Battle of Wesenberg (1268)
The Baltic States in the 13th century
| date | February 18, 1268 |
|---|---|
| place | Rakvere , Estonia |
| output | Russian victory |
| consequences | Stop the eastward expansion of the Teutonic Order |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Otto von Lutterberg |
Michail Fjodorowitsch † |
| Troop strength | |
| 25,000 | 16,000 to 30,000 |
| losses | |
|
12,000 |
5,000 |
The Battle of Wesenberg ( Russian Раковорская битва ) was a battle between the German and Danish knights on the one hand and the Russian army on the other. It happened on February 18, 1268 near today's Estonian city of Rakvere ( Eng . Wesenberg, Russian Раковор ) and ended with a decisive victory for the Russians.
The German knights were led by Otto von Lutterberg . They were allied with the Danish knights who ruled northern Estonia. There were many Estonian servants in the ranks of the German-Danish army. The Russian troops formed a union of the Novgorod Republic , the Pskov Republic and the Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Suzdal . Their leaders were Novgorod's governor Mikhail Fyodorovich , Daumantas of Pskov and Grand Duke Dmitri Alexandrovich , the son of Alexander Nevsky , who represented Vladimir-Suzdal.
The knights had learned from the battle on Lake Peipus , in which their wedge formation showed the high penetration power, but then proved to be unable to maneuver. So they split their army in two and intended to ambush with the second wedge during the battle. This tactic was initially successful. The center of the Russian army, which consisted primarily of Novgorodians and Pskovs, was brought into serious distress, including the fall of the leader, Mikhail Fyodorovich. The Novgorod Chronicle describes the mutual slaughter as something "our fathers and grandfathers never saw".
The second part of the knight army did not stick to the original plan, because they believed the battle had already been won, and hurried to loot the Russian entourage . However, the unexpected flank attack by the troops from Vladimir-Suzdal under Grand Duke Dmitri Alexandrovich decided the battle in favor of the Russians. The knights were pursued, killed or captured for several kilometers. This battle halted the German-Danish expansion for the next 30 years.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Александр Окороков: Военный календарь России. Эксмо et al., Moscow 2009, ISBN 978-5-699-32783-6 (Aleksandr Okorokov: Russian war calendar ).
- ↑ a b Staršaja Livonskaja Rifmovannaja Chronika: Otryvok IX. Bitva pri Rakvere v 1268 g. i pochod na Pskov v 1269 g. ; Translated: Older Livonian Rhyming Chronicle: Fragment IX. The Battle of Rakvere in 1268 and the Pskov Campaign in 1269. Accessed May 22, 2010
- ↑ Арсений Н. Насонов: Новгородская первая летопись старшего и младшего изводов. Изд-во Академия наук СССР, Moscow 1950 (Arseni N. Nassonow: The First Novgorod Chronicle. ).
literature
- Viacheslav Shpakovsky, David Nicolle : Medieval Russian Armies 1250-1450 (= Men-at-arms Series. 367). Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2002, ISBN 1-84176-234-2 .
- Anti Selart : Livonia, Rus' and the Baltic Crusades in the Thirteenth Century (= East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450. Vol. 29). Brill, Leiden et al. 2015, ISBN 978-90-04-28474-6 .