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British Experience of Warfare > the Crimean war (Alma and Balaclava) > Flashcards

the Crimean war (Alma and Balaclava) Flashcards

1
Q

what bay did allied troops land at in Crimea?

A

Kalamita Bay

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2
Q

when did the allied troops land in Kalamita Bay?

A

14 September 1854

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3
Q

who led the French Army in Crimea?

A

St Arnaud

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4
Q

where did St Arnaud and Raglan disagree upon landing in Crimea?

A

St Arnaud wanted to march immediately on Sevastopol while Raglan wanted to round up supplies from the countryside

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5
Q

how strong was the allied army?

A

63,000

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6
Q

who was in command of Russian troops in Crimea?

A

Prince Menshikov

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7
Q

how many Russian troops were at the Battle of Alma?

A

33,000

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8
Q

when was the Battle of Alma?

A

20 September 1854

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9
Q

what did the Light Division do at the Battle of Alma?

A

they led the attack by taking the Great Redoubt
however, they were pushed back by heavy artillery and infantry fire from a Russian counter-attack

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10
Q

who ended up taking the Great Redoubt?

A

the Grenadier Guards

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11
Q

who pushed the Russians back at the Battle of Alma?

A

the Highland Brigade

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12
Q

who led the cavalry at the Battle of Alma?

A

Lord Lucan

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13
Q

what did Raglan and Lucan disagree on at the Battle of Alma?

A

Lucan wanted to pursue the retreating Russians but Raglan disagreed

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14
Q

what did this show about Raglan?

A

he was an indecisive commander who failed to capitalise on Russian failures

he could have defeated the entirety of the Russian force but instead allowed them to retreat and recover at Sevastopol

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15
Q

how many Russians died at the Battle of Alma?

A

5,700

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16
Q

how many British died at the Battle of Alma?

A

1,500

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17
Q

how many French died at the Battle of Alma?

A

under 1,000

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18
Q

what major leadership failures were prevalent in the Battle of Alma?

A

the British often mistook the French for Russians

officers would often issue contradicting orders which confused many soldiers

these orders were also not precise enough

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19
Q

what were the failures in recon at the Battle of Alma?

A

the British had not scouted out the terrain

the soldiers had little idea how deep the River Alma actually was

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20
Q

when did the British advance on Sevastopol?

A

23 September 1854

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21
Q

who was Raglan’s chief engineer?

A

Sir John Burgoyne

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22
Q

why did Burgoyne stop Raglan from advancing on Sevastopol?

A

he believed that the Russian defences were too great for an immediate attack

he proposed a siege

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23
Q

why did Raglan agree to attacking from the south of Sevastopol?

A

he wanted to preserve allied accord

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24
Q

when did the British enter Balaclava?

A

26 September 1854

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25
why was taking Balaclava important for Raglan?
it was a deep sea port which would have allowed British troop ships to enter
26
what was Raglan’s official reason for not pursuing the Russians after the Battle of Alma?
he had to give his troops 3 days of rest
27
what were the consuquences of staying in Balaclava?
- allowed the Russians to repair and improve ther defence - put strain on the British army POOR LEADERSHIP FROM RAGLAN
28
when did the Siege of Sevastopol begin?
17 October 1854
29
how many British guns did the allies use to siege Sevastopol?
126 siege guns
30
how many guns did the Russians defend Sevastopol with?
341
31
what made the Siege of Sevastopol a stalemate?
allied troops would attack then not advance gave time for Russians to repair defences and then allied troops attacked again
32
how many Russian troops did reports show would attack Balaclava?
25,000
33
who was in charge of defending Balaclava?
Sir Colin Campbell
34
what had the allies constructed on the Causeway Heights?
6 redoubts
35
how many battalions of Russians were involved in the Battle of Balaclava?
25 battalions
36
how many Russian guns were involved in the Battle of Balaclava?
78 guns
37
when did the Russians attack the first redoubt?
25 October 1854
38
who led the 93rd Highlanders?
Campbell
39
how many of the 93rd Highlanders were left to defend the Russians?
550
40
who led the Russian cavalry?
Ryzhov
41
how many cavalry did Ryzhov send to attack Campbell’s position?
400
42
how did Campbell form his men?
they formed up into 2 lines of infantry covering far wide NOT box which you would expect against cavalry
43
what was the 93rd’s last stand known as?
the thin red line
44
what did ‘the thin red line’ acheive?
they prevented the Russians from advancing to Balaclava they forced Russian cavalry to retreat up north
45
how did the thin red line show Russian weakness?
the Russians charged despite the strategic position of the 93rd Highlanders major Russian casualties failed to take Balaclava
46
how many squadrons of the Heavy Brigade did Lucan order to charge at the Russians?
8
47
who led the Heavy Brigade?
Scarlett
48
what surprised Scarlett when he advanced?
he saw all 19 squadrons of Russian cavalry heading towards him
49
how many British at the charge of the Heavy Brigade?
800
50
how many Russians at the charge of the Heavy Brigade?
2000
51
how did the Heavy Brigade defat the Russians, despite being outnumbered?
the Russians were so confused and surprised by Scarlett’s troops that they stayed stationary, therefore an easy target for Scarlett’s cavalry RUSSIAN WEAKNESS
52
how many British casualties during the charge of the Heavy Brigade?
78
53
how many Russian casualties during the charge of the Heavy Brigade?
270
54
what did the charge of the Heavy Brigade achieve?
forced the Russians to retreat to the east side of the Causeway Heights
55
who led the Light Brigade?
Cardigan
56
what order did Raglan send to Lucan at 10:15?
light cavalry to advance and take the Causeway Heights
57
who was trusted to carry Raglan’s order to Lucan and Cardigan?
Cpt Edward Nolan
58
what was Nolan’s role in the failed charge of the Light Brigade?
Nolan held a dislike for Lucan when Nolan delivered the order to Lucan and Lucan asked where the guns were, Nolan just waved in the wrong direction, therefore he had sent Lucan’s cavalry to the retreated Russian cavalry in the East instead of the guns on the Causeway Heights
59
what happened to Nolan during the charge?
he realised Cardigan was heading in the wrong direction so he rode forward to warn him but was shot he ended up being the first man killed in the charge
60
what was Raglan’s role in the failed charge of the Light Brigade?
he could see the Russians vacating their positions and removing their guns from the redoubts in the Causeway Heights ---> failed to give clear instructions about which guns were to be taken he was acting far too rash and his communication with his subordinates was poor
61
could Lucan see the Russian’s vacating the redoubts?
NO he was not in a high position like Raglan was
62
how had Nolan misinformed Lucan?
Nolan’s angry wave gave the impression that Cardigan had to attack the Russian guns and cavalry at the end of the valley
63
what was Lucan’s role in the failed charge of the Light Brigade?
despite being warned by Cardigan that there was a Russian battery at the end of the valley as well as on the flanks, Lucan carried forward his order DID NOT GET ON WELL WITH CARDIGAN despite knowing it was a suicidal advance, he carried forward with it BUT he was simply following orders from Raglan
64
how many Russian infantry battalions were at the eastern end of the valley?
20
65
how many Russian guns were at the eastern end of the valley?
50
66
how long did it take British cavalry to reach the Russian forces?
7 minutes
67
how long did the charge of the Light Brigade last for?
20 minutes
68
how many men charged during the charge of the Light Brigade?
664
69
how many British were killed during the charge of the Light Brigade?
110
70
who did Raglan blame for the failure?
he believed that Lucan should have excercised discretion and ignore his own orders
71
who did Lucan blame for the failure?
he believed that Raglan had given him no independence and expected Lucan to follow every order to the letter he also blamed Nolan for misinforming him
72
who did Cardigan blame for the failure?
he blamed Lucan for giving him the order to charge
73
what happened to Lucan?
he was sent back to Britain where he defended himself
74
what happened to Cardigan?
he returned to Britain as a hero and given a promotion to inspector-general of the cavalry
75
what was the outcome of the Battle of Balaclava?
stopped the Russian advance on Balaclava allowe the siege of Sevastopol to continue BUT put the British and French in a more vulnerable position

British Experience of Warfare (27 decks)

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