The siege of Sevastopol Flashcards
When was the siege of Sevastopol?
September 1854-1855
What had the allies done in relation to Sevastopol when they first landed in the Crimea?
had laid siege to the Russian port of Sevastopol (their prime objective) since they first landed in the Crimea + advanced slowly towards it
What did the Russians do in response to the siege?
they fought hard to check the advance & relieve Sevastopol
- Nov 1854 they attacked the Br at Inkerman
- they advanced in early morning fog
- altho caught off-guard in camp the Br won the day
- losses were again heavy tho & the assault on Sevastopol once more postponed
What did the siege army face now the assault on Sevastopol had been postponed?
a Crimean winter
How bad was the Crimean winter?
Nov 1854 the Crimean peninsula was hit by one of the worst storms in living memory
- allied camps were wrecked
- ships carrying supplies for winter were sunk
- took weeks to ship in fresh stores
- allied soldiers suffered from cold, hunger, disease
- horses & pack mules died from lack of fodder
- starving soldiers foraged for scraps
- huts/tents gave scant shelter from freezing rain & snow
- firewood was scarce
- disease killed far more soldiers than the enemy
- even when supplies did reach the base at Balaklava they were slow to reach to troops outside Sevastopol
What happened after the terrible winter?
by spring 1855 things had improved
- the army received fresh horses & a new railway was built linking Balaklava to the camps around Sevastopol
- more guns, ammunition & troop reinforcements arrived
vs.
the Russians couldn’t send relief to Sevastopol so the port’s defenders’ morale suffered
What did the allies plan in the spring?
(Sevastopol is divided by a sea inlet & overlooked by hills on which Russians had defences)
in the spring the allies planned a fresh attack - aiming to capture the higher southern hills first
their main targets were 4 strongpoints:
- the Mamelon fort
& 3 large redoubts behind it
- the Redan
- the Malakoff
- the Little Redan
(both armies dug trenches to protect their positions)
Where the allies successful in taking the Mamelon fort?
the Fr took the Mamelon fort in June 1855 & the allies bombarded the R defences using siege guns incl. mortars
Why was the battle of Sevastopol a new kind of battle?
it was fought by engineers & artillery gunners w no role for dashing cavalry
the infantry sheltered in trenches & stormed fortifications, harassed by enemy snipers
it was a foretaste of battles in the American Civil War & much later WW1
Where the allies successful in taking the 3 large redoubts/Sevastopol?
at the Battle of Tchernaya in August 1855 the R suffered another repulse at the hands of the Fr, Ottoman & Sardinian troops
In Sept the allies at last took Sevastopol
- the Fr took the Malakoff redoubts & held off R counter-attacks
- the Br captured the Little Redan
- the main Redan remained in R hands until the Fr moved cannons into the Malakoff & enfilade fire forced the R to withdraw
- the allies had the high ground so the R evacuated Sevastopol w the allies being too exhausted to pursue them
so the last major battle ended - diplomatic arguments continued until March 1856, when the Treaty of Paris ended the war
