A summary of the Crimean War, 1854-56. Taken from classroom notes, lectures, "The British experience of warfare, c" & the official Edexcel AS/A-Level History textbook.
The Crimean War, 1854-56
• Russia saw the chance to expand into Turkey & access the Mediterranean to
challenge Britain & France
• The British didn’t want Russian warships in the Mediterranean
The outbreak of the Crimean War
• Russia invaded Turkey for religious reasons & Turkey declared war on 5
October 1853
‣ Britain & France sent feets to support Turkey
• On 30 November, the Russian Navy destroyed the Turkish feet at inope
• In January 1854, British & French feets blockaded the Russian feet & in
March, war was declared
• Britain & France moved troops into the Crimea, preventing Russia’s threat
from growing
Impact of the war on British opinion
• Britain was not prepared for the Crimean war & lacked tactics & provisions
• Despite winning the battles at Alma, Balaklava & evastopol, performance
was low & causalities were high
• Coverage of the war made public opinion uncertain & Britain won without any
sense of triumph
HOW WELL PREPARED WAS THE BRITISH ARMY TO FIGHT IN THE
CRIMEA?
Facing the Russia threat
• The British style of fighting did not change since the French wars
• Uniforms & firearms remained unchanged except the new French Minié rife
that outgunned Russian muskets
‣ Russian army was assumed to be inferior
The state of Britain’s military
• Had not fought a major war since Waterloo & was badly supplied
• Britain was complacent & relied on the powerful navy too much
Support service shortcomings
• The commissariat still depended largely on civilian contractors & was not
efficient
• War revealed the lack of professionalism, communication & co-operation
• It also highlighted a lack of medical supplies & decent food & shelter
The Battle of the Alma, 20 September 1854
• The British army expedition landed at Eupatoria on 14 eptember unopposed
in order to take the naval base of evastopol
• First battle came on 20 eptember when the Allied force met the Russian
army crossing the river Alma
• Allies outnumbered the Russians but there was lots of confusion & a lack of
co-ordination with the French
• British took the ‘Great Redoubt’, a Russian earthwork, then lost it, then retook
it
• Russians eventually retreated but the British did not pursue them
• Poorly organized & highlighted weaknesses in Allied forces
• Did not attack evastopol at once & instead planned a siege attack
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