy.

For a long time, historians were unable to accurately determine the location of the battle. Research was complicated by the variability of the hydrography of Lake Peipsi. There is still no clear archaeological evidence (any finds related to the past major battle). However, it is believed that the most likely location was Tyoploye Lake, the narrowest point between Lake Peipus and Lake Pskov, near Voroniy Island (in legend, the island or “Raven Stone” is mentioned as the place from where Alexander Nevsky watched the battle progress).

In 1992, in the village of Kobylye Gorodishche, which is the closest point to the supposed site of the battle, a monument to Alexander Nevsky and a wooden cross were unveiled nearby, which in 2006 was replaced by a bronze one cast in .

In 1993, not far from Pskov, it was opened, dedicated to victory in the Battle of the Ice. WITH historical point view - this position of the monument is not justified, since it is located 100 km away. from the battle site. But from a tourist point of view, the decision is quite successful, since the monument is located next to Pskov, as a result of which it immediately became one of the main attractions.

One of the brightest pages of Russian history, which has excited the imagination of boys for many centuries and interests historians, is the Battle of the Ice or the Battle of Lake Peipsi. In this battle, Russian troops from two cities, Novgorod and Vladimir, under the leadership of a young man who even then bore the nickname Nevsky, defeated the troops of the Livonian Order.

What year was the ice battle? occurred on April 5, 1242. It was decisive battle in a war with the forces of the order, who, under the pretext of spreading their faith, were extracting new lands for themselves. By the way, this war is often spoken of as a war with the Germans, however, this is not entirely true. located in the Baltic states. The army itself included its retinue, their Danish vassals and militiamen from the Chud tribe, the ancestors of modern Estonians. And the word “German” in those days was used to describe those who did not speak Russian.

The war, which ended on the ice of Lake Peipsi, began in 1240, and at first the advantage was in favor of the Livonians: they captured cities such as Pskov and Izhorsk. After this, the invaders began to seize the Novgorod lands. They did not reach Novgorod itself some 30 km. It must be said that by that time Alexander Yaroslavovich ruled in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, where he was forced to leave Novgorod. At the end of 40, the residents of the city called the prince back, and he, regardless of old grievances, led the Novgorod army.

Already in 1241 he recaptured from the Livonians most of Novgorod lands, as well as Pskov. In the spring of 1242, he left the stronghold of the forces of the Livonian Order, the city of Dorpat. reconnaissance squad. 18 versts from the starting point they met with a detachment of Russians. This was a small detachment that marched ahead of the main forces of Prince Alexander Nevsky. Due to the easy victory, the knights of the order were inclined to believe that the main forces could win just as easily. That is why they decided to give a decisive battle.

The entire army of the order, led by the master himself, came out to meet Nevsky. They met with the forces of the Novgorodians on Lake Peipsi. The chronicles mention that the Battle of the Ice took place near the Crow Stone, however, historians cannot determine exactly where it happened. There is a version that the battle took place near the island, which to this day is called Vorony. Others believe that the Crow Stone was the name of a small rock, which now, under the influence of wind and water, has turned into sandstone. And some historians, based on the Prussian Chronicles, which say that the killed knights fell into the grass, conclude that the battle actually took place near the shore, so to speak, in the reeds.

The knights, as usual, lined up like a pig. This name was given to a battle formation in which all weak troops were placed in the middle, and cavalry covered them from the front and flanks. Nevsky met his opponents by lining up his weakest troops, namely the infantry, in a battle formation called heels. The wars were lined up like a Roman V, with the notch facing forward. Enemy Wars entered this recess and immediately found themselves between two lines of opponents.

Thus, Alexander Yaroslavovich forced a long battle on the knights, instead of their usual victorious march through enemy troops. The invaders, locked in a battle with infantry, were attacked from the flanks by more heavily armed troops on the left and right hand. This turn of events was completely unexpected for them, and in confusion they began to retreat, and after a while they simply ran away shamefully. At this moment, a cavalry ambush regiment entered the battle.

The Russians drove their enemy through everything. It is believed that it was at this moment that part of the enemy army went under the ice. It is widely believed that this happened due to the heavier weapons of the knights of the order. To be fair, it is worth saying that this is not the case at all. The heavy plate armor of knights was invented only a few centuries later. And in the 13th century, their weapons were no different from the weapons of a princely Russian warrior: helmet, chain mail, breastplate, shoulder pads, greaves and bracers. And not everyone had such equipment. The knights fell through the ice for a completely different reason. Presumably Nevsky drove them into that part of the lake where, due to various features the ice was not as strong as in other places.

There are other versions. Some facts, namely that the record of drowned knights appears only in chronicles starting from the 14th century, and in those that were compiled in hot pursuit there is not a word about this, and that no traces of the knights of the Livonian Order suggest that this is only beautiful legend which has nothing to do with reality.

Be that as it may, the Battle of the Ice ended in the complete defeat of the order. Only those who brought up the rear were saved, that is, the master himself and some of his associates. Subsequently, peace was concluded on conditions extremely favorable to Rus'. The invaders renounced all claims to the conquered cities and ceased hostilities. The borders established in those days remained relevant for several centuries.

Thus, it is clear that the Battle of the Ice of 1242 proved the superiority of Russian troops, as well as Russian combat technology, tactics and strategy over European ones.