The trouble with Russia had begun a dozen years earlier, in 1224 when some overly anxious Crusaders had captured the Russian fortress of Tartu in Estonia. The leader of the attacking Crusaders was none other than Albert von Buxhoeved's brother, who proceeded to kill all but one of the Russian garrison (Nicolle, 12). This was not simply a contest for land, it would be a fight for religious affiliation as well.

There was plenty of church tension between Catholics and the Eastern Othodox Church, which had been in play since well before the First Crusade. The Russian city of Novgorod had been independent and remained a strong trading city, well set up for commercial success as it was, but not in a great position defensively (Nicolle, 16). Tading in furs, fish and even ivory from walruses in the far north, Novgorod's population enjoyed a common language as well as the same religion and its leaders had set up a number of 'buffer zones' of neighboring tribes to protect the city from invaders to the north (Nicolle, 17). But in 1223, the Mongols arrived on the scene and Novgorod soon became dependent on Western Europe for survival (Urban, 93).

What was the fear of the Mongols based upon.? According to the Polnae Sobranie Russkiskh Letopsie, "(The Mongols) destroyed cities, killed people, burned and took [people] into slavery…the Tartars (Mongols) took the city of Riazan, burned it completely…and of the captured men, women and children, some they killed with arrows and threw them into the fire; while some of the captured they bound, cut and disembowelled…" (Dmytryshyn, 108). With this type of terror, many opted to simply submit rather than fight. Others sought to see the Crusaders as brothers in arms against the Mongol hordes but Western unity still brought with it mistrust and hatred. Plagues ravaged the land along with the Mongols and by the end of the next decade, by 1240, many inhabitants of Russia saw the Crusaders not as allies, but as simply another threat to deal with (Nicolle, 18).

The Mongols struck again in the late 1230's and the Teutonic Order, never ones to let opportunity elude them, also took it upon themselves to make life miserable for the Russians. But the Russians did have someone to turn to. Alexander (or Alexandre) Nevsky was a powerful prince of Novgorod. The Chronicle of Novgorod notes his military prowess, In 1240, an army of Swedes and Finns had blocked the trade routes up the River Neva in order to cut off Novgorod and hasten its fall. According to the Chronicle, "Alexander) with the men of Nogorod…went against them and defeated them…on the 15th day of July…And there was a great slaughter of (Swedes)" (Urban 93-94). Suddenly, the Russians had a military champion.

Nevsky, in control of Novgorod, did not want to fight the Mongols. The invaders had halted short of the city in 1238 thanks to a spring thaw, but the wily leader of the city determined to submit rather than to face utter destruction--this would keep Novgorod a powerful trading city…and its people would survive.

What was Alexander Nevsky like? According to the Chronicle of Novgorod, "His stature exceeds that of other men, his voice is like a trumpet among men…His strength is like the strength of Samson the Strong and God has given him the wisdom of Solomon, and the courage of the Roman Caesar Vespasian" (Nicolle, 21). This is akin to the laudatory praises of most warrior 'heroes' in folk literature, high in idol worship but usually very low in factual reality.

Born around 1220, and with seven brothers, Alexander rose to the leadership of Novgorod upon the death of his older brother. He married at age 19, to the daughter of a neighboring city ruler and from the historical references we can deduce that he was in fact both tactically skillful as well as ruthless insofar as his military record shows and also a smart politician, taking discretion as the better part of valor, especially in respect to his relationship with the Mongols.

By 1240, the twenty-year old was in his physical prime and ready for the vast challenges facing him.

In September of 1240 a small army of former Swordbrothers, Estonian knights, Dane, Russian exiles and Germans attacked the Russian city of Pskov and captured it. According to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, "(This) army…went happily into Russia, and everything went well for them. They came to a castle, named Bjorg and their arrival dismayed the garrison. They took the castle by storm and let not a single Russian escape, killing or capturing all the defenders" (Nicolle, 54). The Russians fought back with an army which attacked the Germans but "When they came upon the (Teutonic Order) they attacked, and the Brothers…boldly charged towards them. A vicious battle arose. The Germans hacked great wounds and the Russians suffered terribly" (Nicolle, 55). The attack on Pskov had been quick and brutally successful, but the Teutonic Order left only a garrison of two knights and thirty to fifty retainers to hold onto their new acquisition.

Why such hubris? Two knights and only 30-50 retainers? The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle gives us an idea. It tells of the Teutonic Order viewing the Virgin Mary as a war-goddess and that to be in God's service was to be a warrior whose payment was to be found in salvation obtained by being killed by enemies who overwhelmingly outnumbered you (Christiansen, 91). Martyrdom in battle; how very reminiscent of recent headlines in our 21st century world.

Alexander Nevsky wasted little time in dealing with these invaders. There would be no capitulation or compromise here. Why? Ethnic and religious hatred or something more personal? Let us take a moment to look at who the Russians had to deal with and what their position was.

The Mongols had been a problem for almost twenty years. They were a huge invading army--alien in so many ways. They fought using unfamiliar horse archer tactics and wielding powerful composite bows, which would destroy the German-Polish armies at Liegnitz in 1241. To fight such an enemy and being hopelessly outnumbered seemed futile and doomed to failure. The Teutonic Order were different. For one thing, they had also been brutal, causing any number of civilian deaths, all of those deaths remembered and being sworn to be avenged by the Russians. The Germans had looked upon the Russians as vulnerable to attack due to the Mongol invasions, never thinking that an arrangement would be made with such a foe.

Religious hatred, though not exemplified, also cannot be ignored. Remember that heresy in the Middle Ages was considered a greater sin than non-belief or belief in another religion. Each side felt God fought for them and each would use this motif to justify they blood and destruction inflicted upon the other. The Germans and Scandinavians were contemptuous of the Russians, considering them their inferiors both physically and culturally. Their own beliefs led them to see that their use of castles to hold a region, as well as armored cavalry with heavy armor giving them a big physical and psychological plus, as well as crossbowmen to fight for that same region made them much better than their backward enemies (France 199). Such feelings allowed for horrific acts of terror on both sides. Such was the nature of the coming war.

Battle of Lake Piepus 1242

Introduction
Russia and the Teutonic Order
Campaign of 1242
The Battle: April 5, 1242
Aftermath