One of the brightest pages of medieval history is the Crusades. As a rule, they are associated with an attempt to expand Christianity in the Middle East, and with the struggle against Muslims, but this interpretation is not entirely correct.
When a series of crusades began to gain momentum, the papacy, which was their main initiator, realized that these campaigns could serve Rome to achieve political goals, not only in the fight against Islam. And so began the formation of multi-vector crusades. Expanding geography, the crusaders turned their eyes to the north and northeast.
By that time, a fairly strong stronghold of Catholicism had formed at the borders of Eastern Europe in the person of the Livonian Order, which was the product of the merger of two German spiritual Catholic orders - the Teutonic Order and the Order of the Swordsmen.
Generally speaking, the prerequisites for the advancement of the German knights to the east have long been available. Back in the 12th century, they began the seizure of Slavic lands beyond the Oder. Also in the sphere of their interests was the Baltic region, inhabited by Estonians and Karelians, who at that time were pagans.
The first shoots of conflict between the Slavs and Germans took place already in 1210, when the knights invaded the territory of modern Estonia, having entered the struggle with the Novgorod and Pskov principalities for influence in this region. The response measures of the principalities did not lead the Slavs to success. Moreover, the contradictions in their camp led to a split and a complete lack of interaction.
The German knights, the backbone of which were the Teutons, on the contrary, managed to gain a foothold in the occupied territories and set about consolidating their efforts. In 1236, the Order of the Swordsmen and Teutonic united into Livonian, and the very next year the Pope authorized new campaigns against Finland. In 1238, the Danish king and the head of the order agreed on joint action against Russia. The moment that was most suitable was chosen, for by that time the Russian lands were bloodless by the Mongol invasion.
The Swedes also took advantage of this, who in 1240 decided to capture Novgorod. Having landed on the banks of the Neva, they met resistance in the person of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, who managed to defeat the interventionists and it was after this victory that he became known as Alexander Nevsky. The Battle of Lake Peipsi was the next important milestone in the biography of this prince.
However, before this, a fierce struggle took place between Russia and the German orders for two more years, which brought success to the latter, in particular, Pskov was captured, and Novgorod was also threatened. Under these conditions, a battle took place on Lake Peipsi, or, as it is commonly called, the Battle of the Ice.
The battle was preceded by the liberation of Pskov by Nevsky. Having learned that the main units of the enemy were going to Russian forces, the prince blocked the way to the Livonian Order on the lake.
The battle on Lake Peipsi took place on April 5, 1242. Knightly forces managed to break through the center of Russian defense and buried themselves in the shore. Blows from the flank performed by the Russians took the enemy in a vise and decided the outcome of the battle. That is how the battle on Lake Peipsi ended . Nevsky reached the peak of his fame. He remained in history forever.
The battle on Lake Peipsi has long been considered almost a turning point in the whole struggle of Russia against the crusaders, but modern trends question such an analysis of events that is more characteristic of Soviet historiography.
Some authors note that after this battle the war took on a protracted character, but the threat from the knights was still tangible. In addition, even the role of Alexander Nevsky himself, whose successes in the Battle of Neva and the Battle of Ice lifted him to unprecedented heights, is disputed by such historians as Fenell, Danilevsky and Smirnov. The Battle of Lake Peipsi and the Battle of Neva, according to researchers, are embellished, however, like the threat from the Crusaders.