Battle of Lipitsa The Battle of Lipitsa ( Russian : Липицкая битва ) was the decisive battle in the succession struggle over the Grand Princely throne of Vladimir - Suzdal following the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest . In the battle , fought on April 22 , 1216 , the forces of Mstislav the Daring and Konstantin Vsevolodovich defeated those of Konstantin ' s younger brothers Yuri Vsevolodovich and Yaroslav . Konstantin took the throne of Vladimir and reigned as grand prince until his death two years later . The large - scale battle typifies fratricidal strife that sapped the strength of the successor states to Kievan Rus before the Mongol invasion . The detailed account first appeared in the older redaction of the " Novgorodian First Chronicle " and later in the " Novgorodian Fourth Chronicle " the " Sofia First Chronicle " and elsewhere . Background . The " Novgorodian First Chronicle " relates that Mstislav the Bold launched his campaign against his son - in - law , Yaroslav Vsevolodovich on March 1 , 1216 , leading a Novgorodian army into his own districts around Lake Seliger at the head of the Volga , where they were told " Go out foraging but take no heads . " Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich , the fourth son of Vsevolod the Big Nest , invested Rzhevka with 10 , 000 men , but Mstislav and Vladimir of Pskov broke the siege with , according to the chronicle , a mere 500 men and Sviatoslav fled . After this encounter , Mstislav joined up with Vladimir of Smolensk and advanced toward Pereiaslavl . At this same time , detachments of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich ' s troops attacked a small force led by one of Mstislav ' s lieutenants ( Yarun ) near Torzhok , between Tver ' and Novgorod , but Yaroslav ' s forces were beaten off . The survivors reported to Yaroslav who then attacked towns along the Volga before turning back to muster forces from Novgorod and then joining Yuri and Sviatoslav at Pereislavl . These forces mustered along the Kzha River . Mstislav joined Konstantin and " the two Vladimir ' s " and mustered their forces on the Lipitsa River and sent a sotnik ( a commander of 100 ) to Yuri saying they had no quarrel with him , but Yuri stood by his brother , Yaroslav . Mstislav also asked that the Novgorodians and men of Novy Torg that were part of Yaroslav ' s army be released and allowed to return home so that brothers and sons would not fight each other , as much of Mstislav ' s army was also Novgorodian . Mstislav offered peace as long as Yaroslav would return Mstislav ' s Novgorodian districts , but Yaroslav would not sue for peace . The battle . The " Novgorodian First Chronicle " and other chronicle accounts do not relate the precise battle array ( the account was written by a monk who was not familiar with strategy or tactics ) . The battle begins with the Novgorodians telling Mstislav that they did not want to fight on horseback but on foot , as their fathers had at an earlier battle . This pleased Mstislav ( fighting on horseback may have implied a willingness to flee the battle on horse rather than standing to fight ) . The Novgorodians then threw off their horse breeches riding boots and ran into battle barefoot . With " the help of Saint Sophia ( Holy Wisdom ) , " the Novgorodians drove off Yaroslav and Yuri , and the number of those killed was said to have been " countless . " The aftermath . Yaroslav fled to Pereiaslavl and cast the Novgorodians in his army into a pit or into prison there , where large numbers of them died . Mstislav entered Pereiaslavl and the town and princely residence caught fire ( the chronicle does not say if it was intentionally set alight or not ) . Yuri parleyed with Mstislav and agreed to withdraw from the city the following day . He withdrew to Radoliv while Mstislav and his Novgorodian army placed Konstantin on the throne in Vladimir after which Mstislav returned to Novgorod with the remnant of the Novgorodian army . Location of the battlefield . The location of the battlefield was a matter of some contention until 1808 , when a peasant woman from Lykovo near Yuriev - Polsky on the Koloksha River discovered an ancient gilded helmet with an image of St . Theodore , the patron saint of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich . The helmet has been preserved in the Kremlin Armoury . As a piece of rare workmanship , the helmet is usually attributed to Yaroslav . Indeed , the chronicler noted that Yaroslav had fled the battlefield without his armour and arrived in Vladimir having nothing on but a shirt . Actor Nikolai Cherkasov , when playing the part of Yaroslav ' s son Alexander Nevsky in the eponymous film , wore a replica of this helmet .