The battle on the shores of Lake Peipus, in 1242, was a small-scale conflict that would have had little significance if its political outcome had not been so catalytic. There the elite few of the West fought a much larger army of the East and were defeated by the enemy's numbers, environment and tactics.
The crusade against the "schismatic" Russians was decided due to the weakening of the Russian cities of Pskov and Novgorod both by the Mongol invasion and by the internal dissension that existed. The crusade was also supported by Pope Gregory IX with the excuse that the Russians were not promoting the Christianization of their pagan neighbors.
In 1238 an envoy of the pope effected an understanding between the Teutonic knights and the king of Denmark, leaving the knights free from any distraction to act against the Russians. The crusade was also desired by the remaining knights of the Livonian Order.
Vultures on the corpse
With the "blessing" of the pope, Swedes, Danes and Germans started operations. Each of the participants had, in fact, their own purposes. The Danes, on the other hand, wished to secure northern Estonia as a possession. And the Swedes wanted to remove the Russian influence from Finland.
The Germans and their allies wanted to put Pskov and the rich Novgorod under their control, following the strategy of the Brotherhood of the Sword, counting also on the pro-Western circles within the two cities.
The Mongol attack on Russia was considered a godsend for the crusaders. At the same time the deposed ruler of Pskov Mstislavich reinforced the Swedes. However, not everyone was happy. The head of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia denied both his participation and the sending of supplies, men, money and provisions.
Thus the crusaders relied on the same forces and moved first with the Swedes who attempted to cut off Novgorod from the river lines, cutting off its trade. The Swedish forces included, in addition to the Swedes, Norwegians and Finns, but also a few Teutonic knights.
The Swedes reached the south bank of the Neva River where they camped. The threat to Novgorod was obvious, and the inhabitants sought the help of Prince Alexander Nevsky.
And indeed he responded to the invitation and, gathering his forces, attacked the unsuspecting Swedes by surprise, overrunning their camp and putting the survivors to disorderly flight. For this victory he earned the nickname Nevsky (of the Neva).
Instead the crusader attack from the direction of Pskov was more successful as, immediately after his victory, the ignorant people of Novgorod drove Alexander out of their city as they did not want to continue the war as he proposed. The expulsion of Alexander was probably the result of the pro-Western actions of the city. Alexander with his family and his guards retreated south.
However, the people of Novgorod realized their mistake when, in the winter of 1240-41, the crusader forces invaded their lands and began to plunder everything in front of them. The crusaders captured the city of Tesov and reached a distance of 30 km from Novgorod.
Another force of crusaders - Teutons, Danes and Estonians - occupied the area of Kaporigie, southwest of today's Ag. Petroupolis, where they also erected a strong castle to ensure control there. With this castle as a base, the crusaders launched devastating raids against the Russian peasants, thus stopping the cultivation of the land and terrorizing Novgorod.
At the same time, a third peak of them moved south of Lake Pepys. The crusaders, as reported by the Livonian Chronicle, attacked and stormed the castle of Izborsk, about 30 km west of Pskov, destroying the garrison.
This event terrified the people of Novgorod who, knowing that they could not cope alone, begged, this time, Alexander to return and help them. However, the crusaders in question, probably under Andreas von Felben, with the participation of two Danish princes and the deposed Russian prince of Pskov, Yaroslav, soon found themselves confronted by the forces of the city.
The people of Pskov could not allow Izborsk to be occupied by the crusaders as this would mean that the enemy would have an excellent and secure base of operations next to them.
So they decided to attempt its recapture by sending for this purpose their best equipped warriors, according to the Livonian Chronicle. The same source states, however, that the crusaders defeated the Russians who fled, leaving behind the 800 dead. On the contrary, the Chronicle of Pskov states that the total number of men who attacked the crusaders was 600 and that not all of them were killed.
However, regardless of the exact number of Russian dead, the crusaders had in fact achieved a particularly important victory which, combined with the capture of Izborsk, opened the way to Pskov, first, and Novgorod, in the second year. After their victory the crusaders camped outside the walls of Pskov looting everything, not even respecting monasteries and holy relics, liturgical books and icons. Many of the villages around the city were also destroyed.
After that the pro-western part of the city that also supported Prince Yaroslav, led by the mayor of the city Tverdilo Ivankovic, opened the gates to the crusaders. But many prominent members of the opposing faction in the city managed to escape and took refuge in Novgorod.
In the meantime the crusaders left a small garrison at Pskov led by two Teutonic knights. However, Ivankovic's forces were colluding with them. Thus the crusaders considered that the occupation of Pskov was assured and with the bulk of their forces they advanced towards Novgorod, plundering on the way.
The total strength of the crusaders does not seem to have exceeded 1,300 men. But the discord among the Russians and their inability to line up strong forces allowed even such a limited force to prevail due to the war experience of its men. In the meantime, however, two events occurred that had a relevant impact on the developments.
The first was the death of the Danish king Valdemar and the consequent departure of his two sons from the crusader camp. The second was the new invasion of the Mongols who, this time, reached Poland. Thus there were voices in the crusading camp calling for an end to the operations against the Russians and a joint action against the Mongols. Unfortunately they were not listened to.
"Mother" Russia strikes back
And Alexander Nevsky, however, had no intention of allying with the crusading invaders. Having reached an understanding with the Mongols he had secured his rear and was able to concentrate his forces against the hostile adversaries.
Upon his arrival in Novgorod, Alexander developed great activity. His first action was to arrest and hang many of his opponents and pro-Westerners in the city.
Soon after, having secured control of the great city, he moved with his personal army to Koporiye in September 1241. Alexander captured the castle that the crusaders had built there. Again he hanged many of the Estonians who had collaborated with the crusaders. However, he did not mind the German and Danish prisoners and even released several of them.
Alexander was also careful to move only within the borders of the Novgorod state. These two moves can be interpreted as a message to the crusaders that his goal was only the defense of Novgorod and not aggressive operations against them so that the two sides might reach a peace agreement.
However, the crusaders probably did not correctly assess either his intentions or his ability to move lightning fast with his Druzina, his elite warriors. They were also not informed that Alexander was now reinforced by his brother Andrei and his own guards. Thus the crusaders did not take care to strengthen their forces in Pskov.
Alexander and Andrei, however, reinforced by men from Novgorod, although it was still winter, suddenly moved towards Pskov. Pskov was easily recaptured, almost without a fight, as, in the end, only the few Germans were left to fight.
The Russian allies laid down their arms having heard that Alexander did not hesitate to send to the gallows those he considered traitors. The two Teutonic knights leading the guard were captured. Thus, with just three moves on the great chessboard of northwestern Russia, Alexander had turned the tide in early 1242.
The Russian leader after his successes seems to have changed his strategy and decided to continue operations in Livonia by invading the enemy-controlled Livonian territories. So he did, and together with his brother he moved along the river Velikaya, which is fed by Lake Peypus, bypassing Izborsk and invading into Estonia.
In this operation it is considered possible that Alexander also used Mongol or Turkic light horse archers for the first time in his conflict with the crusaders. The Russian forces savagely looted the area in revenge for the similar looting of the crusaders.
However, all was not well for the Russians as a detachment commanded by Domas Tverdislavich was defeated south of Dorpat and its leader was killed. At the same time, as the Livonian Chronicle reports, the Teutonic Knights began to gather forces to face the Russian invasion. However, the forces gathered were small.
Those of Tverdislavich's men who were rescued joined the forces of Alexander, who having sent scouts knew that Bishop Herman of Dorpat was gathering forces to attack him. But the crusaders' forces were very small and worst of all they included very few Teutonic knights.
The bulk of the cavalry consisted of followers and knights vassals of the king of Denmark. Even the "Teutons" who participated were actually former members of the Livonian Order and were considered inferior in training, equipment and morale to the regular members of the order.
Alexander, unable to attack the well-fortified Dorpat and fearing that he might be trapped between the city and the crusader forces, decided to retreat to the East by following the route through Lake Peipus.
In the purgatory of the frozen lake
Lake Peypus is the 5th largest lake in Europe and its maximum depth reaches 15 m. The lake is divided into three sections with distinct names each. The northern and largest one is called Lake Peypus. The southern part is known as Lake Pskov.
Between these sections, the west bank approaches the east creating a narrow water channel known as Lake Teploe. At this point the lake has a maximum depth of only 2 m. At that point there are two land corridors that cross it almost horizontally. North of the straits there was another corridor from which the lake could be crossed by land.
At the time the battle took place, however, the lake was frozen. However, the surface of the lake is not smooth. Due to the strong winds the snow forms hills which then freeze. At the beginning of spring the ice on the lake is 20-50 cm thick, allowing the movement of pedestrians or individual horsemen, but not many and even armored horsemen.
Alexander's army, as mentioned, had moved during his invasion of enemy territory south of the lake from Pskov. But after the defeat of Domas Tverdislavich, Nievsky moved northeast and passed east of the lake through the central passes. It has not been recorded from where exactly the Russian force crossed the lake, but the most likely point is considered to be the passage to the nearby present-day village of Mechikoorma.
There is even less information about the movements of Bishop Herman and his crusaders. The crusaders had set out in pursuit of the Russians from Dorpat. After defeating Tverdislavich they would most likely turn directly East following the retreating Russians.
It is likely that the crusaders crossed the frozen lake further north than the pass used by Nevsky in order to outflank the Russian forces and strike them from the rear. Another possibility was that they had passed through the island of Piirissaar, at the southern end of Lake Peipus.
However, Alexander was apparently aware of enemy movements by using his agile light cavalry as scouts.
So instead of moving east and towards Novgorod, as the crusaders expected, he moved north, towards the southern end of Lake Peipus, waiting for the enemy. The Russians camped at a site known as Korakos Rock.
Although the exact location of the rock in question cannot be determined, it is generally believed by Russian and Estonian historians to have been south of the island of Piirisaar, on the eastern shore of the lake. There the terrain favored the Russians as it did not allow freedom of action for the heavy cavalry of the opponents.
The Chronicle of Novgorod says about it:"Seeing Prince Alexander and the men of Novgorod in pursuit of them he ordered his forces to the lake in Uzmen at the place of rock of Korakos." The Russians deployed on the eastern shore of the lake, treading on solid ground, leaving their opponents the difficult task of advancing on the frozen lake and the small islands that existed there.
The battle
Information about the battle is confusing. There are three main sources of information about this, two Russian and one from the other side. From the few fragments of information that these sources convey, however, basic conclusions can be drawn about the conduct of the battle.
The Chronicle of Novgorod states:“An army of Germans and Estonians came upon them fighting in a wedge formation. And a mighty battle took place with the sound of broken spears and swords, and the ice was not seen from the blood.'
On the other hand the Livonian Chronicle writes:"They (the crusaders) decided to attack the Russians who had many archers and attacked the king's (Nevsky's) men."
Another Russian source, The Life of Alexander Nevsky, states:"It was Sunday and at dawn the two armies met and there was incredible slaughter and spears broke and swords crossed as they moved on the frozen water and you could not see the ice as they were covered by blood".
The Livonian Chronicle makes no distinction between Russian foot archers and light horse archers. The latter were mainly on the flanks of the friendly army, using their agility to outmaneuver the enemy or overwhelm him with continuous archery from a short distance.
The sources do not enlighten us enough about the plans, arrangement and composition of the opposing armies. However, it is estimated that the crusaders lined up between 1,800 and 2,600 men with the first number being the most likely. Russian forces are estimated at 5,000-6,000 men again with the first figure being closer to reality.
Other sources report the presence of 100 Teutonic knights, another 800 German and Danish knights and followers, 300 Danes, 400 Germans and 1,000 Estonian infantry. The same sources for the Russian force state that it consisted of 1,000 Druzina men, about 1,000 Novgorod infantry satellites, 1,400 more infantry, Finnish and Russian, and 600 horse archers.
The crusaders most likely lined up with the knights' heavy cavalry in the center or on the right flank in a wedge formation, possibly supported by lighter-armed followers.
Possibly the lesser knights, mainly the vassals of the king of Denmark with their followers lined up on the left flank or left of the wedge of Teutonic-Libonian knights, forming a second wedge. Το πεζικό τάχθηκε στο κέντρο, πιθανώς έχοντας το ιππικό μπροστά του με σκοπό να εκμεταλλευτεί τα ρήγματα που η επέλασή του θα άνοιγε στη ρωσική γραμμή.
Όσον αφορά τη ρωσική διάταξη τίποτα δεν είναι γνωστό. Ο γνωστός Βρετανός ιστορικός Ντέιβιντ Νίκολ υποστηρίζει ότι οι ελαφροί ιπποτοξότες της ρωσικής δύναμης τάχθηκαν στο ρωσικό δεξιό με σκοπό να εξουδετερώσουν με υπερκερωτικό ελιγμό την αριστερή πτέρυγα των σταυροφόρων.
Αν και η άποψη αυτή δεν μπορεί να τεκμηριωθεί από πουθενά, εντούτοις δεν στερείται λογικής. Άλλοι ιστορικοί πάντως υποστηρίζουν ότι οι ιπποτοξότες τάχθηκαν στο ρωσικό αριστερό.
Σε κάθε περίπτωση η μάχη εξελίχθηκε σε σύντομο χρόνο. Οι ιπποτοξότες του Αλεξάνδρου εξουδετέρωσαν ή τουλάχιστον αδρανοποίησαν το απέναντί τους αντίπαλο ιππικό με ευκολία καθώς οι Σκανδιναβοί σταυροφόροι δεν είχαν εμπειρία στην αντιμετώπισή τους.
Την ίδια ώρα πάντως η σφήνα των Τευτόνων και Λιβονών ιπποτών επέπεσε κατά της ρωσικής γραμμής στην ανατολική όχθη της λίμνης χωρίς όμως να τη διασπάσει καθώς οι Ρώσοι υπερείχαν αριθμητικά και αναπλήρωναν τις απώλειες των πρώτων τους ζυγών.
Οι ιππότες προσπάθησαν τότε να εντοπίσουν και να σκοτώσουν τον Νιέφσκι ώστε να κλονιστεί το ηθικό των ανδρών του. Ούτε στην επιδίωξή τους αυτή ήταν ευτυχείς. Στη φάση αυτή φαίνεται πως οι Εσθονοί πεζοί, βλέποντας τον ρωσικό όγκο και το ιππικό τους να μην μπορεί να διασπάσει τις ρωσικές γραμμές τράπηκαν σε φυγή εγκαταλείποντας το πεδίο.
Έτσι απέμειναν να μάχονται περί τους 800 σταυροφόρους ιππείς έναντι των τουλάχιστον εξαπλάσιων, πλέον, Ρώσων. Τότε ο Αλέξανδρος έριξε στη μάχη τους επίλεκτους ιππείς του περικυκλώνοντας, σχεδόν, τους αντιπάλους ιππείς. Η μάχη είχε κριθεί.
Απώλειες
Ο Βίος του Αλεξάνδρου Νιέφσκι αναφέρει πως «με τη βοήθεια του Θεού αυτός (ο Αλέξανδρος) τους νίκησε και ο εχθρός τράπηκε σε φυγή. Αυτός τους καταδίωξε και δεν υπήρχε μέρος να καταφύγουν».
Το Λιβονικό Χρονικό από την πλευρά του αναφέρει πως ο «στρατός (των σταυροφόρων) περικυκλώθηκε εντελώς καθώς οι Ρώσοι είχαν τόσους πολλούς άνδρες και υπήρχαν 60 άνδρες για κάθε Γερμανό ιππότη. Και έγινε μεγάλη σφαγή των Νιέμσκι (Γερμανών και Δανών) και των Τσουντ (Εσθονών). Ο Θεός βοήθησε τον πρίγκιπα Αλέξανδρο», αναφέρει το Χρονικό του Νόβγκοροντ.
Η υποχώρηση των Εσθονών καταγράφεται από όλες τις πηγές. Το Χρονικό του Νόβγκοροντ αναφέρει πως Γερμανοί και Δανοί σκοτώθηκαν πολεμώντας ή αιχμαλωτίσθηκαν, ενώ οι Εσθονοί τράπηκαν σε φυγή.
«Καταδιώχθηκαν και σφαγιάστηκαν στον πάγο για επτά βέρστια (περί τα 8 χλμ.) και αμέτρητοι από αυτούς έπεσαν και 400 Νιέμσκι αιχμαλωτίσθηκαν και 50 από τους άλλους και μεταφέρθηκαν στο Νόβγκοροντ. Και η μάχη έγινε στις 5 Απριλίου, ημέρα Κυριακή ημέρα της μνήμης του μάρτυρα Φεοντόρ, για τη δόξα της Μητέρας του Θεού».
Το Λιβονικό Χρονικό αναφέρει ότι στη μάχη χάθηκαν 20 ιππότες και έξι αιχμαλωτίσθηκαν. Πουθενά στις πηγές δεν αναφέρονται οι προπαγανδιστικές υπερβολές ότι οι σταυροφόροι βούλιαξαν στην παγωμένη λίμνη όταν έσπασε ο πάγος από το βάρος τους. Πιθανότατα κάτι τέτοιο δεν συνέβη ποτέ.
Σε κάθε περίπτωση η μάχη στη λίμνη Πέϊπους έληξε μέσα σε δύο ώρες με τον τρόπο αυτό. Ήταν μια μάχη που θα είχε μείνει πιθανότατα στη λήθη της ιστορίας αν δεν την εξύψωνε σε μυθικά ύψη η ρωσική προπαγάνδα.
