Rakovor, Battle of 1268

Rakovor, Battle of (1268) 

a battle between the Russians and the combined forces of German and Danish Crusaders. It was fought near the city of Rakovor (Rakvere) in what is now the Estonian SSR, on February 18.

The Russian forces met a detachment of Crusaders 7 km from Rakovor on the Kijula River. The center of the Russian forces was made up of Novgorodians under the posadnik (governor of a medieval Russian city-state) Mikhail Fedorovich; to the right were the forces of Prince Dovmont of Pskov, Prince Dmitrii Aleksandrovich of Pereiaslav, and Prince Sviatoslav Ia-roslavich of Suzdal’. On the left wing were the forces of Prince Mikhail Iaroslavich, Konstantin Andreevich, and Iurii Andree-vich. At the beginning of the battle the German knights inflicted heavy losses on the forces of Novgorod and Pskov, but then the Russian forces passed to the offensive and routed the Crusaders. The battle of Rakovor checked the German-Danish aggression for 30 years.