Alexander Nevsky wins the Battle on the Ice

April 5, 1242

On the frozen surface of Lake Peipus, Nevsky's lightly armored Rus cavalry ambushed the heavy Teutonic Knights and drove them onto thin ice. The battle, later immortalized on film by Eisenstein, halted the crusading order's eastward thrust into Orthodox territory. The Teutonic Order's losses, though exaggerated by later legend, were severe enough to establish a permanent boundary between Catholic and Orthodox influence in the region.