the situation going into crimea Flashcards
what treaty signed in 1815 created international peace?
Treaty of Vienna
who was the PM of the UK during the Crimean War?
Lord Aberdeen
what was Lord Aberdeen afraid the Russians would do?
he was worried that the Russians would seize Constantinople and sail through the Straits and threaten British supremacy in the Med
who was the leader of France during the Crimean War?
Napoleon III
who was the leader of Russia during the Crimean War?
Nicholas I
where did Nicholas I send Russian troops to in July 1853?
Walachia and Moldavia
what split was there in Aberdeen’s cabinet?
Aberdeen = pacific and anti-Ottoman
Lord Palmerston = belicose and anti-Russian
what were the feelings of most Britons?
they were mostly anti-Russian and wanted a firm response to Russian expansion
when did the Ottomans declare war on Russia?
October 1853
when was the Battle of Sinope?
30 November 1853
what was the outcome of the Battle of Sinope?
the Russian Black Fleet demolished the Turkish fleet
3,000 Turkish lost
when did the British and French fleet sail to the Black Sea?
January 1854
when did the British and French send an ultimatum to Russia?
27 February 1854
what did the ultimatum want?
that the Russians leave Moldavia and Wallachia
what did the Russians do with the ultimatum?
they ignored it
when did Britain declare war in Russia?
28 March 1854
when did Russia leave Wallachia and Moldavia?
July 1854
what were the Four Points proposed by the Austrians?
- Russia would lose special rights to Serbia, Moldavia and Wallachia
- navigation of the Danube would be open to all
- 1841 Straits convention would be revised
- Christians in the Ottoman Empire to be under European protection
when did Russia reject the Four Points?
September 1854
who was Lord Raglan?
head of the British expeditionary force
how many British troops sailed to the Crimea?
26,000
what was Wellington’s role before his death?
he was commander in chief
when did Wellington die?
September 1853
what was the cut in military spending by the 1840s?
£43 million in 1815
£9.5 million in 1840s
what was a problem in the divisional command?
the age of all the commanders
only one of the commanders was under 60
what was a problem amongst the officers?
a lot of officers were given a role in command so you had a very upper class order of command
since the French wars had the tactics used by the BA changed?
nope
BA still used:
infantry musket fire
artillery support
cavalry charges
had the uniform and equipment used by the BA changed since Waterloo?
not really
still wore red uniforms
same weaponry used
what advantage in weaponry did the French and British have over the Russian?
the Minie rifle
muzzle loading rifle which was more powerful than the BA standard Brown Bess
how many times more accurate was the Minie rifle than the Russian smoothbore rifle?
three times more
what experience had the BA gained after Waterloo?
a large QUANTITY in experience as the BA fought many colonial wars (India, Afghanistan)
BUT
little QUALITY in enemy forces which led to a feeling of overconfidence
what was to be the RN’s role in Crimea?
to blockade the Russian fleet
transport troops
transport supplies
what organised supplies, food and transport for the BA in Crimea?
the Commissariat
what were the issues with the Commissariat?
it was run by civilian contractors and so was inefficient and not fully in army control
