Crimea, Balkans, Caucasus, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, White Sea, Far East
	Coalition victory; Treaty of Paris (1856)
Changes:	Annexation of a small part of Bessarabia to the Ottoman Empire
Opponents
French Empire	Russian empire
Ottoman Empire	Megrelian Principality
British Empire
Sardinian Kingdom
Commanders
Napoleon III	Nicholas I †
Armand Jacques Achille Leroy de Saint-Arnaud †	Alexander II
Francois Sertain Canrobert	Gorchakov M. D.
Jean-Jacques Pelissier	Paskevich I.F. †
Abdul-Mecid I	Nakhimov P. S. †
Abdul Kerim Nadir Pasha	Totleben E.I.
Omer Pasha	Menshikov A. S.
Victoria	Vorontsov M. S.
James Cardigan	Muravyov N. N.
Fitzroy Somerset Raglan †	Istomin V. I. †
Sir Thomas James Harper	Kornilov V. A. †
Sir Edmund Lyons	Zavoiko V.S.
Sir James Simpson	Andronikov I. M.
David Powell Price †	Ekaterina Chavchavadze-Dadiani
William John Codrington	Grigory Levanovich Dadiani
Victor Emmanuel II
Alfonso Ferrero Lamarmora
Strengths of the parties
France - 309,268	Russia - 700 thousand
Ottoman Empire - 165 thousand.	Bulgarian Brigade - 3000
UK - 250,864	Greek Legion - 800
Sardinia - 21 thousand
German brigade - 4250
German brigade - 4250
Slavic Legion - 1400 Cossacks
France - 97,365 dead, died from wounds and diseases; 39,818 injured	Russia - according to general estimates, 143 thousand dead: 25 thousand killed 16 thousand died from wounds 89 thousand died from diseases
Ottoman Empire - 45,300 dead, died from wounds and disease
Great Britain - 22,602 dead, died from wounds and diseases; 18,253 injured
Sardinia - 2194 dead; 167 injured

Crimean War 1853-1856 , Also Eastern War - a war between the Russian Empire, on the one hand, and a coalition consisting of the British, French, Ottoman Empires and the Kingdom of Sardinia, on the other. The fighting took place in the Caucasus, in the Danube principalities, in the Baltic, Black, Azov, White and Barents Seas, as well as in Kamchatka. They reached their greatest tension in Crimea.

By the middle of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was in decline, and only direct military assistance from Russia, England, France and Austria allowed the Sultan to twice prevent the capture of Constantinople by the rebellious vassal Muhammad Ali of Egypt. In addition, the struggle of Orthodox peoples for liberation from the Ottoman yoke continued. These factors led the Russian Emperor Nicholas I in the early 1850s to think about separating the Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire, inhabited by Orthodox peoples, which was opposed by Great Britain and Austria. Great Britain, in addition, sought to oust Russia from the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and from Transcaucasia. The Emperor of France Napoleon III, although he did not share the British plans to weaken Russia, considering them excessive, supported the war with Russia as revenge for 1812 and as a means of strengthening personal power.

During a diplomatic conflict with France over control of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Russia, in order to put pressure on Turkey, occupied Moldavia and Wallachia, which were under Russian protectorate under the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople. The refusal of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I to withdraw troops led to the declaration of war on Russia on October 4 (16), 1853 by Turkey, followed by Great Britain and France on March 15 (27), 1854.

During the ensuing hostilities, the Allies managed, using the technical backwardness of the Russian troops and the indecisiveness of the Russian command, to concentrate quantitatively and qualitatively superior army and navy forces on the Black Sea, which allowed them to successfully land an airborne corps in the Crimea, inflict Russian army a series of defeats and, after a year-long siege, capture the southern part of Sevastopol - the main Russian base Black Sea Fleet. Sevastopol Bay, the location of the Russian fleet, remained under Russian control. On the Caucasian front, Russian troops managed to inflict a number of defeats on the Turkish army and capture Kars. However, the threat of Austria and Prussia joining the war forced the Russians to accept the peace terms imposed by the Allies. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1856, required Russia to return to the Ottoman Empire everything captured in southern Bessarabia, at the mouth of the Danube River and in the Caucasus; the empire was prohibited from having a combat fleet in the Black Sea, which was declared neutral waters; Russia stopped military construction in the Baltic Sea, and much more. At the same time, the goals of separating significant territories from Russia were not achieved. The terms of the agreement reflected a virtually equal course of hostilities, when the allies, despite all efforts and heavy losses, were unable to advance beyond the Crimea, and suffered defeats in the Caucasus.

Prerequisites for the conflict

Weakening of the Ottoman Empire

In the 1820s and 1830s, the Ottoman Empire suffered a series of blows that called into question the very existence of the country. The Greek uprising, which began in the spring of 1821, showed both the internal political and military weakness of Turkey, and led to terrible atrocities on the part of Turkish troops. The dispersal of the Janissary corps in 1826 was an undoubted benefit in the long term, but in the short term it deprived the country of an army. In 1827, the combined Anglo-Franco-Russian fleet destroyed almost the entire Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Navarino. In 1830, after a 10-year war of independence and the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829, Greece became independent. According to the Treaty of Adrianople, which ended the war between Russia and Turkey, Russian and foreign ships received the right to freely pass through the Black Sea straits, Serbia became autonomous, and the Danube principalities (Moldova and Wallachia) came under Russian protectorate.

Taking advantage of the moment, France occupied Algeria in 1830, and in 1831 its most powerful vassal, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, broke away from the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman forces were defeated in a series of battles, and the imminent capture of Istanbul by the Egyptians forced Sultan Mahmud II to accept Russian military assistance. The 10,000-strong corps of Russian troops landed on the shores of the Bosphorus in 1833 prevented the capture of Istanbul, and with it, probably, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

The Unkyar-Iskelesi Treaty, concluded as a result of this expedition, favorable for Russia, provided for a military alliance between the two countries in the event that one of them was attacked. A secret additional article of the treaty allowed Turkey not to send troops, but required the closure of the Bosporus to ships of any countries (except Russia).

In 1839, the situation repeated itself - Muhammad Ali, dissatisfied with the incompleteness of his control over Syria, resumed fighting. At the Battle of Nizib on June 24, 1839, the Ottoman troops were again completely defeated. The Ottoman Empire was saved by the intervention of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia, who signed a convention in London on July 15, 1840, which guaranteed Muhammad Ali and his descendants the right to inherit power in Egypt in exchange for the withdrawal of Egyptian troops from Syria and Lebanon and recognition of formal subordination to the Ottoman Sultan. Following Muhammad Ali's refusal to comply with the convention, the combined Anglo-Austrian fleet blockaded the Nile Delta, bombarded Beirut, and stormed Acre. On November 27, 1840, Muhammad Ali accepted the terms of the London Convention.

On July 13, 1841, after the expiration of the Unkyar-Iskelesi Treaty, under pressure from European powers, the London Convention on the Straits (1841) was signed, depriving Russia of the right to block the entry of warships of third countries into the Black Sea in the event of war. This opened the way for the fleets of Great Britain and France to the Black Sea in the event of a Russian-Turkish conflict and was an important prerequisite for the Crimean War.

The intervention of European powers thus twice saved the Ottoman Empire from collapse, but led to its loss of independence in foreign policy. The British Empire and the French Empire were interested in preserving the Ottoman Empire, for which it was unprofitable for Russia to appear in the Mediterranean Sea. Austria feared the same thing.

Growing anti-Russian sentiment in Europe

An essential prerequisite for the conflict was that in Europe (including the Kingdom of Greece) there had been an increase in anti-Russian sentiment since the 1840s.

The Western press emphasized Russia's desire to take control of Constantinople. In reality, Nicholas I initially did not set goals for annexing any Balkan territories to Russia. The conservative and protective principles of Nicholas's foreign policy dictated his restraint in encouraging the national movements of the Balkan peoples, which caused discontent among Russian Slavophiles.

Great Britain

In 1838, Great Britain concluded a free trade agreement with Turkey, which provided Great Britain with most favored nation treatment and exempted the import of British goods from customs duties and taxes. As historian I. Wallerstein points out, this led to the collapse of Turkish industry and to the fact that Turkey found itself economically and politically dependent on Great Britain. Therefore, unlike the previous Russian-Turkish war (1828-1829), when Great Britain, like Russia, supported the liberation war of the Greeks and Greece’s independence, now it was not interested in separating any territories from the Ottoman Empire, which was actually a dependent state and an important market for British goods.

The dependent position in which the Ottoman Empire found itself in relation to Great Britain during this period is illustrated by a cartoon in the London magazine Punch (1856). The picture shows an English soldier riding one Turk and holding another on a leash.

In addition, Great Britain was concerned about Russia's expansion in the Caucasus, its increasing influence in the Balkans, and feared its possible advance in Central Asia. In general, she viewed Russia as her geopolitical adversary, against which she waged the so-called. The Great Game (in accordance with the terminology adopted by then diplomats and modern historians), and was carried out by all available means - political, economic and military.

For these reasons, Great Britain sought to prevent any increase in Russian influence in Ottoman affairs. On the eve of the war, she increased diplomatic pressure on Russia in order to dissuade it from any attempts to territorially divide the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, Britain declared its interests in Egypt, which “go no further than ensuring prompt and reliable communications with India.”

France

In France, a significant part of society supported the idea of ​​revenge for defeat in Napoleonic wars and was ready to take part in the war against Russia, provided that England would take their side.

Austria

Since the time of the Congress of Vienna, Russia and Austria were in the Holy Alliance, the main goal of which was to prevent revolutionary situations in Europe.

In the summer of 1849, at the request of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, the Russian army under the command of Ivan Paskevich took part in the suppression of the Hungarian National Revolution.

After all this, Nicholas I counted on Austrian support in the Eastern Question:

But Russian-Austrian cooperation could not eliminate the contradictions that existed between the two countries. Austria, as before, was frightened by the prospect of the emergence of independent states in the Balkans, probably friendly to Russia, the very existence of which would cause the growth of national liberation movements in the multinational Austrian Empire.

Immediate causes of the war

The prelude to the war was the conflict between Nicholas I and Napoleon III, who came to power in France after the coup on December 2, 1851. Nicholas I considered the new French emperor illegitimate, since the Bonaparte dynasty had been excluded from the French succession to the throne by the Congress of Vienna. To demonstrate his position, Nicholas I, in a congratulatory telegram, addressed Napoleon III as “Monsieur mon ami” (“dear friend”), instead of the protocol-permissible “Monsieur mon frère” (“dear brother”). Such liberty was regarded as a public insult to the new French emperor.

Realizing the fragility of his power, Napoleon III wanted to divert the attention of the French with the then popular war against Russia and at the same time satisfy the feeling of personal irritation against Emperor Nicholas I. Having come to power with the support of the Catholic Church, Napoleon III sought to repay his ally by defending the interests of the Vatican in the international arena, in particular regarding the issue of control over the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which led to a conflict with the Orthodox Church and, directly, with Russia. At the same time, the French referred to the treaty with the Ottoman Empire from 1740, which gave France the right to control Christian holy places in Palestine, and Russia - to the decree of the Sultan from 1757, which restored the rights Orthodox Church in Palestine, and the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty of 1774, which gave Russia the right to protect the interests of Christians in the Ottoman Empire.

France demanded that the keys to the church (which at the time belonged to the Orthodox community) be given to the Catholic clergy. Russia demanded that the keys remain with the Orthodox community. Both sides backed up their words with threats. The Ottomans, unable to refuse, promised to fulfill both French and Russian demands. When this ploy, typical of Ottoman diplomacy, was discovered, in the late summer of 1852, France, in violation of the London Convention on the Status of the Straits of July 13, 1841, brought an 80-gun battleship under the walls of Istanbul. Charlemagne" At the beginning of December 1852, the keys to the Church of the Nativity were transferred to France. In response, Russian Chancellor Nesselrode, on behalf of Nicholas I, stated that Russia “will not tolerate the insult received from the Ottoman Empire... vis pacem, para bellum!” (lat. If you want peace, prepare for war!) The concentration of the Russian army began on the border with Moldova and Wallachia.

In private correspondence, Nesselrode gave pessimistic forecasts - in particular, in a letter to the Russian envoy in London Brunnov dated January 2, 1853, he predicted that in this conflict Russia would fight against the whole world alone and without allies, since Prussia was indifferent to this issue, Austria would be neutral or favors Porte. Moreover, Britain would join France to assert its naval power, since “in the distant theater of operations, apart from the soldiers needed for the landing, mainly naval forces will be needed to open the Straits, after which the combined fleets of Britain, France and Turkey will quickly put an end to Russian fleet on the Black Sea."

Nicholas I counted on the support of Prussia and Austria and considered an alliance between Britain and France impossible. However, the English Prime Minister Aberdeen, fearing the strengthening of Russia, agreed to an agreement with the French Emperor Napoleon III on joint actions against Russia.

On February 11, 1853, Prince Menshikov was sent as ambassador to Turkey, demanding recognition of the rights of the Greek Church to holy places in Palestine and granting Russia protection over 12 million Christians in the Ottoman Empire, who made up about a third of the total Ottoman population. All this had to be formalized in the form of an agreement.

In March 1853, having learned about Menshikov's demands, Napoleon III sent a French squadron to the Aegean Sea.

On April 5, 1853, Stratford-Radcliffe, the new British ambassador, arrived in Constantinople. He convinced the Ottoman Sultan to satisfy Russian requirements, but only partially, promising support for England in case of war. As a result, Abdulmejid I issued a firman (decree) on the inviolability of the rights of the Greek Church to holy places. But he refused to conclude a protection agreement with the Russian emperor. On May 21, 1853, Menshikov left Constantinople.

On June 1, the Russian government issued a memorandum on severing diplomatic relations with Turkey.

After this, Nicholas I ordered Russian troops (80 thousand) to occupy the Danube principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, subordinate to the Sultan, “as a pledge until Turkey satisfies the fair demands of Russia.” In turn, the British government ordered the Mediterranean squadron to go to the Aegean Sea.

This caused a protest from the Porte, which in turn led to the convening of a conference of representatives of England, France, Austria and Prussia in Vienna. The result of the conference was Viennese note, a compromise for all parties, which required Russia to evacuate Moldavia and Wallachia, but gave Russia the nominal right to protect Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire and nominal control over the holy places in Palestine.

The Vienna Note allowed Russia to get out of the situation without losing face and was accepted by Nicholas I, but rejected by the Ottoman Sultan, who hoped for the military support of Britain promised by Stratford-Radcliffe. The Porte proposed various changes to the said note. There was no consent for these changes from the Russian sovereign.

Trying to use the opportunity to “teach” Russia a lesson through the hands of its Western allies, Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Mecid I on September 27 (October 9) demanded the cleansing of the Danube principalities within two weeks, and after Russia did not fulfill these conditions, on October 4 (16), 1853 he declared war on Russia. On October 20 (November 1), Russia responded with a similar statement.

Russia's goals

Russia sought to secure its southern borders, ensure its influence in the Balkans and establish control over the Black Sea straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, which was important from both a military and economic point of view. Nicholas I, realizing himself as a great Orthodox monarch, sought to continue the work of liberation of Orthodox peoples under the rule of Ottoman Turkey. However, despite the existence of plans for decisive military action, providing for landings in the Black Sea straits and Turkish ports, a plan was adopted that only provided for the occupation of the Danube principalities by Russian troops. According to this plan, Russian troops were not supposed to cross the Danube and were supposed to avoid clashes with the Turkish army. It was believed that such a “peaceful-military” show of force would force the Turks to accept Russian demands.

Russian historiography emphasizes Nicholas's desire to help the oppressed Orthodox inhabitants of the Turkish Empire. The Christian population of the Turkish Empire, numbering 5.6 million people and absolutely predominant in its European possessions, desired liberation and regularly rebelled against Turkish rule. The Montenegrin uprising in 1852-53, suppressed with great cruelty by Ottoman troops, became one of the reasons for Russian pressure on Turkey. The Turkish authorities’ oppression of the religious and civil rights of the civilian population of the Balkan Peninsula and the murders and violence that took place caused outrage not only in Russia, but also in many other European countries.

At the same time, according to the Russian diplomat Konstantin Leontyev, who was in 1863-1871. in diplomatic service in Turkey, Russia’s main goal was not the political freedom of fellow believers, but dominance in Turkey:

Goals of Great Britain and its allies

During the Crimean War, British policy was effectively concentrated in the hands of Lord Palmerston. His point of view was stated by him to Lord John Russell:

At the same time, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Clarendon, without objecting to this program, in his great parliamentary speech on March 31, 1854, emphasized the moderation and unselfishness of England, which, according to him,

Napoleon III, who from the very beginning did not sympathize with Palmerston's fantastic idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe division of Russia, for obvious reasons refrained from objecting; Palmerston's program was designed in such a way as to acquire new allies: Sweden, Prussia, Austria, Sardinia were attracted in this way, Poland was encouraged to revolt, Shamil's war in the Caucasus was supported.

But it was almost impossible to please all potential allies at the same time. In addition, Palmerston clearly overestimated England's preparations for war and underestimated the Russians (Sevastopol, which was planned to be taken in a week, was successfully defended for almost a year).

The only part of the plan that the French Emperor could sympathize with (and which was quite popular in France) was the idea of ​​a free Poland. But it was precisely this idea that the Allies had to abandon first of all, so as not to alienate Austria and Prussia (namely, it was important for Napoleon III to attract them to his side in order to end the Holy Alliance).

But Napoleon III did not want to either strengthen England too much or weaken Russia beyond measure. Therefore, after the Allies managed to capture the southern part of Sevastopol, Napoleon III began to undermine Palmerston’s program and quickly reduced it to zero.

During the war, a poem by V. P. Alferyev, published in “Northern Bee” and beginning with a quatrain, gained wide popularity in Russia:

In England itself, a significant part of society did not understand the meaning of the Crimean War, and after the first serious military losses, a strong anti-war opposition arose in the country and in parliament. Later, the English historian D. Trevelyan wrote that the Crimean War “was simply a stupid expedition to the Black Sea, undertaken without sufficient grounds, because the English people were bored with the world... Bourgeois democracy, excited by its favorite newspapers, was incited to crusade for the sake of Turkish domination over the Balkan Christians...” The same misunderstanding of the goals of the war on the part of Great Britain is expressed by the modern English historian D. Lieven, who claims that “The Crimean War, first of all, was a French war.”

Apparently, one of the goals of Great Britain was the desire to force Russia to abandon the protectionist policy pursued by Nicholas I and introduce a regime favorable to the import of British goods. This is evidenced by the fact that already in 1857, less than a year after the end of the Crimean War, a liberal customs tariff was introduced in Russia, which reduced Russian customs duties to a minimum, which was probably one of the conditions imposed on Russia by Great Britain in during peace negotiations. As I. Wallerstein points out, during the 19th century. Great Britain has repeatedly resorted to military and political pressure on different countries to conclude a free trade agreement. Examples include British support for the Greek uprising and other separatist movements within the Ottoman Empire, which ended with the signing of a free trade agreement in 1838, the Opium War of Great Britain with China, which ended with the signing of the same treaty with it in 1842, etc. The same was the anti-Russian campaign in Great Britain on the eve of the Crimean War. As the historian M. Pokrovsky wrote about the period preceding its beginning, “Under the name of “Russian barbarism,” for protection against which English publicists appealed to the public opinion of both their country and all of Europe, it was, in essence, about the fight against Russian industrial protectionism."

The state of the Russian armed forces

As subsequent events showed, Russia was not organizationally and technically ready for war. The combat strength of the army (which included the internal guard corps, which was not capable of combat) was far from the million people and 200 thousand horses listed on the lists; the reserve system was unsatisfactory. Average mortality among recruits in peacetime between 1826 and 1858. was 3.5% per year, which was explained by the disgusting sanitary condition of the army. In addition, only in 1849 the meat distribution standards were increased to 84 pounds of meat per year for each combatant soldier (100 grams per day) and 42 pounds for non-combatant. Previously, even in the guards, only 37 pounds were issued.

Russia was forced, due to the threat of intervention in the war by Austria, Prussia and Sweden, to keep a significant part of the army on the western border, and in connection with Caucasian War 1817-1864 to divert part of the ground forces to fight the highlanders.

The technical lag of the Russian army and navy, associated with radical technical re-equipment in the middle of the 19th century, acquired threatening proportions. armies of Great Britain and France that carried out the Industrial Revolution.

Army

Regular troops	Generals and officers	Lower ranks
Active
Infantry (regiments, rifle and line battalions)
Cavalry
Foot artillery
Horse artillery
Garrison artillery
Engineer troops (sappers and cavalry pioneers)
Various teams (disabled and military work companies, garrison engineers)
Inner Guard Corps
Reserve and spare
Cavalry
Artillery and sappers
On indefinite leave, not included in the military personnel
Total regular troops
In all irregular forces
Total troops

Name		Consisted by 1853	was missing
For field troops
Infantry rifles
Dragoon and Cossack rifles
Carbines
Shtutserov
Pistols
For garrisons
Infantry rifles
Dragoon rifles

In the 1840-1850s, the process of replacing outdated smooth-bore guns with new rifled ones was actively underway in European armies: by the beginning of the Crimean War, the share of rifled guns in the small arms of the Russian army did not exceed 4-5%, while in the French, rifled guns made up about a third of small arms , and in English - more than half.

Infantry armed with rifled guns, in oncoming combat (especially from shelters), had a significant superiority due to the range and accuracy of their fire: rifled guns had an effective firing range of up to 1200 steps, and smooth-bore guns - no more than 300 steps while maintaining a lethal force of up to 600 steps.

The Russian army, like the allies, had smooth-bore artillery, the range of which (when fired with buckshot) reached 900 steps. This was three times the range of actual fire from smoothbore rifles, which inflicted heavy losses on the advancing Russian infantry, while Allied infantry, armed with rifled rifles, could shoot Russian artillery crews while remaining out of range of grapeshot fire.

It is also worth noting that until 1853, the Russian army issued 10 rounds of ammunition per year per person for training infantry and dragoons. However, the Allied armies also had shortcomings. Thus, in the British army during the Crimean War, the archaic practice of recruiting the army was widespread officers by selling ranks for money.

The future minister of war during the reign of Alexander II, D. A. Milyutin, writes in his notes: “...Even in military affairs, which the emperor was engaged in with such passionate enthusiasm, the same concern for order and discipline prevailed; they were not chasing the essential improvement of the army, behind its adaptation to combat purposes, but behind only its external harmony, behind its brilliant appearance at parades, pedantic observance of countless petty formalities that dull human reason and kill the true military spirit.”

At the same time, a number of facts indicate that the shortcomings in the organization of the Russian army were greatly exaggerated by critics of Nicholas I. Thus, the wars of Russia with Persia and Turkey in 1826-1829. ended with the quick defeat of both opponents. During the Crimean War, the Russian army, which was significantly inferior in the quality of its weapons and technical equipment to the armies of Great Britain and France, showed miracles of courage, high morale and military training. It should be taken into account that in the main theater of military operations, in the Crimea, the allied expeditionary force, which, along with army units, included elite guards units, was opposed by ordinary Russian army units, as well as naval crews.

The generals who made their careers after the death of Nicholas I (including the future Minister of War D. A. Milyutin) and criticized their predecessors could do this deliberately in order to hide their own serious mistakes and incompetence. Thus, the historian M. Pokrovsky gave examples of the incompetent conduct of the Russian-Turkish campaign of 1877-1878. (when Milyutin himself was Minister of War). Losses of Russia and its allies Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, which in 1877-1878. Only Turkey, which was technically and militarily weak, was opposed; Turkish losses were exceeded, which speaks in favor of poor organization of military operations. At the same time, in the Crimean War, Russia, which alone opposed a coalition of four powers that were significantly superior to it technically and militarily, suffered fewer losses than its opponents, which indicates the opposite. Thus, according to B. Ts. Urlanis, combat and non-combat losses in the Russian army amounted to 134,800 people, and losses in the armies of Great Britain, France and Turkey - 162,800 people, including 117,400 people in the armies of the two Western powers. At the same time, it should be taken into account that during the Crimean War the Russian army acted on the defensive, and in 1877 on the offensive, which could have caused the difference in losses.

The combat units that conquered the Caucasus before the start of the war were distinguished by initiative and determination, and high coordination of the actions of infantry, cavalry and artillery.

The Russian army was armed with missiles of the Konstantinov system, which were used in the defense of Sevastopol, as well as in the Caucasus, the Danube and the Baltic.

Fleet

The balance of forces of the Russian and allied fleets by the summer of 1854, by type of ship
Theaters of war	Black Sea		Baltic Sea		White Sea		Pacific Ocean
Ship types		Allies		Allies		Allies		Allies
Total battleships
Sailing
Frigates in total
Sailing
Other total
Sailing

Great Britain and France went to war with Russia, believing that sailing battleships could still have military value. Respectively sailing ships took part in actions in the Baltic and Black Sea in 1854; however, the experience of the first months of the war in both theaters of operations convinced the Allies that sailing ships have lost practical value as combat units. However, the Battle of Sinop, the successful battle of the Russian sailing frigate Flora with three Turkish frigates, as well as the defense of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in which sailing ships participated on both sides, indicate the opposite.

The Allies had a significant advantage in all types of ships, including steam battleships there were none in the Russian fleet at all. On that moment English fleet in terms of numbers it was the first in the world, French was in second, and Russian was in third place.

The nature of combat operations at sea was significantly influenced by the presence of bomb guns among the warring parties, which proved to be an effective weapon for combating both wooden and iron ships. In general, Russia managed to sufficiently arm its ships and coastal batteries with such weapons before the start of the war.

In 1851-1852, the construction of two screw frigates and the conversion of three sailing ships into screw ones began in the Baltic. The main base of the fleet, Kronstadt, was well fortified. The Kronstadt fortress artillery, along with barrel artillery, also included rocket launchers designed for salvo fire at enemy ships at a distance of up to 2600 meters.

A special feature of the naval theater in the Baltic was that due to the shallow water Gulf of Finland capital ships could not approach St. Petersburg directly. Therefore, during the war, to protect it, on the initiative of Captain 2nd Rank Shestakov and with the support of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, 32 wooden screw gunboats were built in record time from January to May 1855. And in the next 8 months, another 35 screw gunboats, as well as 14 screw corvettes and clippers. Steam engines, boilers and materials for their casings were manufactured under the general supervision of the official of special assignments of the shipbuilding department N.I. Putilov in St. Petersburg mechanical workshops. Russian craftsmen were appointed mechanics for the propeller-driven warships being commissioned. The bomb cannons mounted on the gunboats turned these small ships into a serious fighting force. French Admiral Penaud wrote at the end of the war: “The steam gunboats so quickly built by the Russians completely changed our situation.”

For the defense of the Baltic coast, for the first time in the world, the Russians used underwater mines with chemical contact fuses developed by Academician B. S. Jacobi.

The leadership of the Black Sea Fleet was carried out by admirals Kornilov, Istomin, and Nakhimov, who had significant combat experience.

The main base of the Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol, was protected from attack from the sea by strong coastal fortifications. Before the Allied landings in Crimea, there were no fortifications to protect Sevastopol from land.

In 1853, the Black Sea Fleet conducted active military operations at sea - it provided the transportation, supply and artillery support of Russian troops on the Caucasian coast, successfully fought the Turkish military and merchant fleet, fought with individual Anglo-French steam ships, carried out shelling of their camps and artillery support for their troops. After the sinking of 5 battleships and 2 frigates to blockade the entrance to the Northern Bay of Sevastopol, the remaining sailing ships of the Black Sea Fleet were used as floating batteries, and steamships to tow them.

In 1854-1855, Russian sailors did not use mines on the Black Sea, despite the fact that ground forces had already used underwater mines at the mouth of the Danube in 1854 and at the mouth of the Bug in 1855. As a result, the possibility of using underwater mines to block the entrance of the allied fleet to Sevastopol Bay and other Crimean harbors remained unused.

In 1854, for the defense of the North Sea coast, the Arkhangelsk Admiralty built 20 oared 2-gun gunboats, and 14 more in 1855.

The Turkish navy consisted of 13 battleships and frigates and 17 steamships. The command staff was strengthened by English advisers even before the start of the war.

Campaign 1853

Beginning of the Russian-Turkish War

On September 27 (October 9), the Russian commander Prince Gorchakov received a message from the commander of the Turkish troops, Omer Pasha, which contained a demand to clear the Danube principalities within 15 days. At the beginning of October, before the deadline specified by Omer Pasha, the Turks began to fire at the Russian forward pickets. On the morning of October 11 (23), the Turks opened fire on the Russian steamships Prut and Ordinarets, passing along the Danube past the Isakchi fortress. On October 21 (November 2), Turkish troops began to cross to the left bank of the Danube and create a bridgehead for an attack on the Russian army.

In the Caucasus, Russian troops defeated the Turkish Anatolian army in the battles of Akhaltsikhe, where on November 13-14, 1853, according to Art. With. General Andronikov's seven-thousand-strong garrison drove back Ali Pasha's 15,000-strong army; and on November 19 of the same year, near Bashkadyklar, a 10,000-strong detachment of General Bebutov defeated the 36,000-strong army of Ahmed Pasha. This allowed us to spend the winter calmly. In details.

On the Black Sea, the Russian fleet blocked Turkish ships in ports.

On October 20 (31), the battle of the steamer "Colchis", transporting a company of soldiers to reinforce the garrison of the post of St. Nicholas, located on the Caucasian coast. When approaching the shore, the Colchis ran aground and came under fire from the Turks, who captured the post and destroyed its entire garrison. She repelled the boarding attempt, refloated and, despite the losses among the crew and the damage received, arrived in Sukhum.

On November 4 (15), the Russian steamer Bessarabia, cruising in the Sinop area, captured without a fight the Turkish steamer Medjari-Tejaret (became part of the Black Sea Fleet under the name Turok).

November 5 (17) the world's first battle of steam ships. The Russian steam frigate "Vladimir" captured the Turkish steamer "Pervaz-Bahri" (became part of the Black Sea Fleet under the name "Kornilov").

On November 9 (21), a successful battle in the area of ​​​​Cape Pitsunda of the Russian frigate "Flora" with 3 Turkish steamships "Taif", "Feizi-Bahri" and "Saik-Ishade" under the overall command of the English military adviser Slade. After a 4-hour battle, the Flora forced the ships to retreat, taking the flagship Taif in tow.

On November 18 (30), the squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Nakhimov during Battle of Sinop destroyed the Turkish squadron of Osman Pasha.

Allied entry

The Sinop incident served as a formal basis for the entry of England and France into the war against Russia.

Upon receiving news of the Battle of Sinop, the English and French squadrons, together with a division of the Ottoman fleet, entered the Black Sea on December 22, 1853 (January 4, 1854). The admirals commanding the fleet informed the Russian authorities that they had the task of protecting Turkish ships and ports from attacks from the Russian side. When asked about the purpose of such an action, the Western powers replied that they meant not only to protect the Turks from any attack from the sea, but also to assist them in supplying their ports, while preventing the free navigation of Russian ships. January 17 (29), the French emperor presented Russia with an ultimatum: to withdraw troops from the Danube principalities and begin negotiations with Turkey. On February 9 (21), Russia rejected the ultimatum and announced the severance of diplomatic relations with England and France.

At the same time, Emperor Nicholas turned to the Berlin and Viennese courts, inviting them, in the event of war, to maintain neutrality, supported by weapons. Austria and Prussia evaded this proposal, as well as the alliance proposed to them by England and France, but concluded a separate agreement between themselves. A special article of this treaty stipulated that if the Russians did not move out of the Danube principalities soon, then Austria would demand their cleansing, Prussia would support this demand, and then, in the event of an unsatisfactory response, both powers would begin offensive actions, which could also be caused the annexation of principalities to Russia or the transition of Russians to the Balkans.

On March 15 (27), 1854, Great Britain and France declared war on Russia. On March 30 (April 11), Russia responded with a similar statement.

Campaign 1854

At the beginning of 1854, the entire border strip of Russia was divided into sections, each subordinate to a special commander with the rights of commander-in-chief of an army or a separate corps. These areas were as follows:

• The coast of the Baltic Sea (Finland, St. Petersburg and Baltic provinces), the military forces of which consisted of 179 battalions, 144 squadrons and hundreds, with 384 guns;
• Kingdom of Poland and western provinces - 146 battalions, 100 squadrons and hundreds, with 308 guns;
• The space along the Danube and the Black Sea to the Bug River - 182 battalions, 285 squadrons and hundreds, with 612 guns (sections 2 and 3 were under the main command of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich);
• Crimea and the Black Sea coast from the Bug to Perekop - 27 battalions, 19 squadrons and hundreds, 48 ​​guns;
• the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Black Sea region - 31½ battalions, 140 hundreds and squadrons, 54 guns;
• Caucasian and Transcaucasian regions - 152 battalions, 281 hundreds and a squadron, 289 guns (⅓ of these troops were on the Turkish border, the rest - inside the region, against hostile highlanders).
• The shores of the White Sea were guarded by only 2½ battalions.
• The defense of Kamchatka, where there were also insignificant forces, was headed by Rear Admiral Zavoiko.

Invasion of Crimea and siege of Sevastopol

In April, the allied fleet of 28 ships carried out bombing of Odessa, during which 9 merchant ships were burned in the harbor. The Allies had 4 frigates damaged and taken to Varna for repairs. In addition, on May 12, in conditions of dense fog, the English steamer Tiger ran aground 6 miles from Odessa. 225 crew members were taken prisoner by the Russians, and the ship itself was sunk.

On June 3 (15), 1854, 2 English and 1 French steam frigate approached Sevastopol, from where 6 Russian steam frigates came out to meet them. Taking advantage of their superior speed, the enemy, after a short firefight, went to sea.

On June 14 (26), 1854, a battle between the Anglo-French fleet of 21 ships took place against the coastal fortifications of Sevastopol.

At the beginning of July, allied forces consisting of 40 thousand French, under the command of Marshal Saint-Arnaud, and 20 thousand English, under the command of Lord Raglan, landed near Varna, from where part of the French troops undertook an expedition to Dobruja, but cholera, which developed to terrible proportions in French airborne corps, forced us to temporarily abandon all offensive actions.

Failures at sea and in Dobruja forced the allies to now turn to the implementation of a long-planned enterprise - the invasion of the Crimea, especially since public opinion in England loudly demanded that, in compensation for all the losses and costs caused by the war, the naval institutions of Sevastopol and the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

On September 2 (14), 1854, the landing of the coalition expeditionary force in Yevpatoria began. In total, about 61 thousand soldiers were transported ashore in the first days of September. September 8 (20), 1854 Battle of Alma The allies defeated the Russian army (33 thousand soldiers), which tried to block their path to Sevastopol. The Russian army was forced to retreat. During the battle, the qualitative superiority of Allied rifled weapons over Russian smooth-bore weapons was evident for the first time. The command of the Black Sea Fleet was going to attack the enemy fleet in order to disrupt the Allied offensive. However, the Black Sea Fleet received a categorical order not to go to sea, but to defend Sevastopol with the help of sailors and ship guns.

September 22nd. An attack by an Anglo-French detachment consisting of 4 steam-frigates (72 guns) on the Ochakov fortress and the Russian rowing flotilla located here, consisting of 2 small steamers and 8 rowing gunboats (36 guns) under the command of captain 2nd rank Endogurov. After a three-hour long-range firefight, the enemy ships, having received damage, went to sea.

Started siege of Sevastopol. On October 5 (17), the first bombing of the city took place, during which Kornilov died.

On the same day, the Allied fleet attempted to make a breakthrough into the inner roadstead of Sevastopol, but was defeated. During the battle, the better training of Russian artillerymen, who exceeded the enemy's rate of fire by more than 2.5 times, was revealed, as well as the vulnerability of Allied ships, including iron steamships, from Russian coastal artillery fire. Thus, a Russian 3-pound bomb pierced all the decks of the French battleship Charlemagne, exploded in his car and destroyed it. The remaining ships participating in the battle also received serious damage. One of the commanders of the French ships assessed this battle as follows: “Another such battle, and half of our Black Sea Fleet will be useless.”

Saint-Arnaud died on September 29. Three days earlier, he had transferred command of the French troops to Canrobert.

October 13 (25) happened Battle of Balaklava, as a result of which Allied troops (20 thousand soldiers) thwarted the attempt of Russian troops (23 thousand soldiers) to release Sevastopol. During the battle, Russian soldiers managed to capture some Allied positions defended by Turkish troops, which they had to abandon, consoling themselves with the trophies captured from the Turks (banner, eleven cast-iron guns, etc.). This battle became famous thanks to two episodes:

• The Thin Red Line - At a critical moment in the battle for the Allies, trying to stop the breakthrough of the Russian cavalry into Balaclava, the commander of the 93rd Scottish Regiment, Colin Campbell, stretched his riflemen into a line not of four, as was then customary, but of two. The attack was successfully repulsed, after which the phrase “thin red line” came into use in the English language, denoting defense with all its might.
• Charge of the Light Brigade - the execution by a brigade of English light cavalry of a misunderstood order, which led to a suicidal attack on well-fortified Russian positions. The phrase “light cavalry charge” has become English language synonymous with a desperate, hopeless attack. This light cavalry, which fell at Balaklava, included representatives of the most aristocratic families. Balaklava Day forever remained a mourning date in military history England.

In an effort to disrupt the assault on Sevastopol planned by the allies, on November 5, Russian troops (totaling 32 thousand people) attacked British troops (8 thousand people) near Inkerman. In the ensuing battle, Russian troops had initial success; but the arrival of French reinforcements (8 thousand people) turned the tide of the battle in favor of the allies. The French artillery was especially effective. The Russians were ordered to retreat. According to a number of participants in the battle on the Russian side, the decisive role was played by the unsuccessful leadership of Menshikov, who did not use the available reserves (12,000 soldiers under the command of Dannenberg and 22,500 under the command of Gorchakov). The retreat of Russian troops to Sevastopol was covered with their fire by the steamship frigates Vladimir and Chersonesus. The assault on Sevastopol was thwarted for several months, which gave time to strengthen the city.

On November 14, a severe storm off the coast of Crimea led to the loss of more than 53 ships by the Allies (including 25 transports). Additionally, two battleships (the French 100-gun Henry IV and the Turkish 90-gun Peiki Messeret) and 3 Allied steam corvettes were wrecked near Evpatoria. In particular, supplies of winter clothing and medicine sent to the Allied airborne corps were lost, which put the Allies in a difficult situation in the conditions of the approaching winter. The storm of November 14, due to the heavy losses it caused to the Allied fleet and transports with supplies, was equated by them to a lost naval battle.

On November 24, the steam frigates “Vladimir” and “Khersones”, having left the Sevastopol roadstead at sea, attacked a French steamer stationed near Pesochnaya Bay and forced it to leave, after which, approaching Streletskaya Bay, they fired bombs at the French camp located on the shore and enemy steamships .

On the Danube in March 1854, Russian troops cross the Danube and besiege Silistria in May. At the end of June, due to the increased danger of Austria entering the war, the siege was lifted and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova and Wallachia began. As the Russians retreated, the Turks slowly moved forward, and on August 10 (22) Omer Pasha entered Bucharest. At the same time, Austrian troops crossed the border of Wallachia, who, by agreement of the allies with the Turkish government, replaced the Turks and occupied the principalities.

In the Caucasus, Russian troops occupied Bayazet on July 19 (31), and on July 24 (August 5), 1854 they fought a successful battle at Kuryuk-Dar, 18 km from Kars, but have not yet been able to begin the siege of this fortress, in the area of ​​which 60- thousandth Turkish army. The Black Sea coastline was abolished.

In the Baltic, two divisions of the Baltic Fleet were left to strengthen the defense of Kronstadt, and the third was located near Sveaborg. The main points on the Baltic coast were covered by coastal batteries, and gunboats were actively built.

With the sea cleared of ice, a strong Anglo-French fleet (11 screw and 15 sailing battleships, 32 steam frigates and 7 sailing frigates) under the command of Vice Admiral C. Napier and Vice Admiral A. F. Parseval-Deschene entered the Baltic and blocked the Russian Baltic Fleet (26 sailing battleships, 9 steam frigates and 9 sailing frigates) in Kronstadt and Sveaborg.

Not daring to attack these bases due to Russian minefields, the Allies began blockading the coast and bombarded a number of settlements in Finland. On July 26 (August 7), 1854, an 11,000-strong Anglo-French landing force landed on the Åland Islands and besieged Bomarsund, which surrendered after destroying the fortifications. Attempts by other landings (in Ekenes, Ganga, Gamlakarleby and Abo) ended in failure. In the fall of 1854, the allied squadrons left the Baltic Sea.

On the White Sea, the actions of the allied squadron of Captain Omaney were limited to the capture of small merchant ships, the robbery of coastal residents, and the double bombing of the Solovetsky Monastery. There were attempts to launch a landing, but they were abandoned. During the bombardment of the city of Kola, about 110 houses, 2 churches (including a masterpiece of Russian wooden architecture, the Resurrection Cathedral of the 17th century), and shops were burned by enemy fire.

On Pacific Ocean The garrison of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky under the command of Major General V.S. Zavoiko on August 18-24 (August 30-September 5), 1854, repelled the attack of the Anglo-French squadron under the command of Rear Admiral David Price, defeating the landing party.

Diplomatic efforts

In 1854, diplomatic negotiations between the warring parties were held in Vienna through the mediation of Austria. England and France, as peace conditions, demanded a ban on Russia keeping a naval fleet on the Black Sea, Russia’s renunciation of the protectorate over Moldavia and Wallachia and claims to patronage of the Sultan’s Orthodox subjects, as well as “freedom of navigation” on the Danube (that is, depriving Russia of access to its mouths).

On December 2 (14), Austria announced an alliance with England and France. On December 28, 1854 (January 9, 1855), a conference of the ambassadors of England, France, Austria and Russia opened, but the negotiations did not produce results and were interrupted in April 1855.

On January 26, 1855, the Kingdom of Sardinia joined the allies and concluded an agreement with France, after which 15 thousand Piedmontese soldiers went to Sevastopol. According to Palmerston's plan, Sardinia was to receive Venice and Lombardy, taken from Austria, for participation in the coalition. After the war, France concluded an agreement with Sardinia, in which it officially assumed the corresponding obligations (which, however, were never fulfilled).

Campaign 1855

February 18 (March 2), 1855 Russian Emperor Nicholas I died suddenly. Russian throne inherited by his son, Alexander II.

Crimea and the siege of Sevastopol

After the capture of the southern part of Sevastopol, the allied commanders-in-chief, who did not dare to move with the army into the peninsula due to a lack of convoys, began to threaten a movement to Nikolaev, which, with the fall of Sevastopol, gained importance, since Russian naval institutions and supplies were located there. To this end, a strong allied fleet approached Kinburn on October 2 (14) and, after a two-day bombardment, forced it to surrender.

For the bombardment of Kinburn by the French, for the first time in world practice, armored floating platforms were used, which turned out to be practically invulnerable to the Kinburn coastal batteries and the fort, the most powerful weapons of which were medium-caliber 24-pound guns. Their cast-iron cannonballs left dents no more than an inch deep in the 4½-inch armor of the French floating batteries, and the fire of the batteries themselves was so destructive that, according to the British observers present, the batteries alone would have been enough to destroy the walls of Kinburn in three hours.

Leaving Bazaine's troops and a small squadron in Kinburn, the British and French sailed to Sevastopol, near which they began to settle for the upcoming winter.

Other theaters of war

For operations in the Baltic Sea in 1855, the Allies equipped 67 ships; This fleet appeared in front of Kronstadt in mid-May, hoping to lure the Russian fleet stationed there into the sea. Without waiting for this and making sure that the fortifications of Kronstadt were strengthened and underwater mines were laid in many places, the enemy limited himself to raids by light ships on various places on the Finnish coast.

On July 25 (August 6), the allied fleet bombarded Sveaborg for 45 hours, but apart from the destruction of buildings, it did almost no damage to the fortress.

In the Caucasus, Russia's major victory in 1855 was the capture of Kars. The first attack on the fortress took place on June 4 (16), its siege began on June 6 (18), and by mid-August it had become all-out. After a major but unsuccessful assault on September 17 (29), N. N. Muravyov continued the siege until the surrender of the Ottoman garrison, which took place on November 16 (28), 1855. The commander of the garrison, Wassif Pasha, surrendered the keys to the city, 12 Turkish banners and 18.5 thousand prisoners. As a result of this victory, Russian troops began to successfully control not only the city, but also its entire region, including Ardahan, Kagyzman, Olty and the Lower Basen Sanjak.

War and propaganda

Propaganda was an integral part of the war. A few years before the Crimean War (in 1848), Karl Marx, who himself actively published in the Western European press, wrote that a German newspaper, in order to save its liberal reputation, had to “show hatred of the Russians in a timely manner.”

F. Engels, in several articles in the English press published in March-April 1853, accused Russia of seeking to seize Constantinople, although it was well known that the Russian ultimatum of February 1853 did not contain any territorial claims of Russia itself against Turkey. In another article (April 1853), Marx and Engels scolded the Serbs for not wanting to read books printed in their language in the West in Latin letters, but only reading books in Cyrillic printed in Russia; and rejoiced that an “anti-Russian progressive party” had finally appeared in Serbia.

Also in 1853, the English liberal newspaper Daily News assured its readers that Christians in the Ottoman Empire enjoyed greater religious freedom than in Orthodox Russia and Catholic Austria.

In 1854, the London Times wrote: “It would be nice to return Russia to the cultivation of inland lands, to drive the Muscovites deep into the forests and steppes.” In the same year, D. Russell, leader of the House of Commons and head of the Liberal Party, said: “We must tear the fangs out of the bear... Until his fleet and naval arsenal on the Black Sea are destroyed, Constantinople will not be safe, there will be no peace in Europe.”

Widespread anti-Western, patriotic and jingoistic propaganda began in Russia, which was supported by both official speeches and spontaneous speeches by the patriotically minded part of society. In fact, for the first time since Patriotic War 1812 Russia opposed itself to a large coalition of European countries, demonstrating its “special status.” At the same time, some of the most strident jingoistic speeches were not allowed to be published by Nikolaev censorship, which happened, for example, in 1854-1855. with two poems by F.I. Tyutchev (“Prophecy” and “Now you have no time for poetry”).

Diplomatic efforts

After the fall of Sevastopol, differences arose in the coalition. Palmerston wanted to continue the war, Napoleon III did not. The French emperor began secret (separate) negotiations with Russia. Meanwhile, Austria announced its readiness to join the allies. In mid-December, she presented Russia with an ultimatum:

• replacing the Russian protectorate over Wallachia and Serbia with the protectorate of all the great powers;
• establishing freedom of navigation at the mouths of the Danube;
• preventing the passage of anyone's squadrons through the Dardanelles and the Bosporus into the Black Sea, prohibiting Russia and Turkey from keeping a navy in the Black Sea and having arsenals and military fortifications on the shores of this sea;
• Russia's refusal to patronize the Sultan's Orthodox subjects;
• cession by Russia in favor of Moldova of the section of Bessarabia adjacent to the Danube.

A few days later, Alexander II received a letter from Frederick William IV, who urged the Russian emperor to accept Austrian terms, hinting that otherwise Prussia might join the anti-Russian coalition. Thus, Russia found itself in complete diplomatic isolation, which, given the depletion of resources and the defeats inflicted by the allies, put it in an extremely difficult position.

On the evening of December 20, 1855, a meeting convened by him took place in the tsar’s office. It was decided to invite Austria to omit the 5th point. Austria rejected this proposal. Then Alexander II convened a secondary meeting on January 15, 1856. The assembly unanimously decided to accept the ultimatum as preconditions for peace.

Results of the war

On February 13 (25), 1856, the Paris Congress began, and on March 18 (30) a peace treaty was signed.

• Russia returned the city of Kars with a fortress to the Ottomans, receiving in exchange Sevastopol, Balaklava and other Crimean cities captured from it.
• The Black Sea was declared neutral (that is, open to commercial traffic and closed to military vessels in peacetime), with Russia and the Ottoman Empire prohibited from having military fleets and arsenals there.
• Navigation along the Danube was declared free, for which the Russian borders were moved away from the river and part of Russian Bessarabia with the mouth of the Danube was annexed to Moldova.
• Russia was deprived of the protectorate over Moldavia and Wallachia granted to it by the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace of 1774 and the exclusive protection of Russia over the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire.
• Russia pledged not to build fortifications on the Åland Islands.

During the war, the participants in the anti-Russian coalition failed to achieve all of their goals, but managed to prevent Russia from strengthening in the Balkans and temporarily deprive it of the Black Sea Fleet.

Consequences of the war

Russia

• The war led to the breakdown of the financial system Russian Empire(Russia spent 800 million rubles on the war, Britain - 76 million pounds): to finance military expenses, the government had to resort to printing unsecured banknotes, which led to a decrease in their silver coverage from 45% in 1853 to 19% in 1858, then there is actually more than a twofold depreciation of the ruble. Russia was able to achieve a deficit-free state budget again in 1870, that is, 14 years after the end of the war. It was possible to establish a stable exchange rate of the ruble to gold and restore its international conversion in 1897, during the Witte monetary reform.
• The war became the impetus for economic reforms and, subsequently, for the abolition of serfdom.
• The experience of the Crimean War partially formed the basis for the military reforms of the 1860-1870s in Russia (replacing the outdated 25-year military service, etc.).

In 1871, Russia achieved the lifting of the ban on keeping the navy in the Black Sea under the London Convention. In 1878, Russia was able to return the lost territories under the Treaty of Berlin, signed within the framework of the Berlin Congress, which took place following the results of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

• The government of the Russian Empire is beginning to reconsider its policy in the field of railway construction, which previously manifested itself in the repeated blocking of private construction projects railways, including Kremenchug, Kharkov and Odessa and defending the unprofitability and unnecessaryness of the construction of railways south of Moscow. In September 1854, an order was issued to begin research on the line Moscow - Kharkov - Kremenchug - Elizavetgrad - Olviopol - Odessa. In October 1854, an order was received to begin research on the Kharkov - Feodosia line, in February 1855 - on a branch from the Kharkov-Feodosia line to Donbass, in June 1855 - on the Genichesk - Simferopol - Bakhchisarai - Sevastopol line. On January 26, 1857, the Highest Decree was issued on the creation of the first railway network.

Britannia

Military failures caused the resignation of the British government of Aberdeen, who was replaced in his post by Palmerston. The depravity of the official system of selling officer ranks for money, which has been preserved in the British army since medieval times, was revealed.

Ottoman Empire

During the Eastern Campaign, the Ottoman Empire made a loan in England of 7 million pounds sterling. In 1858, the Sultan's treasury was declared bankrupt.

In February 1856, Sultan Abdülmecid I was forced to issue the ghatti sherif (decree) Hatt-ı Hümayun, which proclaimed freedom of religion and equality of subjects of the empire regardless of nationality.

Austria

Austria found itself in political isolation until October 23, 1873, when a new alliance of three emperors (Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary) was concluded.

Influence on military affairs

The Crimean War gave impetus to development armed forces, military and naval art European countries. In many countries, a transition began from smooth-bore weapons to rifled weapons, from a sailing wooden fleet to a steam-powered armored one, and positional forms of warfare arose.

In the ground forces, the role of small arms and, accordingly, fire preparation for an attack increased, a new battle formation appeared - a rifle chain, which was also the result of a sharply increased capabilities of small arms. Over time, it completely replaced the columns and loose construction.

• Sea barrage mines were invented and used for the first time.
• The beginning of the use of the telegraph for military purposes was laid.
• Florence Nightingale laid the foundations for modern sanitation and care for the wounded in hospitals - in less than six months after her arrival in Turkey, mortality in hospitals decreased from 42 to 2.2%.
• For the first time in the history of wars, sisters of mercy were involved in caring for the wounded.
• Nikolai Pirogov was the first in Russian field medicine to use a plaster cast, which accelerated the healing process of fractures and saved the wounded from ugly curvature of the limbs.

Other

• One of the early manifestations of the information war is documented when, immediately after the Battle of Sinop, English newspapers wrote in reports on the battle that the Russians were finishing off the wounded Turks floating in the sea.
• On March 1, 1854, a new asteroid was discovered by the German astronomer Robert Luther at the Dusseldorf Observatory, Germany. This asteroid was named (28) Bellona in honor of Bellona, ​​the ancient Roman goddess of war, part of the retinue of Mars. The name was proposed by the German astronomer Johann Encke and symbolized the beginning of the Crimean War.
• On March 31, 1856, the German astronomer Hermann Gold Schmidt discovered an asteroid named (40) Harmony. The name was chosen to commemorate the end of the Crimean War.
• For the first time, photography was widely used to cover the progress of the war. In particular, a collection of photographs taken by Roger Fenton and numbering 363 images was purchased by the Library of Congress.
• The practice of constant weather forecasting emerged, first in Europe and then throughout the world. The storm of November 14, 1854, which caused heavy losses to the Allied fleet, and the fact that these losses could have been prevented, forced the Emperor of France, Napoleon III, to personally instruct his country's leading astronomer, W. Le Verrier, to create an effective weather forecast service. Already on February 19, 1855, just three months after the storm in Balaclava, the first forecast map was created, the prototype of those we see in weather news, and in 1856 there were already 13 weather stations operating in France.
• Cigarettes were invented: the habit of wrapping tobacco crumbs in old newspapers was copied by the British and French troops in the Crimea from their Turkish comrades.
• The young author Leo Tolstoy gained all-Russian fame with his “Sevastopol Stories” published in the press from the scene of events. Here he created a song criticizing the actions of the command in the battle on the Black River.

Losses

Losses by country
	Population, 1853				Died from wounds	Died from disease	From other reasons
England (without colonies)
France (without colonies)
Sardinia
Ottoman Empire

According to estimates of military losses, total number those killed in battle, as well as those who died from wounds and diseases in the Allied army amounted to 160-170 thousand people, in the Russian army - 100-110 thousand people. Other estimates put the total number of deaths in the war, including non-combat losses, at approximately 250,000 each on the Russian and Allied sides.

Awards

• In Great Britain, the Crimean Medal was established to reward distinguished soldiers, and the Royal Medal was established to reward those who distinguished themselves in the Baltic. navy and the Marine Corps - the Baltic medal. In 1856, to reward those who distinguished themselves during the Crimean War, the Victoria Cross medal was established, which is still the highest military award in Great Britain.
• In the Russian Empire, on November 26, 1856, Emperor Alexander II established the medal “In Memory of the War of 1853-1856,” as well as the medal “For the Defense of Sevastopol,” and ordered the Mint to produce 100,000 copies of the medal.
• On August 26, 1856, Alexander II granted the population of Taurida a “Certificate of Gratitude.”

By the middle of the 19th century, the international situation in Europe remained extremely tense: Austria and Prussia continued to concentrate their troops on the border with Russia, England and France asserted their colonial power with blood and sword. In this situation, a war broke out between Russia and Turkey, which went down in history as the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Causes of military conflict

By the 50s of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had finally lost its power. The Russian state, on the contrary, after the suppression of revolutions in European countries, rose in power. Emperor Nicholas I decided to further strengthen the power of Russia. First of all, he wanted the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles to become free for the Russian fleet. This led to fighting between the Russian and Turkish empires. Besides, the main reasons were :

• Turkey had the right to allow the fleet of the allied powers to pass through the Bosporus and Dardanelles in the event of hostilities.
• Russia openly supported the Orthodox peoples under the yoke of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish government has repeatedly expressed its indignation at Russia’s interference in the internal politics of the Turkish state.
• The Turkish government, led by Abdulmecid, longed for revenge for defeat in two wars with Russia in 1806-1812 and 1828-1829.

Nicholas I, preparing for war with Turkey, counted on the non-interference of the Western powers in the military conflict. However, the Russian emperor was cruelly mistaken - Western countries instigated by Great Britain, they openly sided with Turkey. British policy has traditionally been to eradicate by all means the slightest strengthening of any country.

Start of hostilities

The reason for the war was a dispute between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches over the right to own the holy lands in Palestine. In addition, Russia demanded that the Black Sea straits be recognized as free for the Russian navy. The Turkish Sultan Abdulmecid, encouraged by the support of England, declared war on the Russian Empire.

If we talk briefly about the Crimean War, it can be divided into two main stages:

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• First stage lasted from October 16, 1853 to March 27, 1854. For the first six months of military operations on three fronts - the Black Sea, Danube and Caucasus, Russian troops invariably prevailed over the Ottoman Turks.
• Second phase lasted from March 27, 1854 to February 1856. Number of participants in the Crimean War 1853-1856. grew due to the entry into the war of England and France. A radical turning point is coming in the war.

Progress of the military campaign

By the autumn of 1853, events on the Danube front were sluggish and indecisive for both sides.

• The Russian group of forces was commanded only by Gorchakov, who thought only about the defense of the Danube bridgehead. The Turkish troops of Omer Pasha, after futile attempts to go on the offensive on the Wallachian border, also switched to passive defense.
• Events in the Caucasus developed much more rapidly: on October 16, 1854, a detachment consisting of 5 thousand Turks attacked the Russian border outpost between Batum and Poti. The Turkish commander Abdi Pasha hoped to crush Russian troops in Transcaucasia and unite with the Chechen Imam Shamil. But the Russian general Bebutov upset the plans of the Turks, defeating them near the village of Bashkadyklar in November 1853.
• But the loudest victory was achieved at sea by Admiral Nakhimov on November 30, 1853. The Russian squadron completely destroyed the Turkish fleet located in Sinop Bay. The commander of the Turkish fleet, Osman Pasha, was captured by Russian sailors. It was last battle in the history of the sailing fleet.

• The crushing victories of the Russian army and navy were not to the liking of England and France. The governments of Queen Victoria of England and French Emperor Napoleon III demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from the mouth of the Danube. Nicholas I refused. In response to this, on March 27, 1854, England declared war on Russia. Due to the concentration of the Austrian armed forces and the ultimatum of the Austrian government, Nicholas I was forced to agree to the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Danube principalities.

The following table presents the main events of the second period of the Crimean War, indicating dates and summary each of the events:

date	Event	Content
March 27, 1854	England declared war on Russia	The declaration of war was a consequence of Russia's disobedience to the demands of Queen Victoria of England
April 22, 1854	An attempt by the Anglo-French fleet to besiege Odessa	The Anglo-French squadron subjected Odessa to a long bombardment of 360 guns. However, all attempts by the British and French to land troops failed.
Spring 1854	Attempts to penetrate the British and French on the coast of the Baltic and White Seas	The Anglo-French landing party captured the Russian fortress of Bomarsund on the Åland Islands. The attacks of the English squadron on the Solovetsky Monastery and on the city of Kala located on the coast of Murmansk were repulsed.
Summer 1854	The Allies are preparing to land troops in Crimea	Commander of Russian troops in Crimea A.S. Menshikov was an extremely incompetent commander-in-chief. He did not in any way prevent the Anglo-French landing in Yevpatoria, although he had about 36 thousand soldiers at hand.
September 20, 1854	Battle on the Alma River	Menshikov tried to stop the troops of the landing allies (66 thousand in total), but in the end he was defeated and retreated to Bakhchisarai, leaving Sevastopol completely defenseless.
October 5, 1854	The Allies began shelling Sevastopol	After the Russian troops retreated to Bakhchisarai, the allies could have taken Sevastopol right away, but decided to storm the city later. Taking advantage of the indecisiveness of the British and French, engineer Totleben began to fortify the city.
October 17, 1854 - September 5, 1855	Defense of Sevastopol	The defense of Sevastopol will forever go down in Russian history as one of its most heroic, symbolic and tragic pages. The remarkable commanders Istomin, Nakhimov and Kornilov fell on the bastions of Sevastopol.
October 25, 1854	Battle of Balaklava	Menshikov tried with all his might to pull the Allied forces away from Sevastopol. Russian troops failed to achieve this goal and defeat the British camp near Balaklava. However, due to heavy losses, the Allies temporarily abandoned the assault on Sevastopol.
November 5, 1854	Battle of Inkerman	Menshikov made another attempt to lift or at least weaken the siege of Sevastopol. However, this attempt also ended in failure. The reason for the next loss of the Russian army was a complete lack of coordination in team actions, as well as the presence of rifled rifles (fittings) among the British and French, which mowed down entire ranks of Russian soldiers on long-distance approaches.
August 16, 1855	Battle of the Black River	The largest battle of the Crimean War. Another attempt by the new commander-in-chief M.D. Gorchakov to lift the siege ended in disaster for the Russian army and the death of thousands of soldiers.
October 2, 1855	Fall of the Turkish fortress Kars	If in the Crimea the Russian army was plagued by failures, then in the Caucasus parts of the Russian troops successfully pushed back the Turks. The most powerful Turkish fortress of Kars fell on October 2, 1855, but this event could no longer influence the further course of the war.

Many peasants sought to avoid conscription in order not to end up in the army. This did not mean they were cowardly, it was just that many peasants sought to avoid conscription because of their families that needed to be fed. During the Crimean War of 1853-1856, on the contrary, there was a surge of patriotic sentiment among the Russian population. Moreover, people of various classes signed up for the militia.

The end of the war and its consequences

The new Russian sovereign Alexander II, who replaced the suddenly deceased Nicholas I on the throne, directly visited the theater of military operations. After this, he decided to do everything in his power to end the Crimean War. The end of the war occurred at the beginning of 1856.

At the beginning of 1856, a congress of European diplomats was convened in Paris to conclude peace. The most difficult condition put forward by the Western powers of Russia was the ban on maintaining the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.

Basic terms of the Treaty of Paris:

• Russia pledged to return the Kars fortress to Turkey in exchange for Sevastopol;
• Russia was prohibited from having a fleet in the Black Sea;
• Russia was losing part of its territories in the Danube Delta. Navigation on the Danube was declared free;
• Russia was prohibited from having military fortifications on the Åland Islands.

Rice. 3. Paris Congress 1856.

The Russian Empire suffered a serious defeat. A powerful blow was dealt to the country's international prestige. The Crimean War exposed the rottenness of the existing system and the backwardness of industry from the leading world powers. The Russian army's lack of rifled weapons, a modern fleet and the lack of railways could not but affect military operations.

However, such key points The Crimean War, like the Battle of Sinop, the defense of Sevastopol, the capture of Kars or the defense of the Bomarsund fortress, remained in history as a sacrificial and majestic feat of Russian soldiers and the Russian people.

The government of Nicholas I introduced severe censorship during the Crimean War. It was forbidden to touch on military topics, both in books and periodicals. Publications that wrote in an enthusiastic manner about the progress of hostilities were also not allowed into print.

What have we learned?

Crimean War 1853-1856 discovered serious shortcomings in the foreign and domestic policies of the Russian Empire. The article “Crimean War” talks about what kind of war it was, why Russia was defeated, as well as the significance of the Crimean War and its consequences.

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Finishing the sorting of Crimean events, I look at the Crimean War in detail. So far I have looked through 1853 and 1854, and I have questions.

Already in January 1853 - long before the conflict- Russian troops moved to the Danube.
In February 1853, the Russian Emperor leads intensive personal talks with the British Ambassador.

On February 23, 1853 (old style) Menshikov arrived in Istanbul and began to demand the right to patronize the Orthodox throughout the Ottoman Empire. Since the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is the emperor himself, this de facto means a change of citizenship - this is exactly the trick the Romanovs almost pulled off in 1865 in Egypt.

February 28 St. Petersburg decided not to insist under the exclusive rights of the Russian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem. This means that religious motives for starting a war have already been turned off, and the future Crimean War from February 28 is no longer a war for the rights to the Holy Land.

The Russian chancellor reads secret dispatches from agents to the ambassadors of the very European countries with whom to fight.

The Russian public at that time had no idea about the essence of the conflict. That is, historians have no documents, confirming that the public of that time knew about Russia’s rights to holy places. The question is, is this the essence of the conflict being shoved into our noses?

In April, the Sultan satisfied ALL Russia's demands - both regarding the Holy Places, and even about the right of patronage, while Russia withdrew all its claims to the European powers on February 28. That same April, Russia and France amicably agreed on holy places. And then the ambassadors of France and Britain come to Istanbul and begin to put pressure on the Sultan and promise all kinds of support in the war with Russia. What is this?

The Vienna Note of May 31 allows the parties to end the conflict without losing face, and everyone agrees to it - except the Sultan. Back in April, the Sultan was ready to take a much tougher option.

HistoryOrb writes that on August 8, 1853, Russian fleet appeared in Nagasaki. In fact, it was the schooner "Pallada" and the schooner "Vostok" in tow. According to Russian information, they entered Nagasaki on August 10, and this discrepancy of 2 days is strange.

The dates of the “case at Iskachi” also differ by 2 days - in our country it is October 11 (23), and in the West it is October 25.
The Battle of Akhaltsikhe has a date of November 12 and November 13-14, which is far from the same thing.
The defeat of the Anatolian army at Baskadiklar has the dates of November 19 (December 1) and November 27. The difference is 3 days.
the two-day bombardment of Chetati occurred on January 6, 1854 and January 11-12, and this is not a difference in style.
On April 6, 1854, British ships were already fired upon from Odessa, but the Anglo-French fleet appeared near Odessa only 2 days later, on April 8.
Even the declaration of war on Russia by England and France has different dates: March 26 and 27, 1854, and there is also the 28th.

At the same time, in March 1854, the squadrons of England and France entered the Black Sea, but on October 22, 1853 they had already done this. And again it happened on December 23, 1853 - entering the Black Sea three times is cool.

COSSACK RELATIONS WITH THE ENEMY
...in 1853, 16 ships arrived from abroad at the port of Yeisk and wheat was exported to England, France and Turkey about 93 thousand poods. in the amount of 62 thousand rubles (29).

And here is what K. Marx writes: England covered Russia's expenses in her wars against France, France paid for Russia's war against Persia, Persia - its war against Turkey, Turkey and England - its war against Poland; Hungary and the Danube principalities must now cover the costs of her war
(Printed in the New-York Daily Tribune No. 3828, July 25, 1853)

Finally found it!
Chapter XIV. Supply of troops from November 21, 1853 to March 11, 1854
http://dugward.ru/library/nikolay1/zayonchkovskiy3.html

Further...
1854 May. English ships were delivered to Gelendzhik pontoon bridges for crossing across the Kuban River.
Here is Gelendzhik and the Kuban River basin. Question for the experts: Where were the British going to go? ?

1854 On September 14-15, the expeditionary force landed in Oldfort(Crimea).
Question: where does the English toponym come from in Crimea? ?

1854 - Crimean War: British and French defeat Russian forces 50 000 person (HistoryOrb, judging by the date, the Battle of Inkerman is implied)
1854 More than a quarter of the British troops were killed or wounded at the Battle of Inkerman. The person conducting the interview noted that there was almost nothing left in the general’s memory. “When their unit returned to join the scattered companies, he remembered nothing but sobbing soldiers. They were hysterical all night.”
Russian wiki writes that the British lost not a quarter of their personnel, but three quarters. Such losses are quite rare.
What really happened there ?

Now losses in the Crimean War are estimated at 250 thousand people, but five years ago another figure was circulating - a million killed and died from wounds and diseases. Now this figure can no longer be found.

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT:
I found a map of combat operations in the Crimean War and could not answer main question: And for what?
What did the Europeans want? Dominant Turks in the Black Sea? So they definitely don’t need this.
The only reliable hypothesis was put forward by Kamalov: there was a battle for the oil fields of Azerbaijan and Romania.
But the Black Sea with its ports was important only as a transit corridor.

On September 20, 1854, the Anglo-French forces clearly introduced the Russian army to technological progress.

The second battalion of the British Rifle Brigade crosses the Alma. Lewis Jones. 1854

Crimean issue

In 1854, a conflict arose between Russia and Europe, in the center of which was Crimea.
True, unlike the modern situation, in the middle of the 19th century things came to a direct armed conflict.
Foreign policy Nicholas I collapsed. Another confrontation with Turkey, which has long become commonplace for Russia, this time turned into a clash with the European coalition, in which France and Great Britain set the tone. The Russian Empire had no allies.
In the fall of 1854, France and Great Britain decided to strike in Crimea. Taking advantage of the dominance of the Allied fleet in the Black Sea, Russia’s opponents planned to land a large landing party on the Crimean coast, the purpose of which was to destroy the Russian Black Sea Fleet and Sevastopol as its main base.
The Anglo-French expeditionary force began landing in the Evpatoria area on September 14, 1851. After the landing, the 60,000-strong group began moving towards Sevastopol, from which it was separated by about fifty kilometers.

Prince Destroyer

The defense of Sevastopol was entrusted to His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Sergeevich Menshikov, the great-grandson of Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, an associate of Peter the Great.
Prince Menshikov was not spared positions and titles - adjutant general, admiral, naval minister and governor general of Finland. But if in terms of ranks Alexander Menshikov was not inferior to his great ancestor, then with the art of war everything was much worse.
However, contemporaries were generally very skeptical of the prince. He was accused that the modernization of the fleet was not started precisely because of Menshikov’s opposition, as well as the modernization of the army as a whole. The Most Serene Prince had a generally hostile attitude towards progress - for example, he had an extremely negative attitude towards the construction of railways.
The famous poet and partisan Denis Davydov described Menshikov as follows: “He knew how to adapt his mind to everything, but he could not turn his mind from destructive to creative.”
Against the 60,000-strong Anglo-Franco-Ottoman group, which had more than 130 guns, not counting the fire support of the artillery of the Allied fleet, Menshikov could field about 35 thousand soldiers and 84 guns. With this “asset” Menshikov took up defense on the left bank of the Alma River, covering Sevastopol.

General Kiryakov's hat

The situation before the battle was clearly not in favor of the Russian troops. The enemy had an almost twofold superiority in manpower and artillery. The enemy’s superiority in technical equipment also had an effect - almost all the British and French were armed with so-called “fittings,” that is, rifled guns, which had a great advantage over smooth-bore guns in accuracy and firing range. In the Russian army, out of 35 thousand people, less than 2000 soldiers were armed with “shtutser” soldiers.
In addition, the position on the high left bank of the Alma, although it had a number of advantages, was still not ideal. For example, the left flank could not join the sea due to the fire of the ships of the Anglo-French fleet. The positions of the Russian troops themselves were stretched over several kilometers, which made them even weaker.

Paradoxically, on the eve of the battle that took place on September 20, 1854, the commander was confident of victory. I am so confident that I invited the residents of Sevastopol to watch the progress of the battle from the surrounding heights.
The left flank of the Russian army, which looked the most vulnerable, was commanded by Lieutenant General Vasily Kiryakov at the Battle of Alma.
The dashing warrior, who was reputed to be a big drinker, on the eve of the battle showed even greater optimism than Prince Menshikov showed. Upon receiving the disposition order from Menshikov, the general said:
- Don't worry, Your Excellency. We'll throw our hats at the enemy.
General Kiryakov’s bravado would later turn into a catchphrase.

War and coffee

The center of the Russian position at the height of Telegraph Hill was commanded by Menshikov himself, the right flank, defending Kurgan Hill, was commanded by General Pyotr Gorchakov.
The Allied army was commanded by two men: the British Fitzroy Raglan and the Frenchman Leroy de Saint-Arnaud. In other conditions, the lack of unity of command could have a detrimental effect on the actions of the Anglo-French troops, but in this case the superiority in numbers and equipment was too great not to use it.
However, the morning began precisely with embarrassment - units of the French General Bosquet began to bypass the left flank of the Russians, expecting synchronized actions from the British on the right flank. However, the British were late, and the French soldiers drank coffee while waiting for the allies.
By noon, the French offensive had resumed, but not a single shot was fired from the Russians, which forced Bosquet to mutter: “These gentlemen absolutely do not want to fight.”
The 2nd battalion of the Minsk Regiment, which the enemy came to the rear, retreated almost without a fight. The remaining units began a battle with the French, who outnumbered them twice. At first, the Russians were saved by the guns, since the enemy artillery fell behind. But the French “tubes” had their say, under whose deadly fire the Russian battalions on the left flank suffered heavy losses.
Meanwhile, the Russian regiments on the right flank, which the British finally reached, managed to repel their attack.

Retreat

The French increased pressure in the center and on the left flank. Part of the Russian regiments, demoralized by the heavy losses from the “shtutser” and the ineffectiveness of their own bayonet attacks, began to retreat.
At the same time, the “hat-thrower” Kiryakov actually withdrew from command. Soon the French, who had pushed back the Russians on the left flank, opened fire on the Russian positions in the center.
The chief of staff of Prince Menshikov, General Wunsch, wrote about what was happening then: “The French riflemen freely climbed to the position left by General Kiryakov and opened rifle fire on us. Having galloped some more space, we met General Kiryakov in a ravine, on foot. When asked where his troops were, he could answer absolutely nothing, except for the words that exposed his not entirely normal condition and were not related to the question: “a horse was killed under him!”
The defense of the Russian army was bursting at the seams and rested on the courage and tenacity of individual units. The Minsk regiment did not leave its positions, the Volynians and hussars fought desperately.
But Telegraph Hill came under enemy control, and 40 French guns were installed there. The Russians could no longer hold their positions and began to retreat to Sevastopol.

Demonstration of backwardness

The Russian army was saved from an even more serious defeat by the delusion of the British and French. They were sure that on the Alma River they did not fight with all Russian forces, but only with the vanguard. Believing this, the Allies abandoned pursuit.
In the battle of Alma, the Russian army lost over 5 thousand people killed and wounded, the allies - about 4 thousand.
The main result of the battle was a clear demonstration of the technical superiority of the Anglo-French army, which could not be compensated for by the courage of Russian soldiers alone.
Russia was paying the price for the “hat-kicking” sentiments that reigned in Russia at that time. And the always drunk General Kiryakov became only their clearest manifestation.