The Crimean war

The Crimean war

\-1854 to 1856

\-France and Britian vs Russia

Causes of the Crimean war

\-decline of the Ottoman empire

\-Russian expansion

\-protecting Orthodox Christians from Muslims

\-Constantinople

\-Russian Navy challenge British naval supremacy

Battle of Alma date

\-20th September 1854

Battle of Balaklava date

\-25th October 1854

Battle of Inkerman date

\-5th November

Siege of Sevastopol dates

\-September 1854 to September 1855

Battle of Balaklava battles

\-thin red line

\-charge of the light brigade

\-charge of the heavy brigade

Objective of the Crimean war

\-to seize the naval base at Sevastopol

The Bay the British landed

\-Kalamita bay

Saint-Arnaud

\-commander of the French forces at the battle of Alma

problems of having two commanders at Alma

\-contradictory and confusing orders

\-language barrier between Raglan and St-Arnaud

result of poor communication at Alma

\-Raglan ordered his men to lie down for 90 minutes as they didn’t know what the French were doing and chose to wait to see how the attack developed

Raglans mistakes at Alma

\-poor communication

\-saying nothing when he felt the French were underestimating the Russians

\-co-operating against his judgement

Result of Raglans indecisiveness

\-the cavalry did not pursue the Russians to drive home their advantage

Lord Lucan

\-leader of the British cavalry

shortcomings revealed by Alma

\-British sometimes mistook the French for Russians

\-confusion and contradictory orders

\-lack of reconnaisance

result of the lack of reconnaissance at Alma

\-they didn’t know how deep the river was until they waded it

Raglans poor authority at the start of the siege of Sevastopol

\-wanted to attack immediately but allowed himself to be persuaded by Burgoyne and St-Arnaud and defer to the French who delayed the attack

the problems with Balaklava as a choice of base

\-too small to serve as a supply base

result of delay and inaction by the allies

\-the Russians had time to improve Sevastopol’s defences

\-Russians able to double the number of guns at Sevastopol

the thin red line

\-Campbell and the Highlanders of the 93rd foot

\-two lines of infantry using rifles to repel the Russian cavalry forcing them to retreat

\-unusual use of lines against cavalry

charge of the heavy brigade

\-uphill charge (unorthodox)

\-forced Russian retreat

\-3000 Russian cavalry vs 800 heavy cavalry

Purpose of the charge of the light brigade

\-Raglan wanted to stop the Russians from removing captured Turkish guns

Issue with Raglans orders during the charge of the light brigade

\-Vague instructions

\-Guns he was referring to were not visible from the brigades position

The charge of the light brigade

\-brigade charged towards the wrong guns

\-attacked cannons from the front resulting in huge losses

\-113 deaths (nearly 1/6)

\-survivors saved by French cavalry

what was revealed by the failure of the charge of the light brigade

\-the effect of poor communication and confusing orders

Raglan to blame for the light brigade

\-unspecific orders that caused confusion

Nolan to blame for the light brigade

\-may have made assumptions about which guns Raglan was referring to and directing the cavalry the wrong way

Lucan and Cardigan to blame for the light brigade

\-barely spoke to each other due to dislike

\-made no effort to check the meaning of their orders

Battle of Inkerman

\-fought in thick fog

\-Allied success thanks to infantry

\-no closer to capturing Sevastopol

Newcastle’s response to Raglans concerns about the upcoming winter

\-claimed that winters in the Crimea were some of the mildest in the world

when was the storm

\-14th November 1954

Effect of the storm

\-tents destroyed

\-supply ships wrecked causing supplies like winter clothes and medicine to be lost

Admiral Boxers role in the winter of 1854 to 1855

\-his planning meant ships arrived without notice and with no one knowing what the cargo was or where to store it

\-resulted in food supplies being left to rot

Issue of transport during the winter of 1854-55

\-Russia controlled the road to Sevastopol so food couldn’t be sent to troops in the siege

\-even when the road was abandoned there was not enough food for the mules to make the trip

Medical situation during the winter of 1854 to 55

\-hospitals overcrowded

\-medical tents and care were scarce

diseases suffered by soldiers

\-cholera

\-scurvy

\-gangrene

\-typhus

\-typhoid

\-dysentery

Raglans role in the winter of 1854-55

\-chose Balaklava despite it being too small

\-didn’t tell Filder (head of the commissariat) about the need for winter supplies until 8th November

\-did little to improve moral or ask for help

Lord Cardigans role in the winter of 1854-55

\-forbade the light brigade from moving to Balaklava where they could have fed their horses

\-didn’t allow them to kill their horses unless they were unwell leading to many soldiers starving

Captain Christies role in the winter of 1854-55

\-as harbour master he refused to let in ships, which could have prevented important supply ships from sinking in the storm

The role of weather in 1854-55

\-Rain made the road to Sevastopol impossible to travel

\-Storm sunk several important supply ships

Impact of the winter of 1854-55

\-British army was only 11,000 strong afterwards

\-Prime Minister (George Hamilton-Gordon/Earl of Aberdeen) resigned

Name of the main fort as Sevastopol

\-Mamelon

names of the 3 redoubts at Sevastopol

\-Redan

\-Malakoff

\-Little redan

first victory in the fall of Sevastopol

\-French took Mamelon in June 1855

Strategy change at Sevastopol

\-Battles fought by engineers and gunners rather than cavalry and infantry

Forced the Russians to surrender their redoubts at Sevastopol

\-Enfilade fire from Malakoff and Redan

Enfilade fire

\-Gunfire from multiple sides against a target with little protection

Reasons the fall of Sevastopol took so long

\-’Parade ground’ thinking

\-Ammunition deficit

\-Russians were well prepared

\-Lack of supporting troops and supplies made it difficult to continue progress

treaty of Paris

\-March 1856

\-Officially ended the war