Battle on Lake Peipus
Hoping to exploit Russia's weakness in the wake of the Mongol and Swedish invasions, the Teutonic knights 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 knights, ransoming western knights and hanging Estonian foot-soldiers.
In the spring of 1242, the knights defeated a reconnaissance detachment of Novgorodians 18 km to the south of the fortress of Dorpat, now Tartu. The knights and Alexander's forces then met at Lake Peipus.
On April 5, 1242 the armies clashed on the side of the ice-covered Lake Peipus, with the crusaders being led by their Grand Master. After hours of hand-to-hand fighting, Alexander ordered the left and right wings of his archers to enter the battle. The knights started to retreat in disarray onto the ice, and the appearance of the fresh Russian cavalry made them run for their lives. Under the weight of their heavy armour, the thin ice started to collapse, and many knights drowned. Only the Grand Master, some bishops, and a handful of mounted knights managed to return back to Tartu after the battle.
The Battle of the Ice was a major historical event. The knights' defeat at the hands of Alexander's forces prevented the crusaders from retaking Pskov, the linchpin of their eastern crusade. The Novgorodians had succeeded in defending Russian territory, and the German crusaders were never again able to mount another serious challenge eastward.
Sergei Eisenstein's groundbreaking film Alexander Nevsky features the Battle of the Ice. However, the classic film has elements of propaganda, it makes many changes to the historical background, and should not be viewed as being completely accurate historically.
