The Crimean War 1853-1856

The Crimean War, fought between 1853 and 1856, was one of the most significant conflicts in 19th-century history. Initially, the clash took place between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, but over time it expanded to include other powers. What were the causes, course, and consequences of the Crimean War?

Russia’s Insatiable Appetite

In 1853, Nicholas I of the Romanov dynasty entangled Russia in the multi-year Crimean War. His main objective was to bring the crumbling Ottoman Empire, which had been experiencing various difficulties for some time, under his control.

To advance toward this goal, the tsar demanded that Sultan Abdülmecid I recognize him as the sole protector of the holy sites in the Middle East and place them under the care of Orthodox inhabitants of the Turkish state. This was merely a pretext, which in practice meant turning Turkey into a Russian protectorate.

It is hardly surprising, then, that Constantinople rejected this demand. At the same time, anticipating the outbreak of armed conflict, Turkey declared war on Russia. This occurred on October 4, 1853.

The actions of the authorities in Constantinople were to Nicholas I’s liking, as he expected an easy and quick victory. However, this was far from the case, because the decisive intervention of foreign powers interested in weakening Russian influence in the region thwarted the ambitious Romanov’s plans. The tsar believed that Austria would remain neutral during the conflict, and he also counted on French and British passivity due to tense relations between them.

These hopes proved illusory, however, and the tsar, instead of fighting alone against the „sick man of Europe,” as Turkey was then called, had to face a broad coalition. In addition to Turkey, this coalition included France, Britain, and later Sardinia.

A Surprising Start to the War

Meanwhile, Nicholas, ignoring the coalition forces, marched into the territories of Moldavia and Wallachia with the intention of conquering them. For British and French politicians, this was a clear signal that Russia would stop at nothing, and therefore its expansionist ambitions must be decisively opposed. As a result, the allied fleet was dispatched to the Black Sea region.

At the same time, Britain and France, exploiting their naval dominance, carried out several bombardments and attempted landings in various parts of the Russian Empire (in Finland, in Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka, in the Gulf of Finland, and on the Åland Islands in the Baltic).

For the time being, however, Russia dominated on water and land, which encouraged Nicholas to continue the conflict until final victory. On November 8, 1853, Admiral Pavel Nakhimov destroyed the Turkish fleet at Sinope. Without losing a single ship, he sent seven frigates, four corvettes, and a steamer to the bottom. Only one Muslim vessel, the Taif, escaped the naval massacre.

After some time, the allies learned their lesson from the defeat and landed at Eupatoria in Crimea in September 1854. They chose a rather unusual time of year for this part of Europe to carry out the landing, which completely surprised Prince Alexander Menshikov, who commanded in the region. Some time had to pass before the Russians undertook any offensive actions aimed at pushing the enemy back into the sea.

The opportunity to do so came on September 20, 1854, on the Alma River. The battle fought at this location was extremely fierce. The fiercest fighting occurred near the so-called Great Redoubt, which changed hands repeatedly. Ultimately, the British held it and forced the Russians to retreat.

The Battle of Inkerman

Shortly afterward, French and British troops appeared outside Sevastopol. However, they did not decide to take this fortress by storm, but instead tried to block access to it from the south. This maneuver allowed the Russians to gain the necessary time to regroup their forces and strengthen the garrison and fortifications. When the siege of the city began, the Russian garrison defending it under Menshikov’s command was fairly well prepared for defense.

On November 5, 1854, confident in his capabilities and forces, Menshikov decided to leave the city and break the siege. He attacked the besiegers near the village of Inkerman, located about five kilometers from Sevastopol. He had a significant advantage in men and equipment, so he had a real chance to drive the enemy from their positions and push them into the sea.

Unfortunately, these calculations failed, and the complicated Russian plan collapsed from the start. General Fyodor Soimonov misinterpreted his superior’s order and directed his army to his own right side instead of the British right flank. This caused a collision with Pauloff’s corps, making it impossible to return to starting positions.

At the same time, the British quickly regrouped their forces, began firing on the exposed enemy, and caused the deaths of many Russian soldiers. Although the Russians pushed back the French left wing, nothing could change the fate of the battle, won by the coalition forces.

Russian soldiers and their commanders fled in panic, which only confirmed the allies’ victory. After the lost battle, Menshikov was removed from command and replaced by General Mikhail Gorchakov.

Russian Defeats

The defeat at Inkerman clipped the wings of the confident Russians, who abandoned any offensive operations and focused on defense. The allies, meanwhile, continued siege operations, which were effectively repelled by the tsar’s soldiers and sailors, who performed miracles.

Nevertheless, the powerful firepower of the besiegers wreaked enormous devastation on Russian fortifications. With each day, the defenders’ situation became increasingly difficult, and their ranks melted away. The final fall of Sevastopol was approaching inexorably.

The Russians during the Crimean War, despite a few successes, showed themselves in a poor light, making a series of glaring errors at the strategic and tactical levels. The commanders under Nicholas I lacked inventiveness and initiative. Although they were experienced, having served in the tsar’s army for many decades, they could not rid themselves of the schematism to which they had become accustomed while fulfilling their duties.

This problem could have been eliminated through rotation in the officer corps, but Nicholas ultimately did not decide on this step because he himself clung to established patterns.

Errors in Tsarist Command

One example of a commander who could consider the Crimean conflict a personal failure was Admiral Alexander Menshikov. Significantly, he had never commanded a naval operation and felt decidedly more comfortable behind a desk, from where he issued orders. It was to him that Nicholas I entrusted the defense of Sevastopol. However, he quickly had to replace him because he completely failed to cope on the battlefield.

Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich also failed the emperor’s trust – the same man who bloodily suppressed the November Uprising, in return for which he was allowed to govern as viceroy over the Kingdom of Poland. He had become so entrenched in Warsaw, so absorbed in Polish affairs and thinking in terms of Russian interests in Poland, that he could no longer perceive other pressing problems of the empire.

For Paskevich, the greatest enemies remained Prussia and Austria, which is why he managed to persuade Nicholas at the beginning of the Crimean War to undertake an offensive in the Balkans. When it was finally halted after it was recognized as unnecessary, Paskevich insisted that his superior keep part of the Russian forces at the western border, even though their presence in Crimea could have changed the fate of the entire conflict.

This text is an excerpt from Dr. Mariusz Samp’s latest book „Checkmate: How Russia’s Rulers Died,” published by Hi:story publishing house (Krakow 2024). The book, which tells the story of Putin’s predecessors’ deaths, is available for sale in many online bookstores.

A Colossus on Clay Feet

Although Nicholas’s army numbered about one and a half million soldiers, the tsar never sent it all to Crimea, which could have brought him closer to victory by creating numerical superiority in that direction. The army was divided into many smaller groups that participated in various operations, with some soldiers permanently stationed in the country, which was vulnerable to outbreaks of rebellion.

The Russian army’s equipment was outdated or unusable, and new equipment was scarce. Russia had only a few factories supplying weapons to the front. The rest of the equipment was imported from abroad, including from the United States, which lengthened the already long supply lines.

As if this were not enough, some imperial units received projectiles filled with millet instead of gunpowder. Still others were supplied with weapons with broken triggers, faulty locks, cracked barrels, or without cleaning rods. In the confrontation between the imperial army and the allies, the former performed extraordinarily poorly. The allies possessed significantly better quality weapons, which decimated Russian units on the battlefield.

The End of the Conflict

After the allies captured Sevastopol, the Crimean War continued for several more months, but military operations were essentially limited to secondary theaters of war, including the territories of Transcaucasia and the Baltic Sea.

The Crimean War ended with the signing of a peace treaty in Paris on March 30, 1856. This peace confirmed the neutrality of the Black Sea Basin, limited Russian military presence in the Black Sea, and guaranteed the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire.

Reshuffling on the International Stage

The Crimean War was one of the first conflicts to utilize modern military technology, such as railroads, telegraphs, and photography. This conflict showed the world the costs of waging mass warfare and the need for army modernization.

The Crimean War also brought about a revolution in medical care. Thanks to the work of Florence Nightingale and other nurses, new standards of care for wounded soldiers were introduced during the Crimean War, which resulted in reduced mortality rates on the battlefield.

The Crimean War also led to serious reshuffling on the international stage. This conflict weakened Russia’s position as a power on the international stage, while the Ottoman Empire rose in the eyes of other states. Great Britain and France also gained prestige, although they were burdened with significant war costs.