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Home Great Britain and Europe, 1815-78 The Crimean War, 1854-6 The Crimean War, 1854-6; Part 2 |
The Crimean War, 1854-6; Part 2The war which followed is generally known as the Crimean War, because it was in the Crimea that the main military operations took place. The original object of the allies, the expulsion of the Russians from the Danubian principalities, was quickly secured; but it was considered necessary for future security to cripple Russia, and for that purpose to capture Sevastopol, the great Russian arsenal and fort in the Crimea, the "very heart", as it was called, "Russian power in the East"."The history of the Crimean War, " it has been said, "is a history of blunders. " In a sense this is true of all wars, and the combatant who makes the fewer blunders is victorious. But the great powers of Europe had waged no big; campaign since that of 1815, and it is undeniable that the art of war had been somewhat forgotten. The allied forces landed in the Crimea, and won the battle of the Alma in September, 1854. But the battle, apart from the courage shown by the soldiers, reflected little credit upon the allies. An immediate advance alter the battle might have resulted in the capture of Sevastopol. But the French commander was mortally ill, and delayed. Consequently the Russians were given time to improve the defences by raising earthworks and by scuttling the fleet in the Bay of Sebastopol The allied commanders, after a dangerous flank march round Sebastopol, decided that an immediate assault was impossible, and undertook a regular siege. The British base of supplies was at Balaclava, some six miles from their trenches. A large Russian army which was outside Sebastopol determined to seize it, and on the 25th October came the battle of Balaclava. That battle was famous for three incidents. Early in the day our Turkish allies had been repulsed by the Russians; the way to Balaclava was as a consequence only blocked by one regiment of foot, the 93rd, under Colin Campbell. Some squadrons of Russian cavalry tried to reach Balaclava by getting round the flank of the British line, but Campbell, with great celerity, changed his front, and the Russian cavalry were obliged to retreat. Soon after this, the "Heavy Brigade" of cavalry, though it was outnumbered by three to one, charged the massed squadrons of the Russian cavalry, and in some eight minutes broke through them, and forced them to retreat. Last of all, six hundred men of the "Light Brigade" made, owing to mistaken orders, a magnificent though useless charge down a valley swept by artillery from all sides, and actually managed to reach and temporarily to take possession of the enemy's guns (See Tennyson's Poems. The criticism of the French commander on the charge of the Light Brigade is well known: " C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre"). The British forces, therefore, managed to save Balaclava, but the Russians got command of the only metalled road that ran from Balaclava to the British trenches, and hence made this road useless for the transport of supplies. Less than a fortnight after the attempt on Balaclava, the Russians made a determined attack at Inkerman, upon the right of the British forces besieging Sebastopol. After a desperate battle, fought in a fog - a "soldiers' battle", if ever there was one - the Russians were eventually repulsed (November 5, 1854). |
Chronology |
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