The medieval battle of Rakovor took place in 1268. This battle is one of the many episodes of the Northern Crusades, as well as the struggle between the German knights and the Russian principalities for influence in the B altic.
The history of these complex relationships is best known thanks to the wars of Alexander Nevsky, the Battle of the Neva and the Battle of the Ice. Against the backdrop of these events, the Battle of Rakovor remains almost invisible. Nevertheless, it was an important battle, in which huge squads took part.
Backstory
On the territory of modern Latvia and Estonia, the B altic tribes lived compactly for several centuries. In the 11th century, the territorial expansion of Russia began in this region, but it ended almost immediately due to the beginning of political fragmentation in the East Slavic state. Soon German colonists appeared in the B altics. They were Catholic by religion, and the Popes organized the Crusades to baptize the pagans.
So, in the XIII century, the Teutonic and Livonian orders appeared. Their allies were Sweden and Denmark. In Copenhagen, a military campaign was organized to capture Estonia (modern Estonia). Crusaders appeared on the border of Russian principalities (primarily Pskov and Novgorod). In 1240, the first conflict broke out between the neighbors. During these years, Russia was under attack from the Mongol hordes, who came from the eastern steppes. They destroyed many cities, but never reached Novgorod, which was too far north.
Alexander Nevsky's fight against the Western threat
This circumstance helped Nevsky to gather fresh forces and take turns repulsing the Swedes and the German crusaders. Alexander successively defeated them in the Battle of the Neva (1240) and the Battle of the Ice (1242). After the success of Russian weapons, a truce was signed, but it was clear to all diplomats that the agreement was temporary, and in a few years the Catholics would strike again.
Therefore, Alexander Nevsky began to look for allies in the fight against the crusaders. He managed to establish contacts with the Lithuanian prince Mindovg, for whom the German expansion was also a serious threat. The two rulers were close to making an alliance. However, in 1263, the Lithuanian and Novgorod princes died almost simultaneously.
Dovmont's personality
The famous Rakovor battle left the descendants of the glorious name of Dovmont, who led the Pskov army in the battle against the Catholics. This prince was from Lithuania. After the death of Mindovg, he took part in the internecine war in his homeland. He failed to hold any inheritance, and he was expelled by his compatriots. Even then Dovmontwas known for his bravery. His personality interested the inhabitants of Pskov, who, after the death of Alexander Nevsky, needed an independent defender from their neighbors. Dovmont gladly agreed to serve the city and in 1266 became the prince of Pskov and governor.
This election was facilitated by the unique political system that has developed in the north of Russia. Pskov and Novgorod differed from other East Slavic cities in that their rulers were appointed by the decision of a popular vote - veche. Because of this difference, the inhabitants of these lands often clashed with another Russian political center - Vladimir-on-Klyazma, where hereditary representatives of the Rurik dynasty ruled. They paid tribute to the Mongols and periodically sought the same taxes from Novgorod and Pskov. However, no matter how difficult the relations between them were, the main threat to the Russian republics in those years came from the West.
By this time, a whole conglomeration of Catholic states had formed in the B altic States, which acted in concert, seeking to conquer and baptize local pagans, as well as defeat the Slavs.
Novgorod campaign in Lithuania
In 1267, the Novgorodians organized a campaign against the militant Lithuanians, who did not leave their borders alone. However, already on the way to the west, a conflict began among the commanders, and the original plan was changed. Instead of going to Lithuania, the Novgorodians went to Estonia, which belonged to the Danish king. The Battle of Rakovor was the culmination of this war. The formal reason for the campaign was regular news that Russian merchants were oppressed onthe markets of Reval, owned by the Danes.
However, with all the desire, it would be hard for the Novgorodians to resist the Catholic Union. The first campaign in 1267 ended before it even started. The army returned home, and the commanders decided to ask for help from the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Yaroslavich. On the banks of the Volkhov, he had a governor, agreed with local citizens. He was the nephew of Alexander Nevsky Yuri Andreevich. It was this prince who was the main commander in the Russian army when the Battle of Rakovor happened.
Union of Russian Princes
Russian blacksmiths began to forge new weapons and armor. Yuri Andreevich invited other Slavic princes to join his campaign. Initially, the backbone of the army was the Novgorod army, supplemented by Vladimir detachments, which were given to the governor Yaroslav Yaroslavich. The battle of Rakovor was supposed to test the strength of allied relations between neighbors.
In addition, other princes joined the Novgorodians: the son of Alexander Nevsky Dmitry, who ruled in Pereyaslavl; the children of the Vladimir prince Svyatoslav and Mikhail, with whom the Tver squad arrived; as well as the Pskov prince Dovmont.
While the Russian knights were preparing for an imminent war, Catholic diplomats did everything to outwit the enemy. In the midst of the gathering of troops, ambassadors from Riga arrived in Novgorod, representing the interests of the Livonian Order. It was a trick. The ambassadors urged the Russians to make peace in exchange for the Order not supporting the Danes in their war. TillNovgorodians agreed with the inhabitants of Riga, they were already sending troops to the north of their possessions, preparing to set up a trap.
Raid in the B altic States
On January 23, the united Russian squad left Novgorod. The battle of Rakovor was waiting for her. The year 1268 began with the usual cold winter, so the army quickly crossed the icy Narva, which was the border between the two countries. The main target of the campaign was the strategically important fortress of Rakovor. The Russian army moved slowly, distracted by looting defenseless Danish territory.
The Battle of Rakovor took place on the river bank, the exact location of which has not yet been established. Historians argue with each other because of the confusion of the sources, which indicate different toponyms. One way or another, the battle took place on February 18, 1268 in northern Estonia, near the town of Rakovora.
Preparing for battle
On the eve of the clash, the Russian command sent scouts in order to more accurately find out about the number of the enemy. Returning rangers reported that there were too many warriors in the enemy camp for the Danish army alone. Unpleasant guesses were confirmed when the Russian knights saw the knights of the Livonian Order in front of them. This was a direct violation of those peace agreements that the Germans agreed with the Novgorodians on the eve of the campaign.
Despite the fact that the enemy army was twice as strong as the commanders of the Russian army expected, the Slavs did not flinch. According to various chronicles, there was parity on the battlefield - on each sidethere were about 25 thousand people.
German tactics
The battle order of the Catholic army was formed according to the favorite Teutonic tactics. It consisted in the fact that in the center, heavily armed knights stood in the form of a wedge directed towards the enemy.
To the right of them were the Danes. On the left is the Riga militia. The flanks were supposed to cover the attack of the knights. The Battle of Rakovor in 1268 did not become an attempt for Catholics to rethink their standard tactics, which let them down during the war with Alexander Nevsky.
Building the Russian army
The Russian army was also divided into many regiments, each of which was led by one of the princes. On the right stood Pereyaslavtsy and Pskovites. In the center were the Novgorodians, for whom the Battle of Rakovor in 1268 became a decisive episode in the struggle against the Germans. To their left is the Tver squad, sent by the Prince of Vladimir.
In the structure of the Russian army, its main drawback was laid. The courage and skills of the army were powerless before the uncoordinated actions of the commanders. The Russian princes were arguing over who was legally the head of the entire military campaign. According to the dynastic position, Dmitry Alexandrovich was considered to be him, but he was young, which did not give him authority in the eyes of his older comrades. The most experienced strategist was the Lithuanian Dovmont, but he was only a Pskov governor and, moreover, did not belong to the Rurik family.
Therefore, throughout the battle, the Russian regiments acted according totheir own discretion, which made them more vulnerable to the crusaders. The battle of Rakovor, the causes of which were the war between the Novgorodians and the Catholics, only aggravated the rivalry between the Slavic princes.
Start of battle
The battle of Rakovor began with the attack of the German knights. On February 18, it was to be decided which side of the conflict would win the war. While the Germans were moving forward in the center, the Tver and Pereyaslav squads hit the enemies on their flanks. The Pskov regiment also did not remain idle. His knights went into battle with the army belonging to the Bishop of Dorpat.
The most serious blow fell on the people of Novgorod. They had to deal with the famous German "pig" attack, when the knights in a single march developed breakneck speed and swept the enemy from the battlefield. The army of Yuri Andreevich prepared in advance for such a turn of events, lining up defensive echelons. However, even tactical tricks did not help the Novgorodians withstand the blow of the cavalry. It was they who f altered first, and the center of the Russian army noticeably sank and fell down. Panic began, it seemed that the battle of Rakovor was about to end. The forgotten victory of Russian weapons was achieved thanks to the courage and perseverance of Dmitry Alexandrovich.
His regiment managed to break the Riga militia. When the prince realized that things were taking a bad turn in the rear, he promptly turned his army back and hit the Germans from the rear. They did not expect such a daring attack.
Checking in the convoy
By this time, the governor of Novgorod YuriAndreevich had already fled from the battlefield. Those few daredevils from his army who still remained in the ranks joined Dmitry Alexandrovich, who hastened to help, in time. On the other flank, the Danes finally gave up their positions and rushed to run after the militias of the deceased bishop. The Tver squad did not come to the aid of the Novgorodians in the center, but began to pursue the retreating opponents. Because of this, the Russian army failed to organize a worthy resistance to the German "pig".
Toward evening, the knights repulsed the attack of the Pereyaslavites and again began to press on the Novgorodians. Finally, already at dusk, they captured the Russian convoy. It also contained siege engines, which were prepared for the siege and assault of Rakovor. All of them were promptly destroyed. However, this was only an episodic success for the Germans. The battle of Rakovor, in short, stopped only because the daylight hours ended. The armies of rivals laid down their arms for the night and tried to rest in order to finally sort out their relationship at dawn.
Night War Council
Already at night, the Tver regiment returned to its position, which pursued the Danes. He was joined by the surviving warriors from other units. Among the corpses, they found the body of the Novgorod posadnik Mikhail Fedorovich. A little later, at a council, the commanders-in-chief discussed the idea of attacking the Germans in the dark and recapturing the baggage train by surprise. However, this idea was too adventurous, because the warriors were tired and exhausted. It was decided to wait until morning.
At the same time, the surviving German regiment,remaining the only combat-ready formation from the original Catholic conglomerate, he realized the plight of his situation. His commanders decided to retreat. Under the cover of night, the Germans left the Russian convoy without taking any booty with them.
Consequences
In the morning, the Russian army realized that the Germans had fled. This meant that the battle of Rakovor had ended. Where the slaughter took place, hundreds of corpses lay there. The princes stood on the battlefield for three more days, burying the dead, and also not forgetting to collect trophies. The victory was for the Russian army, but due to the fact that the Germans destroyed the siege machines, a further march towards the Rakovor fortress became pointless. It was not possible to capture the fortifications without special devices. It was possible to resort to a long and exhausting siege, but this was not in the plans of the Novgorodians from the very beginning.
Therefore, the Russian regiments returned to their homeland, to their cities. Only the Pskov prince Dovmont did not agree with this decision, who, together with his squad, continued the raid on the unprotected places of Pomorye. The battle of Rakovor, which claimed the lives of about 15 thousand people, still remains an important milestone in the confrontation between the military-monastic orders of Catholics and the Russian principalities.
