Northern Crusade

While the crusades in the Middle East are well known, many forget
that during the period military campaigns in the name of the Church
targeted a number of different regions and enemies. One such
crusade, the Northern Crusade, was conducted against the Eastern
Orthodox Christian Church. This crusade culminated in the Battle
of Lake Peipus (also known as the Battle of the Ice) on April 5th,
1242.

In 1208 German Catholic knights began the process of conquering
Estonian territory, and in 1227 the last defending fort fell, located on
the island of Muhu. These knights, part of the Livonian Order, then
began to look further east, to the Novgorod Republic which was
controlled by the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In 1240 Novgorod was invaded by Swedish forces led by Jarl
Birger, landing near the river Neva. The defending Rus forces were
led by Alexander Jaroslavich, and wasting no time, went on the
offensive. The Swedes were routed, and the Rus commander
earned the name Alexander Nevski ("of Neva") for his actions.
The invasion of Russian lands was not over though.

Seven hundred and one years before German panzers
crossed into Mother Russia, the Germans launched an assault
against Novgorod using that era's heavy metal: Teutonic Livonian
knights. Attacking also in 1240, the Germans initially
made a fair amount of progress by capturing Koporye, Izborsk,
and Pskov by the end of the year.

In 1241 the hero against the Swedes, Alexander Nevski, turned
his attention to the German invaders, recapturing Pskov and
Koporye. The following year the Livonians, along with a
contingent of allied Danish troops and locally raised Estonian
infantry, pushed east towards Novgorod proper to bring an end to
the campaign. There, Alexander Nevski and his forces awaited
their arrival.

On April 5th, 1242, the Germans were approaching the frozen
Lake Peipus when Alexander sent a small scout force out to locate
the Germans. His scouts successfully found the invading forces, but
were eliminated in the process. The Germans pressed onward
across the lake to meet Alexander's forces.

The Germans moved in a wedge formation, led by heavy
cavalry units, while the defending Novgorodians formed a line
of three battalions, with archers all up and down the line.

The Livonian Knights charged the center, easily crushing
Alexander's forces, but by driving deep into the line they allowed
themselves to become surrounded. Alexander's left and right
battalions engulfed the knights, while cavalry that had been
held back moved to attack from the rear.

The Germans and their allies were quickly overwhelmed and
thrown in a panic. A retreat began, but rather than an organized
fighting withdrawal the retreat was done in piecemeal fashion,
causing a great many more casualties. It was during the retreat
that the Livonians came to the realization that heavily armored
knights on horseback on a frozen lake had probably not been the
best tactical move, as many knights fell through the ice and drowned.

After the battle the German crusaders never sought to take on
the Novgorodians, instead making peace with the region. Having
proved himself against both a Swedish invasion and German
invasion, Alexander Nevski was made a saint by the Orthodox
Church.

Hundreds of years later the Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein
immortalized the battle in his 1938 film about Alexander Nevski.

- Frag! Newsletter from Shrapnel Games, January 2008 (no link provided)

This would make an interesting game.