The Crimean War 1854-56

Question 1

What were 3 reasons for poor manpower?

Answer 1

• poor pay
• flogging still allowed
• overseas service took a long toll on life and health

Question 2

Who commanded the Russian force at Alma?

Answer 2

Prince Menshikov

Question 3

Overall, did the British fight well at Alma in mid-September 1854?

Answer 3

yes overall

Question 4

What was Lord Raglan in charge of?

Answer 4

the British expeditionary force

Question 5

Why did the Russians retreat at Alma?

Answer 5

they were outnumbered

Question 6

When did administrative chaos lessen at Sebastopol?

Answer 6

Spring 1855

Question 7

How many British and French troops landed in the Crimea?

Answer 7

63,000

Question 8

When did a great storm occur in the Black Sea near Sebastopol? How many ships were damaged or lost?

Answer 8

the 14th November 1854,
37 ships were damaged or lost

Question 9

What did Raglan want the allies to do after the Battle of Alma?

Answer 9

March to Sebastopol as soon as the Russians had retreated

Question 10

When did Nightingale arrive at Scutari?

Answer 10

November 1854

Question 11

When had Lord Raglan last seen action?

Answer 11

1815

Question 12

When did the allies lay siege to Sebastopol?

Answer 12

October 1854

Question 13

Why was newspaper coverage different in this war?

Answer 13

the public could read about warfare with immediacy for the first time. Paper costs were dropping (though still unaffordable and inaccessible to most)

Question 14

On what day did the Russians attack Inkerman Ridge?

Answer 14

5th November

Question 15

Where were the Russians’ marching towards on the 25th October 1854?

Answer 15

to Balaclava

Question 16

How many nurses went with Florence Nightingale to Scutari?

Answer 16

38

Question 17

What paper did William Russell report for?

Answer 17

The Times

Question 18

Why did the Light Brigade attack a well-defended Russian artillery position at Balaclava?

Answer 18

a misunderstood order led them to charge

Question 19

When was the Battle of Inkerman?

Answer 19

November 1854

Question 20

Over how many yards was the British Enfield rifle accurate?

Answer 20

400
(4x the Russian muskets)

Question 21

Who replaced Lord Aberdeen as PM in January 1855?

Answer 21

Lord Palmerston

Question 22

When was the Royal Commission on the Health of the Army appointed?

Answer 22

1857

Question 23

When did Roger Fenton arrive in the Crimea? What did the government hope he would achieve?

Answer 23

1855. The government wanted his photos to counter the perceived anti-war reporting of Russell.

Question 24

How many men in the Army were ill and wounded compared to the fit by late January 1855?

Answer 24

There were 11,000 fit men
there were 23,000 ill and wounded men

Question 25

What diseases were prevalent at Sebastopol?

Answer 25

Cholera, scurvy, typhus, typhoid and dysentery

Question 26

What did the British Infantry at Inkerman do?

Answer 26

Small units fought much larger numbers of Russians until French troops arrived

Question 27

When did Britain and France declare war on Russia?

Answer 27

March 1854

Question 28

What was the name of Mary Seacole's establishment outside of Balaclava?

Answer 28

The British Hotel

Question 29

What was Mary Seacole's background?

Answer 29

She was Jamaican/ Scottish and her mother had taught her herbal remedies - she had experience in medicine treating cholera patients in the 1840s and 50s and borrowed money to help in the Crimea after being rejected by the war office

Question 30

What was there a bad shortage of at Sebastopol?

Answer 30

firewood and tents

Question 31

When was the Nightingale training school set up?

Answer 31

in 1860

Question 32

When did the government introduce reforms which led to merit-based promotion?

Answer 32

after 1856

Question 33

How many of the Infantry Divisional Commanders were under 60?

Answer 33

1 out of 5. This 1 was Queen Victoria's cousin with no experience.

Question 34

What were death rates like at Nightingale's hospital? What changed in March 1855?

Answer 34

they continued to rise and were the highest in the region until March 1855 when a Sanitary Commission flushed out the sewers and improved the ventilation

Question 35

How large was the British army which first sailed to the Crimea?

Answer 35

26,000 men

Question 36

When did Lord Raglan die? (of what)

Answer 36

28th June 1855 (of dysentery)

Question 37

How many men were killed in the charge of the light brigade?

Answer 37

110 killed (664 wounded and 58 captured)

Question 38

When did the system of purchasing commissions end?

Answer 38

Cardwell's reforms 1871

Question 39

What weaknesses of the British Army were made clear at Alma?

Answer 39

some officers led poorly and many troops were untrained

Question 40

how many people or departments were responsible for military administration during the Crimean War?

Answer 40

8

Question 41

When did Prime Minister Lord Aberdeen resign and why?

Answer 41

In January 1855 because it was voted to set up a committee to inquire into the conduct of the war

Question 42

How many years of service were required in the army at the time of the Crimean War?

Answer 42

21 for infantry 24 for cavalry

Question 43

What did Russell's reports about Sebastopol highlight?

Answer 43

the terrible conditions for the soldiers the ineffective medical care the mismanagement of supplies the troop's bravery

Question 44

Who criticised Raglan in December 1854?

Answer 44

John Delane - editor of the Times

Question 45

What caused the Russians to retreat at Inkerman?

Answer 45

French troops arrived to back up the British

Question 46

When was the siege of Sebastopol?

Answer 46

1854-55

Question 47

Which section of the British Army drove back the Russian cavalry at Balaclava?

Answer 47

the Heavy brigade

Question 48

How far was it from Balaclava to the siege lines?

Answer 48

6 miles

Question 49

How many of the Divisional Commanders had led anything larger than a battalion previous to the Crimean War?

Answer 49

only 2 of them

Question 50

When was Sebastopol captured? When had attacks failed?

Answer 50

September 1855 captured (the Russians abandoned it) Attacks had failed in June

Question 51

Who failed to supply the troops with food ,fuel, tents and clothing?

Answer 51

Incompetent Commissariat officials

Question 52

When was the Battle of Balaclava?

Answer 52

October 25th 1854

Question 53

Casualties at Inkerman?

Answer 53

Russian - 11,000 British - 2457 French - 880

Question 54

When was the Battle of Alma?

Answer 54

mid-September 1854

Question 55

How large was the charitable fund Nightingale managed?

Answer 55

£30,000

Question 56

Who was Roger Fenton?

Answer 56

the first official war photographer

Question 57

What was the main difference between Nightingale and Seacole?

Answer 57

Nightingale came from the British upper class whilst Seacole came from a British colony - their backgrounds were polar opposite

Question 58

What were the barracks like?

Answer 58

overcrowded and unsanitary