Sources have brought to us very scant information about the Battle of the Ice. This contributed to the fact that the battle was gradually overgrown with a large number of myths and conflicting facts.
Mongols again
The battle on Lake Peipsi is not entirely correct to call the victory of the Russian squads over the German knighthood, since the enemy, according to modern historians, was a coalition force that included, in addition to the Germans, Danish knights, Swedish mercenaries and a militia consisting of Estonians (chud).
It is quite possible that the troops under the leadership of Alexander Nevsky were not exclusively Russian. The Polish historian of German origin Reingold Heydenstein (1556-1620) wrote that Alexander Nevsky was pushed to battle by the Mongol khan Batu (Batu) and sent his detachment to his aid.
This version has the right to life. The middle of the XIII century was marked by the confrontation between the Horde and Western European troops. So, in 1241, the troops of Batu defeated the Teutonic knights at the battle of Legnica, and in 1269 the Mongol troops helped the Novgorodians to defend the city walls from the invasion of the crusaders.
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Who went under the water?
In Russian historiography, one of the factors that contributed to the victory of the Russian troops over the Teutonic and Livonian knights was called the fragile spring ice and the bulky armor of the crusaders, which entailed the massive flooding of the enemy. However, according to the historian Nikolai Karamzin, the winter that year was long and the spring ice preserved the fortress.
However, it is difficult to determine to what extent the ice could withstand a large number of warriors dressed in armor. Researcher Nikolai Chebotarev notes: "It is impossible to say who was heavier or lighter armed at the Battle of the Ice, because there was no uniform as such."
Heavy plate armor appeared only in the XIV-XV centuries, and in the XIII century the main type of armor was chain mail, over which a leather shirt with steel plates could be worn. Based on this fact, historians suggest that the weight of the equipment of the Russian and order warriors was approximately the same and reached 20 kilograms. If we assume that the ice could not support the weight of a warrior in full gear, then the sunken should have been on both sides.
Interestingly, in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and in the original edition of the Novgorod Chronicle, there is no information that the knights fell through the ice - they were added only a century after the battle.
On Voroniy Island, near which Cape Sigovets is located, there is rather weak ice due to the peculiarities of the current. This gave rise to some researchers to suggest that the knights could fall through the ice exactly there, when they crossed a dangerous area when retreating.
Where was the massacre?
Researchers to this day cannot pinpoint the exact location of the Battle of the Ice. Novgorod sources, as well as the historian Nikolai Kostomarov, say that the battle was near the Crow Stone. But the stone itself was never found. According to some, it was high sandstone, which was washed away over time by the current, while others claim that this stone is the Crow Island.
Some researchers are inclined to believe that the carnage is not at all connected with the lake, since the accumulation of a large number of heavily armed soldiers and cavalry would make it impossible to conduct a battle on the thin April ice.
In particular, these conclusions are based on the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, which states that "from both sides, the dead fell on the grass." This fact is confirmed by modern research with the help of the latest equipment of the bottom of Lake Peipsi, during which neither weapons nor armor of the 13th century were found. Excavations also failed on the shore. However, this is not difficult to explain: armor and weapons were very valuable prey, and even damaged ones could be quickly carried away.
However, back in Soviet times, the expeditionary group of the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Georgy Karaev established the alleged place of the battle. According to the researchers, this was a section of Lake Teploi, located 400 meters west of Cape Sigovets.
Number of parties
Soviet historians, determining the number of forces clashing on Lake Peipsi, declare that the troops of Alexander Nevsky numbered approximately 15-17 thousand people, and the number of German knights reached 10-12 thousand.
Modern researchers consider such figures to be clearly overestimated. In their opinion, the order could give no more than 150 knights, who were joined by about 1.5 thousand bnechtes (soldiers) and 2 thousand militias. They were opposed by squads from Novgorod and Vladimir in the amount of 4-5 thousand soldiers.
It is rather difficult to determine the true balance of forces, since the number of German knights is not indicated in the annals. But they can be counted by the number of castles in the Baltic States, of which, according to historians, in the middle of the 13th century there were no more than 90.
Each castle was owned by one knight, who could take from 20 to 100 people from mercenaries and servants on a campaign. In this case, the maximum number of soldiers, excluding the militia, could not exceed 9 thousand people. But, most likely, the real figures are much more modest, since part of the knights a year before had died in the battle of Legnica.
Modern historians can say with certainty only one thing: none of the opposing sides had significant superiority. Perhaps Lev Gumilev was right, suggesting that the Russians and the Teutons had collected 4 thousand soldiers each.
Victims
The death toll in the Battle of the Ice is as difficult to calculate as the number of participants. In the Novgorod Chronicle, it is reported about the victims of the enemy: "and the pad of Chudi was beshisla, and Numets 400, and 50 with the hands of Yasha and brought him to Novgorod." But the Livonian rhymed chronicle speaks of only 20 dead and 6 captured knights, though not mentioning the victims among the soldiers and the militia. The Chronicle of Grandmasters, written later, reports the death of 70 order knights.
But none of the chronicles contains information about the losses of the Russian troops. There is no consensus on this score among historians, although according to some data the losses of Alexander Nevsky's troops were no less than those of the enemy.