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 probably 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. Some historians suppose that Swedish goal was to built a kind of fort in that place for further expansion.
On receiving the news of the advancing Swedish army under the command of 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 with their Norwegian and Finnish allies reached the mouth of the Izhora River.
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 the Jarl army flee from the scene. Alexander Yaroslavich hited swedish leader in his face in the course of the battle.
Later, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich would be nicknamed "Nevsky" (of Neva) for displaying the first military success of young prince. Two years later, Alexander would stall an invasion of the Livonian Knights during the Battle on the Ice.
The only sources telling about Battle of Neva are Alexander's biography (zhitie) and several Russian chronicles. So there's some speculations about scales and even the very fact of the battle.
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