Download PDF | (Men At Arms 367) David Nicolle, Angus McBride - Medieval Russian Armies 1250 - 1500 -Osprey Publishing (2002).
47 Pages
The 13th century, resistance to the Crusaders and Mongols Methods of combat were similarly changing in northern Russia. Thus at the battle of the River Neva a Russian mixed force of cavalry and infantry attacked the Swedes near where the latter had moored their ships instead of drawing up in a regular battle array as was normal. Meanwhile soldiers of very different social backgrounds now fought side by side.
During the famous ‘Battle on the Ice’ at Lake Peipus in 1242, the Russians encircled the German ‘boar’s head’ formation of heavily armoured knights — the latter having considerable penetrating power but little manoeuvrability. Similar tactics were repeated in 1268 at the battle of Rakovor (now Rakvere in Estonia), where the Westerners’ ‘great iron pig’ was attacked in its flanks. Here the first of two German ‘iron wedges’ crushed the forces of Novgorod and Pskov which faced them, but the second wedge then broke from its ambush position to attack the Russian transport — leaving the first force to be encircled. After four hours’ fighting neither side had won a clear advantage, and it was only as evening fell that the greater endurance of the Russians brought them victory. Prince Dovmont of Pskov emerged as the hero of this battle, as recognised even in the German Rhymed Chronicle. His unit pursued the retreating Teutonic Knights and eventually reached the Baltic coast before returning with considerable booty.
Soon after the battle of Rakovor, about a occupied several frontier settlements in the principality of Pskov. Prince Doymont immediately took a small number of men in five boats and attacked the enemy on the River Miropovna, the suddenness and speed of the Russian counter-attack enabling Doymont to defeat a numerically superior foe on St.George’s Day, 23 April.
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