The
Crimean War lasted from
1854 to
1856. It was fought between
Russia and an alliance of
Britain,
France, the
Ottoman Empire and
Sardinia. The majority of the conflict took place around the
Crimean peninsula on the
Black Sea.
After a dispute with the Ottoman Empire over the guardianship of several holy towns in Palestine, Russia invaded Moldavia and Walachia, both vassals of the Ottoman Empire, resulting in a declaration of war by the Ottomans in late 1853. The Ottomans were joined by Britain and France on March 28, 1854, and by Sardinia in January 1855. Austria also threatened to enter the war on the Ottoman side, causing the Russians to withdraw from the occupied areas, which were subsequently occupied by the Austrians in August 1854.
The following month, allied troops landed in the Crimea and besieged the city of Sevastopol. The city was finally captured in September 1855. In the same year, the Russians occupied the Turkish/Armenian city of Kars[?].
After the occupation of Sevastopol and the accession of Alexander II peace negotiations began. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris (1856).
The war became famous for military and logistical incompetence. Scandalous treatment of wounded soldiers, which was covered by war media, prompted the work of Florence Nightingale, introducing modern nursing methods. The Crimean War was also the first in which use was made of railways.
- Some action also took place on the Russian Pacific coast, Asia Minor, the Baltic and White Seas
- The roots of the war's causes lay in the existing rivalry between the British and the Russians in other areas such as Afghanistan. Conflicts over control of holy places in Jerusalem led to aggressive actions in the Balkans, and around the Dardanelles.
- Major battles
- The Battle of Alma - September 20, 1854
- The Battle of Balaclava - October 25, 1854 (see also Charge of the Light Brigade);
- The Battle of Inkermann[?] - November 5, 1854;
- Siege of Sebastopol[?] (more correctly, "Sevastopol") - September 25, 1854 to September 8, 1855
- Battle of Eupatoria[?], February 17, 1855
- the Siege of Kars[?], June to November 28, 1855
- Battle of Chernaya River[?] (aka "Traktir Bridge") - August 25th[?], 1855.
- It was the first war where the electric telegraph started to have a significant effect; the first 'live' war reporting to the The Times, and British generals' reduced independence of action from London due to such rapid communications.
- Florence Nightingale
Military commanders
- obscure cross-link: Beryl Bainbridge's novel Master Georgie is set in the Crimean War.