The Crimean War: 1854-1856 Flashcards
When did the allied troops land in the Crimea?
When did they begin moving?
14th September 1854, they landed at Kalamita Bay, north of Sebastopol
–> St Arnaud wanted to march immediately on Sebastopol but Raglan insisted on rounding up wagons, baggage animals and supplies
19th September: army ( 63K strong moved south) vs Prince Menshikov who withdrew to a strong position behind the River Alma ( 33k men)
What tactic did St Arnaud propose before attacking Alma
French forces attack on the right, rolling up to Russian left flank whilst British proceeded centre and right flank.
–> Raglan agreed yet believed he underestimated French troops
Battle of Alma: 1854 what happened?
20th September: infantry moved forward, stopping for 90 minutes due to artillery. French then needed support so Raglan advanced his men, with the light division leading the way and capturing the Great Redoubt.
–> Light division fell back due to enemy artillery and infantry attack but a general advance resulted in the Grenadier Guards recapturing the Great Redout whilst Highland Brigade drove back 12 Russian battalions
Battle of Alma: 1854 Results and next actions?
Lucan wanted to pursue the Russians but Raglan disagreed knowing that Russian men were still on the left.
–> told his men to bivouac for the night
Russians lost 5.7k men vs British 1.5k and French 1K
Advancing to Sebastopol[ol: What happened?
23rd September: Allied army advanced on Sebastopol. Raglan wanted to immediately attack but Chief Engineer Sir John Burgoyne thought that Russian defences posed a serious obstacle + St Arnaud who was ill agreed.
–> Raglan who again wanted to keep allied accord, agreed with the French
On the 26th of September, how did the two generals position themselves?
26th, British entered Balaclava and Raglan who was poorly advised by Admiral Lyons chose to remain at Balaclava.
–> (placed enormous strain on army as it was committed to defending allied flank from Russian attack and laying siege to Sebastopol)
–> French now led by General Canrobert went to bays further west
What decision made it harder to invade Sebastopol?
Raglan pressed for an assault on Sebastopol but Canrobert insisted that city defences must first be reduced
–> due to this inaction, the Russians had time to improve defences
Siege of Sebastopol: What happened?
By October 17th Allies had dragged 126 siege guns to position and cannonade began. 321 Russian guns faced them, double the number 3 weeks before.
–> allied naval bombardment + cannonade= damage to several warships and 500 allied casualties
–> land bombardment was more effective, so much so that if allies had attacked, they would have captured it. ( Canrobert again opposed the move, giving Russians to catch up with defences)
Pattern was repeated over several days: successful bombardment= failure to attack= Russians repairs at night)
Battle of Balaclava: what happened?
October 25th: Russian army ( 25K infantry, 6K cavalry 78 guns) advanced towards Balaclava.
–> Ottoman outposts easily overran and then several Russians charged towards the 93rd Highland Regiment
–> The 550 men stood in 2 lines instead of squares turned aside the cavalry but could not check Russian attach single handily
800 strong Heavy Brigade led by General Scarlett charged at the enemy and the Russian cavalry fled after ( lost only 10 troops and fought uphill)
Why was the Light brigade antagonistic towards the Heavy Brigade?
Earl of Cardigan was the head of the 664 strong light brigade and watched the victory of the Heavy Brigade with jealousy.
–> Brother in law to Lord Lucan
Cardigan’s officers wanted to launch themselves against the fleeing enemy but Cardigan refused.
Charge of the Light Brigade: Raglan’s order
Raglan was positioned on Sapoune Heights and annoyed at the loss of initiative, sending a message to Luca, requesting him to occupy the ground the Russians were vacating
–> with no infantry to assist him, Lucan declined to regard the message as an order
–> During this, Russians removed guns from Ottoman redoubts on the Causeway Heights.
New order: to advance rapidly to the front and follow the enemy, preventing them from carrying away the guns
Charge of the Light Brigade: Nolan’s role
Louis Nolan was the officer chosen to deliver this message ( seen as an excellent horseman who could ride rapidly.) But horrible messenger.
–> Lucan was given the message but Nolan told him that the enemies were down the valley with the guns
Charge of the Light Brigade: Lucan’s role
Lucan could not see the guns on the far side of the Causeway Heights and his angry wave gave Lucan the impression he had been ordered to attack the mass of russian guns at the far end of the valley 2km away.
–> Lucan rode to Cardigan and ordered him to advance
Charge of the Light Brigade: Cardigan’s role (before charge)
Cardigan gave the order for the light brigade to advance in 3 lines, towards the 20 attalions of Russian infatry supported by over 50 guns ( forces at both sides of the valley and the end)
–> would take light brigade several minutes to reach the end of the Valley
Nolan dashed ahead and started screaming, trying to alert them about the disastrous miscommunication but a splinter from a shell killed him
Charge of the Light Brigade: Cardigan’s role ( during the charge)
Artillery and musket fire poured into the brigade whilst the cavalry hacked at the gunners after reaching Russian guns.
–> Cardigan turned and trotted back down the valley whilst his men followed, running against the same gauntlet of fire
Result: 110 killed, 130 wounded, 58 taken prisoner
–> Cardigan paid no effort to his men and went to his yacht to drink champagne
Charge of the Light Brigade: Aftermath of the charge
Raglan blamed Lucan in his dispatches, believing he should have exercised his discretion
Lucan responded with how Raglan had allowed him no independence throughout the campaign and required all his orders to be followed ( talking back to superior was not allowed and in March 1855 he was called back to Britain)
Cardigan blamed Raglan and Lucan for giving him the orders and he was promoted to inspector-general of the cavalry after leaving the Crimea
Result of the Battle of Balaclava?
It ensured Russian advance was halted, thus continuing the siege of Sebastopol
–> Russians however, confined British into a narrow area between Balaclava and Sebastopol, leaving them vulnerable
By November Menshikov commanded 120k men
–> Raglan only had 25k men and French had 40K
Battle of Inkerman: what happened?
5th November 1854: Russians attacked Inkerman ridge, with hidden manoeuvrings (due to rain and fog)
–> fighting broke out into series of encounters which were impossible to direct ( small units of British infantry fought much larger numbers of Russians)
9am when the mist began to clear, it seemed outnumbered British forces were riven back yet once the French arrived, battle turned to allied favour.
Battle of Inkerman: result?
Afternoon, Russians retreated with 11k casualties
British had 597 dead and 1860 wounded whilst French lost 130 and 750 wounded.
–> no progress on capturing Sebastopol
Raglan warned Duke of Newcastle regarding the winters but his warning was disregarded as being ‘mild’
Winter of 1854-55: What happened?
Worst Crimean winter in living memory
–> cold enough to form icicles on moustaches + wet weather
–> heavy shortages of tents and lack of firewood meant men could not cook or stay dry and warm
14th Nov: Terrible storm resulted in the loss of more than 20 ships carrying stores (e.g. The Progress carried 3 weeks worth of hay)
–> Tents blown to shreds
Winter of 1854-55: What problems occurred in Balaclava?
Admiral Boxer was terribly inefficient with transportation arrangements as ships arrived at Balaclava on short notice and with no certainty on supplies ( congestions occurred at the port, meaning everything was piled together with consumables rotting)
Winter of 1854-55: Transportation problems?
Transporting supplies to Balaclava was easy but from Balaclava to siege lines was incredibly problematic
–> Russian control over Worontsov Road initially deprived the army of the only road up the Sapoune ridge but Russians abandoned their positions on 6th December
–> freezing and muddy tracks + lack of forage to feed pack animals meant no more animals could be rough t in
–> Commisariat highly impossible to deliver supplies in these conditions
Jan 1855: railway contractor was brought in to lay a track rom Balaclava to heights above port.
Winter of 1854-55: Medical situation
More men went down with cholera, scurvy, gangrene, typhus, typhoid and dysentery
–> dire situation as little money was put into preparring medical supplies, hospital tents and medicines
–> filthy, verminous and overcrowded hospital at Balaclava
–> letters eventually reached home about the disgusting conditions which were confirmed by the newspapers
Winter of 1854-55: Dr Blake’s record
surgeon of 55th battalion kept medical history:
- 640 men for fever
- 368 cases of respiratory diseases
- 1256 cases of infections of bowels and stomach
96 cases of cholera
He treated over 3025 cases of sickness compared to 564 men treated for wounds
