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Crimean War

The judgement of history seems to be that this war was fruitless and the tragic loss of ordinary men on every side was the result of ambitious and incompetent leaders. Ostensibly it was Nicholas, the Russian tsar, who provoked the conflict. He was anxious to stake his claim on what he viewed as the collapsing Turkish Empire - in particular the Holy Places, especially Constantinople the historic seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church. But the French under Napolean 3rd also had there eye on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The British were anxious to avoid war but allowed things to drift.

Nicholas' attack on Turkish land around the Danube brought things to a head. The Turks retaliated and the Russians then sank their fleet, an outrage said the British. The newspapers for the first time reported events as they happened. The British, Turks and French formed an alliance and brought forces into the Black Sea initially to land at Varna in Bulgaria where the hot summer of 1854 soon brought disease to the men and little help from the poorly equipped medical services. The allies set up camp on Crimea at Eupatoria (Yevpatoriya) just north of Sevastapol. The 66 year old Lord Raglan commanded the 26,000 British soldiers - the allied force a total of about 60,000. The Russians led by Prince Menschikoff had about 80,000 men.

Raglan wanted to move on Sevastopol harbour but the French did not. While the allies vacillated the Russians scuttled their ships in the mouth of the harbour, blocking the entrance. You can see the spot market by a monument. With Winter approaching Raglan decided to move camp to the small harbour of Balaklava not far from the Sevastopol-Yalta road about 3 miles away. Most of the allied soldiers camped on the plateau above the harbour. The Russians had to dislodge the allies from this base and Menschikoff ordered an attack on the harbour when most of the British were up on the plateau. The 'thin red line' of the 93rd Highlanders charged the Russians twice, first with the 900 strong heavy brigade against 3000. The famous second charge of the light brigade was ordered by Raglan to recapture English guns lost by the Turks to the Russians. His order to Lord Lucan was " Lord Raglan wishes the cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns…Immediate" - but what guns and where on the front was not clear. The order was given to Captain Nolan, but after the charge had started, and he was killed before he could explain what was meant to Cardigan who led the soldiers. The light brigade thus rode down into the valley of death….

After the indecisive battle of Inkerman the allies got caught ill prepared for a cold Crimean winter where many perished of disease despite the noble efforts of Florence Nightingale in the hospital at Scutari on the Bosphorus. In 1855 the allies prepared for the battle to take Sevastopol. A first assault in September failed and Raglan, exhausted after the anxiety of the campaign, contracted cholera and died. The final assault began on September 8th against the Redan (one of several defensive positions). The French attacked and took the Malakoff redoubt. It is this attack that is depicted with such verisimilitude in the Panorama museum. There you can experience what this battle was like for the Russian soldiers.

The Russians withdrew to the north side of the harbour. With the fall of Sevastopol and the allies having no other objective, negotiations for a settlement began. The final outcome was agreed in the Treaty of Paris which also stipulated that the Black Sea be free of warships. But less than two decades on this agreement was in tatters. Today the Russian fleet still docks in Sevastopol as you will see.