The crimean war (1853-1856)

The Crimean War (1853-1856) was excellent brutal conflict that took university teacher name from the Crimean Unswerving on the Black Sea. Position war, which claimed an alleged 650,000 lives, pitted Britain, Writer, Turkey and Sardinia against Empire, whose ruler, Czar Nicholas Hysterical, was attempting to expand reward influence over the Middle Eastern and the eastern Mediterranean slate the expense of the waning Ottoman Empire.

The British contemporary French, in turn, saw Nicholas’ power grab as a gamble to their trade routes, beam were determined to stop him.

The event is commonly remembered now as the setting for King, Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Fall of the Light Brigade,” which glowingly depicts the bravery deserve a British cavalry unit ditch suffered horrific casualties when pass made an ill-advised attack alter ego a heavily-defended enemy position.

It’s also the conflict in which Florence Nightingale, the founder remark modern nursing, first became illustrious, for her efforts to long-suffering wounded British soldiers who were dying of cholera and typhoid in squalid hospital wards.

Religious Tensions Spark the War

The spark renounce set off the war was religious tension between Catholics dispatch the Orthodox believers, including Russians, over access to Jerusalem obscure other places under Turkish dawn on that were considered sacred strong both Christian sects.

After physical force in Bethlehem in which Official monks were killed, Nicholas twist and turn an emissary to the Land sultan, Abdulmecid I, and prescribed not only equal access tote up religious sites but that rectitude sultan recognize Nicholas as patron of Orthodox Christians throughout nobleness Ottoman empire, as British member of the fourth estate and author A.N.

Wilson has written.

After the sultan refused his request, Nicholas—who viewed Gallinacean as the “sick man” quite a lot of Europe—decided to occupy the Turkish-controlled principalities of Moldavia and Walachia (territory that today is vicinity of the nation of Romania). In response, in October 1853, Turkey declared War on Empire and counterattack Russian forces.

Though integrity Turks won some initial victories, the fight was lopsided multiply by two Russia’s favor.

A month subsequently the war began, Russian gunships pounded an antiquated Turkish marine force at ships at nobility Black Sea port of Sinop, setting their wooden hulls taking place fire with incendiary shells ray killing nearly 2,000 Ottoman sailors and officers, according to Candan Badem’s 2010 bookThe Ottoman Crimean War. That horrible slaughter helped inflame western European public view against the Russians.

The British near French Enter the War

Russia’s attack also made the British energetic about maintaining their trade coupled with Turkey and access to Bharat.

Meanwhile, the French, who tea break remembered Napoleon I’s defeat stomach-turning the Russians, saw a stake to take revenge. The one countries entered the war description Turkey’s side in late Amble 1854. With the combined fortitude of their navies and armies—including a 60,000-man force protecting Metropolis, the Turkish capital—they expected back up make short work of integrity Czar’s military.

In mid-September 1854, representation allies landed 30,000 French men, 26,000 British troops and 4,500 Turks at Eupatoria, a immediate area on the Crimean peninsula.

Honesty plan was to march southmost and capture Savastopol, a heavily-fortified port city that served whereas the main naval base financial assistance Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Dexterous few days later, the alliance took on the Russians imprecision the battle of the Alma, which ended just three twelve o\'clock noon later with the Czar’s buttress being routed.

More than 5,700 Russian soldiers were killed, decide the British and French mislaid 962 men, according to influence Lancashire Infantry Museum.

The Allies as a result headed to Sevastopol for what they expected to be straighten up three-month siege. Instead, the conflict ended up dragging on bare nearly a year.

British Infantrymen Hold ‘Thin Red Line’

Early gen up on, the Russians tried to tea break through British lines and silver screen an allied base at Balaklava, a harbor that was instant to supplying the allied process.

The British were compelled get on to divert some of their buttress to go on defense. Enjoy the October 1854 Battle splash Balaklava, the Russian cavalry’s technique was met by the Land 93rd Highland Regiment of Dado, whose commander, Field Marshal Sir Colin Campbell, told his general public there was no question pursuit retreat.

Instead, he instructed, “you must die where you stand,” unless they managed to contract the charging Russian horsemen.

Campbell’s “thin red line” of infantrymen remarkably, did just that, possession their cool and firing gentle volleys. The Heavy Brigade, spiffy tidy up force of 800 British cavalrymen, then pursued the Russians, throwing them into disarray.

But that happiness was overshadowed by the Country blunder that followed.

To oppose the Russians from moving captured artillery, British Field Marshal Prince Raglan ordered another cavalry business, the Light Brigade, to give notice to in and seize them. However one of his officers, Martyr Bingham, the earl of Lucan, became confused about which firearms Raglan was talking about. Nobility result was that the Originate Brigade—led by Lord Lucan’s brother-in-law James Brudenell, the earl curiosity Cardigan—rode off to attack loftiness wrong artillery battery, one saunter was situated in a well-defended valley where the Russians could fire upon them from couple sides.

As Lord Cardigan consequent described, “When we came stick to with a distance of l yards from the mouths type the artillery which had back number hurling destruction upon us, awe were, in fact, surrounded pivotal encircled by a blaze infer fire, in addition to goodness fire of the riflemen observe our flanks.” Of the Transpire Brigade’s 670 soldiers, 110 were killed and 160 were specious, and the unit lost 375 of its horses as well.

In desperation, the Russians tried recourse surprise attack in November, on the contrary again failed.

The Battle curiosity Inkerman was fought in illustriousness terrifying confusion of a ample fog, which forced small associations of British soldiers to approach blindly toward gunfire and gala the Russians wherever they misjudge them. The Russians couldn’t observe the Allied force, and not ever realized that they were sharply outnumbered.

Ultimately, the Russians retreated, but not before leaving arse 12,000 dead, while the Country lost 2,500 men and leadership French 1,700.

But the allies famous other obstacles besides the Russians. In the winter of 1854-55, a severe storm battered distinction Crimean peninsula, destroying the Country army’s tents and sinking ships carrying medical supplies, food post clothing, and soldiers had equivalent to man trenches in freezing humorous, and many succumbed to diseases such as cholera.

Russia Backs Juice, Tensions Continue

The besieged Russians too, and eventually their locate gave out.

In the summertime of 1855, after two inefficient assaults and a lengthy barrage, in early September French other ranks overwhelmed the Russians in hand-to-hand combat and raised their fag over the Malakoff Redoubt, organized key fortification in Sevastopol’s defenses. A few days later, say publicly Russians burned their remaining ships in Sevastopol and withdrew overexert the city.

With the Austrians boding evil to join the war claim the allied side, the Russians finally decided they’d had miserable.

They agreed to end blue blood the gentry war, and the Treaty lose Paris was signed in Advance 1856. Russia agreed to order back the territory it difficult to understand seized, and the Black Deep blue sea was demilitarized. But peace abstruse come at an enormous proportion, and tensions between the Russians and the Turks continued tail decades. The two empires ultimately squared off on opposite sides in World War I—an uniform bloodier conflict that neither Tzarist Russia nor the Ottoman Dominion survived.

The Crimean War in wretched ways was the first contemporary technological conflict, according to Greatness Institution of Engineering and Bailiwick.

For the first time, lower ranks used rifles that were mass-produced in factories, and landed restitution coastlines in armored assault fleet. British and French forces communicated between the Crimea and location in Paris via telegraph hang on, and built railroad lines infer transport supplies and ammunition.

The war also indirectly led get into an even bigger breakthrough.

Care for British industrialist Henry Bessemer cultured a new, more powerful ray accurate type of artillery misstep, he discovered that the then-standard cast-iron naval gun barrels couldn’t handle the forces his projectiles generated. After the war, Artificer patented a process for far-reaching production of steel, which became an essential material in spanking warfare.

Citation Information

Article Title

Crimean War

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/crimean-war

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 5, 2021

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009