Crimean War
~written by Zack Schwartz
The Crimean War of 1854 to 1856 has been considered one of the worst organized wars in history. The contributing sides to this conflict were primarily Russia, England, France, and Turkey. This war resulted in a victory for the alliance consisting of France, Turkey and England.
The precipitation of this battle occurred as a result of religious conflicts in Jerusalem and Nazareth. The conflict came about between the French Catholics in that area and the Russian Orthodox monks. The French Catholics at that time had more rights in the religious areas. They were the dominant group and therefore had more access to the different parts of the Holy Land. It was this access that the Orthodox monks wanted. They were frustrated that the French Catholics were in a form of alliance with the Turks and were excluding the Russian Orthodox.
As a showing that he was in support of the monks, the Czar of Russia, Czar Nicholas I sent a dignitary to Turkey by the name of Menshikov. Menshikov gave the demands of the Russian government that the monks be given the same rights, if not more than the French Catholics. This meant restoration of Greek rights and a secret alliance and the protection of all orthodox laymen under Turkish rule. This demand was foiled by the English ambassador, Stratford de Redcliffe. Redcliffe made it so that the Turkish would say that they were respecting the rights of the Greek-Russian Orthodox monks but would not actually carry the plan out.
The Russians became very frustrated by this situation and Nicholas I sent in troops to the areas of Wallachia and Moldavia. This move proved to be one of the major starting points of the war. However, the primary spark that started the war was the sinking of a Turkish flotilla by the Russian fleet that was in that region. This event triggered tremendous propaganda in England and France, thus triggering an emotional connection to the war. France and England now had their populations behind them to start the war effort.
As a result, the French and the English dispatched their expeditionary forces to the region in September 1854. The British troops were under the command of Lord Raglan and the French troops were under the command of General St. Arnaud. They landed on the Crimean Peninsula and marched south.
The ultimate goal of the Alliance was to attack and conquer the stronghold of Sevastopol. This place was the center of the Russian military in that region. A victory at Sevastopol would mean a victory in the war. These troops first encountered fighting at a river called the Alma River. This battle, like all the other battles in this war, was incredibly unorganized with both sides making incredible mistakes, costing many lives. At the end of the battle, the Franco-British alliance won. This battle was a major set back to the Russian morale and efficiency.
After the battle at the Alma River, the alliance group set up a military base that became the supply route for the entire war effort. This base was called, Balaklavla. It was here that the majority of the alliance fighters were located. The Russians, after being defeated at the River Alma, regrouped and planned a strategy to attack the British, French, and the Turkish at this specified location. The morning of October 25, 1854 brought about the Battle of Balaklavla. This battle was incredibly bloody and was incredibly unorganized. In the end the alliance forces won.
With the victory at Blaklavla came the push for Sevastopol. The alliances fought a trench warfare for the remainder of the war. This included fighting in the winter of 1854. This winter was so harsh that the majority of deaths of soldiers were of starvation and illness. Near the end of this winter, however, the alliance soldiers had made it to Sevastopol and had finally conquered it. The victory at Sevastopol led to the end of the war and the Treaty of Paris.
Sources: 1.) www.brittanica.com 2.) www.encyclopedia.com 3.) www.bartleby.com 4.) Rempel, Gerhard. http://mars.whec.edu/`grempel/courses/russia/lectures/19crimeanwar.html. 5.)www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/5443/crimwar1.htm