Battle of the Neva

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The Battle of the Neva (Невская битва in Russian, or Nevskaya bitva) was fought between the Novgorod Republic and Swedish armies on the Neva River, near the settlement of Ust-Izhora, on July 15, 1240. It was part of the medieval Swedish-Novgorodian Wars.

The purpose of the Swedish invasion was to gain control over the mouth of the Neva and the city of Ladoga and, hence, seize the most important part of the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks, which had been under Novgorod's control.

On receiving the news of the advancing Swedish army, presumably under the command of Birger Magnusson (later known as Birger jarl), the 20-year-old Prince Alexander Yaroslavich of Novgorod moved his army down the Volkhov River and reached Ladoga before the enemy. Here, he was joined by the army of the Ladoga citizens. In the meantime, the Swedes reached the mouth of the Izhora River. According to the Russian sources, the Swedes had Norwegian and Finnish allies.

The Russians took advantage of the thick fog and attacked the Swedish camp, taking the enemy by surprise and routing them. It was darkness that stopped the battle and let the remnants of Birger's army flee from the scene. Russian chronicles stated that Alexander Yaroslavich himself "самому королю възложи печать на лице острымь своимь копиемь" (put the seal on the king's face by his sharp spear) probably meaning that he wounded the enemy leader to the face <ref> Alexander Nevsky article of the Large Enciclopedic Dictionary (Russian) </ref>.

Novgorod was not threatened by new Swedish attacks for several decades. Later, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, apparently an outstanding and courageous leader, would be nicknamed "Nevsky" (of Neva) for his first great victory. Two years later, Alexander would stall an invasion of the Livonian Knights during the Battle on the Ice.