April 5th, 1242 - The Battle of Lake Peipus (aka The Battle of the Ice)

Conflict: Teutonic Invasion of Russia

Combatants: Russians vs. Teutonic Knights

Location: Russia

Outcome: Russian victory

The Battle of Lake Peipus took place on this day in 1242. An army 2,600 knights of the Livonian Order of the Sword invaded Russia and threatened the city of Novgorod. But, 5,000 Russians under the command of Prince Alexander Nevsky met the Teutonic Knights on a frozen lake and drove the invaders back.

Battle on the Ice from the Facial Chronicle by an unknown author

Points of Interest:

• The Battle of Lake Peipus is depicted in the Soviet film Alexander Nevski (1938).

• Although a powerful prince and Russian hero, Alexander Nevsky was in fact a vassal to the Mongols, known as the Golden Horde, during his reign. This is acknowledged in the Soviet film.

• Alexander Nevsky's son Daniel would found the city of Moscow in 1295.

Alexander Nevsky from the Tsar's Book of Titles

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.