Participants of the Crimean War of 1853 1856 list. Crimean War: a view from the other side. Political situation on the eve of the war

By the middle of the XIX century. aggravated contradictions between England and Russia. The desire of tsarist Russia to seize Constantinople and the straits ran into the resistance of England, who feared the strengthening of Russia in the Middle East. " England cannot agree to Russia taking possession of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. This event would deal both commercially and politically a major if not fatal blow to British power.”, wrote Marx and Engels in April 1853 (Soch., vol. IX, p. 382).

France, which had major interests in the East, also could not put up with the growing influence of Russia in Turkey. The governments of England and France were also interested in weakening Turkey in order to force her to blindly follow directions from London and Paris. The aggressive ruling circles of England and France tried in every possible way to weaken the power of Russia and therefore used Turkey's discontent to foment her conflict with Russia. Moreover, they advocated the displacement of Russia from the shores of the Black Sea.

A military clash between England, France and Turkey, on the one hand, and Russia, on the other, was becoming inevitable.

The reason for the war was a dispute over the Palestinian "shrines" of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, which broke out between the Catholics, supported by Napoleon III, and the Orthodox, who were patronized by Nicholas I. In reality, there was a struggle between the Russian and French governments for subordinating Turkey to their influence, Nicholas I began to threaten Turkey by war. On May 10, 1853, there was a break in diplomatic relations between Russia and Turkey, and in June, on the orders of Nicholas I, the Russian army under the command of M.D. Gorchakov occupied the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. On September 27, Turkey, with the support of England and France, presented an ultimatum to Russia on the cleansing of Moldavia and Wallachia by Russian troops, but, having received no answer, on October 15 declared war on Russia. On October 20, Nicholas I declared war on Turkey.

Thus began the Crimean (Eastern) War. England and France took the side of Turkey against Russia. Already on September 17, the combined Anglo-French fleet passed through the Dardanelles to the Sea of ​​Marmara, and at the beginning of 1854 England and France declared war on Russia.

The war was aggressive on both sides.

Actions on the Black Sea and the defense of Sevastopol

September 17–25. The squadron of the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral P.S. infantry division with artillery, convoy and ten days of supplies (16393 people, 827 horses, 16 guns) to reinforce the Caucasian army, transported him to the Caucasian coast for seven days, landed the landing personnel in Anakria, and the convoy and other cargo in Sukhum-Kala ( ).

The 20th of October. 7 push the steamer "Colchis" under the command of Lieutenant Commander K.A. Kuzminsky with a landing force of 224 people, sent to return the fortification of St. Nicholas captured by the Turks (south of Poti), having approached the shore at a distance of a rifle shot, ran aground. From enemy fire on the steamer, opened from 5 guns, the steamer caught fire twice, but the return fire from the steamer silenced the coastal batteries, which gave it the opportunity to refloat and go to sea. During the battle, the capital lieutenant Kuzminsky was killed ( ).

27th October. In connection with the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Turkey, the Anglo-French fleet, which was in the Sea of ​​Marmara, arrived in Constantinople on October 27 and settled on the Bosphorus ( ).

the 3rd of November. In connection with the news received on the eve of the declaration of war on Turkey, the commander of the squadron, which was cruising off the Caucasian coast, Vice Admiral Nakhimov gave an order explaining his intentions in the event of a meeting with the enemy: "... Having the news that the Turkish fleet went to sea with the intention of occupying the port of Sukhum-Kale, which belongs to us (adjutant general Kornilov was sent from Sevastopol with 6 ships to search for it), the enemy’s intention cannot be fulfilled otherwise than by passing us or giving us battle. In the first case, I hope for the vigilant supervision of Messrs. commanders and officers, in the second, with God's help and confidence in my commanders and officers and teams, I hope to honorably accept the battle and prevent the enemy from fulfilling his audacious intention. Without extending my instructions, I will express my opinion that in my opinion, in maritime affairs, a close distance from the enemy and mutual assistance to each other is the best tactic.» { }.

November 4. Cruising off the Anatolian coast, 6-push. the steamer "Bessarabia" (captain-lieutenant Shchegolev) captured without a shot in the Sinop region the Turkish steamer "Medjari-Tejaret", armed with 4 guns and having a car of 200 forces. Enlisted in the Russian fleet, this ship was named "Turk" ( ).

November 5. Capturing 11-push. steamer-frigate "Vladimir" (captain-lieutenant G.I. Butakov, flag of vice-admiral V.A. Kornilov) in the Penderaklia area after a three-hour battle of the Turkish-Epipetian 10-gun. the steamer "Pervaz-Bakhri", enrolled in the lists of the fleet under the name "Kornilov". Turkish losses: 58, Russian losses: 2 killed and 3 wounded.
The battle of "Vladimir" with "Pervaz-Bakhri" was the first collision of steam ships in the world, in which Russian sailors under the command of G.I. Butakov won ( ).

November 7. In order to return the border coastal fortification of St. Nicholas (south of Poti) captured by the Turks in October, a detachment of the Black Sea Fleet consisting of 2 frigates, 2 corvettes and 4 steamships under the command of Vice Admiral L.M. Serebryakov bombarded the fortification for two hours to ensure success ground forces sent by the shore. In view of the fact that the attack from land was not carried out, and a sharp drop in the barometer threatened with a storm, the detachment was forced to move away from the coast ( ).

November 9. Fight 44-push. frigate "Flora" (captain-lieutenant A.N. Skorobogatov) in the Pitsunda area 12 miles from the coast with three Turkish ships: "Taif", "Feyzi-Bakhri" and "Saik-Ishade" (62 guns in all). Being in combat contact with the enemy from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m., the sailing frigate, in conditions of low wind, skillfully repelled all attempts by the enemy, who did not depend on the wind, to attack with joint forces and, having damaged the enemy’s flagship steamer, forced him to abandon further battle and move away. Having received two surface holes during the entire battle, the Flora frigate had neither wounded nor killed ( ).

November 18th. Sinop battle. On November 11, the squadron of Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov, consisting of three battleships, discovered and blocked the main forces of the Turkish fleet in the Sinop Bay. On November 16, a detachment of Rear Admiral F.M. Novosilskoto joined the squadron, consisting of 3 battleships and 2 frigates. After that, Nakhimov decided to attack and destroy the Turkish fleet. On the eve of the battle, on November 17, he issued an order outlining the plan of attack. " Finally- wrote Nakhimov, - I I will express my opinion that all preliminary instructions under changed circumstances can make it difficult for a commander who knows his business, and therefore I leave everyone to act completely independently at his own discretion, but without fail to do his duty».

The ratio of forces of the parties was as follows:

a) the Russian squadron consisted of 6 battleships - 84-push. "Empress Maria" (flag of Vice Admiral Nakhimov, commander - Captain 2nd Rank P.I. Baranovsky), 120-gun. "Paris" (flag of Rear Admiral Novosilsky, commander - Captain 1st Rank V.I. Istomin),. 120-push “Vel. Prince Konstantin ”(captain 2nd rank L.A. Ergomyshev), 120-gun. "Three saints" (Captain 1st rank K. Kutrov), 84-push. "Chesma" (captain 2nd rank V.M. Mikryukov), 84-push. "Rostislav" (captain 1st rank A.D. Kuznetsov) and 2 frigates - 54-push. "Kulevchi" (captain-lieutenant L. Budishev) and 44-push. "Cahul" (captain-lieutenant A.P. Spitsyn), only 8 ships with a total of 710 guns, including 76 bombing guns.

b) The Turkish fleet under the command of Admiral Osman Pasha consisted of 7 frigates - 44 guns. "Auni-Allah" (flag), 44-push. "Fazli-Allah", 58-push. "Forever-Bahri", 60-push. "Nesimi-Zefer", 62-push. "Nizamiye", 56-push. "Damiad", 54-push. “Kaidi-Zefer, 3 corvettes - 24 guns. "Nedzhemi-Feshan", 22-push. "Gyuli-Sefid", 24-push. "Feyzi-Meobud", 2 steamboats - 20 push. "Taif", 4-push. "Erikli" and 4 transports with a total of 472 guns. The fleet was protected by 6 coastal batteries (24 guns). On the ships of the Turkish squadron, as instructors, there were English officers. The Taif steamer was commanded by the Englishman Slade.

November 18 at 9 a.m. 30 minutes. a signal was raised on the Russian flagship "Prepare for battle and go to the Sinop raid." The squadron went in two columns: one - the ship "Empress Maria" (flag of Nakhimov), followed by "Vel. Prince Konstantin "and" Chesma "; the other - "Paris" (Novosilsky's flag), followed by "Three Saints" and "Rostislav". The frigates "Kagul" and "Kulevchi" remained under sail at the exit from the Sinop Bay to monitor the steamers and prevent them from escaping.

At the entrance of the Russian ships to the raid, the Turkish flagship Auni-Allah opened fire, followed by the rest of the enemy ships and coastal batteries. The Russian ships, having opened return fire, continued their approach and anchored according to the planned disposition.

Half an hour after the start of the battle, "Empress Maria" set fire to the Turkish flagship frigate "Auni-Allah", and then "Fazli-Allah" (the former Russian frigate "Raphael", taken by the Turks in 1829), which, having riveted the ropes, threw themselves ashore . After that, the "Empress Maria" transferred fire to the coastal batteries and the enemy ships that continued to resist.

The battleship "Paris" fired at several ships, blew up the corvette "Gyuli-Sefid", knocked out the frigate "Damiad" and "Nizamie", which caught fire and washed ashore. Then he fired at the coastal batteries. " It was impossible to stop admiring the beautiful and cold-bloodedly calculated actions of the Paris ship., - Nakhimov wrote in the report, - I ordered to express his gratitude to him during the battle itself, but there was nothing to raise the signal: all the halyards were killed».

"Chesma" and "Vel. Prince Konstantin "blew up the frigate" Navek-Bakhri ", fire" Vel. Prince Konstantin” were shot down and washed ashore by the frigate “Nesimi-Zefer” and the corvette “Nedzhemi-Feshan”.

The fire of the ship "Three Saints" destroyed the frigate "Kaadi-Zefer" (took off into the air).

"Rostislav" knocked out the corvette "Feyzi-Meabud", which, throwing itself ashore, burned down and destroyed one battery.

By the end of the four-hour battle, the Turkish squadron and coastal batteries were destroyed. Saved only one 22-push. the ship "Taif". Having broken through after a skirmish with the frigates "Kagul" and "Kulevchi" from the raid and leaving the bay, "Taif" met at sea with a detachment of steamers ("Odessa", "Crimea" and "Khersones") under the command of Vice Admiral V.A. Kornilov, marching from Sevastopol to Sinop to reinforce Nakhimov's squadron. Taking advantage of the advantage in speed, Taif broke through after a short battle and, arriving in Constantinople, informed the Turkish government about the destruction of Osman Pasha's squadron. Of the 4500 people of the Turkish team, two-thirds died. Many Turks were captured, including Admiral Osman Pasha and 2 commanders.

Damage and consumption of shells on Russian ships during the battle are shown in the table:

ships	Damage		Shell consumption
	Holes in the board	Dr. damage	Total	Incl. double projectile shots
"Imp. Maria"	60	11	2180	52
"Paris"	18	8	3944	-
“Vel. book. Konstantin"	30	14	2602	136
"Three Saints"	48	17	1923	-
"Rostislav"	25	20	4962	1002
"Chesma"	20	7	1539	-
"Kulevchi"	-	-	260	-
"Cahul"	-	-	483	-
"Odessa"	-	-	79	-
"Crimea"	-	-	83	-
Total	201	77	18055	1190

The Russians had no losses in ships. During the battle, the squadron lost 37 killed and 229 wounded.

The Sinop victory showed the high fighting qualities of the sailors who had gone through the school of Admirals Lazarev and Nakhimov. " Sinop battle, - wrote contemporaries, - proved the excellent condition of the Black Sea Fleet and the acquaintance of the Russians with the latest improvements in military affairs, aroused a living joy in Russia, and the name of Pavel Stepanovich became known to every Russian person».

Summing up the results of the battle, P.S. Nakhimov wrote in an order dated November 23, 1853: “ The destruction of the Turkish fleet in Sinop by a squadron under my command cannot but leave a glorious page in the history of the Black Sea Fleet. I express my sincere gratitude to the second flagship(Rear Admiral Novosilsky. - Ed.) as my chief assistant and who, going forward in his column, so fearlessly led it into battle. G.g. to the commanders of ships and frigates for the cool and precise ordering of their ships according to the given disposition during heavy enemy fire, as well as for their unshakable courage in the continuation of the case itself, I appeal with gratitude to the officers for the fearless and precise performance of their duty, I thank the teams that fought like lions».

The Sinop battle was the last big battle of sailing ships and the first battle in which bombing guns were used ( ).

December 2nd. The pilot schooner (hydrographic vessel) "Alupka", being brought by a NO storm to the Turkish coast and having a strong leak, was forced to rescue the crew, throwing 6 falconets, signal books, etc. into the sea, to go down to the Bosphorus, where she was captured captured by the Turks ( ).

December 23. The combined Anglo-French fleet left the Bosporus for the Black Sea in order to protect the coast of Turkey and its fleet from the attacks of the Russian fleet ( ).

28th of February. The conclusion of an alliance treaty between Turkey, England and France, according to which the last two states were obliged to provide armed assistance to Turkey in its struggle against Russia ( ).

March 31. An English military steamer that appeared near Sevastopol, noticing a Russian sailing trading schooner going to Evpatoria, tried to capture it, but due to the approach of the frigates Kagul and Kulevchi chasing it, it was forced to abandon it and hastily leave ().

April 10th. The bombardment of Odessa by the Anglo-French fleet, consisting of 19 battleships and 10 steam-frigates, was accompanied by an attempt by the enemy to land troops to occupy the city, which was repulsed by coastal batteries ( ).

April 30. Making reconnaissance near Odessa, the English military steamer-frigate "Tiger", following in thick fog, jumped out onto the stones 6 kilometers from the Odessa lighthouse and was fired upon by a field artillery semi-battery, which caused serious damage to the ship. The crew surrendered to the Russians, and the ship, due to the impossibility of removing it, was burned ( ).

June 3. The appearance of a detachment of 2 English and 1 French steam-frigates (52 guns) in front of Sevastopol and the pursuit of them by a detachment of 6 Russian steam-frigates - Vladimir, Thunder Bearer, Bessarabia, Crimea, Odessa and Khersones "(33 guns) - under the command of Rear Admiral Panfilov. Taking advantage of the superiority in speed, the enemy, after a short skirmish, went to sea ( ).

the 14 th of July. The Anglo-French fleet, consisting of 21 ships, approached Sevastopol, but the fire of coastal batteries forced the enemy to retreat to Cape Lucullus ( ).

1 - 7 September. The allied Anglo-French fleet, having left its base in Varna, consisting of 89 warships and 300 transport ships, approached Evpatoria and proceeded to the landing. In six days, 62,000 people were landed with 134 guns (28,000 French, 27,000 British, 7,000 Turks). Encountering no resistance due to the absence of any troops and means of defense in Evpatoria, the Allies occupied the city and captured significant stocks of grain, which were intended to be exported abroad even before the war. Later, before the creation of a French base in Kamysheva Bay near Sevastopol and an English base in Balaklava, Yevpatoria served until the end of November as the main base of the Anglo-French fleet and a place for unloading supplies brought for the allied army ().

September 7. The steamer "Taman" under the command of Lieutenant Shishkin, while cruising at Cape Kerempe, captured a Turkish merchant brig and, after removing the command from it, burned it ().

8 September. A battalion of Black Sea sailors under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Rachinsky with 4 amphibious assault guns participated in the battle of the Alma River as part of the ground forces of the Crimean army of A.S. Menshikov. The battalion was in the firing line in front of the center of the position of the Russian troops near the village of Burlyuk ( ).

September 9 - 11. In view of the unsuccessful outcome of the battle of Alma, the Commander-in-Chief of the naval and land forces in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, fearing a breakthrough of the enemy fleet on the Sevastopol raid simultaneously with an attack by the ground forces of the fortifications of the Northern side, ordered Vice Admiral Kornilov to block the enemy’s ability to penetrate the raid to flood part of ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Having gathered a council of flagships and commanders, Kornilov proposed to go to sea and attack the enemy fleet, at least at the cost of destroying the fleet. However, the majority was in favor of sinking ships at the entrance to the raid and using ship crews and guns for land defense.
On the night of September 11, after Menshikov's repeated order, 5 battleships ("Three Saints", "Uriel", "Varna", "Silistra" and "Selafail") and 2 frigates ("Sizopol" and " Flora"), the crews and guns from which were transferred to the Sevastopol garrison. For the entire time of the siege, up to 2,000 naval guns with ammunition and personnel of up to 10,000 people were transferred to the bastions and batteries of Sevastopol from the ships of the Black Sea Fleet ( ).

11 September. Appointment of Vice-Admiral V.A. Kornilov as Chief of Defense of the Northern Side and Vice-Admiral P.S. Nakhimov as Chief of Defense of the Southern Side of Sevastopol ( ).

September 14. In connection with the decision of the Anglo-French land command to seize Sevastopol from the South, the allied fleet moved its base from Evpatoria: the British to Balaklava, the French to Kamysheva Bay near Sevastopol ( ).

September 20. The steam-frigate “Vladimir” (Captain 2nd Rank G.I. Butakov), being in position in front of Kilenbukhta, together with the batteries of the Malakhov Kurgan, the third and fourth bastions, fired at the location of the British on the slopes of Sapun Mountain and forced them to retreat deeper ().

September 22nd. The attack of the 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 firefight at a long distance, the enemy ships, having received damage, went to sea ( ).

September 25. Night sortie from the 5th bastion of a detachment of hunters, including 155 people, including 80 sailors under the command of Lieutenant P.F. Gusakov, against the French trenches at Rudolf Hill. The sortie discovered by the French was repulsed. Due to ignorance, upon returning, the hunters were mistaken for the enemy and fired upon by their batteries. Noting this case in his order, Vice-Admiral V.A. Kornilov emphasized the need for coordinated actions of individual commanders and demanded mutual information about the planned actions of the units ( ).

October 5. The first bombardment of Sevastopol from land and sea. With the beginning of the bombardment of Sevastopol from land, the allied Anglo-French fleet, consisting of 29 ships of the line (English - 4 propeller and 9 sail; French - 5 propeller and 9 sail and 2 sail Turkish) and 21 steamers, approaching the entrance to the Sevastopol Bay, bombarded the city and coastal fortifications of the South and North sides, having 1340 guns against 115 Russians and firing up to 50,000 shells within 8 hours. A number of Allied ships were damaged and disabled by the return fire of Russian batteries. So, the English ship "Albion" received 93 holes and lost all three masts, the French ship "Paris" - 50 holes, 3 of them underwater; many ships were on fire. Two ships due to severe damage were sent for repairs to Constantinople. The damage received by the ships forced the allied naval command to abandon the continuation of the bombardment and withdraw with the fleet to their bases, as a result of which further shelling of Sevastopol was carried out only from land. During the bombing, Vice-Admiral V.A. Kornilov, one of the organizers and leaders of the city's defense, was mortally wounded by a cannonball on Malakhov Kurgan, who died on the same day.
The steam-frigates "Vladimir" (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov) and "Khersonesos" (captain-lieutenant I. Rudnev) took part in return fire from the Sevastopol raid, firing at English batteries that operated against Malakhov Kurgan, which was largely degree affected the results of enemy fire.
Assessing the results of the first bombardment by the enemy and the defense of Sevastopol by the Russians, K. Marx wrote: “. ..in a few hours, the Russians silenced the fire of the French batteries and throughout the day fought an almost equal battle with the English batteries ... The defense of the Russians greatly sobered up the winners at Alma» { }.

October 6 - 8. In response to the continued bombardment of Sevastopol from the land, the steamboat-frigate "Vladimir" (Captain 2nd Rank G.I. Butakov), while standing on the Sevastopol roadstead, systematically fired at the British batteries installed on Sapun Mountain, thereby weakening their fire on the fortifications of Malakhov Kurgan and the third bastion. For three days, the steamer-frigate received 6 holes, of which 3 were underwater ( ).

On the night of October 9. The outing of two teams of hunters (212 people, 29 of them sailors) under the command of Lieutenant P. Troitsky and midshipman S. Putyatin to the French trenches. Despite the death of both commanders in battle, the hunters, breaking into the trenches and splitting the French who were here, riveted 8 mortars and 11 cannons and caused a major alarm in the entire French line of fortifications ( ).

October 12. Fireship "Bug" under the command of Lieutenant K.P.

October 24. Steam-frigates “Vladimir” (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov) and “Khersonesos” (captain-lieutenant I. Rudnev), covering the withdrawal of Russian troops to Sevastopol after the Inkerman battle, with well-aimed fire forced the French field battery, which was shelling the retreating ones, to withdraw from the position and get out of the shelling ( ).

November 24. Steam-frigates “Vladimir” (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov) and “Khersonesus” (captain-lieutenant I. Rudnev), having left the Sevastopol raid into the sea, attacked the French steamer stationed at Pesochnaya Bay and forced it to leave. After an unsuccessful chase, "Khersonesus" and "Vladimir", approaching Streletskaya Bay, bombarded the French camp located on the shore and enemy ships from bombing guns. In view of the approach of the latter, "Khersonesos" and "Vladimir", having started a firefight, began to retreat to Sevastopol in order to lure the enemy under the shots of coastal batteries. Having come under fire from the latter, the enemy ships received a number of damages in the hull and spars ( ).

29th of November. Night sortie of a detachment of scouts, including about 500 people, to destroy the trench work carried out by the French in front of the fourth bastion. A detachment of 20 sailors under the command of Lieutenant F. Titov with two mountain guns also took part in the sortie, which was tasked with a sudden attack on enemy trenches to divert the attention of the enemy from the direction of the main sortie.
Having successfully completed the task, Titov's detachment returned without loss, allowing the scouts to quietly approach the French trenches and, breaking into them, destroy about 150 French people, destroy the work done, rivet 4 mortars and capture 3 small mortars and a lot of weapons ().

November 30th. Night sortie of a detachment of 80 sailors-hunters under the command of Lieutenant L.I. Batyanov from the 4th bastion to the location of the French trenches in order to destroy them.
Having successfully completed the task, the detachment captured 3 mortars, a lot of weapons and prisoners, but the detachment commander was mortally wounded.
At the same time, a detachment of 20 sailors with two mountain guns under the command of Lieutenant F. Titov carried out the same successful sortie into the French trenches against the fifth bastion ( ).

December 3. Midnight raid by midshipman V. Titov with four mountain unicorns from redoubt No. 1 to the French camp, which caused a commotion in the ranks of the enemy ( ).

December 6. Decree on equating the participants in the defense of Sevastopol with one month of service on the bastions for a year of service ( ).

9th December. Night sortie of two parties of hunters, mainly sailors of the third bastion under the command of Lieutenant N.A. Biryulev and Lieutenant N.Ya. Astapov, to the location of the English trenches. Having swiftly burst into them and pierced the British who were here with bayonets, the hunters, capturing 3 officers and 33 soldiers, returned, having lost 4 killed and 22 wounded ( ).

December 19th. A night sortie of a detachment of sailors-hunters under the command of Lieutenant N.A. Biryulev, who knocked out the enemy with a bayonet attack from a newly dug trench against the 4th bastion ( ).

December 26. Night sortie of a detachment of sailors under the command of Lieutenant P. Zavalishin from the fifth bastion to the location of the French trenches. Having attacked the trenches and knocked out the French with bayonets, the detachment was forced to withdraw due to the enemy receiving strong reinforcements ( ).

Dec. 31. Night sortie of two detachments of hunters-sailors and soldiers under the command of lieutenants N.A. Biryulev and N.Ya. Astapov from the third bastion to the location of the English and French trenches.
The detachment of Lieutenant Biryulev, after a bayonet fight with the enemy, occupied the French trenches and mortar battery No. 21, where they riveted mortars and took prisoners. The detachment of Lieutenant Astapov also successfully occupied and destroyed the English trenches, capturing an English guard picket of 13 people ( )

January 8. Night sortie of a detachment of hunters-sailors and soldiers from the fifth bastion under the command of lieutenants F. Titov and P. A. Zavalishin to destroy the French trenches. Having knocked out the enemy with a bayonet strike, the detachment managed to destroy the trenches before the arrival of French reinforcements and withdrew with a fight ( ).

January 20th. A sortie of a detachment of sailors under the command of Lieutenant N.A. Biryulev from the third bastion against the French trenches, where destruction was made and prisoners were taken. During a hand-to-hand fight, when the French, forced out of the trenches, opened rifle fire, the sailor Ignaty Shevchenko, seeing that the French arrows were aiming at Biryulyov, rushed to him and shielded him from bullets, one of which killed Shevchenko.
The quartermaster of the 30th naval crew, Pyotr Koshka, who had repeatedly distinguished himself earlier, also participated in the same sortie. Seriously wounded in a bayonet fight, he remained in service until the end of the battle ( ).

12th of February. The French night attack on the Selenginsky redoubt was repelled by the steamship-frigate "Vladimir" (captain of the 2nd rank G.I. Butakov), the steamships "Khersonesus" and "Gromonoyets" and the battleship "Chesma" that were on the roadstead, which hit the advancing enemy with their fire and its reserves located in the Georgievskaya beam area ( ).

On the night of February 13. By order of A.S. Menshikov, the battleships “Twelve Apostles”, “Svyatoslav”, “Rostislav”, the frigates “Cahul” and “Mesemvria” ( ) were additionally flooded between the Nikolaev and Mikhailovskaya batteries.

February 22. The shelling of the ships "Khersones" and "Gromonosets" from the Big raid of the 9-gun French battery, erected at a height between Sushilnaya and Volovya beams. After an hour-long skirmish, the battery was silenced. The steamer "Khersonesos" received 6 holes, of which 3 were underwater ( ).

28th of February. Night sortie of a party of 80 sailors-hunters under the command of Lieutenant N. Astapov and midshipman N. Maksheev from the third bastion to the English trenches. Having dispersed the enemy and destroyed the trenches, the hunters brought 100 tours to the bastion. In the morning midshipman Maksheev repeated the sortie, having obtained 30 more rounds, which, together with the previous ones, went to strengthen the protection of the fortifications of the bastion ( ).

March 7. During the bombing, one of the remarkable organizers of the defense of Sevastopol, Rear Admiral Vladimir Ivanovich Istomin, was killed by a cannonball on Malakhov Kurgan. Noting his merits, Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov wrote: “ The defense of Sevastopol lost in it one of its main figures, constantly inspired by noble energy and heroic determination....». « The strength of character in the most difficult circumstances, the holy performance of duty and vigilant concern for his subordinates earned him general respect and unfeigned grief over his death.» { }.

10th of March. Participation in a joint night sortie with ground units from Sevastopol of four parties of sailors-hunters, consisting of about 630 people under the general command of Captain 2nd Rank L.I. Budischev. Of these, two parties under the command of Lieutenant N. Biryulev and midshipman N. Maksheev, breaking into the British batteries No. 7 and No. 8, killed their personnel and riveted all the guns and mortars. The party under the command of midshipman P. Zavalishin, having entered the flank and rear of the French trenches, forced the French to clear them, which contributed to the overall success of the sortie. The party under the command of Lieutenant N. Astapov, having knocked out the enemy's cover from the trenches, ensured success in capturing and destroying the British batteries.
Captured 2 officers and 12 privates; British losses: 8 officers and 78 privates killed. Russian losses: 2 officers and 10 sailors were killed and 4 officers and 60 sailors were wounded ( ).

26 March. Night sortie of a detachment of 20 sailors-hunters under the command of midshipman Fedorovsky from Sevastopol against the English trenches. Having secretly made their way to the English front line, the hunters captured the sentry and, after destroying the trenches, returned back with one wounded ( ).

March 27. PS Nakhimov was promoted to admiral. In this regard, Nakhimov turned to the defenders of Sevastopol and expressed gratitude to the admirals, officers and sailors for the heroic service to their homeland. In the order for the Sevastopol port dated April 12, he wrote: “ The enviable fate of having subordinates under my command, decorating the boss with their valor, fell on me. I hope Messrs. admirals, captains and officers will allow me here to express my sincerity of gratitude with the knowledge that, heroically defending Sevastopol, precious to the sovereign and Russia, they brought me undeserved mercy. Sailors! Should I tell you about your exploits in protecting our native Sevastopol and the fleet? From a young age I was a constant witness to your labors and readiness to die at the first command; we have been friends for a long time; I am proud of you since childhood. We will defend Sevastopol ... you will give me the opportunity to wear my flag on the main bramstenge with the same honor with which I wore it thanks to you and under other coats; ... on the bastions of Sevastopol, we did not forget maritime affairs, but only strengthened the enthusiasm and discipline that always adorned the Black Sea sailors» { }.

March 28 - April 6. The second bombardment of Sevastopol by the allies. In ten days, the enemy fired 168,000 shells out of 482 guns; Russian batteries from 466 guns (mostly removed from ships and serviced by sailors) fired 88,700 shells. Allied losses - 1852 people, Russian losses - 5986 people.
Vigorously correcting at night the destruction of batteries and the defensive line caused during the day, the defenders forced the enemy to abandon the assault ( ).

April 7. A sortie of a detachment with the participation of sailors-hunters under the command of Lieutenant-Commander N. Astapov from the third bastion against the English trenches. Attacking one of the lodgements, the detachment knocked out the British from it with a bayonet blow ( ).

April 24. Night outing of a detachment of hunters consisting of 100 sailors and soldiers under the command of midshipman N. Maksheev from the third bastion against the English trenches. After knocking out the enemy with a bayonet attack and capturing prisoners, the detachment returned to its location ( ).

12 May. The combined Anglo-French fleet, consisting of about 80 pennants with a landing force of 16,000 people, having approached Cape Kamysh-Burun and landed a landing force, occupied Kerch, the small garrison of which retreated to Feodosia. Caught in the Kerch harbor, 3 steamships and 10 transports and small vessels were burned by their crews. The brig "Argonaut" under the command of Lieutenant Commander E.A. Serebryakov, having entered into an unequal battle with the English steam schooner "Snake", which had superior machine power and armament, caused several damage to the latter. Taking advantage of the blowing wind, the Russian brig broke away from the enemy and went to Berdyansk ( ).

May 25 - 30. The third Anglo-French bombardment of Sevastopol and an assault on May 27, during which the Allies managed to capture the Selenga and Volyn redoubts advanced forward and the Kamchatka lunette.
After the general (third) bombardment of the entire defensive line of Sevastopol, the French concentrated more than 9 divisions (35,000 people) on the left flank of the Russian location and attacked the Volyn and Selenginsky redoubts and the Kamchatka lunette advanced forward, for the possession of which the most stubborn struggle broke out. The French, who were knocked out several times by Russian counterattacks, supported by the British, finally pushed the defenders back to Malakhov Kurgan. Admiral Nakhimov, who was on the lunette, was surrounded, but, together with the remnants of the lunette garrison, made his way out of the enemy ring.
Having suffered heavy losses during the repulse of the assault, the commandant sailors riveted all their guns before leaving the lunette.
Significant losses were inflicted on the Allies during their assault on the Kamchatka lunette by the steam-frigates "Vladimir" (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov), "Crimea" (captain-lieutenant P.D. .Rudnev), who fired at the enemy from Kilen Bay. On May 27, "Vladimir", "Crimea", "Gromonosets" and "Odessa" successfully fired from the raid on the Selenginsky and Volynsky redoubts, occupied by the French the day before.
During the fighting, the allies lost 6,200 people, the Russians 5,500 people, of which sailors - 12 officers killed, 51 wounded, sailors 117 killed and 878 wounded and shell-shocked; of the latter, more than half remained in service ( ).

Spring. Laying minefields by Russians in the Black Sea (in the Kerch Strait 40 minutes), at Yenikale (40 minutes) and at Kerch (20 minutes) ( ).

June 5 - 6. The fourth bombardment of Sevastopol by the Anglo-French, after which the enemy launched a general assault, but he was everywhere repulsed. Significant assistance in repelling the assault on the first and second bastions was provided by the steamship-frigate “Vladimir” (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov), “Thunder-bearer” (captain-lieutenant I.G. Popandopulo), “Khersonesos” (captain-lieutenant I. Rudnev), "Crimea" (captain 1st rank P.D. Protopopov), "Bessarabia" (captain-lieutenant P. Shchegolev) and "Odessa" (lieutenant Wulfert), who took up positions in front of the entrance to Kilenbukhta and hit with buckshot as advancing troops, and their reserves, accumulated in Kilen-balka.
During the bombardment and assault, 72,000 shells were used up by the Allies, 19,000 by the Russians. The loss of the Allies was 7,000 people, the Russians were 4,800 people. Assessing the results of this assault, which was unsuccessful for the Allies, Marx wrote: June 18(n.st. - Ed.) In 1855, the Battle of Waterloo was to be played at Sevastopol in the best edition and in the opposite direction. Instead, the first serious defeat of the French-English army occurs.» { }.

June 28. During a detour of the fortifications of the defensive line, he was mortally wounded by a rifle bullet in the temple on the Kornilov bastion (Malakhov Kurgan) and on June 30, an outstanding Russian naval commander, the head of the defense of Sevastopol, Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov ( ).

July 13. The steam-frigate "Vladimir" (Captain 1st Rank G.I. Butakov) successfully operated from Kilen-balka against the French fortifications during the night sortie of hunters from the second bastion of Sevastopol ( ).

August 5 - 8. The fifth bombardment by the Anglo-French of Sevastopol, during which the allies fired 56,500 shells, the Russians - 29,400. The losses of the Russians were up to 3,000 people, the allies - 750 people.
In fact, the bombardment continued on a somewhat reduced scale after 8 August. During the period from 9 to 25 August, the enemy fired 132,500 shells (an average of 9,000 per day), and the Russians fired 51,275 shells (an average of 3,000 per day). The losses of the Russians during this period were expressed in 8921 people, the losses of the allies in 3500 ( ).

August 15. For communication between the South and North sides, a floating pontoon bridge with a length of about 900 meters ( ) was built across the entire Sevastopol roadstead.

August 24 - 27. The sixth bombardment of Sevastopol and the general assault on its defensive line, undertaken on August 27.
In repulsing the assault on the second bastion, on which the main attack was directed (18,000 bayonets against 7,000), the steam-frigates "Vladimir" (captain 1st rank G.I. Butakov), "Khersonesus" (captain-lieutenant Rudnev ) and "Odessa" (Lieutenant Wulfert), whose fire inflicted huge losses on the French assault columns. The steamer "Vladimir" achieved particular success, which, approaching almost close to the shore, bombarded the enemy with bombs and buckshot, who resumed attacks on the bastion six times.
Simultaneously with the assault on the second bastion, the Malakhov Kurgan (Kornilovsky bastion) was subjected to fierce attacks, on which, together with the ground units, there was a handful of sailors led by Lieutenant Commander P.A. Karpov. The capture of Malakhov Kurgan by the French decided the outcome of the assault.
During the bombing and assault, the defenders of Sevastopol lost about 12,030 people, the enemy - over 10,000 people ().

August 28. With the onset of dusk, on a signal from a rocket, the garrison of Sevastopol began to leave the bastions and fortifications of the South side, crossing the pontoon bridge built over the Sevastopol raid to the North side. At the same time, detached parties began to destroy and explode batteries, powder magazines, guns, etc., and naval teams began to sink the remaining ships in the Sevastopol roadstead. The battleships "Imp.Maria", "Vel. Prince Konstantin”, “Paris”, “Chesma”, “Yagudiel”, “Brave”, 1 frigate, 1 corvette and 7 brigs.
The entire garrison of Sevastopol and naval teams settled on the fortifications of the Northern side to continue the fight ( ).

August 30. In connection with the abandonment of Sevastopol and the transition of troops to the North side on the Sevastopol roadstead, the last ships of the Black Sea Fleet - 10 ships ("Vladimir", "Gromonosets", "Bessarabia", "Crimea", "Odessa" were flooded after the removal of guns and ammunition from them , Khersones, Elborus, Danube, Grozny, Turk) and 1 transport (Gagra) ( ).

October 5. Bombardment by the Anglo-French fleet of the Kinburn fortress, which covered the entrance to the Dnieper-Bug Estuary. In this bombardment, for the first time, the newly appeared armored ships were used - the French steam floating batteries "Lave", "Tonnante" and "Devastation" in 1400 tons with wooden hulls sheathed on board with four-inch side iron armor. Having approached a distance of 4 cables, the floating batteries with their 50-pound cannonballs completely defeated the fortifications of Kinburn without receiving serious damage, since the numerous cannonballs of Russian cannons that fell into the armor either split on impact or left minor dents. After the defeat of the Kinburn fortifications and the withdrawal of the landing force from the allied fleet, Kinburn was forced to surrender ( ).

Action on the Danube

October 11. A detachment of the Danube River Flotilla, consisting of two steamships "Prut" and "Ordinarets" and taken by them on board and in tow 8 rowing gunboats under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Varpakhovsky, having the task of passing from Izmail to Galati, while passing by the Turkish fortress of Isakchi, was fired upon her batteries. Carrying out a breakthrough, the detachment had an hour and a half artillery exchange of fire with Turkish batteries and destroyed 3 guns in the process.
Breakthrough conditions, complicated by the fact that steamers, having gunboats in tow, could not develop more than 2.5 knots against the current, led to the fact that Russian ships had a significant amount of damage from enemy shells. Detachment losses: 7 killed (including the head of the detachment, captain 2nd rank Varpakhovsky) and 51 wounded ( ).

March 8 - 9. In order to cover the crossing of the Russian troops to the right bank of the Danube near Galati, a detachment of the Danube river flotilla, consisting of the steamer "Prut" and three rowing gunboats, fired at the enemy bank in the area of ​​​​the crossing ().

March 9 - 10. In order to demonstrate during the crossing of the Russian troops to the right bank of the Danube near Galati, two rowing gunboats from the Danube river flotilla under the command of Lieutenant Martyn fired intensively at the Turkish batteries near Girsov ( ).

March 10 - 11. In order to ensure the crossing of Russian troops at Galati and to clear the right bank of the Danube from the enemy, a detachment of the Danube River Flotilla, consisting of 6 rowing gunboats under the command of Captain 1st Rank Bernard de Grave, having taken a position in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe mouth of the Machinsky branch, silenced the Turkish batteries with their fire and thereby contributed to the success of the crossing of the Russian troops.
The steamer Prut, which joined the detachment on March 11 after participating in the shelling of the coast, having reconnoitered the coast and made sure that it was cleared of the enemy, reported that to the ground command, which ordered the start of the crossing, which was carried out without hindrance ().

11th of March. A detachment of the Danube River Flotilla, consisting of 14 rowing gunboats under the command of Rear Admiral A.D. Kuznetsov, covering the crossing of Russian troops across the Danube near the island of Chatal, from dawn to noon fired at the Turkish fortifications located here ().

11th of March. A detachment of the Danube River Flotilla, consisting of the Ordinarets steamship and three rowing gunboats under the command of Lieutenant Commander Kononovich, covering the crossing of Russian troops across the Danube near Galati, fired on Turkish coastal fortifications ().

March 12. A detachment of the Danube River Flotilla, consisting of 14 rowing gunboats under the command of Rear Admiral A.D. Kuznetsov, assisted the ground forces in building a pontoon bridge across the Sulinsky sleeve ( ).

April 29. A detachment of 3 gunboats of the Danube River Flotilla under the command of Captain 1st Rank Bernard de Grave, together with a coastal battery located on the left bank of the Danube, bombarded the fortifications of the eastern front of the Turkish fortress of Silistria ( ) from a distance of 20 cables.

April 30. With the assistance of the vessels of the river Danube flotilla, the Russian troops occupied the island of Salani lying opposite Silistria, which was used to set up siege batteries here ( ).

16th of May. The shelling by the steamship "Prut" and two gunboats of the Danube river flotilla under the command of captain 1st rank Bernard de Grave of the fortifications of the eastern front of the Silistria fortress at a distance of 7 cables during the assault by its ground forces under the command of General Schilder ( ).

June 15. A detachment of gunboats of the Danube River Flotilla, covering the withdrawal of Russian troops from Silistria and the construction of the pontoon bridge built here, with their fire held the offensive of the units of the Turkish garrison of Silistria, who tried to prevent the withdrawal and construction of the bridge ().

December 26. A detachment of the Danube River Flotilla under the command of Rear Admiral Tsebrikov, with its fire, contributed to the return crossing of Russian troops across the Danube at Tulcha ().

Actions on the Baltic Sea

March 31. The English fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Nepira, consisting of 13 screw and 6 sailing ships of the line, 23 frigates and steamships, entered the Gulf of Finland and announced a blockade of the Russian coast of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga ().

April 2. In order to provide skerry flotillas of gunboats and coastal defense of the Baltic Sea with personnel, the first call to the naval service of the naval militia from among volunteers in the St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Tver and Olonets provinces took place. The record made significantly exceeded the planned number of conscription, giving from the day it began to May 22, 7132 people who expressed a desire to join the naval militia. By the end of April, the first militia battalion had already been formed, assigned to serve on the gunboat flotilla. According to the general recall of the command over the two years of the war, the naval militias proved to be disciplined and courageous warriors who quickly got used to the requirements of naval service in a combat situation ( ).

April 6. An attempt to bombard the city of Ganges by several English ships. Intensive fire from coastal batteries forced the enemy to go to sea ( ).

May 7 - 8. The attack of an English screw frigate and a rowboat on the city of Eknes, repulsed by Russian coastal batteries ( ).

May 10. The attack of 6 English ships on the Ganges with the support of 26 ships stationed in the roadstead. After a five-hour skirmish with coastal batteries, having received serious damage, the enemy ships went to sea ( ).

26 of May. Two English warships (16-gun "Oden" and 6-gun "Vulture"), having received the task of reconnaissance of the Russian forces on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia and destroy the military and merchant ships located here, attacked the small unprotected Finnish port of Gamle -Carleby, making an attempt to land a landing force of about 350 people sent on 9 barges armed with small cannons. As the landing force approached the shore, it was met by fire from a small coastal detachment, reinforced by volunteers from local residents. After a 45-minute battle, having lost one barge drowned and having two others badly damaged, the enemy was forced to hastily retreat. The defenders captured 1 flag, 1 cannon and 22 prisoners.
Having accepted the repulsed landing, the ships, without taking any further action, went to sea ( ).

the 9th of June. Two steam-frigates and one screw corvette from among the English ships that blockaded the Aland Islands, approaching the fortifications of Bomarzund at 10-12 cable lengths, tried to bombard them from large-caliber bombing guns. A fire was caused by return fire from the fortifications on one of the enemy ships, and the rudder was damaged on the other, which forced the enemy to stop firing and leave ( ).

12 June. The French fleet, which arrived in the Baltic Sea, consisting of 1 screw and 8 sailing ships of the line, 1 screw and 6 sailing frigates and 4 wheel steamers under the command of Vice Admiral Parseval-Deschen, joined the English fleet at Bare Sound ().

June 14. A combined Anglo-French fleet of 18 ships of the line, 8 frigates and several smaller vessels under the command of Vice Admirals Napier and Parseval-Deschen appeared in front of Kronstadt with the aim of attacking it. However, having limited themselves to reconnaissance for a week and having found out the extraordinary power of the defense of Kronstadt, the Allies abandoned the attack and retreated on June 20 to the island of Seskar ( ).

July 10. Vice-Admiral Nepir, having received a notice from the English Admiralty of consent to the implementation of the operation he proposed against the Aland Islands (Bomarzund), completely crossed the fleet from the island of Seskar to the Aland archipelago ( ).

July 15. Arrival in the Åland Islands to Bomarzund of the French squadron under the command of Admiral Parseval-Deschen with the landing corps of General Barage d "Ilye ().

26 July. Anglo-French landing of 11,000 people near Bomarzund. The unloading of siege weapons continued until July 29 ( ).

July 28 - August 4. Continuous bombardment of Bomarzund from land and sea by the Anglo-French, who fired up to 120,000 shells. On August 4, the completely destroyed fortress surrendered to the Anglo-French command (2175 people and 112 guns) ( ).

July 29. Making reconnaissance at Bomarzund, the English screw frigate "Penelope", being under fire from the Russian fort, jumped out onto the stones near the island of Prest-E. With the assistance of two steamships, Penelope, which threw some of its guns into the water and received 9 holes from fire from the fort, hardly got off the rocks and was taken away in tow ( ).

August 10. The attack of a detachment of English steam ships consisting of 2 steam-frigates, 1 sloop, 1 steamer and 1 schooner on the city of Abo in order to destroy the city and port. Met by fire from two military steamships and ten rowing gunboats under the command of Captain 1st Rank Akulov, the enemy, after a strong one and a half hour firefight at a distance of 12-20 cables, abandoned the intention to penetrate the Abo roadstead, retired to the sea ().

August, 26th. The departure of the French landing corps under the command of Barage d "Ilye from Bomarzund to France ().

October 7th. The cessation of operations in the Baltic Sea and the departure of the allied Anglo-French fleet from the Baltic to their bases.
As a result of the unsuccessful actions of the English fleet, Admiral Napier was replaced for the 1855 campaign by Admiral Dondas ( ).

April 28. Arrival to Nargen Island of the English squadron under the command of Admiral Dondas, consisting of 17 ships of the line and 30 steam-frigates and steamers. Two weeks later (in mid-May), the squadron moved to Krasnaya Gorka. On May 19, the French squadron of Admiral Penot joined it, consisting of 3 battleships and 2 steamships ().

May 24. English steam 20-push. the frigate "Cossaсk", approaching the Ganges, tried to land a landing party on a boat to destroy the posts of the coastal telegraph (semaphore), capture local pilots and requisition food. At the moment of landing, the enemy was attacked by a local team, which sank the boat and captured the surviving people from the landing party, led by its commander. The next day, the frigate Cossack, making sure that its landing force was destroyed, fired at the Ganges to no avail, firing about 150 shells within 2 hours ( ).

The beginning of June. The combined Anglo-French fleet under the command of Rear Admirals Dondas and Peno, consisting of: English - 19 screw and 2 sailing ships of the line, 4 screw frigates, 12 wheeled armed steamers, 16 mortar floating batteries, 16 gunboats and 23 small steam and sailing ships and French - 1 screw and 2 sailing ships of the line, 1 frigate, 1 corvette, 3 paddle steamers, 5 mortar floating batteries and 6 gunboats (total 101 pennant, about 2500 guns) approached Kronstadt, intending to attack it. Convinced of the strengthening of Kronstadt's defensive means compared to the previous year, the Anglo-French command abandoned the attack and limited itself to a blockade, sending detachments from the main forces to carry out attacks on individual points on the coast of the Gulf of Finland ( ).

June 6 - 7. An English detachment consisting of 2 screw battleships and 2 steam gunboats, approaching the mouth of the Narova River, fired at the coastal batteries located here and a detachment of 4 rowing gunboats under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Stackelberg, intended to defend the entrance to the Narova River, from the maximum distance , as well as the village of Gungersburg (Ust-Narova). After an eight-hour shelling, which caused fires in private houses in Gungersburg, but did not cause damage to the batteries and gunboats operating against it, the enemy retreated to the sea to the island of Seskar ( ).

June 8. A detachment of English and French steam ships, detached from the Allied fleet, which was in front of Kronstadt, during the reconnaissance of the Kronstadt fortifications, fell into the area of ​​minefields set by the Russians, and the steamer-frigate "Merlin" and the steamers "Firefly", "Vulture" ran into the mines and Bulldog.
Due to the small charge of mines (10–15 pounds of gunpowder), all ships remained afloat, having received only minor damage that required minor dock repairs. However, as a result of the discovery of minefields, laid in large numbers (the British caught up to 70 mines in various places), the allied command came to the conclusion that it was impossible to carry out active operations from the sea against Kronstadt and therefore decided to limit themselves to a blockade ( ).

June 10th. The English frigate Amphion, sent to make soundings and establish fairways off the eastern coast of Sandhamn Island near Sveaborg, had a skirmish with Russian coastal batteries and gunboats. Having received damage, the frigate retreated ( ).

July 1. A detachment of English steam ships, consisting of a steamer-frigate, a corvette and a gunboat, accompanied by seven armed barges with a landing force of about 700 people, having made an attempt to penetrate the Tranzond to Vyborg, attacked a Russian detachment blocking its path as part of the Tosno steamer and 8 rowing gunboats under the command of captain 2nd rank Rudakov, who occupied a position between the islands of Ravensaari and Nikolaevsky. As a result of an hour-long battle, the enemy barges, having come under gunboat fire and gunfire from the islands, were forced to retreat with losses, and one barge was sunk. Later, having fired at the fortifications on the islands, the English detachment, having abandoned attempts to penetrate into the Vyborg Bay, withdrew ( ).

July 9. Shelling by a detachment of 4 English courts of the city of Friedrichsham. Encountered by fire from coastal batteries, the enemy withdrew to the sea ( ).

July 28 - 29. Bombardment by the combined Anglo-French fleet of the fortress of Sveaborg.
Allied fleet under the command of the English Admiral Dondas and the French Admiral Peno, consisting of an English squadron of 6 battleships, 4 frigates, 16 floating bombardment batteries, 16 gunboats, 8 steamers and 4 transports and a French squadron of 3 battleships, 1 frigate, 1 corvette , 1 steamboat, 5 floating bombardment batteries, 6 gunboats (71 pennants, over 1000 guns), having taken a position at a distance of 20-30 cables in front of Sveaborg, bombarded () its fortifications and Russian ships located between the islands in the passages ( 3 battleships, 1 frigate, 1 steam-frigate, 1 schooner and 5 gunboats - 300 guns).
In forty-five hours of continuous shelling, the allies fired up to 18,500 shells and about 700 incendiary convex rockets. The bombing and resulting fires destroyed a significant number of wooden buildings and warehouses, as well as blown up four bomb magazines, but relatively little damage was done to the forts and batteries themselves. Of the Russian ships, the battleship Rossiya, which was stationed in the Gustavsvert passage, suffered the most damage, having received 3 underwater holes and 43 hits in the surface hull and mast. In two days of bombardment by the allies of the fortifications of Sveabort, Russian ships fired 2,800 shots at the enemy. Losses of the garrison: 62 killed and 199 wounded, losses on ships: 11 killed and 89 wounded (on the battleship Rossiya). Allied losses are unknown. Having not achieved the desired results with the bombardment, the allied fleet did not dare to force the Sveaborg passes in order to penetrate the inner roadstead and capture Sveaborg and Helsingfors, and retreated to the sea to the island of Nargen ( ).

July 29. English screw 84-push. the battleship "Hawke" and the corvette "Desperate", having passed into the Gulf of Riga and approaching the mouth of the Western Dvina, had an hour and a half skirmish with the Riga battalion of the rowing flotilla (12 gunboats) under the command of Lieutenant Commander P. Istomin, after which they went to sea ( ).

August 4. Skirmish between a detachment of the Russian rowing flotilla consisting of 6 propeller boats: Flurry, Pike, Ruff, Zarnitsa, Gust and Burun under the command of Rear Admiral S.I. Mofet, on the one hand, and three Allied ships (a screw frigate and 2 steamboats), on the other hand, near the Tolbukhin lighthouse, which lasted about two hours and ended to no avail for both sides ( )

August 21. The attack of the English steamer on the city of Gamle-Carleby. After a 3.5-hour skirmish with coastal batteries, having received damage, the ship retired to the sea ( ).

The beginning of November. After a six-month stay in the Baltic Sea, the allied Anglo-French fleet, having not achieved any serious results in the fight against the Russian fleet and the coast, left the Baltic Sea with the approach of winter time and returned to their ports ( ).

Actions on the White Sea

The beginning of June. Arrival in the White Sea of ​​an English detachment consisting of three ships under the command of Captain Ommaney to blockade the Russian coast. Later, with the arrival of several more English and French ships in the White Sea, the Allied naval forces were brought here to 10 ships ( ).

June, 22. Six armed boats sent from the frigate of the Ommaney detachment, which approached the island of Mudyug to measure the fairways leading to Arkhangelsk, were fired upon by two field batteries and rifle fire from gunboats. The lighthouse was damaged by return fire from the frigate. The boats, having not completed their task, returned to the frigate, and the latter hastened to go to sea ( ).

July 6 - 7. Shelling of the Solovetsky Monastery by two English ships (28 guns). Return fire from two monastery guns damaged one steamer.
On July 7, the British offered to surrender to the monastery, but were refused. Convinced that the monastery would resist, the enemy retired to the sea ( ).

July 10 - 11. The Anglo-French attack on the village of Pushlaty (on the shores of the Onega Bay), where the peasants put up stubborn resistance to the landing of 100 people. Having lost 5 people killed, the enemy set fire to the village and retired to their ships ( ).

September 8 - 12. Departure of the Anglo-French squadron from the White Sea. On September 8, the English ships left; 12th - French ( ).

The end of May. Arrival of an Anglo-French detachment of 6 ships under the command of Captain Bailey in the White Sea to continue the blockade of the Russian coast ( ).

May 30. Approaching the island of Mudyug and announcing on June 4 a blockade of all ports, harbors and bays of the White Sea, the enemy ships did not dare to attack Arkhangelsk.
Cruising all summer in the White Sea, the Anglo-French ships were engaged in the destruction of small fishing schooners and fishing vessels, and also attacked small coastal villages ( ).

Assessing the actions of the Anglo-French fleet on the White Sea during the war of 1854-1855, Engels wrote:
« ... The siege squadron was engaged in miserable attacks on Russian and Lappish villages and the destruction of the miserable property of poor fishermen. The British correspondents justify this shameful behavior by the natural irritation of the squadron, which feels that it cannot do anything serious! Good defense!» { }.

Actions in the Far East

July August. In connection with the news received about the declaration of war by England and France on Russia and the likelihood of an attack by the Anglo-French naval forces of the Pacific Ocean on Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka, the commander of the Petropavlovsk port, Major General V.S. using the forces of the garrison for this. Located in the port 44-push. frigate "Aurora" and 10-gun. military transport "Dvina" were anchored in the depths of the bay behind the Koshka spit with the left sides to the exit from the bay. The starboard guns of both ships were removed to reinforce the 7 batteries erected on the shore. The total number of guns on ships and batteries reached 67. The available garrison of Petropavlovsk consisted of 1016 people (including the crews of both ships and a detachment of volunteers from local residents) ( ).

August 18. Joint Anglo-French squadron (English ships: 50-gun frigate "President", 40-gun frigate "Pique", steamer "Virago", French ships: 50-gun frigate "La Forte", 20-gun corvette "L" Eurydice", 12-gun brig "Obligado" - a total of 218 guns), entering the Avacha Bay and approaching the harbor of Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka from a distance of about 7-8 cables fired at the port and coastal batteries in order to find out the location and after a short exchange of fire with the batteries, the enemy withdrew and anchored outside the shots.

August 19 the enemy resumed shelling, but since his ships were out of range of coastal batteries, the latter did not respond to him ( ).

August 20. The Anglo-French squadron, approaching the entrance to the Peter and Paul Bay and taking up positions against batteries No. 1 and No. 4 (8 guns), fired at both batteries from 80 guns for an hour and a half. Battery No. 1 (5 guns), bombarded with enemy shells, on which all the guns were out of order, was forced to cease fire. The personnel of the battery, having riveted the guns, were transferred to battery No. 4 (3 guns), against which the enemy increased their fire and began to prepare a landing force. Soon, the landing force on 15 rowboats (about 300 people), under cover of ship fire, began to approach the shore. Seeing the impossibility of holding out, the personnel of the battery (28 people), having riveted the guns, retreated, but soon, uniting with the detachments of sailors sent from battery No. 1 and Kamchadal volunteers (up to 100 people), they attacked with bayonets the landing force, which, without accepting the battle, hurriedly ran to the boats and rolled away from the shore.
After that, the enemy transferred fire to battery No. 2 (11 guns), which covered the entrance to the Peter and Paul Harbor, which until the evening fought with three enemy frigates, which several times tried to land troops in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bbatteries No. 1 and No. 3, and one enemy boat was sunk. With the onset of dusk, the enemy ceased fire and retreated into the depths of the bay, correcting the damage received over the next three days ( ).

24 August. Peter and Paul battle. The attack of the united Anglo-French squadron in full force on Petropavlovsk.
At six o'clock in the morning, the enemy ships, having taken up positions against batteries No. 3 and No. 7, began an intensive shelling of them, having the intention, after their destruction, to land an assault force to capture the city and the ships stationed in the harbor.
As a result of a three-hour battle, the enemy managed to destroy both Russian batteries, whose personnel, having lost more than half of their people, withdrew to join the reserve. Convinced that the batteries had been abandoned by the Russians, the enemy proceeded to land on 25 rowboats in two groups - in the area of ​​​​battery No. 7 of about 700 people and in the area of ​​battery No. 3 - about 150.
Having entrenched themselves on the shore under the cover of fire from their ships, both landing parties began to quickly climb the hills of Nikolskaya Mountain, bypassing Petropavlovsk from two sides.
In order to prevent the enemy from occupying the crest of the mountain, Major General V.S. Zavoyko, having gathered all the available forces of the garrison and reinforced it with a detachment of sailors from the Aurora, battery personnel and volunteers (about 300 people in total), sent them to attack against the landing . With a powerful bayonet strike and rifle fire from specially selected riflemen, the garrison threw the enemy from the slopes of the mountain into the sea.
Having suffered heavy losses, the landing force in disorder rushed to escape to the rowboats, which hastily rolled away under the protection of their ships.
The Russians captured in battle the English banner of the marine infantry, many weapons and prisoners. According to British data, the Allies lost up to 450 people killed and wounded. Russian losses: 32 killed and 64 wounded.
Having accepted the landing, the enemy ships hastily retreated deep into the bay, where, having corrected the damage, on August 27 they finally went to sea ( ).

April 4 - 6. Having received information about the intention of the Anglo-French command with the beginning of spring to again undertake large-scale operations against Petropavlovsk, Governor-General of Eastern Siberia N.N. Muravyov ordered Rear Admiral V.S. prepare all ships for an urgent exit, loading on them property, food, guns, the entire garrison with their families and leave Kamchatka at the mouth of the Amur. Upon receipt of this order on March 3, work began on the preparation of ships and the loading of port property. At the same time, due to the presence of ice in the bay, they began to make a channel in it for the withdrawal of ships to the sea. By the beginning of April, all preparations were completed, and on April 4, the Irtysh and Baikal transports were the first to be sent. On April 6, the rest of the ships went to sea - the frigate "Aurora", the corvette "Olivutsa" (), transport "Dvina" and boat No. 1.
The Anglo-French squadron, which arrived at Petropavlovsk in early May, found the port abandoned by the Russians ( ).

1st of May. The squadron of Rear Admiral Zavoyko, consisting of the Aurora frigate, the Olivuts corvette, three transports - the Dvina, Baikal and Irtysh - and boat No. 1, having made the transition from Kamchatka to the Tatar Strait, concentrated in De- Castries for further passage to the Amur Estuary, as soon as the latter is cleared of ice ( ).

May 8. Convinced that Rear Admiral Zavoyko's squadron had left Petropavlovsk, the Anglo-French naval command could not establish its whereabouts for a long time.
Finally, on May 8, a detachment of English ships consisting of 1 frigate, 1 screw corvette and 1 sloop under the command of Commodore Elliot, entering the Tatar Strait, discovered the Russian squadron in De-Kastri Bay.
The Hornet screw corvette, sent for reconnaissance, exchanged several volleys with the Russian Olivutsa corvette, and reported to Elliot about the composition of the Russian squadron, which was preparing for battle. Not risking a fight, Elliot sent the Hornet to Hakodate to his command with a request to send reinforcements, and he himself remained in the Tatar Strait for observation with two ships, considering the Russian ships blocked ( ).

16th of May. Having received on May 15 the news that the Amur estuary was cleared of ice, on the night of May 16, the squadron of Rear Admiral Zavoyko, using thick fog, left De Kaetri Bay and went north through the Tatar Strait to the mouth of the Amur, where it arrived safely on May 24.
On the same day, May 16, the Anglo-French squadron of Admiral Stirling, who came from Hakodate to connect with Elliot's detachment, hurried to De-Kastri Bay in order to attack the Russian squadron, but did not find it. This new disappearance of the Russians was all the more incomprehensible because the British considered the Tatar Strait to be a bay with no outlet to the north. Despite the undertaken searches for the Russian squadron, it was not found ( ).

July 22. During the chase of the English steamer for the brig "Okhotsk" near Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, the crew of the brig, transferring to boats, blew up the ship. Most of the boat crew reached the shore and escaped capture ( ).

March 18. Parisian world. The conclusion in Paris of a peace treaty between the warring countries, according to which:
a) the allies cleared the points they occupied in the Crimea and on the Black Sea (Sevastopol, Evpatoria, Kerch, Kinburn, etc.);
b) Russia returned Kars occupied by the Russians and part of the Danube Bessarabia to Turkey;
c) The Black Sea was declared neutral, i.e. closed to warships and open to merchant ships of all nations;
d) Russia pledged not to maintain a combat fleet in the Black Sea;
e) Russia and Turkey could not create any naval bases on the shores of the Black Sea;
f) Russia pledged not to build fortifications on the Aland Islands;
g) to regulate the issues of navigation on the Danube, a special permanent all-European commission was formed from representatives of all interested countries.

Thus, the Treaty of Paris deprived Russia of the result of her centuries-old struggle for access to the Black Sea and left southern Ukraine, Crimea, and the Caucasus defenseless from enemy attacks.

The London Treaty of 1871 abolished the humiliating articles of the Paris Treaty ( ).

Participants in the war: Russia against the coalition of England, France and the Ottoman Empire.

The main reason and goals of the war: Russia's desire to seize the Bosporus and the Dardanelles from Turkey.

Reason for failure: The Russian Empire was far behind economically; its loss was only a matter of time.

Consequences: Heavy sanctions, the infiltration of foreign capital, the decline of Russian prestige, as well as an attempt to resolve the peasant issue.

Causes of the Crimean War

The opinion that the war began because of a religious conflict and "protection of the Orthodox" is fundamentally wrong. These arguments are only a pretext for conflict. The reason is always the economic interests of the parties.

Turkey by that time was the “sick link in Europe”. It became clear that it would not last long and would soon fall apart, so the question of who inherited its territory became increasingly relevant. The main reason was that Russia wanted to annex Moldavia and Wallachia with the Orthodox population, as well as, in the future, to seize the Bosphorus and Dardanelles.

Stages of the Crimean War

In the Crimean War of 1853-1855, the following stages can be distinguished:

• Danube Campaign. On June 14, 1853, the emperor issued a decree on the start of a military operation. On June 21, the troops crossed the border with Turkey and entered Bucharest on July 3 without firing a shot. At the same time, small skirmishes began at sea and on land.
• . On November 18, 1953, a huge Turkish squadron was completely destroyed. This was the largest Russian victory in the Crimean War.
• Allied entry into the war. In March 1854 France and England declared war on Russia. Realizing that he could not cope with the leading powers alone, the emperor withdraws troops from Moldavia and Wallachia.
• Blocking from the sea. In June-July 1854, the Russian squadron of 14 battleships and 12 frigates is completely blocked in the Sevastopol Bay by the Allied fleet, numbering 34 battleships and 55 frigates.
• Landing of the allies in the Crimea. On September 2, 1854, the allies began to land in Evpatoria, and already on the 8th of the same month they inflicted a rather large defeat on the Russian army (a division of 33,000 people), which was trying to stop the movement of troops towards Sevastopol. The losses were small, but we had to retreat.
• Destruction of part of the fleet. On September 9, 5 battleships and 2 frigates (30% of the total) were flooded at the entrance to the Sevastopol Bay to prevent the Allied squadron from breaking into it.
• Deblockade attempts. On October 13 and November 5, 1854, Russian troops made 2 attempts to lift the blockade of Sevastopol. Both failed, but without major losses.
• Battle for Sevastopol. From March to September 1855 there were 5 bombardments of the city. There was another attempt by the Russian troops to get out of the blockade, but it failed. On September 8, Malakhov Kurgan was taken - a strategic height. Because of this, the Russian troops left the southern part of the city, blew up the rocks with ammunition and weapons, and also flooded the entire fleet.
• The surrender of half of the city and the flooding of the Black Sea squadron produced a strong shock in all circles of society. For this reason, Emperor Nicholas I agreed to a truce.

The balance of power between Russia and allies

One of the reasons for the defeat of Russia is called the numerical superiority of the allies. But actually it is not.

Table: the ratio of the land part of the army

The allies had a general numerical superiority, but this did not affect every battle. Moreover, even when the ratio was equal, the Russian troops still could not succeed.

Important! In addition, the British and French caught dysentery during the march, which greatly affected the combat capability of the units. .

Table: The ratio of the forces of the fleet on the Black Sea

The main naval force was the battleships - heavy ships with a huge number of guns. Frigates were used as fast and well-armed hunters who hunted transport ships. A large number of small boats and gunboats in Russia did not give superiority at sea, since their combat potential is extremely small.

Another reason for the defeat is called command errors. However, most of these opinions are expressed after the fact, that is, when the critic already knows what decision should have been taken.

Heroes of the Crimean War

The Crimean War gave the country many heroes:

1. . He showed himself most of all at sea during the Battle of Sinop, when he sank the Turkish squadron. He did not participate in land battles, as he did not have the appropriate experience (he was still a naval admiral). During the defense, he served as governor.
2. Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich. He showed himself as a brave and active commander. In fact, he invented the tactics of active defense with tactical sorties, laying minefields, mutual assistance of land and naval artillery.
3. Menshikov Alexander Sergeevich. It is on him that all the accusations of losing the war are poured. However, Menshikov personally supervised only 2 operations. In one retreated due to the numerical superiority of the enemy. In another, he lost because of his miscalculation, but at that moment his front was no longer decisive, but auxiliary. He gave quite rational orders (sinking ships in the bay), which helped the city to hold out longer.

Reasons for the defeat of Russia

Firstly, Russia has lost the diplomatic game. France, which supplied the bulk of the troops, could be persuaded to intercede for us. Napoleon III had no real economic goals, which means that there was an opportunity to lure him to his side. Nicholas I hoped that the allies would keep their word. He did not request any official papers, which was a big mistake.

Secondly, the feudal command and control system was significantly inferior to the capitalist military machine. First of all, this is manifested in discipline. A living example: when Menshikov gave the order to sink the ship in the bay, Kornilov ... refused to carry it out. This situation is the norm for the feudal paradigm of military thinking, where there is not a commander and a subordinate, but a suzerain and a vassal.

Many sources indicate that the Russian troops were losing because of the fittings, which the Allied armies had in large numbers. But this is an erroneous point of view.

• The Russian army also had fittings, and there were also enough of them.
• The fitting was fired at 1200 meters - just a myth. Really long-range rifles were adopted much later. On average, the fitting fired at 400-450 meters.
• The fittings were fired very accurately - also a myth. Yes, their accuracy was more accurate, but only by 30-50% and only at 100 meters. With increasing distance, the superiority fell to 20-30% and below. In addition, the rate of fire was 3-4 times inferior.
• During major battles in the first half of the 19th century, the smoke from gunpowder was so thick that visibility was reduced to 20-30 meters.
• The accuracy of the weapon does not mean the accuracy of the fighter. It is extremely difficult to teach a person even from a modern rifle to hit a target from 100 meters. And from a fitting that did not have today's aiming devices, it is even more difficult to shoot at a target.
• During combat stress, only 5% of soldiers think about aimed shooting.
• Artillery always brought the main losses. Namely, 80-90% of all killed and wounded soldiers were from cannon fire with grapeshot.

Despite the numerical disadvantage of guns, we had an overwhelming superiority in artillery, which was due to the following factors:

• our guns were more powerful and more accurate;
• Russia had the best artillerymen in the world;
• the batteries stood in prepared high positions, which gave them an advantage in firing range;
• the Russians were fighting on their territory, because of which all positions were shot, that is, we could immediately start hitting without a miss.

However, the main reason for the loss is the huge economic backlog of Russia.

Table: reasons for Russia's defeat in the Crimean War.

This was the reason for the lack of modern ships, weapons, as well as the inability to supply ammunition, ammunition and medicines on time. Cargoes from France and England approached the Crimea faster than from the central regions of Russia to the Crimea. The Russian Empire was never able to deliver the reserve to the battlefield, while the Allies brought reserves through several seas.

Results and consequences of the Crimean war for Russia

First of all, there was a huge public debt - over a billion rubles. The money supply (banknotes) grew from 311 to 735 million. The ruble fell in price several times. By the end of the war, sellers in the market simply refused to exchange silver coins for paper money.

Such instability led to a rapid rise in the price of bread, meat and other foodstuffs, which led to peasant riots. The schedule for the performances of the peasants is as follows:

• 1855 – 63;
• 1856 – 71;
• 1857 – 121;
• 1858 - 423 (this is the scale of Pugachevism);
• 1859 – 182;
• 1860 – 212;
• 1861 - 1340 (and this is already a civil war).

Russia lost the right to have warships in the Black Sea, gave away some land, but all this was quickly returned during the subsequent Russian-Turkish wars. Therefore, the main consequence of the war for the empire can be considered the abolition of serfdom.

Outcome

In wars after the 19th century, the main and only means of victory is not modern missiles, tanks and ships, but the economy. During mass military clashes, it is extremely important that weapons are not only high-tech, but that the economy of the state can constantly update weapons in the face of the rapid destruction of human resources and military equipment.

The spirit in the troops is beyond description. In the days of ancient Greece, there was not so much heroism. I have not been able to be in business a single time, but I thank God that I have seen these people and live in this glorious time.

Lev Tolstoy

The wars of the Russian and Ottoman empires were a common occurrence in the international politics of the 18th-19th centuries. In 1853, the Russian Empire of Nicholas 1 entered another war, which went down in history as the Crimean War of 1853-1856, and ended with the defeat of Russia. In addition, this war showed the strong resistance of the leading countries of Western Europe (France and Great Britain) to the strengthening of the role of Russia in Eastern Europe, in particular in the Balkans. The lost war also showed Russia itself problems in domestic politics, which led to many problems. Despite victories at the initial stage of 1853-1854, as well as the capture of the key Turkish fortress of Kars in 1855, Russia lost the most important battles on the territory of the Crimean peninsula. This article describes the causes, course, main results and historical significance in a short story about the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Causes of the aggravation of the Eastern question

Under the eastern question, historians understand a number of controversial issues in Russian-Turkish relations, which at any moment could lead to conflict. The main problems of the Eastern question, which became the basis for a future war, are as follows:

• The loss of the Crimea and the northern Black Sea region by the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 18th century constantly stimulated Turkey to start a war in the hope of regaining the territories. Thus began the wars of 1806-1812 and 1828-1829. However, as a result of them, Turkey lost Bessarabia and part of the territory in the Caucasus, which further strengthened the desire for revenge.
• Belonging to the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. Russia demanded that these straits be opened for the Black Sea Fleet, while the Ottoman Empire (under pressure from the countries of Western Europe) ignored these demands of Russia.
• The presence in the Balkans, as part of the Ottoman Empire, Slavic Christian peoples who fought for their independence. Russia supported them, thereby causing a wave of indignation among the Turks about Russia's interference in the internal affairs of another state.

An additional factor that intensified the conflict was the desire of the countries of Western Europe (Britain, France, and Austria) not to let Russia into the Balkans, as well as close its access to the straits. For the sake of this, the countries were ready to support Turkey in a potential war with Russia.

The reason for the war and its beginning

These troubled moments brewed throughout the late 1840s and early 1850s. In 1853, the Turkish Sultan transferred the Bethlehem Temple of Jerusalem (then the territory of the Ottoman Empire) to the control of the Catholic Church. This caused a wave of indignation of the highest Orthodox hierarchy. Nicholas 1 decided to take advantage of this, using the religious conflict as a pretext for attacking Turkey. Russia demanded that the temple be handed over to the Orthodox Church, and at the same time also open the straits for the Black Sea Fleet. Turkey refused. In June 1853, Russian troops crossed the border of the Ottoman Empire and entered the territory of the Danubian principalities dependent on it.

Nicholas 1 hoped that France was too weak after the revolution of 1848, and that Britain could be appeased by transferring Cyprus and Egypt to it in the future. However, the plan did not work, European countries called the Ottoman Empire to action, promising her financial and military assistance. In October 1853, Turkey declared war on Russia. Thus began, to put it briefly, the Crimean War of 1853-1856. In the history of Western Europe, this war is called Eastern.

The course of the war and the main stages

The Crimean War can be divided into 2 stages according to the number of participants in the events of those years. Here are the steps:

1. October 1853 - April 1854. During these six months the war was between the Ottoman Empire and Russia (without the direct intervention of other states). There were three fronts: Crimean (Black Sea), Danube and Caucasian.
2. April 1854 - February 1856. British and French troops enter the war, which expands the theater of operations, as well as a turning point in the course of the war. The allied troops were superior to the Russian ones from the technical side, which was the reason for the changes in the course of the war.

As for specific battles, the following key battles can be distinguished: for Sinop, for Odessa, for the Danube, for the Caucasus, for Sevastopol. There were other battles, but those listed above are the main ones. Let's consider them in more detail.

Battle of Sinop (November 1853)

The battle took place in the harbor of the city of Sinop in the Crimea. The Russian fleet under the command of Nakhimov completely defeated the Turkish fleet of Osman Pasha. This battle was perhaps the last major world battle on sailing ships. This victory significantly raised the morale of the Russian army and gave hope for an early victory in the war.

Map of the Sinop naval battle November 18, 1853

Bombing of Odessa (April 1854)

In early April 1854, the Ottoman Empire launched a squadron of the Franco-British fleet through its straits, which swiftly headed for Russian port and shipbuilding cities: Odessa, Ochakov and Nikolaev.

On April 10, 1854, the bombardment of Odessa, the main southern port of the Russian Empire, began. After a rapid and intense bombardment, it was planned to land troops in the northern Black Sea region, which would force the withdrawal of troops from the Danubian principalities, as well as weaken the defense of the Crimea. However, the city withstood several days of shelling. Moreover, the defenders of Odessa were able to deliver accurate strikes against the Allied fleet. The plan of the Anglo-French troops failed. The allies were forced to retreat towards the Crimea and begin battles for the peninsula.

Fights on the Danube (1853-1856)

It was with the entry of Russian troops into this region that the Crimean War of 1853-1856 began. After the success in the Battle of Sinop, another success awaited Russia: the troops completely crossed to the right bank of the Danube, an attack was opened on Silistria and further on Bucharest. However, the entry into the war of England and France complicated the offensive of Russia. On June 9, 1854, the siege of Silistria was lifted and the Russian troops returned to the left bank of the Danube. By the way, on this front, Austria also entered the war against Russia, which was worried about the rapid advance of the Romanov Empire into Wallachia and Moldavia.

In July 1854, near the city of Varna (modern Bulgaria), a huge landing of the British and French armies landed (according to various sources, from 30 to 50 thousand). The troops were supposed to enter the territory of Bessarabia, ousting Russia from this region. However, a cholera epidemic broke out in the French army, and the British public demanded that the leadership of the army first strike at the Black Sea fleet in the Crimea.

Fights in the Caucasus (1853-1856)

An important battle took place in July 1854 near the village of Kyuruk-Dara (Western Armenia). The combined Turkish-British forces were defeated. At this stage, the Crimean War was still successful for Russia.

Another important battle in this region took place in June-November 1855. Russian troops decided to attack the eastern part of the Ottoman Empire, the fortress of Karsu, so that the allies would send part of the troops to this region, thereby slightly weakening the siege of Sevastopol. Russia won the battle of Kars, but this happened after the news of the fall of Sevastopol, so this battle had little effect on the outcome of the war. Moreover, according to the results of the "peace" signed later, the fortress of Kars returned to the Ottoman Empire. However, as the peace talks showed, the capture of Kars still played a role. But more on that later.

Defense of Sevastopol (1854-1855)

The most heroic and tragic event of the Crimean War is, of course, the battle for Sevastopol. In September 1855, Franco-British troops captured the last point of the city's defense - Malakhov Kurgan. The city survived 11 months of siege, however, as a result, it was surrendered to the allied forces (among which the Sardinian kingdom appeared). This defeat became a key one and served as an impetus for the end of the war. From the end of 1855, intensified negotiations began, in which Russia had practically no strong arguments. It was clear that the war was lost.

Other battles in the Crimea (1854-1856)

In addition to the siege of Sevastopol on the territory of Crimea in 1854-1855, several more battles took place, which were aimed at "unblocking" Sevastopol:

1. Battle of the Alma (September 1854).
2. Battle of Balaklava (October 1854).
3. Battle of Inkerman (November 1854).
4. An attempt to liberate Evpatoria (February 1855).
5. Battle on the Chernaya River (August 1855).

All these battles ended in unsuccessful attempts to lift the siege of Sevastopol.

"Distant" battles

The main fighting of the war took place near the Crimean peninsula, which gave the name to the war. There were also battles in the Caucasus, on the territory of modern Moldova, as well as in the Balkans. However, few people know that battles between rivals also took place in remote regions of the Russian Empire. Here are some examples:

1. Peter and Paul Defense. The battle that took place on the territory of the Kamchatka Peninsula between the combined Franco-British troops on the one hand and Russian on the other. The battle took place in August 1854. This battle was the result of the victory of Britain over China during the Opium Wars. As a result, Britain wanted to increase its influence in the east of Asia, ousting Russia from here. In total, the Allied troops made two assaults, both ended in failure for them. Russia withstood the Peter and Paul defense.
2. Arctic Company. The operation of the British fleet to attempt to blockade or capture Arkhangelsk, carried out in 1854-1855. The main battles took place in the Barents Sea. The British also undertook the bombardment of the Solovetsky fortress, as well as the robbery of Russian merchant ships in the White and Barents Seas.

Results and historical significance of the war

In February 1855, Nicholas 1 died. The task of the new emperor, Alexander 2, was to end the war, and with minimal damage to Russia. In February 1856, the Paris Congress began its work. Russia was represented by Alexei Orlov and Philip Brunnov. Since neither side saw the point in continuing the war, already on March 6, 1856, the Paris Peace Treaty was signed, as a result of which the Crimean War was completed.

The main terms of the Treaty of Paris were as follows:

1. Russia returned the Karsu fortress to Turkey in exchange for Sevastopol and other captured cities of the Crimean peninsula.
2. Russia was forbidden to have a Black Sea fleet. The Black Sea was declared neutral.
3. The Bosporus and Dardanelles were declared closed to the Russian Empire.
4. Part of Russian Bessarabia was transferred to the Moldavian Principality, the Danube ceased to be a border river, so navigation was declared free.
5. On the Aland Islands (an archipelago in the Baltic Sea), Russia was forbidden to build military and (or) defensive fortifications.

As for losses, the number of Russian citizens who died in the war is 47.5 thousand people. Britain lost 2.8 thousand, France - 10.2, the Ottoman Empire - more than 10 thousand. The Sardinian kingdom lost 12 thousand soldiers. Austrian casualties are unknown, possibly because they were not officially at war with Russia.

In general, the war showed the backwardness of Russia, compared with the states of Europe, especially in terms of the economy (the completion of the industrial revolution, the construction of railways, the use of steamships). After this defeat, the reforms of Alexander 2 began. In addition, a desire for revenge was brewing in Russia for a long time, which resulted in another war with Turkey in 1877-1878. But this is a completely different story, and the Crimean War of 1853-1856 was completed and Russia was defeated in it.

In the middle of the XIX century. sharp aggravation of the eastern question was associated with the weakening of the Ottoman Empire and its national liberation struggle. The Western powers did not want to strengthen Russia's position on the Black Sea and, in order to curb the active policy of Nicholas I in the east, they supported the Porte, the government of Turkey.

The reason for the war was conflict flared up in 1850 The government of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon III), whom the Russian emperor considered illegitimate, demanded that the Turkish sultan hand over " the keys to the Holy Sepulcher" in Palestine to the Catholic clergy. The Russian Tsar came to the defense of the Orthodox priests of Jerusalem and demanded that the Sultan restore the status quo, that is, return the keys to the Orthodox community.

In February 1853, Nicholas I sent his ambassador, Prince A. S. Menshikov, to Constantinople. The latter delivered an ultimatum to Sultan Abdulmecid demanding to recognize the patronage of the Russian emperor over the Orthodox subjects of Turkey. Hoping for the support of Great Britain and France, the Sultan rejected Menshikov's demand. Then Nicholas I recalled the ambassador from Constantinople and on June 21, 1853, Russian troops entered the territory of Moldavia and Wallachia, nominally under the rule of the Sultan.

The goals of Russia in the outbreak of the war were the desire to secure the southern borders, strengthen its influence in the Balkans and establish control over the Black Sea straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. There was also a desire of Nicholas I to continue the cause of the liberation of the Orthodox peoples under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Britain decided to use the opportunity to form an anti-Russian coalition and weaken Russia's influence in the Balkans. Napoleon III hoped to defeat Russia to strengthen his power, which he inherited as a result of a coup d'état. Turkey could not miss the chance to wrest Crimea and the Caucasus from Russia.

The balance of forces and plans of the parties

Nicholas I counted on the support of Prussia and Austria and considered an alliance between Britain and France impossible. He misjudged the international situation, as a result of which Russia found itself in diplomatic isolation, which influenced the outcome of the Crimean War.

The tsar adopted a plan that provided for the occupation of the Danubian principalities by Russian troops. It was assumed that the troops were not supposed to cross the Danube and avoid clashes with the Turkish army in every possible way. Nicholas I believed that a "peaceful-military" show of force would force the Turks to make concessions and accept Russian demands.

The Russian army was armed with smooth-bore guns, which had a significantly lower aiming range than the Western European fitting. The vast majority of the Russian fleet remained sailing. He could not resist the large squadrons of Western European frigate steamers. In Russia, the construction of railways had just begun, therefore, it was impossible to solve the problem of reliable supply and transfer of troops to a remote theater of operations. The country's economy could not withstand competition with the economies of the advanced countries of Europe, which had earlier embarked on the path of modernization.

Since 1839, the Turkish sultan has carried out modernization reforms of the tanzimat. Within its framework, a military reform was carried out: universal military service was introduced for Muslims, as well as for non-Muslims, the term of military service was reduced to 5-7 years. The army in the empire became regular and modern.

Having carried out the industrial revolution, England and France made significant progress in military affairs. Their armies were armed with rifled guns, a modern steam-powered navy appeared, and artillery received more powerful, long-range and rapid-firing guns.

The course of hostilities

The Crimean War is divided into two stages: the first (1853 $-$ beginning of 1854) $-$ Russian-Turkish war, which unfolded in the Caucasian, Danube and Black Sea theater of operations, the second (1854-February 1856) $-$ Russia's war with a coalition of England, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia.

On September 22, 1853, the English and French squadrons passed through the Dardanelles into the Sea of ​​Marmara, thereby violating the London Convention of 1841. On September 27, Turkey demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from Wallachia and Moldavia. Without waiting for an answer, on October 4, 1853, she declared war on Russia. On October 23, 1853, the Turkish coastal battery fired on the Russian river flotilla at the mouth of the Danube.

On the Danube front, an 82,000-strong Russian army operated under the command of General Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov. The enemy concentrated here a 145,000-strong group led by Omer Pasha. Gorchakov refrained from active actions, and the attacks of the Turks in order to expel the Russians from the Danubian principalities did not bring success.

On the Caucasian front, the situation of the Russian troops was complicated by the resistance of the highlanders during the Caucasian War. The main forces of the Russian troops were sent to fight against Shamil and the Circassians. On the Turkish border there were about 5 thousand people who covered the fortresses of Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki, Alexandropol and Erivan. The enemy had a 100,000-strong Turkish army of Abdi Pasha in the Caucasus. The fighting began on October 28, 1853 with an attack by a Turkish detachment on the post of St. Nicholas between Poti and Batum.

The strategic plan of the Turks was to break through in the Transcaucasus and connect with Shamil. To do this, their main forces moved to Alexandropol, and the Ardagan detachment rushed through the Borjomi gorge to the Kura valley. To thwart this plan, the Russians transferred an infantry division by sea from the Crimea and formed an Armenian-Georgian militia. On November 14, the Turks were defeated by General Ivan Malzakhovich Andronnikov near Akhaltsikhe and on November 19 $-$ from the general Vasily Osipovich Bebutov near the village of Bashkadyklar.

Meanwhile at sea, Vice Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, the commander of a detachment of battleships of the Black Sea Fleet, having a small numerical advantage in artillery, decided to attack the enemy in the roadstead of the Sinop Bay in order to prevent the landing operation of the Turks. V Battle of Sinop November 18, 1853. eight Russian ships defeated the Turkish squadron of 14 sailing ships and two steamships.

Sinop battle

Nakhimov did not lose a single ship, defeating the Turkish squadron and capturing its commander $-$ Osman Pasha. In three hours of battle, the Turks lost their best ships, a third of naval artillery and more than three thousand sailors.

Entry into the war of England and France

To save Turkey from final defeat, Britain and France went to war. On the night of December 23, 1853, the English and French squadrons passed the Bosphorus and entered the Black Sea. On February 9, 1854, Russia declared war on Great Britain and France.

Hoping to persuade Sultan Abdulmecid to peace before the Anglo-French armies arrived in the theater of operations, Nicholas I launched an offensive on the Danube. On March 11, 1854, Russian troops crossed the Danube at Brailov, Galats and Izmail and concentrated in Northern Dobruja. On May 5, the siege of the Silistria fortress, which played the role of a gate to Bulgaria, began.

The Turks held the line, counting on a change in the foreign policy situation. Austria concentrated troops in the border Transylvania. Fearing the intervention of Austria, Prussia and Sweden in the war, Russia kept significant contingents of troops on their borders.

The new commander-in-chief of the Danube army, Field Marshal Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich, out of fear of an Austrian attack in the rear of its positions, on June 9, 1854, ordered a withdrawal from the Danube principalities. By September, the Russian army withdrew beyond the Prut, and the Austrians entered the principalities.

Military operations at sea unfolded. Throughout 1854, the fleets of Great Britain and France launched attacks on Russian ports in various directions. So, on April 10, 1854, the Anglo-French squadron tried to take Odessa. The city was bombarded with fire from 350 naval guns. However, the resilience of its defenders thwarted an attempt by the Allies to land troops.

In the spring of 1854, the Anglo-French squadron of Vice Admirals Ch. Napier and A.F. Perceval-Duchene, consisting of 11 screw and 15 sailing battleships, 32 frigate steamers and 7 sailing frigates, blocked the Russian Baltic Fleet. 26 Russian sailing ships of the line, 9 frigates, 9 sailing frigates were locked up in Kronstadt and Sveaborg. The attack on the base of the Baltic Fleet was prevented by Russian minefields, which were first used in the war.

The Allies bombed a number of settlements in Finland, and on July 26, 1854, an 11,000-strong detachment landed on the Aland Islands. The Russian fortress of Bomarzund was captured, but landing attempts in the Finnish ports of Ekenes, Ganges, Gamlakarleby and Abo ended in failure.

In 1854, English ships appeared on the White Sea, where they bombarded Kola and the Solovetsky Monastery. On August 18, 1854, an Anglo-French landing was landed in Kamchatka, which was met by the garrison of Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka, led by Major General Vasily Stepanovich Zavoyko. With support from the sea by the Aurora frigate, Zavoyko repelled enemy attacks by August 24.

In the Caucasian theater of operations, the Turks managed to achieve a significant advantage in numbers. Their army was increased to 120 thousand people. The new Turkish commander Mustafa Zarif Pasha in May 1854 went on the offensive against the 40,000th Russian corps V. O. Bebutova. The highlanders of Chechnya and Dagestan contributed to the Turks. The murids of Imam Shamil captured the c. Tsinandali, 60 km from Tiflis. The local militia came to the aid of the Russian troops, the enemy was repulsed. Shamil fled back to Chechnya. A small group of Russians July 17, 1854. defeated the 20,000th corps of the Turks in a meeting battle on the Changil Pass, later captured Bayazet fortress. The main forces of Bebutov (18 thousand people) July 24, 1854 at Kyuruk-Dar defeated the 60,000-strong grouping of Zarif Pasha, which is why the Turks lost the opportunity to develop offensive operations in the Caucasus.

Nicholas I, realizing the significant superiority of the coalition forces, tried to conclude a peace agreement. In July 1854 in Vienna, through the mediation of Austria, preliminary peace negotiations began. But Great Britain and France put forward unacceptable conditions for Russia: to renounce the protectorate over Wallachia and Moldavia, to renounce the claims to the protectorate over the Orthodox subjects of the Turkish Sultan, to renounce the right to maintain a navy on the Black Sea, to renounce control over the mouth of the Danube.

Defense of Sevastopol

The main naval forces of the Allies (34 battleships and 55 frigates, most of which were steam) were concentrated in the Black Sea. The Russian Black Sea Fleet, consisting of 14 sailing battleships, 6 frigates and 6 frigate steamers, could not resist the enemy and took refuge in the bay of Sevastopol. From June 1854, British and French troops began to concentrate in the Varna region in order to land their main forces in the Crimea in the fall and capture Sevastopol, the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Commander-in-Chief of the Russian troops in the Crimea (33 thousand people) Alexander Sergeevich Menshikov considered the landing of the British and French in the Crimea impossible. But the Allies managed to land in the Crimea on September 2, 1854, an expeditionary army (55 thousand people) under the command of French Marshal A. Saint-Arnaud, English General Lord F. J. Raglan and Turkish General Ahmet Pasha. 8 September Russian troops were defeated on the river Alma. Menshikov's army withdrew to Sevastopol, and then on September 12 $-$ to Bakhchisaray. Sevastopol was left without protection.

The Allies occupied Balaklava, Kamyshovaya Bay and approached Sevastopol from the south. September 13, 1854 began the defense of Sevastopol, which was taken over by the command of the Black Sea Fleet. Fleet Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Vladimir Alekseevich Kornilov ordered to fortify the approaches to the city. For this purpose, several old ships were sunk at the entrance to the Sevastopol Bay.

Kornilov V. A.

colonel engineer Eduard Ivanovich Totleben supervised the construction of earthen and wooden fortifications, on which ship guns were installed.

Totleben E.I.

Land positions were defended by garrison soldiers and naval crews. Admirals were engaged in the defense of the most important sectors Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov and Vladimir Ivanovich Istomin.

V. I. Istomin

A sailor stands out among the heroes of the defense of Sevastopol Peter Koshka. He participated in almost all sorties, returning each time with captured weapons or with valuable information about the enemy. During one of the sorties, he captured 3 French soldiers who were in chains; during another, under enemy fire, he dug the body of our slain sapper blasphemously buried to the waist in the ground near the enemy’s trench and, having put it on his shoulders, safely returned to the 3rd bastion; for this feat he was awarded the insignia of the Military Order of the 4th degree. In a sortie on January 17, he was wounded with a bayonet in the chest.

Monument to sailor P.M. Koshka. Sevastopol

On October 5, 1854, the bombing of Sevastopol began. Menshikov, meanwhile, received reinforcements from Russia and hit the enemy in the rear, but in Inkerman battle October 24 was defeated.

N. V. Berg. The interior of the battery of the 3rd bastion after leaving Sevastopol

On December 28, 1854, a conference of ambassadors from Great Britain, France, Austria, and Russia opened in Vienna to discuss the issue of concluding peace. However, in the midst of negotiations on February 18, 1855, news came from Russia of the death of Tsar Nicholas I. The new Russian sovereign Alexander II did not dare to accept the conditions of the allies, and in April 1855 the negotiations reached an impasse.

Military action in 1855

On January 14, 1855, the Kingdom of Sardinia entered the war, sending a 15,000-strong corps to Sevastopol. The 35,000th Turkish corps of Omer Pasha concentrated in Evpatoria. February 5, 1855 general Stepan Alexandrovich Khrulev at the head of the 19,000th Russian corps, he unsuccessfully tried to capture Evpatoria. The tsar ordered the appointment of M. D. Gorchakov as commander-in-chief instead of Menshikov.

F. A. Roubaud. Fragment of the panorama "Defense of Sevastopol"

Meanwhile, Sevastopol, under daily bombardment, repulsed the attacks of the allies. The French General J. Pelissier, who replaced Carnober, stepped up the offensive. On May 12, 1855, the 16,000th French corps landed in Kerch. Allied ships penetrated the Sea of ​​Azov, where they bombarded the ports of its coast. An attempt to land troops on the Arabat Spit, near Genichesk and Taganrog was repulsed by the Russians. On the Black Sea in 1855, the Allies landed troops in Novorossiysk and occupied Kinburn.

K. Filippov. In the besieged Sevastopol

August 4, 1855 Gorchakov attacked enemy positions on R. Black. But he was defeated. By this time, all the leaders of the Sevastopol defense had died: Admirals Kornilov, Nakhimov, Istomin. At the final stage, the 40,000-strong garrison of Sevastopol resisted the attacks of the 140,000-strong Allied army.

August 27, 1855 the city began a general assault on the city, the enemy captured Malakhov Kurgan, center of Russian defense. The defenders of the city scuttled the remaining ships and crossed over to the north side. During the assault on the southern part of Sevastopol, the enemy lost 73 thousand soldiers and officers.

On the Caucasian front in the spring of 1855, the 40,000th corps of the general Nikolay Nikolaevich Muravyov pushed the Turks back to Erzurum. But the garrison of the Turkish border fortress Kars(33 thousand people) was blocked and November 16 capitulated. The Turks landed in the Russian rear, in Sukhumi, the 45,000th corps of Omer Pasha, who rushed to Georgia. October 23–25, 1855 a detachment of Russian troops under the command of General Ivan Konstantinovich Bagration-Mukhransky kept Omer Pasha on the river. Inguri, and then stopped the Turks on the river. Tskheniskali. Omer Pasha withdrew to Sukhumi and in February 1856 was evacuated to Turkey.

In 1855, on the Baltic Sea, the Anglo-French fleet held a blockade of the Russian coast and bombarded the fortresses. In the Pacific, an attempt by the Allies to take control of the mouth of the Amur was repulsed.

End and results of the war

In December 1855, hostilities on all fronts ceased. In the autumn of 1855, during a trip to the Crimea, Alexander II became convinced of the futility of continuing the war. The emperor was influenced by the note of the major general Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin"On the danger of continuation of hostilities in 1856". He pointed to the critical state of the Russian economy, military reserves and finances. The positions of Sweden, Prussia and especially Austria, which presented Russia with an ultimatum, threatening war, caused fear.

At the end of 1855 preliminary peace negotiations were continued in Vienna. In February 1856, the Paris Peace Congress began its work, which ended March 18, 1856. signing Parisian world.

Under its terms, Russia agreed to neutralization of the Black Sea with the prohibition to have a navy and fortresses there. She ceded to Turkey the lower reaches of the Danube, pledged not to build fortifications on the Aland Islands, recognized the protectorate of the Western powers over Moldavia and Bessarabia.

With the end of the Crimean War, the era of the military sailing fleet ended. Noticeable shifts have taken place in military affairs: all maritime powers began to build an armored screw fleet; land armies began to arm themselves only with rifled small arms; the tactics of maneuvering an infantry column was replaced by a loose formation, elements of positional warfare appeared, and explosive grenades replaced cast-iron cannonballs.

Russia suffered the greatest losses in the Crimean War (500 thousand people were killed). The losses of Turkey amounted to 400 thousand, France - $ - $ 95 thousand, England - $ - $ 22 thousand.

During the Crimean War, for the first time in the history of wars, sisters of mercy were involved in caring for the wounded. One of the first military sisters of mercy was Dasha Sevastopolskaya, heroine of the defense of Sevastopol.

Mikhailova Daria (Sevastopolskaya). Photo

Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov, a Russian surgeon for the first time in Russian field medicine used a plaster cast, which made it possible to accelerate the healing process of fractures and saved the wounded from ugly curvature of the limbs.

N. I. Pirogov

Causes of defeat and consequences

The main reason for the defeat of Russia during the Crimean War was the unification of England and France against it and the neutrality of other European countries. The defeat was facilitated by the backwardness of the weapons of the Russian army. The Europeans had rifled fittings that allowed the loose formation of rangers to open fire on Russian troops before they approached a distance sufficient for a volley from their smoothbore guns. The close formation of the Russian army, designed for one group volley and a bayonet attack, became a convenient target for the enemy.

The socio-economic reason for the defeat was the preservation of serfdom, the backwardness of Russian industry, the lack of Russian entrepreneurial capital, and the absence of a railway network.

The defeat in the Crimean War undermined the external and internal authority of tsarism, exacerbated social contradictions in Russia, and accelerated the bourgeois reforms of the 1860s–1870s.

The course of hostilities

date	Event
October 20, 1853	Declaration of war
November 18, 1853	Sinop battle
February 9, 1854	Manifesto on the termination of relations with England and France
July 1854	Capture of Bayazet
August 1854	The ultimatum of the powers of Russia (“4 points”)
September 1854	Allied landing in Crimea
October 1854 $-$ September 1855	Defense of Sevastopol
October 24, 1854	Battle of Inkerman
August 1855	Battle on the Black River
November 1855	Fall of Kars
February 13, 1856	Beginning of the Paris Congress
March 18, 1856	Paris peace treaty: neutralization of the Black Sea and straits, Russia's loss of the south of Bessarabia and the exclusive right of patronage to the Danubian principalities and Serbia
April 1856	Triple Alliance of England, France and Austria. Enforcement of the Treaty of Paris. "Crimean system"

Reasons for defeat:

• international isolation of Russia;
• low combat effectiveness of the army and navy;
• lack of railways and protracted theaters of war.

Consequences of defeat:

• Russia's loss of influence in the Balkans;
• awareness of the need for fundamental changes in all areas.

During the reign Nicholas I Russia entered the Crimean War. This war from 1853 to 1861. with a coalition of a number of states was caused by interest in the territories of the Russian Empire on Caucasus, Black Sea and Balkan Peninsula. great empires France, Ottoman state(Turkey and controlled regions), Great Britain and Sardinian kingdom united against Russia for the right to world domination.

Causes and causes of war

Clashes between Russia and Turkey XIX were constant. States competed and divided the lands, markets and areas of influence in the Middle East. Weakening Turkey during this period was under influence strong states - France and Great Britain, and was unfriendly with Russia.

Lands legally reclaimed by the Russians in the Crimea and the Caucasus by the end of the 18th century. were in constant dispute with Turkey. Therefore, historians consider the following to be the main causes of the eastern conflict in 1853:

1. Turkey wished get lost lands Crimea, the Caucasus and the north of the Black Sea region.
2. Russian empire required opening Russian fleet of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles.
3. Russia rendered peoples in the Balkans (Christians, Slavs) support, which greatly resented Turkey, which considered such interference in its state affairs unacceptable.
4. The Turkish Sultan wanted regain influence on the Balkan peoples, lost in favor of Russia.

Tsar Nicholas I was little bothered by the support of Turkey by other countries. He believed that France had weakened economically after the bourgeois revolution in 1848., and you can be friends with the UK by giving her Cyprus and Egypt. The Turks were put forward straight ultimatum which they ignored. The plans of the king were wrong, the countries of Europe called on Turkey to act, promising her military assistance and financial support.

Important! The war in the Crimea, which lasted from 1853 to 1856, was started by the Russian Empire from the moment of crossing the Danube border, which belongs to the territory of Turkey. Russia lost the war.

Event participants

Attempts by Russian diplomats to negotiate with the Ottomans on the division of spheres of influence in the Middle East did not give a positive result. The ultimatum was premise to the upcoming war. Governments were drawn into the conflict allied countries Turkey and clergy Orthodox and Catholic denominations. Christian churches couldn't share among themselves Holy places in Palestine, since these territories were under Russian and French patronage.

During this period the Sultan donated the temple of Bethlehem Jerusalem of the Catholic diocese, which caused dissatisfaction with the top of the Orthodox Church. Tsar in ultimatum, using religious conflict, demanded the transfer of the temple in Jerusalem to the Orthodox diocese.

Turkey refused. Admiral Menshikov, appointed by his tsar extraordinary envoy, couldn't do anything. Diplomatic demands of Russia and all attempts to negotiate were rejected.

Then the Russian troops in June 1853. violated the borders of the Ottoman Empire, stopping at Moldova and Wallachia(Danubian Principality). Sultan Abdulmejid demanded the withdrawal of troops from their territories.

The king and the sultan had enough time from June to the end of October 1853. peacefully agree on mutual claims, but they did not do this, but were engaged in buildup of military power.

At the end of October 1853. Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. Having enlisted the support of Great Britain and France, Turkey gave permission for the British and French squadron to enter the Dardanelles, later the kingdom of Sardinia joined the alliance, pursuing its own interests.

Important! The allied countries of the Ottomans showed strength and power, they were not satisfied with the growing role of the Russians in the Middle East, the Balkan Peninsula and Europe. The goal of the coalition was to fight to reduce the influence of the Russians in the territories under their control, the weakening and survival of Russia from world markets with the simultaneous seizure of Russian border lands.

The course of events of the Crimean War

When was the Crimean War? At first, hostilities were defensive character. Squadron of the Russian fleet under the command P. S. Nakhimova operated successfully. The Turkish fleet was blocked in ports, and in the famous battle of Sinop November 18, 1853. Turkish squadron was completely destroyed. This victory was important, the Russian fleet won over dominance in the Black Sea, depriving the Ottoman troops from the Caucasus on support from the sea.

Ottoman Empire showed weakness, its allies - France and Great Britain early January 1854. entered the war, formed allied fleet. Since the protest of the Russian Empire about violation of the International Convention about the straits was rejected, Russian government tore apart all diplomatic relations with coalition countries.

Opponents began to supervise expanses of the Black Sea 90 ships(there were only Russians 26 ). The coalition had clear advantage.

After the Battle of Sinop, hostilities were transferred by the enemy to the lands of the Crimea. Coalition landed troops near Evpatoria (September 1854.). Russian army led by A. S. Menshikov at Alma river lost the battle and retreated to Bakhchisaray.

arose threat of capture strategically important sea point - the city of Sevastopol, since the path for the enemy from the land was opened. The Russian command decided to sink part of the ships in the large bay of the city in order to prevent the coalition ships from entering. Rumors were circulated that the entrance to the bay mined. This reached the ears of the enemy infiltrators. There was no entry from the side of the large bay.

Opponents approached Sevastopol from the south side, which was previously well fortified. WITH September 13, 1854. on August 28, 1855. famous Sevastopol defense, which lasted 349 days. The city was bombed and stormed many times. The defense was heroic: 40 thousandth Russian army held back the attack 140 thousand enemy army.

Attempts to attack and assault the Russian army led by Menshikov were a failure (the battle at Balaklava and Inkerman). became commander-in-chief M. Gorchakov.

At the same time, from the side of the Black Sea, the Allies subjected bombardment and shelling Odessa, but received worthy rebuff, despite the fact that they disabled all Russian batteries that managed to prove themselves in battle. Odessa was of interest to the coalition not only as an important strategic point, but, above all, as a major food point. It was also a distraction from the main invasion site. There were battles and Danube river.

Summing up, it is worth noting that the course of the war in Crimea had 2 main stages:

• October 1853 - April 1854;

Declaration of war. Were formed 3 fronts: in the Crimea, on the Danube lands and the Caucasus. During this period there was Sinop battle.

• April 1854 - February 1856.

Joining the war British-French troops. The coalition in many ways outnumbered Russian army of Russia, which significantly influenced the course of the war. The period includes Odessa battle, heroic Sevastopol defense, the landing of the enemy on the Crimean land, their treacherous fruitless attack from the North side ( Battle of the Solovetsky Monastery and in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, on the Aland Islands).

Important! Despite the victories of the army until 1854, the capture of the Kars fortress (1855) in Turkey, Russia lost the important Crimean battles.

Map of military operations

The main military battles and the concentration of the coalition were in the Crimean lands (hence the name of the war).

The main key points of the map of military operations in the war were:

• battle of sinop on sailing ships (passed 1853 November). The Russian army won a victory that raised military morale;
• attack on the city of Odessa (1854 April 10), its bombardment, reflection of the attack. Russian port of the south, considered the main one, survived. The army dealt a good blow to the Anglo-French troops, pushing them back. The coalition went to the Crimean peninsula;
• fighting on the Danube (1853—1856 gg. d.) were successful, but by decision of the leadership, the Russian army remained on the Left Bank of the river and lifted the siege from Silistria;
• landing of 50,000 coalition troops near Varna in Bulgaria (July 1854.). An attack was planned on Bessarabia, where the Russian army was stationed, in order to drive it out of there. But due to the cholera epidemic, the battle did not take place, and the opponents headed for the Crimea;
• Caucasian battles(1853-1856):

1. Near the village Kyuruk-Dara(in Armenia), where the Turks and the British were defeated.
2. For the Turkish fortress of Kars (June-November 1855.).

• Heroic defense of the city of Sevastopol (1854-1855.).
• Allied Occupation. This battle was lost, but served as the impetus for the end of the war. The French, British and Sardinians entered the city.

In addition to those listed, battles took place in the Crimea: on the rivers Alma and Black; near , Inkerman, the city of Evpatoria but they were all unsuccessful for the Russians and did not help lift the siege of Sevastopol.

In addition to the Crimean ones, there were fights between rivals in distant Russian regions: in Kamchatka(Peter and Paul Defense) - 2 assaults, in the waters White and Barents Seas. The allies also tried break through the Baltic. The coalition, having concentrated forces in the south, wanted to strike Russia from the north in order to weaken the state. This attempt was failed, and the Russian fleet with success repulsed all attacks.

Important! Attacking from the Baltic side, the coalition hoped for the support of Finland, Denmark, Sweden and even Austria. But none of these states actually began to help them.

What ended the Crimean War - results and consequences

TO 1856. military and economic capabilities of all parties to the conflict have been exhausted. There was a lack of weapons, food, ammunition. In the Russian state began anti-serf mood and activation liberal democratic opposition.

V 1855. (February) from influenza complications Emperor Nicholas I died. New king Alexander II wanted to end the war with the least losses and was forced to make concessions. Therefore, at the beginning March 1856. the belligerents have signed Treaty of Paris. The war has come the end.

What kind consequences of the Crimean War for Russia? According to the agreement, Russia undertook:

1. Take back Kars Fortress Turkey in exchange for the city of Sevastopol.
2. Refuse patronage Danube lands, transfer certain lands of the mouth of the Danube to Moldavia. The Danube was declared a free border navigable river.
3. Black Sea declared neutral, as a result of which Turkey and Russia stop developing the flotilla and building coastal fortifications in this area.
4. Moreover, Bosphorus and Dardanelles will be for Russians closed. They were also banned from any defensive structures in the Baltic Sea area.

The defeat of the Russian Empire in this war showed severe backwardness states from Western countries in the area economy and armaments, revealed errors in diplomatic policy, too large a bureaucracy, unable to prepare the country for military action.

After defeat learned all the mistakes and inconsistency in battle tactics, the fleet was re-equipped and sailing ships were replaced with steam ones, it was gradually re-equipment.

Important! The results of the Crimean War contributed to the implementation of important economic, social and military reforms in Russia.

Heroes of the Crimean War

Russian people of all classes fought heroically all years of the war, regardless of rank, estate and profession. Everyone who was involved in the defense of Sevastopol is considered heroes.

Urban defense has become important key point in Crimea. Here a large role belonged to the best military leaders - V. A. Kornilov(commander of the defense of the city, died from a bullet in the head), V. I. Istomin, P. S. Nakhimov(died during the defense of Sevastopol).

The city was defended many residents. The women of the city, under the battle roars and the fire of the enemy, brought food and water to the fighters, made dressings, repaired things. The first nurses appeared, whose names are known to everyone, these are - Dashi Sevastopolskaya, Praskovya Grafova and many other girls.

Engineer E. I. Totleben organized the construction of forts, fortifications, trenches, strengthening redoubts. All this was done quickly, on the run. The southern part was fortified so well that at first the opponents did not dare to storm, and all their sorties were fruitless.

Sailor P. Cat distinguished by resourcefulness, courage and boldness. In addition to being active in battle, he made 18 sorties into enemy locations. In the name of P. Cats named the street in Sevastopol and opened a monument.

The famous doctor N. I. Pirogov saved thousands of soldiers. The operations were carried out in the field, but everything was organized in such a way that the surgeon could provide assistance and perform operations for days.

Famous writer L. N. Tolstoy also participated in the defense of the city. Many years later, he described all the events of the Crimean War in his “ Sevastopol stories».

But I would especially like to point out Admiral of the Russian Fleet P. S. Nakhimov who commanded. In addition, all naval and land victories at the beginning of the war were under his command. The name of the deceased admiral is streets, Russian sea ​​vessels, as well as military schools Sevastopol and St. Petersburg.

Important! In memory of the admiral - the hero of the Crimean War of 1944, the Nakhimov Order of 2 degrees was established, as well as a medal (1944).

Watch a video about the Crimean War of 1853-1856: