Origins of the Crimean War

Question 1

What was the nature of international relations after 1815?

Answer 1

• Treaty of Vienna, signed in 1815 by Austria, Russia, Britain, France, and Prussia
  –> brought nearly 40 years of international peace

Question 2

In what state was the Ottoman Empire by the mid-19th Century?

Answer 2

breaking down
–> referred to as the ‘sick-man of Europe’

Question 3

How did the Russian Empire attempt to expand?

Answer 3

• July 1853, invaded Moldavia and Wallachia, and occupied an area around the Danube
  –> under the guise of protecting the Ottoman Empire’s Christian subjects, to whom the Sultan had refused concessions

Question 4

Why was Britain worried by Russia’s territorial ambitions?

Answer 4

• if Russia seized Constantinople, it would be able to access the Straits and therefore the Mediterranean Sea
  –> threaten British Naval supremacy in the east Mediterranean
  –> possibly attack British-ruled India

Question 5

Why did France want to halt Russian expansion?

Answer 5

• Napoleon III wanted to emulate his uncle (Napoleon Bonaparte)
• wanted to overturn the Treaty of Vienna; he believed it ‘contained’ France
• to demonstrate that France was a leading European power

Question 6

How did British initially show support for the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 6

June 1853, sent troops ships to Besika Bay
(BEFORE Russian invasion of Moldavia + Wallachia)
–> ironic as forced in cooperation with France, yet Britain had greatly feared a French invasion 1851-1853

Question 7

Who was the first to declare war and when?

Answer 7

5th Oct 1853, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia

Question 8

What events happened that led to Britain declaring war on Russia?

Answer 8

• Oct 1853, Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia
• 30th Nov 1853, Battle of Sinope; an Ottoman squadron was destroyed by the Russian Black Sea fleet
• Jan 1854, British and French fleets sailed to the Black Sea
• 27th Feb 1854, BR + FR sent a note to Tsar Nicholas I demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldavia and Wallachia –> ignored
• March 1854, BR + FR declared war on Russia

Question 9

What is the name of the straits that BR + FR wanted to remain under Ottoman control?

Answer 9

the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus

Question 10

Why was the British government divided on the situation in Crimea?

Answer 10

• Lord Aberdeen (PM of coalition gov.) was an anti-Ottoman pacifist
• Lord Palmerston (Home Secretary) was anti-Russian and bellicose –> supported by majority of Britons

Question 11

How did Britain proceed immediately after declaring war?

Answer 11

June 1854, British troops landed in Varna after stopping at Malta on the way
–> over 40,000 British troops crammed into Varna
–> outbreak of cholera killed 600 men

Question 12

How did Austria react to the outbreak of war?

Answer 12

• July/Aug 1854, Austria attempted to end the war diplomatically by proposing the ‘Four Points’;
  –> Russia should renounce its special rights to Serbia, Moldavia, and Wallachia
  –> the Danube to become free for all countries to use commercially
  –> the 1841 Straits Convention should be revised
  –> Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire should be placed under the protection of all European powers

Question 13

How did other countries react to Austria’s ‘Four Points’?

Answer 13

BR + FR accepted
Russia rejected
= forced BR + FR to resort to military action

Question 14

How did Russia ensure that Austria stayed out of the war/anti-Russian alliance?

Answer 14

Aug 1854, Russia agreed to withdraw troops from the Danube war zone

Question 15

What did the 1841 Straits Convention state?

Answer 15

it forbade the passage of foreign warships through either the Dardanelles or the Bosporus as long as Turkey was at peace
–> protected Russia’s domination in the Black Sea unless it was at war with Turkey

Question 16

How was the army run after 1815?

Answer 16

• after 1815, run by military high command, without government interference
• there was a political and military sense of complacency and conservatism
• 1842-1853, Wellington was Commander-in-Chief
  –> Wellington believed in using tactics that had worked previously and thought calls for reform were demands for further cuts in military spending

Question 17

What did the army that set sail for Crimea look like (size and weaponry)?

Answer 17

• 26,000 men; 5 infantry divisions + 1 cavalry division
• army rarely exceeded 115,000 men = low number of recruits
• infantry armed with Miné rifle (miné bullet = inch long lead bullet), accurate at over 400 yards
  –> soon replaced by the enfield rifle (improved version)

Question 18

What was the main problem with British military command in 1853?

Answer 18

Old and Inexperienced
- Raglan (65y/o) commanded the British Expeditionary Force
–> served Wellington in Peninsula Wars and later as military secretary
–> hadn’t seen active service since 1815, never commanded an army before
- only 1/5 of Raglan’s infantry divisional commanders was under 60y/o
–> he was the Duke of Cambridge (Queen’s cousin) and had never seen action before
- only 2/5 of the infantry divisional commanders had led anything larger than a battalion in action

Question 19

What was the main problem with the British military’s officers in 1853?

Answer 19

Wealth was prioritised over ability and experience
- purchase of commissions still in place
- many officers had seen no active service
- officers came mostly from the landed gentry and were men from families with military tradition
–> some only joined army for a fashionable and not very strenuous life style

Question 20

What was the main problem with the British military’s administration in 1853? (4)

Answer 20

• ineffective
• structured inefficiently
• full of rivalry
• feared challenging Wellington

Question 21

What was accommodation like in the army in 1853? (2)

Answer 21

• most barracks were overcrowded and unsanitary
• families of soldiers had to live in the same barrack rooms as all of the other men

Question 22

What was pay like in the army in 1853?

Answer 22

• a basic soldier in the infantry earned 1 shilling per day
  –> half was deduced for food each day = 6d

Question 23

What was discipline like in the army in 1853? (5)

Answer 23

• severe disciplinary code
• soldiers still flogged for their crimes
• 1846, maximum number of lashes was reduced to 50
• monotonous routine
• constant drills

Question 24

When did Wellington die?

Answer 24

1852

Question 25

Who was had overall command of the British cavalry?

Answer 25

Lord Lucan (54y/o)
–> unpopular as he was a strict disciplinarian

Question 26

Who was in charge of the British Light Brigade?

Answer 26

Lord Cardigan
(Lord Lucan’s brother-in-law –> disliked each other)
–> had risen through the ranks using the purchase system

Question 27

Who was in charge of the British Heavy Brigade?

Answer 27

James Scarlett

Question 28

What problems did Raglan face before fighting even began? (5)

Answer 28

• had no invasion plan
• nothing was known of Russian defences/army
• no knowledge of the terrain
• British had no tents or ambulances
• the British army was reduced by disease (cholera in Varna)