The course of hostilities of the Crimean War 1853 1856. Crimean War (briefly)

Russia's defeat in the Crimean War was inevitable. Why?
“This is a war of cretins with scoundrels,” said F.I. Tyutchev.
Too harsh? Maybe. But if we take into account the fact that others died for the sake of the ambitions of some, then Tyutchev's statement will be accurate.

Crimean War (1853-1856) also sometimes called Eastern war- This is a war between the Russian Empire and a coalition of the British, French, Ottoman empires and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The fighting took place in the Caucasus, in the Danube principalities, in the Baltic, Black, White and Barents Seas, as well as in Kamchatka. But the battles reached the greatest tension in the Crimea, which is why the war got its name. Crimean.

I. Aivazovsky "Review of the Black Sea Fleet in 1849"

Causes of the war

Each side that took part in the war had its own claims and reasons for the military conflict.

Russian empire: sought to revise the regime of the Black Sea straits; increasing influence in the Balkan Peninsula.

The painting by I. Aivazovsky depicts participants in the upcoming war:

Nicholas I peers tensely into the formation of ships. He is being watched by the commander of the fleet, stocky Admiral M.P. Lazarev and his pupils Kornilov (Chief of Staff of the Fleet, behind Lazarev's right shoulder), Nakhimov (behind the left shoulder) and Istomin (far right).

Ottoman Empire: wanted to suppress the national liberation movement in the Balkans; the return of Crimea and Black Sea coast Caucasus.

England, France: hoped undermine Russia's international prestige, weaken its position in the Middle East; tear away from Russia the territories of Poland, the Crimea, the Caucasus, Finland; strengthen its position in the Middle East, using it as a sales market.

By the middle of the XIX century, the Ottoman Empire was in a state of decline, in addition, the struggle of the Orthodox peoples for liberation from the Ottoman yoke continued.

These factors led the Russian Emperor Nicholas I in the early 1850s to think about separating the Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire, inhabited by Orthodox peoples, which was opposed by Great Britain and Austria. Great Britain, in addition, sought to oust Russia from the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and from Transcaucasia. The Emperor of France, Napoleon III, although he did not share the plans of the British to weaken Russia, considering them excessive, supported the war with Russia as a revenge for 1812 and as a means of strengthening personal power.

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

The course of hostilities

First stage of the war (November 1853 - April 1854) - these are Russian-Turkish military operations.

Nicholas I took an uncompromising position, hoping for the power of the army and the support of some European states (England, Austria, etc.). But he miscalculated. The Russian army numbered over 1 million people. However, as it turned out during the war, it was imperfect, primarily in technical terms. Its armament (smooth-bore guns) was inferior to the rifled weapons of the Western European armies.

The artillery is outdated. The Russian fleet was predominantly sailing, while the European navies were dominated by ships with steam engines. There were no good communications. This did not allow to provide the place of hostilities with a sufficient amount of ammunition and food, as well as human replacements. The Russian army could successfully fight against the Turkish army, which was similar in state, but it was not able to resist the united forces of Europe.

The Russian-Turkish war was fought with varying success from November 1853 to April 1854. The main event of the first stage was the Battle of Sinop (November 1853). Admiral P.S. Nakhimov defeated the Turkish fleet in Sinop Bay and suppressed coastal batteries.

As a result of the Battle of Sinop, the Russian Black Sea Fleet under the command of Admiral Nakhimov defeated the Turkish squadron. The Turkish fleet was defeated within a few hours.

During a four-hour battle in Sinop bay(Turkish naval base) the enemy lost a dozen and a half ships and over 3 thousand people killed, all coastal fortifications were destroyed. Only 20-gun fast steamer "Taif" with an English adviser on board he was able to escape from the bay. The commander of the Turkish fleet was taken prisoner. Nakhimov's squadron lost 37 men killed and 216 wounded. Some ships left the battle with heavy damage, but one was not sunk. . The Sinop battle is inscribed in golden letters in the history of the Russian fleet.

I. Aivazovsky "Sinop battle"

This activated England and France. They declared war on Russia. The Anglo-French squadron appeared in the Baltic Sea, attacked Kronstadt and Sveaborg. English ships entered the White Sea and bombarded the Solovetsky Monastery. A military demonstration was also held in Kamchatka.

Second phase of the war (April 1854 - February 1856) - Anglo-French intervention in the Crimea, the appearance of warships of the Western powers in the Baltic and White Seas and in Kamchatka.

The main goal of the combined Anglo-French command was the capture of the Crimea and Sevastopol, the Russian naval base. On September 2, 1854, the Allies began the landing of an expeditionary force in the Evpatoria region. Battle on the river Alma in September 1854, the Russian troops lost. By order of the commander A.S. Menshikov, they passed through Sevastopol and retreated to Bakhchisaray. At the same time, the garrison of Sevastopol, reinforced by the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, was actively preparing for defense. It was headed by V.A. Kornilov and P.S. Nakhimov.

After the battle on the river Alma the enemy laid siege to Sevastopol. Sevastopol was a first-class naval base, impregnable from the sea. In front of the entrance to the raid - on the peninsulas and capes - there were powerful forts. The Russian fleet could not resist the enemy, so some of the ships were sunk in front of the entrance to the Sevastopol Bay, which further strengthened the city from the sea. More than 20,000 sailors went ashore and lined up along with the soldiers. 2 thousand ship guns were also transported here. Eight bastions and many other fortifications were built around the city. Earth, boards, household utensils were used - everything that could delay bullets.

But for the work there were not enough ordinary shovels and picks. Theft flourished in the army. During the war years, this turned into a disaster. In this regard, a well-known episode comes to mind. Nicholas I, outraged by all sorts of abuses and theft found almost everywhere, in a conversation with the heir to the throne (the future Emperor Alexander II) shared his discovery, which shocked him: “It seems that in all of Russia only two people do not steal - you and me.”

Defense of Sevastopol

Defense led by admirals Kornilova V.A., Nakhimova P.S. and Istomin V.I. lasted 349 days with a 30,000-strong garrison and naval crews. During this period, the city was subjected to five massive bombardments, as a result of which part of the city, the Ship Side, was practically destroyed.

On October 5, 1854, the first bombardment of the city began. It was attended by the army and navy. From the land, 120 guns fired at the city, from the sea - 1340 guns of ships. During the shelling, over 50 thousand shells were fired at the city. This fiery whirlwind was supposed to destroy the fortifications and crush the will of their defenders to resist. However, the Russians responded with accurate fire from 268 guns. The artillery duel lasted five hours. Despite the huge superiority in artillery, the allied fleet was badly damaged (8 ships were sent for repairs) and was forced to retreat. After that, the Allies abandoned the use of the fleet in the bombing of the city. The fortifications of the city were not seriously damaged. The decisive and skillful rebuff of the Russians came as a complete surprise to the allied command, which expected to take the city with little bloodshed. The defenders of the city could celebrate a very important not only military, but also a moral victory. Their joy was overshadowed by the death during the shelling of Vice Admiral Kornilov. The defense of the city was headed by Nakhimov, who, for his distinction in the defense of Sevastopol, was promoted to admiral on March 27, 1855. F. Roubaud. Panorama of the defense of Sevastopol (detail)

A. Roubaud. Panorama of the defense of Sevastopol (detail)

In July 1855, Admiral Nakhimov was mortally wounded. The attempts of the Russian army under the command of Prince Menshikov A.S. to pull back the forces of the besiegers ended in failure (the battle under Inkerman, Evpatoria and Black River). The actions of the field army in the Crimea did little to help the heroic defenders of Sevastopol. Around the city, the enemy's ring was gradually shrinking. Russian troops were forced to leave the city. The offensive of the enemy ended there. Subsequent military operations in the Crimea, as well as in other parts of the country, were not of decisive importance for the Allies. Things were somewhat better in the Caucasus, where Russian troops not only stopped the Turkish offensive, but also occupied the fortress Kars. During the Crimean War, the forces of both sides were undermined. But the selfless courage of the Sevastopol people could not compensate for the shortcomings in armament and provision.

On August 27, 1855, French troops stormed the southern part of the city and captured the height that dominated the city - Malakhov Kurgan.

The loss of Malakhov Kurgan decided the fate of Sevastopol. On this day, the defenders of the city lost about 13 thousand people, or more than a quarter of the entire garrison. On the evening of August 27, 1855, by order of General M.D. Gorchakov, the Sevastopol residents left the southern part of the city and crossed the bridge to the northern part. The battles for Sevastopol ended. The Allies did not achieve his surrender. The Russian armed forces in Crimea survived and were ready for further fighting. They numbered 115 thousand people. against 150 thousand people. Anglo-French-Sardinians. The defense of Sevastopol was the culmination of the Crimean War.

F. Roubaud. Panorama of the defense of Sevastopol (fragment "The battle for the Gervais battery")

Military operations in the Caucasus

In the Caucasian theater, hostilities developed more successfully for Russia. Turkey invaded Transcaucasia, but suffered a major defeat, after which Russian troops began to operate on its territory. In November 1855, the Turkish fortress Kare fell.

The extreme exhaustion of the allied forces in the Crimea and the Russian successes in the Caucasus led to the cessation of hostilities. Negotiations between the parties began.

Parisian world

At the end of March 1856, the Treaty of Paris was signed. Russia did not suffer significant territorial losses. Only the southern part of Bessarabia was torn away from her. However, she lost the right to protect the Danubian Principalities and Serbia. The most difficult and humiliating was the condition of the so-called "neutralization" of the Black Sea. Russia was forbidden to have naval forces, military arsenals and fortresses on the Black Sea. This dealt a significant blow to the security of the southern borders. The role of Russia in the Balkans and the Middle East was reduced to nothing: Serbia, Moldavia and Wallachia passed under the supreme authority of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

The defeat in the Crimean War had a significant impact on the alignment of international forces and on the internal situation of Russia. The war, on the one hand, exposed its weakness, but on the other, it demonstrated the heroism and unshakable spirit of the Russian people. The defeat summed up the sad end of Nikolaev's rule, stirred up the entire Russian public and forced the government to come to grips with reforming the state.

Heroes of the Crimean War

Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich

K. Bryullov "Portrait of Kornilov on board the brig "Themistocles"

Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich (1806 - October 17, 1854, Sevastopol), Russian Vice Admiral. Since 1849 the chief of staff, since 1851 the actual commander of the Black Sea Fleet. During the Crimean War, one of the leaders of the heroic defense of Sevastopol. Mortally wounded on Malakhov Hill.

He was born on February 1, 1806 in the family estate of Ivanovsky, Tver province. His father was a naval officer. Following in his father's footsteps, Kornilov Jr. entered the Naval Cadet Corps in 1821 and graduated two years later, becoming a midshipman. Richly gifted by nature, ardent and addicted young man was burdened by coastal combat service in the Marine Guards crew. He could not stand the routine of parade grounds and drills at the end of the reign of Alexander I and was expelled from the fleet "for lack of vigor for the front." In 1827, at the request of his father, he was allowed to return to the Navy. Kornilov was assigned to M. Lazarev's ship Azov, which had just been built and arrived from Arkhangelsk, and from that time his real naval service began.

Kornilov became a participant in the famous Navarino battle against the Turkish-Egyptian fleet. In this battle (October 8, 1827), the crew of the Azov, carrying the flagship flag, showed the highest valor and was the first of the ships of the Russian fleet to earn the stern St. George flag. Lieutenant Nakhimov and midshipman Istomin fought next to Kornilov.

October 20, 1853 Russia declared a state of war with Turkey. On the same day, Admiral Menshikov, appointed commander-in-chief of naval and land forces in the Crimea, sent Kornilov with a detachment of ships to reconnoiter the enemy with permission to "take and destroy Turkish warships wherever they meet." Having reached the Bosphorus Strait and not finding the enemy, Kornilov sent two ships to reinforce Nakhimov's squadron, cruising along the Anatolian coast, sent the rest to Sevastopol, he himself switched to the Vladimir steamship frigate and lingered at the Bosphorus. The next day, November 5, "Vladimir" discovered the armed Turkish ship "Pervaz-Bakhri" and entered into battle with it. It was the first battle of steam ships in the history of naval art, and the crew of the Vladimir, led by Lieutenant Commander G. Butakov, won a convincing victory in it. The Turkish ship was captured and taken to Sevastopol in tow, where, after repairs, it became part of the Black Sea Fleet under the name Kornilov.

At the council of flagships and commanders, which decided the fate of the Black Sea Fleet, Kornilov called for the ships to go to sea in order to last time fight the enemy. However, by a majority vote of the council members, it was decided to flood the fleet, excluding steam frigates, in the Sevastopol Bay and thereby block the enemy’s breakthrough to the city from the sea. On September 2, 1854, the flooding of the sailing fleet began. All the guns and personnel of the lost ships were directed by the head of the city's defense to the bastions.
On the eve of the siege of Sevastopol, Kornilov said: "Let them first tell the troops the word of God, and then I will give them the word of the king." And around the city was committed procession with banners, icons, hymns and prayers. Only after this did the famous Kornilov call sound: “Behind us is the sea, ahead of the enemy, remember: do not believe in retreat!”
On September 13, the city was declared under a state of siege, and Kornilov involved the population of Sevastopol in the construction of fortifications. The garrisons of the southern and northern sides were increased, from where the main attacks of the enemy were expected. On October 5, the enemy undertook the first massive bombardment of the city from land and sea. On this day, when bypassing the defensive orders, V.A. Kornilov was mortally wounded in the head on Malakhov Hill. "Defend Sevastopol," were his last words. Nicholas I, in his letter addressed to Kornilov's widow, pointed out: "Russia will not forget these words, and a name honored in the history of the Russian fleet will pass to your children."
After the death of Kornilov, a will was found in his box, addressed to his wife and children. “I bequeath to the children,” wrote the father, “to the boys, having once chosen the service of the sovereign, do not change it, but make every effort to make it useful to society ... Daughters follow their mother in everything.” Vladimir Alekseevich was buried in the crypt of the Naval Cathedral of St. Vladimir next to his teacher, Admiral Lazarev. Soon Nakhimov and Istomin would take their place beside them.

Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov

Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov was born on June 23, 1802 in the Gorodok estate of the Smolensk province in the family of a nobleman, retired major Stepan Mikhailovich Nakhimov. Of the eleven children, five were boys, and all of them became navy sailors; at the same time, Pavel's younger brother, Sergei, finished his service as vice admiral, director of the Marine cadet corps, in which all five brothers studied in their youth. But Pavel surpassed everyone with his naval glory.

He graduated from the Naval Corps, among the best midshipmen on the Phoenix brig he participated in a sea voyage to the shores of Sweden and Denmark. At the end of the corps with the rank of midshipman, he was assigned to the 2nd naval crew of the St. Petersburg port.

Tirelessly engaged in training the crew of the Navarin and polishing his combat skills, Nakhimov skillfully led the ship during the actions of the Lazarev squadron on the blockade of the Dardanelles in the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829. For excellent service, he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 2nd class. When the squadron returned to Kronstadt in May 1830, Rear Admiral Lazarev wrote in the certification of the Navarin commander: "An excellent and completely knowledgeable sea captain."

In 1832, Pavel Stepanovich was appointed commander of the Pallada frigate built at the Okhta shipyard, on which, as part of the squadron, Vice Admiral F. Bellingshausen he sailed in the Baltic. In 1834, at the request of Lazarev, then already the chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Nakhimov was transferred to Sevastopol. He was appointed commander of the battleship Silistria, and eleven years of his further service were spent on this battleship. Giving all his strength to work with the crew, instilling in his subordinates a love for maritime affairs, Pavel Stepanovich made the Silistria an exemplary ship, and made his name popular in the Black Sea Fleet. In the first place, he put the naval training of the crew, was strict and demanding of his subordinates, but had a kind heart, open to sympathy and manifestations of maritime brotherhood. Lazarev often kept his flag on the Silistria, setting the battleship as an example to the entire fleet.

The military talents and naval art of Nakhimov were most clearly manifested during the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Even on the eve of Russia's clash with the Anglo-French-Turkish coalition, the first squadron of the Black Sea Fleet under his command was vigilantly cruising between Sevastopol and the Bosphorus. In October 1853, Russia declared war on Turkey, and the squadron commander emphasized in his order: “In the event of a meeting with an enemy that is superior to us, I will attack him, being absolutely sure that each of us will do his job. In early November, Nakhimov learned that the Turkish squadron under the command of Osman Pasha, heading for the shores of the Caucasus, left the Bosporus and, on the occasion of a storm, entered the Sinop Bay. The commander of the Russian squadron had 8 ships and 720 guns at his disposal, Osman Pasha had 16 ships with 510 guns under the protection of coastal batteries. Without waiting for the steam frigates, which Vice Admiral Kornilov led the Russian squadron to reinforce, Nakhimov decided to attack the enemy, relying primarily on the combat and moral qualities of Russian sailors.

For the victory at Sinop Nicholas I honored Vice Admiral Nakhimov with the Order of St. George, 2nd class, writing in a personalized rescript: "By destroying the Turkish squadron, you have adorned the annals of the Russian fleet with a new victory, which will forever remain memorable in maritime history." Assessing the battle of Sinop, Vice Admiral Kornilov wrote: “A glorious battle, higher than Chesma and Navarin ... Hurray, Nakhimov! Lazarev rejoices at his student!”

Convinced that Turkey was not in a position to wage a successful struggle against Russia, England and France brought their fleet into the Black Sea. Commander-in-Chief A.S. Menshikov did not dare to prevent this, and the further course of events led to the epic of the Sevastopol defense of 1854-1855. In September 1854, Nakhimov had to agree with the decision of the council of flagships and commanders to sink the Black Sea squadron in the Sevastopol Bay in order to make it difficult for the Anglo-French-Turkish fleet to enter it. Having moved from sea to land, Nakhimov voluntarily entered into submission to Kornilov, who led the defense of Sevastopol. Seniority in age and superiority in military merit did not prevent Nakhimov, who recognized the mind and character of Kornilov, from maintaining good relations with him, based on a mutual ardent desire to defend the southern stronghold of Russia.

In the spring of 1855, the second and third assaults on Sevastopol were heroically repulsed. In March, Nicholas I granted Nakhimov for military honors the rank of admiral. In May, the valiant naval commander was awarded a life lease, but Pavel Stepanovich was annoyed: “What do I need it for? It would be better if they sent me bombs.”

Since June 6, the enemy began active assault operations for the fourth time through massive bombardments and attacks. On June 28, on the eve of the day of Saints Peter and Paul, Nakhimov once again went to the advanced bastions to support and inspire the defenders of the city. On Malakhov Kurgan, he visited the bastion where Kornilov died, despite warnings about strong rifle fire, he decided to climb the parapet banquet, and then an aimed enemy bullet hit him in the temple. Without regaining consciousness, Pavel Stepanovich died two days later.

Admiral Nakhimov was buried in Sevastopol in the Cathedral of St. Vladimir, next to the graves of Lazarev, Kornilov and Istomin. With a large gathering of people, admirals and generals carried his coffin, seventeen in a row stood guard of honor from the army battalions and all the crews of the Black Sea Fleet, the beat of drums and a solemn prayer service sounded, a cannon salute thundered. In Pavel Stepanovich's coffin, two admiral's flags and a third, priceless one, the stern flag of the battleship "Empress Maria", the flagship of the Sinop victory, were torn by cannonballs.

Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov

The famous doctor, surgeon, participant in the defense of Sevastopol in 1855. The contribution of N. I. Pirogov to medicine and science is invaluable. He created anatomical atlases of exemplary accuracy. N.I. Pirogov was the first to come up with the idea plastic surgery, put forward the idea of ​​bone grafting, applied anesthesia in military field surgery, for the first time applied a plaster cast in the field, suggested the existence of pathogens that cause suppuration of wounds. Already at that time, N.I. Pirogov called for abandoning early amputations in case of gunshot wounds of the limbs with bone injuries. The mask designed by him for ether anesthesia is still used in medicine. Pirogov was one of the founders of the Sisters of Mercy service. All his discoveries and achievements saved the lives of thousands of people. He did not refuse to help anyone and devoted his whole life to the boundless service of people.

Dasha Alexandrova (Sevastopol)

She was sixteen and a half when the Crimean War began. She lost her mother early, and her father, a sailor, defended Sevastopol. Dasha ran to the port every day, trying to find out something about her father. In the chaos that reigned around, it turned out to be impossible. Desperate, Dasha decided that she should try to help the fighters at least somehow - and, along with everyone else, to her father. She exchanged her cow - the only thing she had of value - for a decrepit horse and wagon, got vinegar and old rags, and, among other women, joined the wagon train. Other women cooked and washed for the soldiers. And Dasha turned her wagon into a dressing station.

When the position of the troops worsened, many women left the convoy and Sevastopol, went north, to safe areas. Dasha stayed. She found an old abandoned house, cleaned it out and turned it into a hospital. Then she unharnessed her horse from the wagon, and spent the whole day walking with her to the front line and back, taking out two wounded for each "walk".

In November 1953, in the battle of Sinop, sailor Lavrenty Mikhailov, her father, died. Dasha found out about this much later ...

The rumor about a girl who takes out the wounded from the battlefield and provides them with medical care spread throughout the warring Crimea. And soon Dasha had associates. True, these girls did not risk going to the front line, like Dasha, but they completely took over the dressing and care of the wounded.

And then Pirogov found Dasha, embarrassing the girl with expressions of his sincere admiration and admiration for her feat.

Dasha Mikhailova and her assistants joined the Crusades. Studied professional treatment of wounds.

The youngest sons of the emperor, Nikolai and Mikhail, came to Crimea “to raise the spirit of the Russian army”. They also wrote to their father that in the fighting Sevastopol "she takes care of the wounded and sick, a girl named Daria is exemplary diligence." Nicholas I ordered her to receive a gold medal on the Vladimir ribbon with the inscription "For diligence" and 500 silver rubles. By status, the gold medal "For Diligence" was awarded to those who already had three silver medals. So we can assume that the Emperor highly appreciated the feat of Dasha.

The exact date of death and the resting place of the ashes of Darya Lavrentievna Mikhailova have not yet been discovered by researchers.

Reasons for the defeat of Russia

• Economic backwardness of Russia;
• Political isolation of Russia;
• The absence of a steam fleet in Russia;
• Poor supply of the army;
• Absence railways.

In three years, Russia lost 500 thousand people in killed, wounded and captured. The allies also suffered great damage: about 250 thousand killed, wounded and died of disease. As a result of the war, Russia lost its positions in the Middle East to France and England. Its prestige in the international arena was badly undermined. On March 13, 1856, a peace treaty was signed in Paris, under the terms of which the Black Sea was declared neutral, the Russian fleet was reduced to minima and fortifications were destroyed. Similar demands were made to Turkey. In addition, Russia lost the mouth of the Danube and the southern part of Bessarabia, was supposed to return the fortress of Kars, and also lost the right to patronize Serbia, Moldova and Wallachia.

The Crimean War, or, as it is called in the West, the Eastern War, was one of the most important and decisive events of the middle of the 19th century. At this time, the lands of the non-falling Ottoman Empire found themselves in the center of the conflict between the European powers and Russia, and each of the warring parties wanted to expand their territories by annexing foreign lands.

The war of 1853-1856 was called the Crimean War, since the most important and intense fighting took place in the Crimea, although military clashes went far beyond the peninsula and covered large areas of the Balkans, the Caucasus, as well as the Far East and Kamchatka. At the same time, tsarist Russia had to fight not just with the Ottoman Empire, but with a coalition where Turkey was supported by Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Causes of the Crimean War

Each of the parties that took part in the military campaign had their own reasons and claims that prompted them to enter into this conflict. But in general, they were united by one single goal - to take advantage of Turkey's weakness and establish themselves in the Balkans and the Middle East. It was these colonial interests that led to the outbreak of the Crimean War. But to achieve this goal, all countries followed different paths.

Russia longed to destroy the Ottoman Empire, and its territories to be mutually beneficially divided among the claiming countries. Under its protectorate, Russia would like to see Bulgaria, Moldavia, Serbia and Wallachia. And at the same time, she was not opposed to the fact that the territories of Egypt and the island of Crete would go to Great Britain. It was also important for Russia to establish control over the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, connecting the two seas: the Black and the Mediterranean.

Turkey with the help of this war hoped to suppress the national liberation movement that swept the Balkans, as well as to select the very important Russian territories of the Crimea and the Caucasus.

England and France did not want to strengthen the positions of Russian tsarism in the international arena, and sought to preserve the Ottoman Empire, since they saw in her face a constant threat to Russia. Having weakened the enemy, the European powers wanted to separate the territories of Finland, Poland, the Caucasus and Crimea from Russia.

The French emperor pursued his ambitious goals and dreamed of revenge in a new war with Russia. Thus, he wanted to take revenge on his enemy for the defeat in the military campaign of 1812.

If we carefully consider the mutual claims of the parties, then, in fact, the Crimean War was absolutely predatory and predatory. After all, it was not in vain that the poet Fyodor Tyutchev described it as a war of cretins with scoundrels.

The course of hostilities

The beginning of the Crimean War was preceded by several important events. In particular, it was the issue of control over the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Bethlehem, which was decided in favor of the Catholics. This finally convinced Nicholas I of the need to start military operations against Turkey. Therefore, in June 1853, Russian troops invaded the territory of Moldova.

The response of the Turkish side was not long in coming: on October 12, 1853, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia.

The first period of the Crimean War: October 1853 - April 1854

By the beginning of hostilities, there were about a million people in the Russian army. But as it turned out, its armament was very outdated and significantly inferior to the equipment of Western European armies: smooth-bore guns against rifled weapons, a sailing fleet against ships with steam engines. But Russia hoped that it would have to fight with an approximately equal in strength Turkish army, as happened at the very beginning of the war, and could not imagine that it would be opposed by the forces of the united coalition of European countries.

During this period, the fighting was carried out with varying success. And the most important battle of the first Russian-Turkish period of the war was the Battle of Sinop, which took place on November 18, 1853. The Russian flotilla under the command of Vice Admiral Nakhimov, heading for the Turkish coast, discovered large enemy naval forces in the Sinop Bay. The commander decided to attack the Turkish fleet. The Russian squadron had an undeniable advantage - 76 cannons firing explosive shells. This is what decided the outcome of the 4-hour battle - the Turkish squadron was completely destroyed, and the commander Osman Pasha was taken prisoner.

The second period of the Crimean War: April 1854 - February 1856

The victory of the Russian army in the battle of Sinop greatly disturbed England and France. And in March 1854, these powers, together with Turkey, formed a coalition to fight a common enemy - the Russian Empire. Now a powerful military force fought against her, several times superior to her army.

With the beginning of the second stage of the Crimean campaign, the territory of hostilities expanded significantly and covered the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Baltic, the Far East and Kamchatka. But the main task of the coalition was the intervention in the Crimea and the capture of Sevastopol.

In the autumn of 1854, a united corps of 60,000 coalition forces landed in the Crimea near Yevpatoria. And the Russian army lost the first battle on the Alma River, so it was forced to retreat to Bakhchisaray. The garrison of Sevastopol began to prepare for the defense and defense of the city. The illustrious admirals Nakhimov, Kornilov and Istomin stood at the head of the valiant defenders. Sevastopol was turned into an impregnable fortress, which was protected by 8 bastions on land, and the entrance to the bay was blocked with the help of sunken ships.

The heroic defense of Sevastopol continued for 349 days, and only in September 1855 did the enemy capture Malakhov Kurgan and occupied the entire southern part of the city. The Russian garrison moved to the northern part, but Sevastopol never capitulated.

Results of the Crimean War

The military actions of 1855 weakened both the allied coalition and Russia. Therefore, the continuation of the war could no longer be discussed. And in March 1856, the opponents agreed to sign a peace treaty.

According to the Treaty of Paris, Russia, like the Ottoman Empire, was forbidden to have a navy, fortresses and arsenals on the Black Sea, which meant that the southern borders of the country were in danger.

As a result of the war, Russia lost a small part of its territories in Bessarabia and the mouth of the Danube, but lost its influence in the Balkans.

The strength of Russian weapons and the dignity of a soldier made a significant impression even in lost wars - there were such in our history. Eastern, or Crimean, war of 1853-1856. belongs to them. But at the same time, admiration went not to the winners, but to the vanquished - the participants in the defense of Sevastopol.

Causes of the Crimean War

Russia took part in the war on the one hand and a coalition of France, Turkey, England and the Kingdom of Sardinia on the other. In the domestic tradition, it is called Crimean - its most significant events took place on the territory of the Crimean peninsula. In foreign historiography, the term " Eastern war". The reasons for it are purely practical, and all the participants did not object to it.

The real impetus for the clash was the weakening of the Turks. At that time, their country was nicknamed the "sick man of Europe", but strong states claimed the "sharing of the inheritance", that is, the possibility of using Turkish possessions and territories to their advantage.

The Russian Empire needed free passage of the navy through the Black Sea straits. She also claimed to be the patron of the Christian Slavic peoples who wanted to free themselves from the Turkish yoke, especially the Bulgarians. The British were especially interested in Egypt (the idea of ​​the Suez Canal had already matured) and the possibility of convenient communication with Iran. The French did not want to allow the military strengthening of the Russians - Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte III, the nephew of Napoleon I, defeated by ours, had just (officially since December 2, 1852) on their throne (revanchism intensified accordingly).

The leading European states did not want to allow Russia to become their economic competitor. France because of this could lose the position of a great power. England was afraid of Russian expansion in Central Asia, which would lead the Russians directly to the borders of "the most valuable pearl of the British crown" - India. Turkey, having repeatedly lost in Suvorov and Potemkin, simply had no choice but to rely on the help of the European "tigers" - otherwise it could simply fall apart.

Only Sardinia had no special claims to our state. She was simply promised support for her alliance in the confrontation with Austria, which was the reason for her entry into the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Claims of Napoleon the Small

Everyone was not opposed to fighting - everyone had purely pragmatic reasons for this. But at the same time, the British and French were clearly superior to ours in technical terms - they had rifled weapons, long-range artillery and a steam flotilla. The Russians, on the other hand, were smoothed and polished,
looked great in parades, but fought with smooth-bore junk on wooden sailboats.

Under these conditions, Napoleon III, nicknamed V. Hugo "Small" for his apparent inability to compete with his uncle's talents, decided to speed up the events - it is not for nothing that the Crimean War is considered "French" in Europe. He chose as an occasion a dispute over the ownership of churches in Palestine, which were claimed by both Catholics and Orthodox. Both were not then separated from the state, and Russia was directly obliged to support the claims of Orthodoxy. The religious component well masked the ugly reality of the conflict over markets and bases.

But Palestine was under the control of the Turks. Accordingly, Nicholas I reacted by occupying the Danube principalities, vassal to the Ottomans, and Turkey after that, with good reason, on October 4 (16 according to the European calendar), October 1853, declared war on Russia. It remains for France and England to be "good allies" and do the same on March 15 (March 27) next year.

Battles during the Crimean War

Crimea and the Black Sea acted as the main theater of military operations (it is noteworthy that in other regions - in the Caucasus, the Baltic, the Far East - our troops operated mostly successfully). In November 1853, the Battle of Sinop took place (the last big sailing battle in history), in April 1854, Anglo-French ships fired on Odessa, and in June the first skirmish near Sevastopol took place (shelling of fortifications from the sea surface).

Source of maps and symbols - https://en.wikipedia.org

It was the main Black Sea port of the empire that was the goal of the allies. The essence of the hostilities in the Crimea was reduced to its capture - then the Russian ships would have turned out to be "homeless". At the same time, the allies remained aware that it was fortified only from the sea, and it had no defensive structures from land.

The landing of the allied ground forces in Yevpatoria in September 1854 was precisely aimed at capturing Sevastopol from land by a roundabout maneuver. The Russian commander-in-chief, Prince Menshikov, organized the defense badly. A week after the landing, the landing was already in the vicinity of the current hero city. The Battle of the Alma (September 8 (20), 1854) delayed his advance, but in general it was a defeat for the domestic troops due to unsuccessful command.

But the Sevastopol defense showed that our soldier had not lost the ability to do the impossible. The city held out in the siege for 349 days, withstood 6 massive artillery bombardments, although the number of its garrison was about 8 times less than the number of stormers (a ratio of 1:3 is considered normal). There was no support for the fleet - outdated wooden ships were simply flooded in the fairways, trying to block the enemy's passages.

The notorious defense was accompanied by other famous, iconic battles. It is not easy to describe them briefly - each is special in its own way. So, the one that happened under (13 (25) October 1854) is considered the decline of the glory of the British cavalry - this branch of the army suffered heavy inconclusive losses in it. Inkermanskaya (October 24 (November 5) of the same year) showed the advantages of French artillery over Russian and a poor idea of ​​\u200b\u200bour command about the capabilities of the enemy.

On August 27 (September 8), 1855, the French took possession of the fortified height dominating the policy, and 3 days later occupied it. The fall of Sevastopol marked the defeat of our country in the war - there were no more active hostilities.

Heroes of the First Defense

Now the defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War is called - in contrast to the Second, the period of the Great Patriotic War. However, there are no less bright characters in it, and maybe even more.

Its leaders were three admirals - Kornilov, Nakhimov, Istomin. All of them died defending the main policy of the Crimea, and are buried in it. Brilliant fortifier, engineer-colonel E.I. Totleben survived this defense, but his contribution to it was not immediately appreciated.

Artillery Lieutenant Count LN Tolstoy fought here. Then he published the documentary "Sevastopol Stories" and immediately turned into a "whale" of Russian literature.

The graves of three admirals in Sevastopol, in the Vladimir Cathedral-tomb, are considered city amulets - the city is invincible while they are with it. It is also considered a symbol that now adorns the 200-ruble bill of a new sample.

Every autumn, the surroundings of the hero-city are shaken by cannonade - these are historical reconstructions at the battlefields (Balaklavsky, and others). Members of historical clubs not only demonstrate the equipment and uniforms of those times, but also act out the most striking episodes of clashes.

On the sites of the most significant battles installed (in different time) monuments to the dead and archaeological research is underway. Their goal is to become more familiar with the soldier's way of life.

The British and the French willingly take part in reconstructions and excavations. There are also monuments to them - after all, they are also heroes in their own way, otherwise the confrontation was not entirely fair for anyone. And anyway, the war is over.

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

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

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

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

Background of the conflict

Weakening of the Ottoman Empire

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

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

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

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

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

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

Growing anti-Russian sentiment in Europe

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

The Western press emphasized Russia's desire to capture Constantinople. In reality, Nicholas I did not initially set the goal of annexing any Balkan territories to Russia. The conservative-protective principles of Nicholas's foreign policy dictated to him restraint in encouraging the national movements of the Balkan peoples, which caused dissatisfaction among Russian Slavophiles.

Great Britain

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

The dependent position in which the Ottoman Empire found itself in relation to Great Britain at that time is illustrated by a cartoon in the London magazine Punch (1856). The drawing depicts an English soldier saddling one Turk and holding another on a leash.

In addition, Great Britain was concerned about the expansion of Russia in the Caucasus, the strengthening of its influence in the Balkans and was afraid of its possible advance into Central Asia. In general, she considered Russia as her geopolitical adversary, against whom the so-called. The Great Game (in accordance with the terminology adopted by the then diplomats and modern historians), and was conducted by all available means - political, economic and military.

For these reasons, Great Britain sought to prevent any increase in Russian influence in Ottoman affairs. On the eve of the war, she increased diplomatic pressure on Russia in order to dissuade her from any attempts at the territorial division of the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, Britain declared its interests in Egypt, which "go no further than securing speedy and sure communications with India."

France

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

Austria

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

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

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

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

Immediate causes of the war

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

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

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

In private correspondence, Nesselrode gave pessimistic forecasts - in particular, in a letter to the Russian envoy in London Brunnov dated January 2, 1853, he predicted that in this conflict Russia would fight against the whole world alone and without allies, since Prussia did not care about this issue, Austria would be neutral or benevolent to Port. Moreover, Britain will join France in asserting its naval power, since "in the remote theater of operations, apart from the soldiers needed for the landing, it will require mainly the strength of the fleet to open the Straits, after which the combined fleets of Britain, France and Turkey will quickly end the Russian Fleet in the Black Sea.

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

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

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

On April 5, 1853, Stratford-Redcliffe arrived in Constantinople, new ambassador Britain. He persuaded the Ottoman sultan to satisfy Russian demands, but only partially, promising England's support in case of war. As a result, Abdul-Mejid I issued a firman (decree) on the inviolability of the rights of the Greek Church to holy places. But he refused to conclude a protection agreement with the Russian emperor. On May 21, 1853, Menshikov left Constantinople.

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

After that, Nicholas I ordered the Russian troops (80 thousand) to take the Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia subordinate to the Sultan "as a pledge until Turkey satisfies the fair demands of Russia." In turn, the British government ordered the Mediterranean squadron to go to the Aegean.

This caused a protest by the Porte, which, in turn, led to the fact that a conference of commissioners from England, France, Austria and Prussia was convened in Vienna. The result of the conference was viennese note, a compromise for all parties, requiring Russia to evacuate from Moldavia and Wallachia, but giving Russia the nominal right to protect the Orthodox in the Ottoman Empire and nominal control over the holy places in Palestine.

The Vienna note allowed Russia to get out of the situation without losing face and was accepted by Nicholas I, but rejected by the Ottoman sultan, who hoped for the military support of Britain promised by Stratford-Redcliffe. The Porte proposed various changes in the said note. These changes were not agreed by the Russian sovereign.

Trying to use the favorable opportunity to "teach Russia a lesson" through the hands of the Western allies, Ottoman sultan On September 27 (October 9), Abdul-Mejid I demanded the cleansing of the Danubian principalities within two weeks, and after Russia did not fulfill this condition, on October 4 (16), 1853, he declared war on Russia. On October 20 (November 1), Russia responded with a similar statement.

Russia's goals

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

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

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

Goals of Great Britain and its allies

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

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

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

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

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

But Napoleon III did not at all want to strengthen England too much, nor to weaken Russia beyond measure. Therefore, after the Allies managed to capture the southern part of Sevastopol, Napoleon III began to undermine Palmerston's program and quickly reduced it to zero.

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

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

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

The state of the Russian armed forces

As shown further developments, Russia was not organizationally and technically ready for war. The combat strength of the army (which included the incapable of combat corps of the internal guard) was far from the million people and 200 thousand horses listed; the reserve system was unsatisfactory. The average death rate among recruits in the years of peace between 1826 and 1858. was 3.5% per year, which was explained by the disgusting sanitary condition of the army. In addition, only in 1849 the norms for issuing meat were increased to 84 pounds of meat per year for each combat soldier (100 grams per day) and 42 pounds for a non-combatant. Previously, even in the guards, only 37 pounds were issued.

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

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

Army

In the 1840s-1850s, the process of replacing obsolete smoothbore guns with new rifled ones was actively going on in European armies: by the beginning of the Crimean War, the share of rifled guns in the small arms of the Russian army did not exceed 4-5%, while in the French rifled guns accounted for about a third of small arms , and in English - more than half.

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

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

It is also worth noting that until 1853 in the Russian army, 10 rounds per year per person were issued for training infantry and dragoons. However, the shortcomings were inherent in the armies of the allies. So in the British army during the Crimean War, the archaic practice of manning the army with officers by selling ranks for money was widespread.

The future Minister of War in the reign of Alexander II, D. A. Milyutin, writes in his notes: for adapting it to a combat mission, and for external only harmony, for a brilliant appearance at parades, pedantic observance of countless petty formalities that dull the human mind and kill the true military spirit.

At the same time, a number of facts indicate that the shortcomings in the organization of the Russian army were greatly exaggerated by critics of Nicholas I. Thus, the wars of Russia with Persia and Turkey in 1826-1829. ended with the rapid defeat of both opponents. During the Crimean War, the Russian army, which was significantly inferior in terms of the quality of its weapons and technical equipment to the armies of Great Britain and France, showed miracles of courage, high morale and military skills. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that in the main theater of operations, in the Crimea, the Allied Expeditionary Force, which, along with army units, included elite guard units, was opposed by ordinary Russian army units, as well as naval crews.

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

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

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

Fleet

Britain and France went to war with Russia, believing that sailing ships of the line might still be of military importance. Respectively sailing ships participated in 1854 in actions in the Baltic and the Black Sea; however, the experience of the first months of the war in both theaters convinced the Allies that sailing ships had lost their practical value as combat units. However, the Battle of Sinop, the successful battle of the Russian sailing frigate "Flora" with three Turkish frigate steamers, as well as the defense of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in which sailing ships participated from both sides, testify to the opposite.

The Allies had a significant advantage in all types of ships, and there were no steam battleships in the Russian fleet at all. At that time, the English fleet was the first in the world in terms of numbers, the French was in second, and the Russian was in third place.

A significant influence on the nature of military operations at sea was exerted by the presence of bombing guns on the warring parties, which proved to be effective weapon to fight both wooden and iron ships. In general, before the start of the war, Russia had time to adequately equip its ships and coastal batteries with such weapons.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Turkish navy consisted of 13 battleships and frigates and 17 steamships. Even before the start of the war, the command staff was reinforced by British advisers.

Campaign 1853

The beginning of the Russian-Turkish war

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

In the Caucasus, Russian troops defeated the Turkish Anatolian army in the battles near Akhaltsikhe, where on November 13-14, 1853, according to Art. With. the 7,000-strong garrison of General Andronikov pushed back the 15,000-strong army of Ali Pasha; and on November 19 of the same year, near Bashkadyklar, the 10,000-strong detachment of General Bebutov defeated the 36,000-strong army of Ahmed Pasha. This made it possible to spend the winter calmly. In details.

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

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

On November 4 (15), the capture without a fight by the Russian steamship Bessarabia, cruising in the Sinop region, of the Turkish steamship Medjari-Tejaret (became part of the Black Sea Fleet under the name Turk).

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

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

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

Allied Entry

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

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

At the same time, Emperor Nicholas appealed to the Berlin and Vienna courts, offering them, in case of war, to maintain neutrality, supported by weapons. Austria and Prussia declined this proposal, as well as the alliance proposed to them by England and France, but concluded a separate treaty between them. A special article of this treaty stipulated that if the Russians from the Danubian principalities did not soon follow, then Austria would demand their cleansing, Prussia would support this demand, and then, in the event of an unsatisfactory response, both powers would proceed to offensive actions, which could also be caused the accession of principalities to Russia or the transition of Russians beyond the Balkans.

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

Campaign 1854

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

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

Invasion of the Crimea and siege of Sevastopol

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

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

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

In early July, the allied troops, consisting of 40 thousand French, under the command of Marshal Saint-Arnaud, and 20 thousand English, under the command of Lord Raglan, landed near Varna, from where part of the French troops undertook an expedition to Dobruja, but cholera, which developed on a terrible scale in French landing corps, forced to abandon for a while any offensive actions.

The failures at sea and in Dobruja forced the Allies to turn now to the fulfillment of a long-planned enterprise - the invasion of the Crimea, all the more so since British public opinion loudly demanded that, in reward for all the losses and expenses caused by the war, the naval institutions of Sevastopol and Russian Black Sea Fleet.

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

September 22nd. 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.

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

On the same day, the Allied fleet tried to break through to the inner roadstead of Sevastopol, but was defeated. During the battle appeared the best preparation Russian gunners, who exceeded the enemy's rate of fire by more than 2.5 times, as well as the vulnerability of the Allied ships, including iron steamers, from the fire of Russian coastal artillery. So, a Russian 3-pound bomb pierced all the decks of the French battleship Charleman, exploded in his car and destroyed it. The rest of the ships involved in the battle also received serious damage. One of the commanders of the French ships assessed this battle as follows: "One more such battle, and half of our Black Sea Fleet will not be good for anything."

Saint Arnaud died on September 29. Three days before, he had handed over command of the French forces to Canrobert.

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

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

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

On November 14, a severe storm off the coast of Crimea led to the loss of more than 53 ships by the Allies (of which 25 were transports). Additionally, two ships of the line (the French 100-gun Henry IV and the Turkish 90-gun Peiki-Messeret) and 3 allied steam corvettes crashed near Evpatoria. In particular, stocks of winter clothes and medicines sent to the Allied landing corps were lost, which, in the conditions of the impending winter, put the Allies in a difficult situation. The storm of November 14, in terms of the heavy losses it inflicted on the Allied fleet and supply transports, was equated by them with a lost naval battle.

On November 24, the steam frigates "Vladimir" and "Khersones", leaving the Sevastopol roadstead into the sea, attacked the French steamer stationed near Pesochnaya Bay and forced it to leave, after which, approaching the Streltsy Bay, they fired from bombing guns the French camp located on the coast and enemy ships .

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

In the Caucasus, Russian troops occupied Bayazet on July 19 (31), on July 24 (August 5), 1854, they fought a successful battle near Kyuryuk-Dar, 18 km from Kars, but so far have not been able to begin the siege of this fortress, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bwhich 60- thousandth Turkish army. The Black Sea coastline was abolished.

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

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

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

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

On the pacific ocean On August 18-24 (August 30-September 5), 1854, the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky garrison under the command of Major General V.S.

Diplomatic efforts

In 1854, in Vienna, with the mediation of Austria, diplomatic negotiations were held between the warring parties. England and France, as peace conditions, demanded a ban for Russia to keep a navy on the Black Sea, Russia's renunciation of the protectorate over Moldavia and Wallachia and claims to patronage of the Sultan's Orthodox subjects, as well as "freedom of navigation" on the Danube (that is, depriving Russia of access to its mouth).

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

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

Campaign 1855

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

Crimea and the siege of Sevastopol

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

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

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

Other theaters of war

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

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

In the Caucasus, a major victory for Russia in 1855 was the capture of Kars. The first attack on the fortress took place on June 4 (16), its siege began on June 6 (18), and by mid-August it became total. After a major but unsuccessful assault on September 17 (29), N. N. Muravyov continued the siege until the surrender of the Ottoman garrison, which took place on November 16 (28), 1855. Vassif Pasha, who commanded the garrison, handed over to the enemy the keys to the city, 12 Turkish banners and 18.5 thousand prisoners. As a result of this victory, the Russian troops began to successfully control not only the city, but also its entire region, including Ardagan, Kagyzman, Olty and the Nizhne-Basensky sanjak.

War and propaganda

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

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

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

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

Widespread anti-Western, patriotic and jingoistic propaganda began in Russia, which was supported both by official speeches and spontaneous speeches by the patriotic part of society. In fact, for the first time since the Patriotic War of 1812, Russia opposed itself to a large coalition of European countries, demonstrating its “special position”. At the same time, some of the sharpest jingoistic speeches by the Nikolaev censorship were not allowed to print, which happened, for example, in 1854-1855. with two poems by F. I. Tyutchev (“Prophecy” and “Now you are not up to poetry”).

Diplomatic efforts

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

• replacement of the Russian protectorate over Wallachia and Serbia by a protectorate of all the great powers;
• the establishment of freedom of navigation in the mouths of the Danube;
• preventing the passage of someone's squadrons through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus to the Black Sea, the prohibition of Russia and Turkey to keep a navy on the Black Sea and have arsenals and military fortifications on the shores of this sea;
• Russia's refusal to patronize Orthodox subjects of the Sultan;
• concession by Russia in favor of Moldova of the section of Bessarabia adjacent to the Danube.

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

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

The results of the war

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

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

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

Consequences of the war

Russia

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

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

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

Britannia

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

Ottoman Empire

During the Eastern Campaign, the Ottoman Empire borrowed £7 million from England. In 1858, the bankruptcy of the Sultan's treasury was declared.

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

Austria

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

Influence on military affairs

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

AT ground forces the role of small arms and, accordingly, the fire preparation of an attack increased, a new battle order appeared - a small arms chain, which was also the result of a sharply increased capabilities of small arms. Over time, she completely replaced the columns and the loose system.

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

Other

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

Losses

According to estimates of military losses, total number those who died in battle, as well as those who died from wounds and diseases in the Allied army amounted to 160-170 thousand people, in the Russian army - 100-110 thousand people. According to other estimates, the total number of deaths in the war, including non-combat losses, was approximately 250 thousand on the part of Russia and the allies.

Awards

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

Crimean War 1853 - 1856 - one of the largest events of the XIX century, which marked a sharp turn in the history of Europe. The immediate cause for the Crimean War was the events around Turkey, but its true causes were much more complex and deeper. They were rooted primarily in the struggle between liberal and conservative principles.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the undeniable triumph of conservative elements over aggressive revolutionary elements ended at the end of the Napoleonic Wars with the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which established the political structure of Europe for a long time. Conservative-protective "System Metternich" prevailed throughout the European continent and received its expression in the Holy Alliance, which at first embraced all the governments of continental Europe and represented, as it were, their mutual insurance against attempts to renew the bloody Jacobin terror anywhere. Attempts at new ("southern Romanesque") revolutions made in Italy and Spain in the early 1820s were suppressed by decisions of the congresses of the Holy Alliance. However, the situation began to change after the French Revolution of 1830, which was successful and changed the internal order of France towards greater liberalism. The July coup of 1830 caused revolutionary events in Belgium and Poland. The system of the Congress of Vienna crackled. A split was brewing in Europe. The liberal governments of England and France began to draw closer against the conservative powers - Russia, Austria and Prussia. Then an even more serious revolution broke out in 1848, which, however, was defeated in Italy and Germany. At the same time, the Berlin and Vienna governments received moral support from St. Petersburg, and the Russian army directly helped the Austrian Habsburgs to suppress the uprising in Hungary. Shortly before the Crimean War, the conservative group of powers, with the most powerful of them, Russia, at the head, seemed to be even more united, restoring their hegemony in Europe.

This forty-year hegemony (1815 - 1853) aroused hatred on the part of European liberals, which was directed with particular force against "backward", "Asiatic" Russia as the main stronghold of the Holy Alliance. Meanwhile international position brought to the fore the events that helped unite the western group of liberal powers and divided the eastern, conservative one. These events were complications in the East. The interests of England and France, in many respects dissimilar, converged on the protection of Turkey from absorption by Russia. On the contrary, Austria could not be a sincere ally of Russia in this matter, for she, like the British and French, most of all feared the absorption of the Turkish East by the Russian Empire. Thus, Russia was isolated. Although the main historical interest of the struggle was the task of eliminating the protective hegemony of Russia, which had towered over Europe for 40 years, the conservative monarchies left Russia alone and thus prepared the triumph of liberal powers and liberal principles. In England and France, the war with the northern conservative colossus was popular. If it were caused by a clash over some Western issue (Italian, Hungarian, Polish), then it would rally the conservative powers of Russia, Austria and Prussia. However, the eastern, Turkish question, on the contrary, separated them. He served as the external cause of the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Crimean War 1853-1856. Map

The pretext for the Crimean War was the bickering over the holy places in Palestine, which began as early as 1850 between the Orthodox clergy and the Catholic, who was under the auspices of France. To resolve the issue, Emperor Nicholas I sent (1853) to Constantinople an extraordinary envoy, Prince Menshikov, who demanded that the Porte confirm the protectorate of Russia over the entire Orthodox population of the Turkish Empire, established by previous treaties. The Ottomans were supported by England and France. After almost three months of negotiations, Menshikov received a decisive refusal from the Sultan to accept the note presented by him and on May 9, 1853 returned to Russia.

Then Emperor Nicholas, without declaring war, brought the Russian army of Prince Gorchakov into the Danube principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia), “until Turkey satisfies the just demands of Russia” (manifesto of June 14, 1853). The conference of representatives of Russia, England, France, Austria and Prussia, which met in Vienna to remove the causes of disagreement by peaceful means, did not achieve its goal. At the end of September, Turkey, under the threat of war, demanded that the Russians clear the principalities within two weeks. On October 8, 1853, the English and French fleets entered the Bosphorus, thereby violating the convention of 1841, which declared the Bosphorus closed to warships of all powers.