The reason for the start of the Crimean War. Crimean War (1853–1856)

By the middle of the 19th century. Contradictions between England and Russia intensified. Tsarist Russia's desire to seize Constantinople and the straits encountered resistance from England, which feared the strengthening of Russia in the Middle East. " England cannot agree for Russia to take possession of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. This event would deal both commercially and politically a major, if not fatal, blow to British power."- wrote Marx and Engels in April 1853 (Works, vol. IX, p. 382).

France, which had major interests in the East, also could not tolerate the increasing influence of Russia in Turkey. The governments of England and France were also interested in weakening Turkey in order to force it to blindly follow instructions from London and Paris. The aggressive ruling circles of England and France tried in every possible way to weaken the power of Russia and therefore used Turkey’s discontent to incite a conflict between it and Russia. Moreover, they advocated ousting Russia from the shores of the Black Sea.

A military clash between England, France and Turkey, on the one hand, and Russia, on the other, became inevitable.

The reason for the war was a dispute over the Palestinian “shrines” of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, which broke out between Catholics, supported by Napoleon III, and Orthodox Christians, who were patronized by Nicholas I. In reality, there was a struggle between the Russian and French governments for the subordination of Turkey to their influence, Nicholas I began to threaten Turkey by war. On May 10, 1853, diplomatic relations between Russia and Turkey were broken, and in June, by order of Nicholas I, the Russian army under the command of M.D. Gorchakov occupied the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. On September 27, Turkey, having secured the support of England and France, presented an ultimatum to Russia about the cleansing of Moldova and Wallachia by Russian troops, but, having received no response, on October 15 declared war on Russia. On October 20, Nicholas I declared war on Turkey.

Thus began the Crimean (Eastern) War. England and France took the side of Turkey against Russia. Already on September 17, the united Anglo-French fleet passed through the Dardanelles to the Sea of ​​Marmara, and at the beginning of 1854, England and France declared war on Russia.

The war was aggressive on both sides.

Actions on the Black Sea and defense of Sevastopol

September 17–25. The squadron of the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov, consisting of 12 battleships, 2 frigates, 2 corvettes, 4 steam frigates, 2 steamships, schooners and 11 sailing transports, received a landing party in Sevastopol within 2 days consisting of one infantry division with artillery, a convoy and ten days of supplies (16,393 people, 827 horses, 16 guns) to strengthen the Caucasian army, transported it for seven days to the Caucasian coast, landed troops in Anakria, and the convoy and other cargo in Sukhum-Kala ( ).

The 20th of October. 7-push The steamer "Colchis" under the command of Lieutenant-Commander K.A. Kuzminsky with a landing party of 224 people, sent to return the fortification of St. Nicholas (south of Poti) captured by the Turks, approached the shore within a gun shot and ran aground. From enemy fire on the steamer, opened from 5 guns, the steamer caught fire twice, but return fire from the steamer led to the silence of the coastal batteries, which gave it the opportunity to refloat and go to sea. During the battle, capital lieutenant Kuzminsky was killed ( ).

27th October. In connection with the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Turkey, the Anglo-French fleet, which was in the Sea of ​​Marmara, arrived in Constantinople on October 27 and settled on the Bosporus ( ).

the 3rd of November. In connection with the news received the day before about the declaration of war on Turkey, the commander of the squadron cruising off the Caucasian coast, Vice Admiral Nakhimov, issued an order explaining his intentions in the event of a meeting with the enemy: “... Having the news that the Turkish fleet went to sea with the intention of occupying the port of Sukhum-Kale, which belongs to us (Adjutant General Kornilov was sent from Sevastopol with 6 ships to search for it), the enemy’s intention cannot be fulfilled otherwise than by passing us by or giving us a battle. In the first case, I hope for the vigilant supervision of Messrs. commanders and officers, in the second, with God's help and confidence in my commanders and officers and teams, I hope to accept the battle with honor and prevent the enemy from fulfilling his daring intention. Without expounding on instructions, I will express my thought that, in my opinion, in naval affairs, close distance from the enemy and mutual assistance to each other is the best tactic» { }.

November 4. 6-push was cruising off the Anatolian coast. The steamer "Bessarabia" (Lieutenant-Captain Shchegolev) captured, without firing a shot, in the Sinop area the Turkish steamer "Mejari-Tejaret", armed with 4 cannons and having a vehicle of 200 forces. Enlisted in the Russian fleet, this ship was named "Turk" ( ).

November 5. Taking 11-push. steamship-frigate "Vladimir" (Lieutenant Captain G.I. Butakov, flag of Vice Admiral V.A. Kornilov) in the Penderaklia area after a three-hour battle of the Turkish-Epipetian 10-push. the steamer "Pervaz-Bahri", listed in the lists of the fleet under the name "Kornilov". Turkish losses: 58 people, Russian losses: 2 killed and 3 wounded.
The battle between "Vladimir" and "Pervaz-Bahri" was the world's first collision of steam ships, in which Russian sailors under the command of G.I. Butakov won ( ).

November 7. In order to return the border coastal fortification of St. Nicholas (south of Poti) captured by the Turks in October, a detachment of the Black Sea Fleet consisting of 2 frigates, 2 corvettes and 4 steamships under the command of Vice Admiral L.M. Serebryakov bombarded the fortification for two hours to ensure success shore-directed ground forces. Due to the fact that the attack from land was not carried out, and a sharp drop in the barometer threatened a storm, the detachment was forced to move away from the coast ( ).

November 9. 44-push fight. frigate "Flora" (Lieutenant-Captain A.N. Skorobogatov) in the Pitsunda area 12 miles from the coast with three Turkish steamships: "Taif", "Feizi-Bahri" and "Saik-Ishade" (62 guns for all). Being in combat contact with the enemy from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m., the sailing frigate, in low wind conditions, with skillful maneuvering repelled all attempts of the enemy, who was not dependent on the wind, to carry out an attack with joint forces and, having caused damage to the enemy’s flagship steamer, forced him to abandon further battle and move away. Having received two surface holes during the entire battle, the frigate Flora had neither wounded nor killed ( ).

November 18th. Battle of Sinop. The squadron of Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov, consisting of three battleships, on November 11 discovered and blocked the main forces of the Turkish fleet in Sinop Bay. On November 16, a detachment of Rear Admiral F.M. Novosilskoto, consisting of 3 battleships and 2 frigates, joined the squadron. After this, Nakhimov decided to attack and destroy the Turkish fleet. On the eve of the battle, November 17, he issued an order outlining the plan of attack. " Finally, - wrote Nakhimov, - I I will express my thought that all preliminary instructions under changed circumstances can make it difficult for a commander who knows his business, and therefore I leave everyone completely independently to act at their own discretion, but will certainly fulfill their duty».

The balance of power between the parties was as follows:

a) the Russian squadron consisted of 6 battleships - 84 ships. “Empress Maria” (flag of Vice Admiral Nakhimov, commander - Captain 2nd Rank P.I. Baranovsky), 120-punch. “Paris” (flag of Rear Admiral Novosilsky, commander - Captain 1st Rank V.I. Istomin). 120-push. “Vel. Prince Konstantin" (captain 2nd rank L.A. Ergomyshev), 120 guns. “Three Saints” (captain 1st rank K. Kutrov), 84-gun. "Chesma" (captain 2nd rank V.M. Mikryukov), 84 guns. "Rostislav" (captain 1st rank A.D. Kuznetsov) and 2 frigates - 54-gun. “Kulevchi” (Lieutenant-Captain L. Budishev) and 44-gun. “Kahul” (Lieutenant-Captain A.P. Spitsyn), a total of 8 ships with a total of 710 guns, including 76 bomb guns.

b) The Turkish fleet under the command of Admiral Osman Pasha consisted of 7 frigates - 44 ships. "Auni-Allah" (flag), 44-push. "Fazli-Allah", 58-push. “Forever-Bahri”, 60-push. "Nesimi-Zefer", 62-push. "Nizamiye", 56-push. "Damiad", 54-push. “Kaidi-Zefer, 3 corvettes - 24 guns. "Nedzhemi-Feshan", 22-push. "Guli-Sefid", 24-push. “Feyzy-Meobud”, 2 steamships - 20 push. "Taif", 4-push. "Erikli" and 4 transports with a total of 472 guns. The fleet was protected by 6 coastal batteries (24 guns). On the ships of the Turkish squadron, there were British officers as instructors. The steamship Taif was commanded by the Englishman Sled.

November 18 at 9 a.m. 30 min. the signal was raised on the Russian flagship ship: “Prepare for battle and go to the Sinop raid.” The squadron marched in two columns: one was the ship “Empress Maria” (Nakhimov’s flag), followed by “Vel. Prince Konstantin" and "Chesma"; the other is “Paris” (the flag of Novosilsky), followed by “Three Saints” and “Rostislav”. The frigates "Kahul" and "Kulevchi" remained under sail at the exit from Sinop Bay to monitor the steamers and prevent their escape.

When the Russian ships entered the raid, the Turkish flagship Auni-Allah opened fire, followed by the rest of the enemy ships and coastal batteries. The Russian ships, having returned fire, continued to approach and anchored according to the intended disposition.

Half an hour after the start of the battle, the Empress Maria set fire to the Turkish flagship frigate Auni-Allah, and then Fazli-Allah (the former Russian frigate Rafail, taken by the Turks in 1829), which, having riveted the ropes, jumped ashore . After this, the Empress Maria transferred fire to the coastal batteries and the enemy ships that continued to resist.

The battleship Paris fired at several ships, blew up the corvette Guli-Sefid, and knocked out the frigate Damiad and Nizamiye, which caught fire and washed ashore. He then fired at the coastal batteries. " It was impossible to stop admiring the beautiful and calmly calculated actions of the ship "Paris", - Nakhimov wrote in the report, - I ordered to express his gratitude to him during the battle itself, but there was nothing to raise the signal on: all the halyards were broken».

"Chesma" and "Vel. Prince Konstantin" blew up the frigate "Navek-Bakhri", with fire "Vel. Prince Constantine" the frigate "Nesimi-Zefer" and the corvette "Nedzhemi-Feshan" were hit and washed ashore.

The fire of the ship “Three Saints” destroyed the frigate “Kaadi-Zefer” (it flew into the air).

"Rostislav" knocked out the corvette "Feyzi-Meabud", which, having washed ashore, burned out and destroyed one battery.

By the end of the four-hour battle, the Turkish squadron and coastal batteries were destroyed. Only one 22-push was saved. steamship "Taif". Having broken through from the roadstead after a firefight with the frigates "Kahul" and "Kulevchi" and leaving the bay, the "Taif" met at sea with a detachment of steamers ("Odessa", "Crimea" and "Khersones") under the command of Vice Admiral V.A. Kornilov, heading from Sevastopol to Sinop to reinforce Nakhimov’s squadron. Taking advantage of its speed advantage, the Taif broke through after a short battle and, arriving in Constantinople, notified the Turkish government of the destruction of Osman Pasha's squadron. Of the 4,500 Turkish crew, two thirds were killed. Many Turks were captured, including Admiral Osman Pasha and 2 commanders.

Damage and shell consumption on Russian ships during the battle are shown in the table:

The Russians had no losses in ships. During the battle, the squadron suffered 37 killed and 229 wounded.

The Sinop victory showed the high fighting qualities of the sailors who went through the school of admirals Lazarev and Nakhimov. " Sinop battle, - contemporaries wrote, - which proved the excellent condition of the Black Sea Fleet and the acquaintance of the Russians with the latest improvements in military affairs, aroused lively joy in Russia, and the name of Pavel Stepanovich became known to every Russian person».

Summing up the results of the battle, P.S. Nakhimov wrote in an order dated November 23, 1853: “ The destruction of the Turkish fleet in Sinop by a squadron under my command cannot but leave a glorious page in the history of the Black Sea Fleet. I express my sincere gratitude to the second flagship(to Rear Admiral Novosilsky - Ed.) as my main assistant and who, walking at the forefront of his column, so fearlessly led it into battle. G.g. to the commanders of ships and frigates for the cool and precise ordering of their ships according to a given disposition during strong enemy fire, as well as for their unshakable courage in the continuation of the case itself, I turn with gratitude to the officers for the undaunted and precise performance of their duty, I thank the teams who fought like lions».

The Battle of Sinop was the last great battle of sailing ships and the first battle in which bomb guns were used ( ).

December 2nd. The pilot schooner (hydrographic vessel) "Alupka", having been carried by a NO storm to the Turkish shores and having a strong leak, was forced to rescue the crew, throwing 6 falconets, signal books, etc. into the sea, and go down to the Bosporus, where she was captured captured by the Turks ( ).

December 23. The united Anglo-French fleet sailed from the Bosporus into the Black Sea in order to protect the coast of Turkey and its fleet from attacks by the Russian fleet ( ).

28th of February. The conclusion of an alliance treaty between Turkey, England and France, according to which the latter two states pledged to provide armed assistance to Turkey in its fight against Russia ( ).

March 31. An English military steamer that appeared near Sevastopol, noticing a Russian sailing merchant schooner heading to Evpatoria, tried to capture it, but due to the approach of the frigates “Kahul” and “Kulevchi” chasing it, it was forced to abandon it and hastily leave ( ).

April 10th. The bombardment of Odessa by the Anglo-French fleet consisting of 19 battleships and 10 steam-frigates, accompanied by an enemy attempt to land troops to occupy the city, which was repulsed by coastal batteries ().

April 30. While conducting reconnaissance near Odessa, the English military frigate "Tiger", following in thick fog, jumped onto the rocks 6 kilometers from the Odessa lighthouse and was fired upon by a field artillery semi-battery, which caused serious damage to the ship. The crew surrendered to the Russians, and the ship, due to the impossibility of removing it, was burned ( ).

June 3. The appearance in front of Sevastopol of a detachment of 2 English and 1 French steamship-frigates (52 guns) and the pursuit of them by a detachment of 6 Russian steamship-frigates - “Vladimir”, “Gromonosets”, “Bessarabia”, “Crimea”, “Odessa” and “Khersones” "(33 guns) - under the command of Rear Admiral Panfilov. Taking advantage of their superior speed, the enemy, after a short firefight, went to sea ( ).

the 14 th of July. The Anglo-French fleet, consisting of 21 ships, approached Sevastopol, but the fire of coastal batteries forced the enemy to retreat to Cape Lucullus ( ).

September 1 - 7. The allied Anglo-French fleet, leaving its base in Varna, consisting of 89 warships and 300 transport ships, approached Yevpatoria and began landing troops. In six days, 62,000 people were landed with 134 guns (28,000 French, 27,000 British, 7,000 Turks). Without encountering resistance due to the absence of any troops or means of defense in Yevpatoria, the allies occupied the city and captured significant reserves of grain, intended even before the war for export abroad. Subsequently, before the creation of the French base in Kamysheva Bay near Sevastopol and the English one in Balaklava, Evpatoria served until the end of November as the main base of the Anglo-French fleet and the unloading point for supplies brought for the allied army ().

September 7. The steamship Taman, under the command of Lieutenant Shishkin, while cruising off Cape Kerempe, captured a Turkish merchant brig and, after removing its crew, burned it ( ).

8 September. In the battle of the Alma River, as part of the ground forces of the Crimean Army A.S. Menshikov, a battalion of Black Sea sailors took part under the command of Lieutenant Commander Rachinsky with 4 naval landing guns. The battalion was in a rifle chain in front of the center of the position of the Russian troops near the village of Burliuk ().

September 9 - 11. In view of the unsuccessful outcome of the battle of Alma, the commander-in-chief of the naval and ground forces in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, fearing a breakthrough of the enemy fleet into the Sevastopol roadstead simultaneously with an attack by ground forces on the fortifications of the Northern side, ordered Vice Admiral Kornilov to block the enemy from penetrating the roadstead to flood part of the roadstead at the entrance to it. ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Having gathered a council of flagships and commanders, Kornilov proposed to go to sea and attack the enemy fleet, at least at the cost of the destruction of the fleet. However, the majority supported the sinking of ships upon entering the roadstead and the use of ship crews and guns for land defense.
On the night of September 11, after Menshikov’s repeated order, 5 battleships (“Three Saints”, “Uriel”, “Varna”, “Silistria” and “Selafail”) and 2 frigates (“Sizopol” and “Selafail”) were sunk at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay Flora"), the crews and guns from which were transferred to the Sevastopol garrison. During the entire siege, up to 2,000 naval guns with ammunition and personnel of up to 10,000 people were transferred from the ships of the Black Sea Fleet to the bastions and batteries of Sevastopol ( ).

11 September. Appointment of Vice Admiral V.A. Kornilov as the chief of defense of the Northern side and Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov as the chief of defense of the southern side of Sevastopol ( ).

September 14. In connection with the decision of the Anglo-French ground command to capture Sevastopol from the southern side, the allied fleet moved its base from Yevpatoria: the British to Balaklava, the French to Kamysheva Bay near Sevastopol ( ).

September 20. The steamship-frigate "Vladimir" (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov), being in a position in front of Kilenbukhta, together with the batteries of Malakhov Kurgan, the third and fourth bastions, fired at the location of the British on the slopes of Sapun Mountain and forced them to retreat inland ( ).

September 22nd. An attack by an Anglo-French detachment consisting of 4 steam-frigates (72 guns) on the Ochakov fortress and the Russian rowing flotilla located here, consisting of 2 small steamers and 8 rowing gunboats (36 guns) under the command of captain 2nd rank Endogurov. After a three-hour long-range firefight, the enemy ships, having received damage, went to sea ( ).

September 25. Night foray from the 5th bastion of a detachment of hunters, including 155 people, including 80 sailors under the command of Lieutenant P.F. Gusakov, against the French trenches at Rudolf Mountain. The attack discovered by the French was repulsed. Due to ignorance, upon returning, the hunters were mistaken for the enemy and fired upon by their own batteries. Noting this incident in his order, Vice Admiral V.A. Kornilov emphasized the need for coordinated actions of individual commanders and demanded mutual awareness of the planned actions of the units ().

October 5. The first bombardment of Sevastopol from land and sea. With the beginning of the bombardment of Sevastopol from land, the allied Anglo-French fleet consisting of 29 battleships (English - 4 screw and 9 sailing; French - 5 screw and 9 sailing and 2 Turkish sailing) and 21 steamships, approaching the entrance to Sevastopol Bay, bombarded the city and the coastal fortifications of the South and North sides, having 1340 guns against 115 Russians and firing up to 50,000 shells within 8 hours. A number of Allied ships were damaged and disabled by the return fire of the Russian batteries. Thus, the English ship "Albion" received 93 holes and lost all three masts, the French ship "Paris" - 50 holes, 3 of them underwater; Fires broke out on many ships. Two ships were sent to Constantinople for repairs due to severe damage. The damage received by the ships forced the allied naval command to abandon the continuation of the bombardment and withdraw with the fleet to their bases, as a result of which further shelling of Sevastopol was carried out only from land. During the bombing, Vice Admiral V.A. Kornilov, one of the organizers and leaders of the city’s defense, was mortally wounded by a cannonball on Malakhov Kurgan and died on the same day.
Taking part in the return fire from the Sevastopol raid were the steamship-frigates “Vladimir” (Captain 2nd Rank G.I. Butakov) and “Khersones” (Lieutenant-Captain I. Rudnev), who fired at the English batteries that were operating against the Malakhov Kurgan, which significantly degree affected the results of enemy fire.
Assessing the results of the first bombardment by the enemy and the Russian defense of Sevastopol, K. Marx wrote: “. ..in a few hours the Russians silenced the fire of the French batteries and throughout the whole day fought an almost equal battle with the English batteries... The Russian defense greatly sobered up the victors at Alma» { }.

October 6 - 8. In response to the ongoing bombardment of Sevastopol from land, the steamship-frigate "Vladimir" (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov), standing on the Sevastopol roadstead, systematically fired at the British batteries installed on Sapun Mountain, thereby weakening their fire on the fortifications of the Malakhov Kurgan and the third bastion. In three days, the steamship frigate received 6 holes, 3 of them underwater ( ).

On the night of October 9. A foray of two teams of hunters (212 people, including 29 sailors) under the command of Lieutenant P. Troitsky and Midshipman S. Putyatin into the area of ​​the French trenches. Despite the death of both commanders in battle, the hunters, breaking into the trenches and stabbing the French who were there, riveted 8 mortars and 11 cannons and caused major alarm throughout the entire French line of fortifications ( ).

October 12. The fire ship "Bug" under the command of Lieutenant K.P. Golenko, who had the task of attacking the French squadron located in Kamysheva Bay, was forced to return back, since upon leaving Sevastopol Bay it was fired upon by Russian coastal batteries, which were not warned of the intended attack ().

October 24. The steamship-frigates “Vladimir” (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov) and “Chersones” (captain-lieutenant I. Rudnev), covering the withdrawal of Russian troops to Sevastopol after the Battle of Inkerman, with well-aimed fire forced the French field battery, which was shelling the retreaters, to withdraw from the position and escape from the fire ( ).

November 24. The steamship-frigates “Vladimir” (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov) and “Khersones” (captain-lieutenant I. Rudnev), leaving the Sevastopol roadstead at sea, attacked the French steamer stationed at Pesochnaya Bay and forced it to leave. After an unsuccessful pursuit, “Khersones” and “Vladimir”, approaching Streletskaya Bay, fired bombs at the French camp located on the shore and enemy steamers. In view of the approach of the latter, “Khersones” and “Vladimir”, having started a firefight, began to retreat to Sevastopol in order to lure the enemy under the shots of coastal batteries. Having come under fire from the latter, the enemy steamers received a number of damage to the hull and mast ( ).

29th of November. A night foray by a detachment of plastuns, numbering about 500 people, to destroy the trench work carried out by the French in front of the fourth bastion. A detachment of 20 sailors under the command of Lieutenant F. Titov with two mountain guns also took part in the sortie, who was tasked with a sudden attack on enemy trenches to divert the enemy’s attention from the direction of the main sortie.
Having successfully completed the task, Titov's detachment returned without losses, giving the plastuns the opportunity to quietly approach the French trenches and, breaking into them, destroy about 150 French people, destroy the work done, rivet 4 mortars and capture 3 small mortars and a lot of weapons ().

November 30th. Night foray of a detachment of 80 sailor-hunters under the command of Lieutenant L.I. Batyanov from the 4th bastion to the location of the French trenches with the aim of destroying them.
Having successfully completed the task, the detachment captured 3 mortars, many weapons and prisoners, but the detachment commander was mortally wounded.
At the same time, a detachment of 20 sailors with two mountain guns under the command of Lieutenant F. Titov made the same successful foray into the French trenches against the fifth bastion ( ).

December 3. The night foray of midshipman V. Titov with four mountain unicorns from redoubt No. 1 into the French camp, which caused a commotion in the ranks of the enemy ( ).

December 6. Decree equating participants in the defense of Sevastopol with one month of service on the bastions per year of service ( ).

9th December. A night foray of two parties of hunters, mainly sailors of the third bastion under the command of Lieutenant N.A. Biryulev and Lieutenant N.Ya. Astapov, to the location of the English trenches. Having quickly burst into them and bayoneted the British who were there, the hunters, having captured 3 officers and 33 soldiers, returned, having lost 4 killed and 22 wounded ( ).

December 19th. A night foray by a detachment of sailor-hunters under the command of Lieutenant N.A. Biryulev, who with a bayonet attack knocked out the enemy from a newly dug trench against the 4th bastion ( ).

December 26. Night foray of a detachment of sailors under the command of Lieutenant P. Zavalishin from the fifth bastion to the location of the French trenches. Having attacked the trenches and knocked out the French from them with bayonets, the detachment was forced, due to the enemy receiving strong reinforcements, to retreat ( ).

31th of December. Night foray of two detachments of hunters, sailors and soldiers under the command of lieutenants N.A. Biryulev and N.Ya. Astapov from the third bastion to the location of the English and French trenches.
Lieutenant Biryulev's detachment, after a bayonet fight with the enemy, occupied the French trenches and mortar battery No. 21, where they riveted mortars and took prisoners. Lieutenant Astapov's detachment also successfully occupied and destroyed the English trenches, capturing an English guard picket of 13 people ( )

January 8. Night foray of a detachment of hunter-sailors and soldiers from the fifth bastion under the command of lieutenants F. Titov and P. A. Zavalishin to destroy the French trenches. Having knocked out the enemy with a bayonet strike, the detachment managed to destroy the trenches before the arrival of French reinforcements and retreated with a fight ( ).

January 20th. A sortie of a detachment of sailors under the command of Lieutenant N.A. Biryulev from the third bastion against the French trenches, where destruction was caused and prisoners were taken. During the hand-to-hand fight, when the French forced out of the trenches opened rifle fire, sailor Ignatius Shevchenko, seeing that the French shooters were aiming at Biryulev, rushed to him and shielded him from the bullets, one of which killed Shevchenko.
The quartermaster of the 30th naval crew, Petr Koshka, who had distinguished himself many times before, took part in the same sortie. Seriously wounded in a bayonet fight, he remained in service until the end of the battle ( ).

12th of February. The repulsion of the French night attack on the Selenga redoubt was facilitated by the steamship-frigate "Vladimir" (captain 2nd rank G.I. Butakov), the steamships "Khersones" and "Gromonoeets" and the battleship "Chesma", which were on the roadstead, hitting the advancing enemy with their fire and its reserves located in the Georgievskaya Balka area ( ).

On the night of February 13. By order of A.S. Menshikov, the battleships “Twelve Apostles”, “Svyatoslav”, “Rostislav”, frigates “Kahul” and “Mesemvria” ( ) were additionally sunk between the Nikolaev and Mikhailovskaya batteries.

February 22. The shelling of the steamships "Khersones" and "Gromonosets" from the Big Roadstead of a 9-gun French battery erected at a height between the Sushilnaya and Volovya beams. After an hour-long firefight, the battery was brought to silence. The steamer "Khersones" received 6 holes, 3 of which were underwater ( ).

28th of February. Night foray of a party of 80 sailor-hunters under the command of Lieutenant N. Astapov and Midshipman N. Maksheev from the third bastion into the English trenches. Having dispersed the enemy and destroyed the trenches, the hunters brought 100 aurochs to the bastion. In the morning, midshipman Maksheev repeated the sortie, obtaining another 30 tours, which, together with the previous ones, were used to strengthen the defense of the bastion fortifications ( ).

March 7. During the bombing, one of the remarkable organizers of the defense of Sevastopol, Rear Admiral Vladimir Ivanovich Istomin, was killed by a cannonball on the Malakhov Kurgan. Noting his merits, Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov wrote: “ The defense of Sevastopol lost in him one of its main figures, constantly inspired by noble energy and heroic determination...». « Strength of character in the most difficult circumstances, sacred performance of duty and vigilant care for his subordinates earned him general respect and genuine grief over his death.» { }.

10th of March. Participation in a joint night sortie from Sevastopol with ground units of four parties of sailor-hunters consisting of about 630 people under the overall command of captain 2nd rank L.I. Budishchev. Of these, two parties under the command of Lieutenant N. Biryulev and Midshipman N. Maksheev, burst into English batteries No. 7 and No. 8, killed their personnel and riveted all the guns and mortars. The party under the command of midshipman P. Zavalishin, entering the flank and rear of the French trenches, forced the French to clear them, which contributed to the overall success of the sortie. The party under the command of Lieutenant N. Astapov, having knocked out the enemy cover located here from the trenches, ensured success in capturing and destroying the British batteries.
2 officers and 12 privates were captured; British losses: 8 officers and 78 privates killed. Russian losses: 2 officers and 10 sailors killed and 4 officers and 60 sailors wounded ( ).

26 March. Night foray of a detachment of 20 sailor-hunters under the command of midshipman Fedorovsky from Sevastopol against the English trenches. Secretly making their way to the English front line, the hunters captured a sentry and, having caused destruction in the trenches, returned back with one wounded ( ).

March 27. P.S. Nakhimov was promoted to admiral. In this regard, Nakhimov addressed the defenders of Sevastopol and expressed gratitude to the admirals, officers and sailors for their heroic service to their homeland. In an order for the Sevastopol port dated April 12, he wrote: “ The enviable fate of having subordinates under my command who adorn their boss with their valor fell to me. I hope that Messrs. admirals, captains and officers will allow me here to express the sincerity of my gratitude with the knowledge that, heroically defending Sevastopol, precious to the sovereign and Russia, they gave me undeserved mercy. Sailors! Should I tell you about your exploits in defense of our native Sevastopol and the fleet? From a young age I was a constant witness to your labors and readiness to die at the first order; we became friends a long time ago; I have been proud of you since childhood. We will defend Sevastopol... you will give me the opportunity to wear my flag on the main topmast with the same honor with which I wore it thanks to you and under other sails; ...on the bastions of Sevastopol we did not forget maritime affairs, but only strengthened the animation and discipline that have always adorned the Black Sea sailors» { }.

March 28 - April 6. Second Allied bombing of Sevastopol. In ten days, the enemy fired 168,000 shells from 482 guns; Russian batteries of 466 guns (mostly removed from ships and served by sailors) fired 88,700 shells. Allied losses - 1852 people, Russian losses - 5986 people.
Vigorously repairing at night the destruction of the batteries and defensive line caused during the day, the defenders forced the enemy to abandon the assault ( ).

April 7. A sortie of a detachment with the participation of sailor-hunters under the command of Lieutenant-Commander N. Astapov from the third bastion against the English trenches. Having attacked one of the lodgements, the detachment knocked the British out of it with a bayonet strike ( ).

April 24. Night foray of a detachment of hunters consisting of 100 sailors and soldiers under the command of midshipman N. Maksheev from the third bastion against the English trenches. Having knocked out the enemy with a bayonet attack and captured prisoners, the detachment returned to its location ( ).

12 May. The united Anglo-French fleet, consisting of about 80 pennants with a landing force of 16,000 people, approached Cape Kamysh-Burun and landed troops, occupied Kerch, the small garrison of which went to Feodosia. 3 steamships and 10 transports and small vessels caught in Kerch harbor were burned by their crews. The brig "Argonaut", under the command of Lieutenant-Commander E.A. Serebryakov, entered into an unequal battle with the English steam schooner "Snake", which had superiority in machine power and armament, causing the latter several damages. Taking advantage of the blowing wind, the Russian brig broke away from the enemy and went to Berdyansk ( ).

May 25 - 30. The third bombardment of Sevastopol by the Anglo-French and the assault on May 27, during which the allies managed to capture the Selenga and Volyn redoubts and the Kamchatka lunette advanced forward.
After the general (third) bombardment of the entire defensive line of Sevastopol, the French concentrated over 9 divisions (35,000 people) on the left flank of the Russian position and attacked the forward Volyn and Selenga redoubts and the Kamchatka lunette, for the possession of which the most stubborn struggle took place. Knocked out several times by Russian counterattacks, the French, supported by the British, finally pushed the defenders back to the Malakhov Kurgan. Admiral Nakhimov, who was on the lunette, was surrounded, but together with the remnants of the lunette garrison he made his way out of the enemy ring.
Having suffered heavy losses while repelling the assault, the commandant sailors riveted all their guns before leaving the lunette.
Significant losses were inflicted on the Allies during their assault on the Kamchatka lunette by the steamship-frigates “Vladimir” (Captain 2nd Rank G.I. Butakov), “Crimea” (Lieutenant-Captain P.D. Protopopov) and “Khersones” (Lieutenant-Captain I. .Rudnev), who fired at the enemy from Kilen Bay. On May 27, “Vladimir”, “Crimea”, “Gromonosets” and “Odessa” successfully fired from the raid at the Selenginsky and Volynsky redoubts, occupied by the French the day before.
During the fighting, the Allies lost 6,200 people, the Russians 5,500 people, of which sailors - 12 officers killed, 51 wounded, sailors 117 killed and 878 wounded and shell-shocked; of the latter, more than half remained in service ( ).

Spring. Laying of minefields by the Russians in the Black Sea (in the Kerch Strait 40 minutes), near Yenikale (40 minutes) and near Kerch (20 minutes) ( ).

June 5 - 6. The fourth bombing of Sevastopol by the Anglo-French, after which the enemy launched a general assault, but it was repulsed everywhere. Significant assistance in repelling the assault on the first and second bastions was provided by the steamship-frigate “Vladimir” (Captain 2nd Rank G.I. Butakov), “Gromonosets” (Lieutenant-Captain I.G. Popandopulo), “Khersones” (Lieutenant-Captain I. Rudnev), "Crimea" (Captain 1st Rank P.D. Protopopov), "Bessarabia" (Lieutenant-Captain P. Shchegolev) and "Odessa" (Lieutenant Wulfert), which took positions in front of the entrance to Kilenbukhta and hit with grapeshot as advancing troops, and their reserves accumulated in Kilen Balka.
During the bombing and assault, the Allies spent 72,000 shells, the Russians 19,000. The losses of the Allies were 7,000 people, the Russians were 4,800 people. Assessing the results of this unsuccessful assault for the Allies, Marx wrote: “ June 18(n.st. - Ed.) In 1855, the Battle of Waterloo was to be played out near Sevastopol in the best edition and in the opposite direction. But instead, the first serious defeat of the French-English army occurs» { }.

June 28. During a detour around the fortifications of the defensive line, he was mortally wounded by a rifle bullet in the temple on the Kornilov Bastion (Malakhov Kurgan) and on June 30, the outstanding Russian naval commander, head of the defense of Sevastopol, Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov ( ).

July 13. The steamship-frigate "Vladimir" (Captain 1st Rank G.I. Butakov) successfully operated from Kilen-Balka against French fortifications during a night foray of hunters from the second bastion of Sevastopol ( ).

August 5 - 8. The fifth bombing of Sevastopol by the Anglo-French, during which the Allies fired 56,500 shells, the Russians - 29,400. Russian losses - up to 3,000 people, allies - 750 people.
In fact, the bombing continued on a somewhat reduced scale even after August 8th. During the period from 9 to 25 August, the enemy fired 132,500 shells (an average of 9,000 per day), and the Russians fired 51,275 shells (an average of 3,000 per day). Russian losses during this period amounted to 8,921 people, allied losses to 3,500 ( ).

August 15. For communication between the South and North sides, a floating pontoon bridge about 900 meters long was built across the entire Sevastopol roadstead ( ).

August 24 - 27. The sixth bombardment of Sevastopol and the general assault on its defensive line, undertaken on August 27.
In repelling the assault on the second bastion, on which the main attack was directed (18,000 bayonets against 7,000), the steamship-frigates “Vladimir” (captain 1st rank G.I. Butakov), “Khersones” (captain-lieutenant Rudnev) took part in a position in Kilenbukht ) and “Odessa” (Lieutenant Wulfert), the fire of which inflicted enormous losses on the assaulting columns of the French. The steamship Vladimir achieved particular success, which, approaching almost close to the shore, bombarded the enemy with bombs and grapeshot, who renewed attacks on the bastion six times.
Simultaneously with the assault on the second bastion, the Malakhov Kurgan (Kornilovsky Bastion) was subjected to fierce attacks, on which, together with the ground units, there were a handful of sailors led by Lieutenant Commander P.A. Karpov. The capture of Malakhov Kurgan by the French decided the outcome of the assault.
During the bombing and assault, the defenders of Sevastopol lost about 12,030 people, the enemy - over 10,000 people ( ).

August 28. With the onset of dusk, at a signal from a rocket, the garrison of Sevastopol began to leave the bastions and fortifications of the South Side, crossing the pontoon bridge built across the Sevastopol roadstead to the North Side. At the same time, the allocated parties began to destroy and explode batteries, powder magazines, guns, etc., and the naval teams began to scuttle the remaining ships in the Sevastopol roadstead. The battleships Imp. Maria and Vel. were sunk. Prince Konstantin", "Paris", "Chesma", "Yagudiil", "Brave", 1 frigate, 1 corvette and 7 brigs.
The entire garrison of Sevastopol and naval teams settled on the fortifications of the Northern side to continue the fight ().

August 30. In connection with the abandonment of Sevastopol and the transfer of troops to the Northern side in the Sevastopol roadstead, after the removal of their guns and ammunition, the last ships of the Black Sea Fleet - 10 steamships (Vladimir, Gromonosets, Bessarabia, Crimea, Odessa) were sunk , “Chersonese”, “Elborus”, “Danube”, “Grozny”, “Turk”) and 1 transport (“Gagra”) ( ).

October 5. The Anglo-French fleet bombed the Kinburn fortress, which covered the entrance to the Dnieper-Bug estuary. In this bombardment, the newly appeared armored ships were used for the first time - the French steam floating batteries "Lave", "Tonnante" and "Devastation" of 1400 tons with wooden hulls sheathed along the sides with four-inch side iron armor. Approaching a distance of 4 cables, the floating batteries with their 50-pound cannonballs completely destroyed the fortifications of Kinburn, without receiving serious damage, since numerous cannonballs of Russian cannons that hit the armor either split upon impact or left minor dents. After the defeat of the Kinburn fortifications and the transport of troops from the allied fleet, Kinburn was forced to surrender ( ).

Actions on the Danube

October 11. A detachment of the Danube river flotilla, consisting of two steamships “Prut” and “Ordinarets” and 8 rowing gunboats taken on board and in tow under the command of captain 2nd rank Varpakhovsky, with the task of passing from Izmail to Galati, when moving past the Turkish fortress of Isakchi, came under fire her batteries. Carrying out a breakthrough, the detachment had an hour and a half artillery exchange with Turkish batteries and destroyed 3 guns.
The breakthrough conditions, complicated by the fact that the steamships, having gunboats in tow, were unable to develop more than 2.5 knots against the current, led to the fact that the Russian ships suffered a significant number of damage from enemy shells. Detachment losses: 7 killed (including the head of the detachment, captain 2nd rank Varpakhovsky) and 51 wounded ( ).

March 8 - 9. In order to cover the crossing of Russian troops to the right bank of the Danube near Galati, a detachment of the Danube river flotilla consisting of the steamer "Prut" and three rowing gunboats fired at the enemy bank in the crossing area ( ).

March 9 - 10. For the purpose of demonstration, during the crossing of Russian troops to the right bank of the Danube near Galati, two rowing gunboats from the Danube river flotilla under the command of Lieutenant Martyn fired intensively at the Turkish batteries at Girsov ().

March 10 - 11. In order to ensure the crossing of Russian troops at Galati and clear the right bank of the Danube from the enemy, a detachment of the Danube river flotilla consisting of 6 rowing gunboats under the command of Captain 1st Rank Bernard de Grave, taking a position near the mouth of the Machinsky branch, silenced the Turkish batteries with their fire and thus contributed to the success of the crossing of Russian troops.
The steamship Prut, which joined the detachment on March 11, after participating in the shelling of the coast, having carried out reconnaissance of the coast and making sure that it was cleared of the enemy, reported this to the ground command, which ordered the start of the crossing, which was carried out without hindrance ().

11th of March. A detachment of the Danube river flotilla consisting of 14 rowing gunboats under the command of Rear Admiral A.D. Kuznetsov, covering the crossing of Russian troops across the Danube at the island of Chatal, fired at the Turkish fortifications located here from dawn until noon ( ).

11th of March. A detachment of the Danube river flotilla, consisting of the steamship "Ordinarets" and three rowing gunboats under the command of Lieutenant Commander Kononovich, covering the crossing of Russian troops across the Danube at Galati, fired at Turkish coastal fortifications ().

March 12. A detachment of the Danube river flotilla consisting of 14 rowing gunboats under the command of Rear Admiral A.D. Kuznetsov assisted the ground forces in building a pontoon bridge across the Sulina branch ( ).

April 29. A detachment of 3 gunboats of the Danube river flotilla under the command of Captain 1st Rank Bernard de Grave, together with a coastal battery located on the left bank of the Danube, bombarded from a distance of 20 cables the fortifications of the eastern front of the Turkish fortress of Silistria ().

April 30. With the assistance of the vessels of the Danube river flotilla, Russian troops occupied the island of Salani, located opposite Silistria, and used it to build siege batteries here ( ).

16th of May. The firing of the steamer "Prut" and two gunboats of the Danube river flotilla under the command of Captain 1st Rank Bernard de Grave of the fortifications of the eastern front of the Silistria fortress at a distance of 7 cables during the assault on it by ground forces under the command of General Schilder ( ).

June 15. A detachment of gunboats from the Danube river flotilla, covering the withdrawal of Russian troops from Silistria and the construction of the pontoon bridge built here, with their fire held back the advance of units of the Turkish garrison of Silistria, who were trying to prevent the withdrawal and construction of the bridge ().

December 26. A detachment of the Danube river flotilla under the command of Rear Admiral Tsebrikov, with its fire, facilitated the return crossing of Russian troops across the Danube at Tulcha ().

Actions on the Baltic Sea

March 31. The English fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Napier, consisting of 13 screw and 6 sailing battleships, 23 steam frigates and steamships, entered the Gulf of Finland and declared a blockade of the Russian coast of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, Finland and Riga ( ).

April 2. In order to provide skerry flotillas of gunboats and coastal defense of the Baltic Sea with personnel, the first call for naval militia from among volunteers in the St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Tver and Olonets provinces took place. The registration made significantly exceeded the target number of conscription, giving from the day it began to May 22 7132 people who expressed a desire to join the naval militia. By the end of April, the first militia battalion had already been formed and assigned to serve on the gunboat flotilla. According to the general response of the command, during the two years of war, the naval militias proved themselves to be disciplined and courageous warriors who quickly mastered the requirements of naval service in a combat situation ().

April 6. An attempt to shell the city of Ganga by several English ships. Intense fire from coastal batteries forced the enemy to go to sea ( ).

May 7 - 8. An attack by an English screw frigate and a rowing barge on the town of Eknes, repulsed by Russian coastal batteries ( ).

May 10. Attack of 6 English steamships on the Ganges with the support of 26 ships stationed in the roadstead. After a five-hour firefight with coastal batteries, having received serious damage, the enemy ships went to sea ( ).

26 of May. Two English warships (16-gun "Oden" and 6-gun "Vulture"), having received the task of reconnaissance about the Russian forces on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia and destroying the military and merchant ships located here, attacked the small unprotected Finnish port of Gamle -Karleby, making an attempt to land about 350 people, sent on 9 longboats armed with small guns. As the landing party approached the shore, it was met by fire from a small coastal detachment, reinforced by volunteers from local residents. After a 45-minute battle, having lost one barge sunk and having two others heavily damaged, the enemy was forced to hastily retreat. The defenders captured 1 flag, 1 cannon and 22 prisoners.
Having received the repulsed landing force, the ships, without taking any further action, went to sea ( ).

the 9th of June. Two steamship frigates and one screw corvette from among the English ships blockading the Åland Islands, approaching 10–12 cables to the fortifications of Bomarsund, tried to bombard them with large-caliber bomb guns. Return fire from the fortifications caused a fire on one of the enemy ships, and damaged the rudder on another, which forced the enemy to stop shelling and leave ( ).

12 June. The French fleet, consisting of 1 screw and 8 sailing battleships, 1 screw and 6 sailing frigates and 4 paddle steamers, arrived in the Baltic Sea under the command of Vice Admiral Parseval-Deschene and joined the English fleet at Bare Zund ( ).

June 14. The combined Anglo-French fleet, consisting of 18 battleships, 8 frigates and several smaller ships under the command of Vice Admirals Napier and Parseval-Deschênes, appeared before Kronstadt with the aim of attacking it. However, having limited themselves to reconnaissance for a week and having discovered the extreme strength of Kronstadt’s defenses, the Allies abandoned the attack and retreated on June 20 to the island of Seskar ( ).

July 10. Vice Admiral Napier, having received a notice from the English Admiralty of consent to carry out his proposed operation against the Åland Islands (Bomarsund), completely moved the fleet from the island of Seskar to the Åland archipelago ( ).

July 15. Arrival on the Åland Islands to Bomarsund of the French squadron under the command of Admiral Parseval-Deschênes with the landing corps of General Baragay d'Ilier ( ).

26 July. The landing of the Anglo-French landing force of 11,000 people near Bomarsund. The unloading of siege weapons continued until July 29 ( ).

July 28 - August 4. Continuous bombardment of Bomarsund from land and sea by the Anglo-French, who fired up to 120,000 shells. On August 4, the completely destroyed fortress surrendered to the Anglo-French command (2,175 people and 112 guns) ( ).

July 29. While conducting reconnaissance near Bomarsund, the English screw frigate Penelope, while under fire from the Russian fort, jumped onto the rocks near the island of Prest-E. With the assistance of two steamships, the Penelope, which threw part of its guns into the water and received 9 holes from fire from the fort, barely got off the rocks and was towed away ( ).

10th of August. An attack by a detachment of English steam ships consisting of 2 steam-frigates, 1 sloop, 1 steamship and 1 schooner on the city of Abo with the aim of destroying the city and port. Met by fire from two military steamships and ten rowing gunboats under the command of Captain 1st Rank Akulov, the enemy, after a strong one and a half hour firefight at a distance of 12–20 cables, abandoned the intention to penetrate the Abo roadstead and retired to the sea ( ).

August, 26th. Departure of the French landing corps under the command of Barague d'Ilier from Beaumarsund to France ( ).

October 7th. The cessation of operations in the Baltic Sea and the withdrawal of the allied Anglo-French fleet from the Baltic to their bases.
As a result of the unsuccessful actions of the English fleet, Admiral Napier was replaced for the 1855 campaign by Admiral Dondas ( ).

April 28. Arrival of the English squadron under the command of Admiral Dondas, consisting of 17 battleships and 30 steam frigates and steamships, to the island of Nargen. Two weeks later (in mid-May) the squadron moved to Krasnaya Gorka. On May 19, it was joined by the French squadron of Admiral Peno, consisting of 3 battleships and 2 steamships ( ).

May 24. English steam 20-push. The frigate Cossack, approaching the Ganges, tried to land a landing party on a boat to destroy coastal telegraph (semaphore) posts, capture local pilots and requisition food. At the time of landing, the enemy was attacked by a local team, which sank the boat and captured the surviving people from the landing party, led by its commander. The next day, the frigate Cossack, having made sure that its landing party had been destroyed, fired at the Ganges to no avail, firing about 150 shells within 2 hours ( ).

The beginning of June. The united Anglo-French fleet under the command of Rear Admirals Dondas and Peno, consisting of: English - 19 screw and 2 sailing battleships, 4 screw frigates, 12 wheeled armed steamers, 16 mortar floating batteries, 16 gunboats and 23 small steam and sailing ships and French - 1 screw and 2 sailing battleships, 1 frigate, 1 corvette, 3 paddle steamers, 5 mortar floating batteries and 6 gunboats (101 pennants in total, about 2500 guns) approached Kronstadt, intending to attack it. Convinced of the strengthening of Kronstadt’s defensive means compared to the previous year, the Anglo-French command abandoned the attack and limited itself to a blockade, sending detachments from the main forces to carry out attacks on individual points on the coast of the Gulf of Finland ( ).

June 6 - 7. An English detachment consisting of 2 screw battleships and 2 steam gunboats, approaching the mouth of the Narova River, fired from the maximum distance at the coastal batteries located here and a detachment of 4 rowing gunboats under the command of Lieutenant Commander Stackelberg, intended to defend the entrance to the Narova River , as well as the village of Gungersburg (Ust-Narova). After an eight-hour bombardment, which caused fires in private houses in Hungersburg, but did not cause damage to the batteries and gunboats operating against him, the enemy retreated to the sea to the island of Seskar ( ).

June 8. A detachment of English and French steam ships, detached from the allied fleet located in front of Kronstadt, during a reconnaissance of the Kronstadt fortifications, ended up in the area of ​​minefields laid out by the Russians, and the steamship-frigate “Merlin” and the steamships “Firefly”, “Vulture” ran into mines. and "Bulldog".
Due to the small charge of mines (10–15 pounds of gunpowder), all ships remained afloat, receiving only minor damage that required minor dock repairs. However, as a result of the discovery of minefields laid in large quantities (the British caught up to 70 mines in various places), the Allied command came to the conclusion that it was impossible to carry out active operations from the sea against Kronstadt and therefore decided to limit themselves to a blockade ().

June 10th. The English frigate Amphion, sent to take measurements and establish fairways off the eastern coast of Sandhamn Island near Sveaborg, had a firefight with Russian coastal batteries and gunboats. Having received damage, the frigate departed( ).

July 1. A detachment of English steam ships consisting of a steam frigate, a corvette and a gunboat, accompanied by seven armed longboats with a landing force of about 700 people, attempted to penetrate through Transzond to Vyborg, and attacked a Russian detachment blocking its path, consisting of the steamer "Tosno" and 8 rowing gunboats under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Rudakov, who occupied a position between the islands of Ravensaari and Nikolaevsky. As a result of an hour-long battle, the enemy longboats, coming under fire from gunboats and gunfire from the islands, were forced to retreat with losses, and one longboat was sunk. Subsequently, having fired at the fortifications on the islands, the English detachment, abandoning attempts to penetrate the Vyborg Bay, retired ( ).

July 9. Shelling by a detachment of 4 English ships in the city of Friedrichsham. Met by fire from coastal batteries, the enemy retreated to sea ( ).

July 28 - 29. Bombardment of the Sveaborg fortress by the combined Anglo-French fleet.
The allied fleet under the command of the English Admiral Dondas and the French Admiral Penaud, consisting of an English squadron of 6 battleships, 4 frigates, 16 floating bombardment batteries, 16 gunboats, 8 steamships and 4 transports and a French squadron of 3 battleships, 1 frigate, 1 corvette , 1 steamship, 5 floating bombardment batteries, 6 gunboats (71 pennants, over 1000 guns), taking a position at a distance of 20–30 cables in front of Sveaborg, for two days bombarded ( ) its fortifications and Russian ships located between the islands in the passages ( 3 battleships, 1 frigate, 1 steam frigate, 1 schooner and 5 gunboats - 300 guns).
During forty-five hours of continuous shelling, the Allies fired up to 18,500 shells and about 700 incendiary rockets. The bombing and resulting fires destroyed a significant number of wooden buildings and warehouses, and also blew up four bomb magazines, but caused relatively little damage to the forts and batteries themselves. Of the Russian ships, the battleship Rossiya, which was stationed in the Gustavswert Passage, suffered the most, receiving 3 underwater holes and 43 hits in the surface hull and mast. During two days of Allied bombing of the Sveabort fortifications, Russian ships fired 2,800 rounds at the enemy. Garrison losses: 62 killed and 199 wounded, ship losses: 11 killed and 89 wounded (on the battleship "Russia"). Allied losses are unknown. Having failed to achieve the desired results by bombing, the allied fleet did not dare to force the Sveaborg passages in order to penetrate the inner roadstead and capture Sveaborg and Helsingfors, and retreated to the sea to the island of Nargen ( ).

July 29. English screw 84-push. The battleship "Hawke" and the corvette "Desperate", having passed into the Gulf of Riga and approaching the mouth of the Western Dvina, had an hour and a half firefight with the Riga battalion of the rowing flotilla (12 gunboats) under the command of Lieutenant Commander P. Istomin, after which they retreated to the sea ( ).

August 4. A shootout between a detachment of the Russian rowing flotilla consisting of 6 screw boats: “Shkval”, “Pike”, “Ruff”, “Zarnitsa”, “Gust” and “Burun” under the command of Rear Admiral S.I. Mofet, on the one hand, and three Allied ships (screw frigate and 2 steamships), on the other hand, near the Tolbukhin lighthouse, which lasted about two hours and ended without result for both sides ( )

August 21. Attack of an English steamer on the city of Gamle-Karleby. After a 3.5-hour firefight with coastal batteries, having received damage, the ship retired to sea ( ).

The beginning of November. After a six-month stay in the Baltic Sea, the allied Anglo-French fleet, without achieving any serious results in the fight against the Russian fleet and coast, left the Baltic Sea with the approach of winter and returned to its ports ().

Actions on the White Sea

The beginning of June. Arrival in the White Sea of ​​an English detachment consisting of three steamships under the command of Captain Ommaney to blockade the Russian coast. Later, with the arrival of several more English and French ships in the White Sea, the Allied naval forces were brought here to 10 ships ( ).

22nd of June. Six armed boats sent from the frigate of the Ommaney detachment, which approached the island of Mudyug to measure the fairways leading to Arkhangelsk, were fired upon by two field batteries and rifle fire from gunboats. The lighthouse was damaged by return fire from the frigate. The boats, having not completed their task, returned to the frigate, and the latter hurried to go to sea ( ).

July 6 - 7. Shelling of the Solovetsky Monastery by two English ships (28 guns). One steamer was damaged by return fire from two monastery guns.
On July 7, the British offered the monastery to surrender, but were refused. Convinced that the monastery would provide resistance, the enemy withdrew into the sea ( ).

July 10 - 11. The Anglo-French attack on the village of Pushlaty (on the shore of Onega Bay), where the peasants stubbornly resisted the landing force of 100 people. Having lost 5 people killed, the enemy set fire to the village and retired to their ships ( ).

8 - 12 September. Departure of the Anglo-French squadron from the White Sea. On September 8, the English ships left; 12th - French ( ).

The end of May. Arrival of an Anglo-French detachment of 6 ships under the command of Captain Bailey in the White Sea to continue the blockade of the Russian coast ().

May 30. Having approached the island of Mudyug and announcing on June 4 the blockade of all ports, harbors and bays of the White Sea, the enemy ships did not dare to attack Arkhangelsk.
Cruising all summer in the White Sea, the Anglo-French ships were engaged in the destruction of small fishing schooners and fishing boats, and also attacked small coastal villages ( ).

Assessing the actions of the Anglo-French fleet on the White Sea during the war of 1854–1855, Engels wrote:
« ...The siege squadron engaged in miserable attacks on Russian and Lapp villages and the destruction of the pitiful property of poor fishermen. The English correspondents justify this shameful behavior by the natural irritation of the squadron, which feels that it cannot do anything serious! Good defense!» { }.

Actions in the Far East

July August. In connection with the news received about England and France declaring war on Russia and the likelihood of an attack by the Anglo-French naval forces of the Pacific Ocean on Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka, the commander of the Petropavlovsk port, Major General V.S. Zavoiko, began creating defenses from the sea and constructing coastal fortifications, using the forces of the garrison for this. The 44-push located in the port. frigate "Aurora" and 10-push. The military transport "Dvina" was anchored in the depths of the bay behind the Koshka Spit with its left sides facing the exit from the bay. The starboard guns of both ships were removed to strengthen the 7 batteries erected on the shore. The total number of guns on ships and batteries reached 67. The available garrison of Petropavlovsk consisted of 1016 people (including the crews of both ships and a detachment of volunteers from local residents) ( ).

August 18. United Anglo-French squadron (English ships: 50-gun frigate President, 40-gun frigate Pique, steamer Virago, French ships: 50-gun frigate La Forte, 20-gun corvette "L" Eurydice, 12-gun brig "Obligado" - 218 guns in total), entering Avachinskaya Bay and approaching the harbor of Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka from a distance of about 7-8 cables, fired at the port and coastal batteries in order to find out the location and fortification forces After a short exchange of fire with the batteries, the enemy withdrew and anchored outside the shots.

August 19 the enemy resumed shelling, but since his ships were outside the firing range of the coastal batteries, the latter did not respond to it ( ).

August 20. The Anglo-French squadron, approaching the entrance to Peter and Paul Bay and taking up positions opposite batteries No. 1 and No. 4 (8 guns), fired at both batteries from 80 guns for an hour and a half. Battery No. 1 (5 guns), bombarded by enemy shells, with all its guns out of action, was forced to cease fire. The battery personnel, having riveted the guns, were transferred to battery No. 4 (3 guns), against which the enemy increased fire and began preparing a landing party. Soon, a landing force on 15 rowing ships (about 300 people), under the cover of ship fire, began to approach the shore. Seeing the impossibility of holding out, the battery personnel (28 people), riveted the guns, retreated, but soon, joining forces with sent detachments of sailors from battery No. 1 and Kamchadal volunteers (up to 100 people), they attacked with bayonets the landing force, which, without accepting the battle, hastily ran to the boats and pulled away from the shore.
After this, the enemy transferred fire to Battery No. 2 (11 guns), which covered the entrance to the Peter and Paul Harbor, which until the evening fought with three enemy frigates, which several times tried to land troops in the area of ​​Batteries No. 1 and No. 3, and one enemy boat was sunk. With the onset of twilight, the enemy ceased fire and retreated deeper into the bay, repairing the damage received over the next three days ( ).

24 August. Peter and Paul battle. The attack of the united Anglo-French squadron in full force on Petropavlovsk.
At six o'clock in the morning, enemy ships, having taken up positions opposite batteries No. 3 and No. 7, began intensive shelling of them, with the intention of, after their destruction, landing troops to capture the city and the ships standing in the harbor.
As a result of a three-hour battle, the enemy managed to destroy both Russian batteries, the personnel of which, having lost more than half of the people, withdrew to join the reserve. Having made sure that the batteries had been abandoned by the Russians, the enemy began landing troops on 25 rowing ships in two groups - in the area of ​​battery No. 7 numbering about 700 people and in the area of ​​battery No. 3 - about 150.
Having established themselves on the shore under the cover of fire from their ships, both landing forces began to quickly climb the heights of Nikolskaya Mountain, bypassing Petropavlovsk on both sides.
In order to prevent the enemy from occupying the ridge of the mountain, Major General V.S. Zavoiko, having gathered all the available forces of the garrison and strengthening it with a detachment of sailors from the Aurora, battery personnel and volunteers (about 300 people in total), sent them to attack against the landing force . With a powerful bayonet strike and rifle fire from specially selected riflemen, the garrison threw the enemy from the slopes of the mountain into the sea.
Having suffered heavy losses, the landing party rushed in disarray to escape to the rowing ships, which hastily retreated to the protection of their ships.
The Russians captured in battle the English banner of the sea infantry, many weapons and prisoners. According to British data, the Allies lost up to 450 people killed and wounded. Russian losses: 32 killed and 64 wounded.
Having received the landing, the enemy ships hastily retreated into the depths of the bay, where, having repaired the damage, they finally went to sea on August 27 ( ).

April 4 - 6. Having received information about the intention of the Anglo-French command at the beginning of spring to again undertake large-scale operations against Petropavlovsk, Governor-General of Eastern Siberia N.N. Muravyov ordered Rear Admiral V.S. Zavoiko ( ) to hastily evacuate the Petropavlovsk port, disarm the batteries, arm and prepare all ships for an urgent exit, loading them with property, food, guns, the entire garrison with their families, and leave Kamchatka for the mouth of the Amur. Upon receipt of this order on March 3, work began on preparing ships and loading port property. At the same time, due to the presence of ice in the bay, they began to make a channel in it for taking ships out to sea. By the beginning of April, all preparations were completed, and on April 4, the Irtysh and Baikal transports were the first to be sent. On April 6, the remaining ships went to sea - the frigate "Aurora", the corvette "Olivutsa" (), the transport "Dvina" and boat No. 1.
The Anglo-French squadron, which arrived at Petropavlovsk in early May, found the port abandoned by the Russians ( ).

1st of May. The squadron of Rear Admiral Zavoiko, consisting of the frigate "Aurora", the corvette "Olivutsa", three transports - "Dvina", "Baikal" and "Irtysh" - and boat No. 1, having made the transition from Kamchatka to the Tatar Strait, concentrated in the Gulf of De- Kastri for further passage to the Amur Estuary, as soon as the latter is cleared of ice ( ).

May 8. Having made sure that Rear Admiral Zavoiko's squadron had left Petropavlovsk, the Anglo-French naval command for a long time could not establish its whereabouts.
Finally, on May 8, a detachment of English ships consisting of 1 frigate, 1 screw corvette and 1 sloop under the command of Commodore Elliott, entering the Tartary Strait, discovered a Russian squadron in De-Kastri Bay.
The propeller corvette Hornet, sent for reconnaissance, exchanged several salvos with the Russian corvette Olivutsa, and reported to Elliot about the composition of the Russian squadron preparing for battle. Not risking engaging in battle, Elliott sent the Hornet to Hakodate to his command with a request for reinforcements, while he himself remained in the Tartary Strait with two ships for observation, considering the Russian ships blocked ( ).

16th of May. Having received news on May 15 that the Amur Estuary had been cleared of ice, Rear Admiral Zavoiko’s squadron on the night of May 16, taking advantage of thick fog, left De Caetri Bay and went north through the Tatar Strait to the mouth of the Amur, where it arrived safely on May 24.
On the same day, May 16, the Anglo-French squadron of Admiral Stirling, which came from Hakodate to join Elliot’s detachment, hurried to De-Kastri Bay with the aim of attacking the Russian squadron, but did not find it. This new disappearance of the Russians was all the more incomprehensible because the British considered the Tartar Strait to be a gulf with no exit to the north. Despite the search undertaken for the Russian squadron, it was not discovered ( ).

July 22. During the pursuit of the English steamer after the brig "Okhotsk" near Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, the brig's crew, having boarded boats, blew up the ship. Most of the crew on the boats reached the shore and escaped capture ( ).

18th of March. Parisian world. Conclusion in Paris of a peace treaty between the warring countries, according to which:
a) the allies cleared the points they occupied in the Crimea and the Black Sea (Sevastopol, Evpatoria, Kerch, Kinburn, etc.);
b) Russia returned to Turkey Kars occupied by the Russians and part of the Danube Bessarabia;
c) The Black Sea was declared neutral, i.e. closed to warships and open to merchant ships of all nations;
d) Russia pledged not to maintain a combat fleet in the Black Sea;
e) Russia and Turkey could not create any naval bases on the shores of the Black Sea;
f) Russia pledged not to build fortifications on the Åland Islands;
g) to resolve issues of navigation on the Danube, a special permanent pan-European commission was formed from representatives of all interested countries.

Thus, the Treaty of Paris deprived Russia of the result of its centuries-long struggle for access to the Black Sea and left Southern Ukraine, Crimea, and the Caucasus defenseless from enemy attacks.

The Treaty of London in 1871 abolished the humiliating articles of the Treaty of Paris ( ).

160 years ago, in February 1856, the Crimean War ended. Even after more than a century and a half, one of the bloodiest international conflicts is described with mythological constructions from the times of Engels and Palmerston. The myths of the century before last turned out to be extremely tenacious. Lenta.ru exposes eight blatant fabrications about those events.

The war began due to Nicholas's desire to divide the Ottoman Empire

Since 1853, Nicholas I began to aggravate relations with Turkey, wanting to seize the Black Sea straits, or even annex the European part of Turkey. A number of historians directly point out that the starting point of the conflict was the proposal of Nicholas I to the English ambassador Seymour on January 9, 1853 about the division of Turkey.

Sources refute this version: the king, on the contrary, stated that he intends to defend the formal territorial integrity of Turkey in the Balkans, as well as its ownership of the Bosporus and Dardanelles. From the British side, he only wanted guarantees that England would not take the straits from Turkey. In exchange, Nicholas I offered London Egypt and Crete: the emperor accurately guessed the wishes of the British, although he was a little stingy. Within 30 years of this, Britain captured Egypt and Cyprus, an island larger than Crete.

The British retelling speaks of Nicholas's intention to establish a protectorate over the Christian areas of European Turkey. But the tsar repeatedly emphasized that since the 1830s he did not plan to annex “not an inch of land” to Russia, explaining this simply: “I could already take control of Constantinople and Turkey twice... What benefits would come from the conquest of Turkey for our mother Russia ?

Later Western historians describe the reasons for the war more realistically: Britain and France hoped to weaken Russia’s influence on Europe.

Image: public domain

Russia was ready for war with Turkey, but not with England and France

The view that the Turks were a second-rate enemy still prevails. This stamp was formed because since the 19th century, all major wars with the Turks were fought only by Russia, which won them. However, a closer look at these conflicts does not reveal Turkey's weakness. In all the Russian-Turkish wars of the 19th century, the loss ratio for the Russian army was worse than in the war of 1812, but no one calls Napoleon's army second-rate.

Not everything is fine with the thesis “backward feudal Russia was unprepared for battles with the modern armies of England and France.” The first was regularly defeated by a variety of opponents, including spear-wielding Zulus. During the Crimean War, English casualties amounted to 2,755 people, and in one battle of the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879 - 1,300 people. And this despite the fact that at that time the British were armed incomparably better than in Crimea.

The French were far from invincible. In 1862, their army, led by the hero of the battles for Malakhov Kurgan, was defeated by smaller forces of half-dressed and weakly armed Mexicans, who also suffered several times fewer losses.

The Russian-Turkish battles of the Crimean War produce the same impression. In the European theater, the Russians failed to win a single victory over the Turks. And in Transcaucasia, the Turks showed themselves to be an extremely combat-ready enemy: the two largest victories over them cost the Russian troops 15 and 17 percent of their personnel. Menshikov’s army suffered the same percentage of losses from the Europeans in the defeat at Alma.

Superiority in weapons as the reason for the Allied victory

European armies were armed with progressive rifled artillery and fittings, but the backward Russian industry could not produce them, which is why everything in our country was smooth-bore. In addition, the Allied rifles fired at 1.2 kilometers and several times per minute, while the Russians only fired at 300 steps and once per minute.

“Fittings” were replaced by guns only after the invention of the Minie bullet, which was smaller than the diameter of the barrel and therefore entered it without a hammer, matching the rate of fire with smooth-bore guns. However, the Russian army, like the Western ones, conducted experiments with Minie bullets even before the war and had imported “fittings”. Their deficiency could be made up for by the work of factories like Tula, but such. After its production in 1854-1855
More than 136 thousand of these systems were produced, not counting the 20 thousand imported and available before the war. Theoretically, this made it possible to arm all the infantry in Crimea with rifled weapons, but in practice this did not happen - the Ministry of War still provided for arming only some of the soldiers with them.

The few Allied rifled guns were not used after a series of barrel explosions. Rifled small arms were technologically available back in the 15th century, and there was nothing progressive about them: one shot took a minute, since the bullets were driven into the barrel with a hammer. The smoothbore shot four times per minute, which made it the choice of the majority.

A quarter of the British and two-thirds of the French in the Crimea were armed with smoothbore guns. Industrially backward Russia gave its army significantly more rifles during the war than advanced England and France. The reasons are simple: the Tula plant was the most powerful in Eurasia, and even under Alexander I, it was the first in the world to switch to interchangeability. In addition, his machines were powered by steam engines, and the English Royal Factory in Lee launched the first steam engines only after the end of hostilities, eliminating the technological gap from the Tula plant.

The thesis about the range of rifles of the 1850s being 1.2 kilometers arose from a confusion of the concepts of “bullet flight range” and “sighting range.” In the 1850s, the second concept had not yet developed, and sights were often marked over the entire flight distance of bullets. If the AK-74 were marked in a similar way, its sight would “shoot” at 3 kilometers. In reality, this makes no sense, because beyond a third of the maximum range of a bullet, hitting the target is possible only by pure chance.

Crimean War (briefly)

Brief description of the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

The main reason for the Crimean War was the clash of interests in the Balkans and the Middle East of such powers as Austria, France, England and Russia. Leading European states sought to open up Turkish possessions to increase the sales market. At the same time, Turkey wanted in every possible way to take revenge after defeats in the wars with Russia.

The trigger for the war was the problem of revising the legal regime for the Russian fleet's navigation of the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits, which was fixed in 1840 in the London Convention.

And the reason for the outbreak of hostilities was a dispute between the Catholic and Orthodox clergy about the correct ownership of the shrines (the Holy Sepulcher and the Church of Bethlehem), which were at that moment on the territory of the Ottoman Empire. In 1851, Türkiye, instigated by France, handed over the keys to the shrines to the Catholics. In 1853, Emperor Nicholas I put forward an ultimatum excluding a peaceful resolution of the issue. At the same time, Russia occupies the Danube principalities, which leads to war. Here are its main points:

· In November 1853, the Black Sea squadron of Admiral Nakhimov defeated the Turkish fleet in the bay of Sinop, and a Russian ground operation was able to push back the enemy troops by crossing the Danube.

· Fearing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, France and England declared war on Russia in the spring of 1854, attacking the Russian ports of Odessa, the Addan Islands, etc. in August 1854. These blockade attempts were unsuccessful.

· Autumn 1854 - landing of sixty thousand troops in the Crimea to capture Sevastopol. The heroic defense of Sevastopol for 11 months.

· On August twenty-seventh, after a series of unsuccessful battles, they were forced to leave the city.

On March 18, 1856, the Paris Peace Treaty was formalized and signed between Sardinia, Prussia, Austria, England, France, Turkey and Russia. The latter lost part of its fleet and some bases, and the Black Sea was recognized as neutral territory. In addition, Russia lost power in the Balkans, which significantly undermined its military power.

According to historians, the basis for the defeat during the Crimean War was the strategic miscalculation of Nicholas the First, who pushed feudal-serfdom and economically backward Russia into a military conflict with powerful European states.

This defeat prompted Alexander II to carry out radical political reforms.

Crimean War 1853-1856 (or Eastern War) - between the Russian Empire and Turkey (since February 1854, England, France and, since 1855, the Sardinian Kingdom also acted on the Turkish side) for dominance in the Middle East. 1853 - the Russian army entered Moldova and Wallachia, won a victory at Bashkadyklar, and defeated the Turkish fleet in .

1854 - the Turkish army was defeated at Kuryuk-Dara, the allies began a blockade of the Baltic Sea, landed in Crimea, defeated Russian troops on the Alma River and besieged Sevastopol. 1855 - The Russian Empire found itself in diplomatic isolation, the Russian army took Kars, but abandoned Sevastopol, and at the end of the year hostilities were stopped. The Crimean War ended with the Paris Peace of 1856, which was unfavorable for Russia.

Crimean War briefly

Causes of the Crimean War

The cause of the war was the clash of interests of Russia, Great Britain, France and Austria in the Middle East and the Balkans. Leading European countries sought to divide Turkish possessions in order to expand spheres of influence and sales markets. Türkiye wanted to take revenge for past defeats in wars with Russia.

One of the main reasons why the military confrontation arose was the revision of the legal regime for the Russian fleet to pass through the Mediterranean straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles, stipulated in the London Convention of 1840-1841.

Reason for war

The reason for the outbreak of hostilities was a dispute between the Orthodox and Catholic clergy over the ownership of the “Palestinian shrines” (Bethlehem Church and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher) located on the soil of the Ottoman Empire.

1851 - the Turkish Sultan, incited by the French, ordered the keys to the Bethlehem Church to be taken away from the Orthodox priests and given to the Catholics. 1853 - Nicholas I put forward an ultimatum with initially impossible demands, thereby ruling out a peaceful solution to the issue. Russia broke off diplomatic relations with Turkey and occupied the Danube principalities, as a result of which Turkey declared war on October 4, 1853.

Fearing the strengthening of Russian influence in the Balkans, Great Britain and France concluded a secret agreement in 1853 on a policy of opposing Russian interests and began a diplomatic blockade.

Progress of the Crimean War

First stage (1853 October – 1854 March)

At the first stage, only Russia and Turkey fought.

The Black Sea squadron, led in November 1853, was able to completely destroy the Turkish fleet in the bay of Sinop, capturing the commander-in-chief.

1853, December - Russian troops achieved significant victories in ground operations - crossing the Danube and throwing back the Turkish army, they were under the command of General I.F. Paskevich was besieged by Silistria.

In the Caucasus, the Russian army won a major victory at Bashkadılklar, thwarting the Turkish plans to capture Transcaucasia.

Second stage (March 1854 – February 1856)

Great Britain and France, fearing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, declared war on Russia on March 15 (27), 1854.

From March to August 1854, they launched attacks from the sea against Russian ports on the Addan Islands, Odessa, the Solovetsky Monastery, and Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka. But the attempted naval blockade was unsuccessful.

1854, September 2 - about 61,000 soldiers were landed on the Crimean Peninsula to capture the main base of the Black Sea Fleet - Sevastopol;

1854, September 8 - the first battle on the Alma River ended in failure for the Russian army. The Russians were forced to retreat;

On the Caucasian front, the war was largely successful for Russia. Military operations moved to Turkish territory. Since the Turkish army was defeated, England and France began to think about ending the war and to lean towards peace negotiations, especially since their main goal - weakening Russia’s position in the Black Sea - had been achieved. Both warring sides needed peace. died in the midst of the siege of Sevastopol, his son ascended the throne.

Consequences

1856, February 13 - the Paris Congress began, representatives of Russia, Great Britain, France, Turkey, Sardinia, Austria and Prussia took part in it.

The Black Sea was declared neutral, that is, open to merchant ships of all states;

Russia and Turkey were prohibited from having navies and fortresses on the Black Sea;

The acquired territories in Transcaucasia were forced to exchange for Sevastopol and other cities in the Crimea;

Russia was deprived of the protectorate over Moldavia and Wallachia granted to it by the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace (1774);

Military power in the Black Sea basin has been undermined.

Results of the Crimean War

The war helped reveal Russia's economic backwardness. The serfdom system hampered the development of the state. There were not enough railways to quickly transport troops. The army was formed in the old way, through recruitment. They served for 25 years. The army's armament lagged behind that of European countries; Russian artillery was significantly inferior to English and French. The Russian fleet remained mostly sailing, while the Anglo-French fleet consisted almost entirely of steam ships with screw engines.

The basis of this defeat was the political miscalculation of Nicholas I, who pushed economically backward, feudal-serf Russia to escalate the conflict with strong European powers. The Crimean War aggravated all internal contradictions in the state to the limit and led it to a revolutionary situation. This defeat prompted Alexander II to carry out a number of radical reforms.

Now, when more than a century and a half has passed since Russia’s defeat in Crimea, no one will say that “cretins and scoundrels” fought there. The great poet Tyutchev already said this. He is the same age as all the terrible consequences that the Crimean War brought to the country. The heroes of this war are simply innumerable. But the royal ambitions were unaware that it was necessary to fight not with numbers, but with skill.

Eastern War

Military operations unfolded not only on the peninsula, which gave the name to the three-year campaign, but also in the Caucasus, the White, Black, Barents Seas, Kamchatka and the Danube principalities. However, Crimea suffered more than anyone, and that is why the Crimean War began. The heroes of the war selflessly gave their lives to strengthen control over the Black Sea straits and It is unlikely that they all understood how important this was for the country, but for the sake of it the Russian people always sacrificed everything they had.

It was necessary to fight not only with the Turks, since the Ottoman Empire was greatly weakened, in this case victory would have been achieved easily and simply. No, the entire European coalition - Britain, France, Sardinia and others like them - stood up against Russia, as always before and later. And, as always, they attacked from all sides along all the borders of vast Russia - this is how the Crimean War turned out. War heroes were everywhere - from the White Sea region to Petropavlovsk. But they couldn't win.

Causes

The Turks needed the Balkans, where the national liberation movement was flaring up more and more, they also wanted to annex the Crimea and the sea coast of the Caucasus to the empire. Europe wanted to lower Russia’s authority in the world community, weaken it, prevent it from establishing itself in the Middle East, and, if possible, take Poland, Crimea, Finland and the Caucasus from it. All this for the sake of their own markets. The Crimean War benefited them greatly. War heroes died for the sake of other people's ambitions and for other people's enrichment.

Emperor Nicholas the First, back in the early 50s of the nineteenth century, was considering actions to separate the Orthodox Balkans from the rule of the Ottoman Empire and did not imagine that Austria and Great Britain would go against such a great goal. This was shortsighted to say the least. Great Britain saw in dreams how it was ousting Russia not only from the shores of the Black Sea, but also from Transcaucasia. Napoleon III just as strongly wanted revenge for the lost war of 1812, all this is obvious. The Russian heroes of the Crimean War did everything in their power to win, but the forces were not equal, and other reasons - of a purely technical nature - interfered.

First stage

In October, Nicholas I began a war with Turkey by signing the corresponding manifesto, and for the first six months the Crimean War of 1853 was really fought only with the Turks. The heroes of these military actions showed themselves from the very first days. However, the king miscalculated, relying on non-interference and even help from the powerful English and Austrian armies. The Russian army was much more numerous - more than a million people. But its equipment left much to be desired. Our smooth-bore weapons clearly lost against European rifled weapons.

The artillery was extremely outdated. Our ships were mostly still sailing, but Europeans had already introduced steam engines. Communications, as had always been the case before, and as would continue to happen many times in the future, were not established, the fronts received food and ammunition late and in short supply, and reinforcements did not arrive on time. The Russian army would have been able to cope with the Turks even in this situation, but against the united forces of Europe, even numerous heroes of the Crimean War could not influence the result.

Battle of Sinop

At first, success was mixed. The main milestone was the Battle of Sinop in November 1853, when the Russian admiral, hero of the Crimean War P. S. Nakhimov completely defeated the Turkish fleet in Sinop Bay within a few hours. In addition, all coastal batteries were suppressed. the base lost more than one and a half dozen ships and over three thousand people killed alone, all coastal fortifications were destroyed. The commander of the Turkish fleet was captured. Only one fast ship with an English adviser on board was able to escape from the bay.

Nakhimov's losses were much smaller: not a single ship was sunk, several of them were damaged and went into repairs. Thirty-seven people died. These were the first heroes of the Crimean War (1853-1856). The list is open. However, it was this ingeniously planned and no less ingeniously executed naval battle in Sinop Bay that is literally written in gold on the pages of the history of the Russian fleet. And immediately after this, France and England became more active; they could not allow Russia to win. War was declared, and immediately foreign squadrons appeared in the Baltic near Kronstadt and Sveaborg, which were attacked. English ships were bombarded in the White Sea. The war also began in Kamchatka.

Second phase

At the second stage of the war - from April 1854 to February 1856 - the intervention of the British and French began in the Crimea and attacks on Russian fortresses in the four seas. Most of all, the interventionists sought to capture the Crimean peninsula, because Sevastopol was already Russia’s most important naval base. The Allies began their expedition in Yevpatoria, where they immediately won a victory. Commander A. S. Menshikov led the Russian troops to Bakhchisarai. The heroes of Sevastopol remained to guard the shore. The Crimean War left them no chance of victory, but they prepared for the siege in the most serious way. The defense was led by P. S. Nakhimov, V. I. Istomin and V. A. Kornilov.

How did the battle admirals end up on the shore? More than twenty thousand of his sailors joined the ground forces, scuttling their ships at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay, thus strengthening the fortified city from the sea. The heroes of the Crimean War (1853-1856) took such a step because the weak Russian fleet would still not be able to resist the interventionists. But the guns from the ships - more than two thousand guns - served as additional strengthening of the fortress bastions. There were eight of them, in addition to other fortifications. The civilian population actively participated in their construction, when everything was mounted into the walls: boards. furniture, utensils, stones and simple earth, something that could at least partially stop bullets. So many people came that there weren’t enough picks and shovels for everyone - all of them, these ordinary people, were also heroes of the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Defense

The fortress held a siege for 349 days. The thirty-thousand-strong garrison and naval crews withstood and selflessly repelled five massive bombardments that destroyed the entire Ship side of the city. They fired from both land and sea; in total, more than one and a half thousand guns fired fifty thousand shells. But the heroes of Sevastopol were not afraid, the Crimean War had not yet been lost, and despite the disparate number of gun barrels, the Russians shot very accurately. Two hundred and sixty-eight guns supported this dishonest duel on our side. The enemy fleet suffered heavy losses - eight ships were sent for repairs - and retreated.

Sevastopol was no longer bombed from the sea, the Russian troops defended themselves too skillfully, and they could not take the city with little blood and quickly, although this was precisely what the entire calculation was based on. The victory was important, although it turned out to be more moral than military: the coalition troops were not defeated, the occupation continued. There were also irreparable losses. During the siege, many heroes of the Crimean War (1853-1856) died. The list of losses was headed in the very first days by Vice Admiral Kornilov, who died heroically under fire. And Nakhimov, who now headed the defense of Sevastopol, was promoted to admiral. It was March 1855. And in July, he was mortally wounded - almost in the same place where Kornilov was killed.

Failures

The Russian army, under the command of Prince Menshikov himself, tried to help Sevastopol, drawing off the besiegers, but in vain. The battles of Evpatoria, Inkerman and the Black River ended unsuccessfully and provided very little help to the defenders of the hero city. The enemy's ring was shrinking ever tighter. The campaign in Crimea was clearly lost for the Russians. In the Caucasus, things were a little better, there the Turkish troops were beaten more than once, and they even managed to capture the Kars fortress.

However, the heroes of the Crimean War and their exploits could not compensate with their courage for all the shortcomings in the weapons and supplies of the Russian army. At the end of August, the French occupied the southern part of Sevastopol and Malakhov Kurgan. The fate of the city with these losses was decided: more than a quarter of the entire garrison, thirteen thousand people were lost in the battles of that one day. The northern part of the city never surrendered; there was no capitulation from the defenders.

End of the war

One hundred and fifteen thousand people of the Russian army in Crimea were still ready to act, even if the enemy forces outnumbered them - one hundred and fifty thousand invaders landed on the peninsula. Thus, the culmination of the entire war was the defense of Sevastopol. After this, hostilities ceased. The Russians managed to win in the Caucasus, but they lost very badly in the Crimea. The armies were almost completely exhausted, and, characteristically, that was all. Even aggressive ones. Negotiations began.

Paris

A peace treaty was signed in Paris in March 1856. Russia lost not so much in territories as in moral humiliation. The southern regions of Bessarabia were torn away, the right of patronage of Serbia and the Danube Orthodox was taken away from the empire. But the most unpleasant thing was the neutralization of the Black Sea: our country could no longer have any naval forces, fortresses or arsenals there. Russia's borders were exposed. In the Middle East, too, all influence was lost: Moldavia, Serbia and Wallachia were returned to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

The fallen heroes of the Crimean War, the list of which was compiled after its end and it is indescribably large (and the list of heroes begins with the name of Emperor Nicholas I, who remained in disgrace, but alive!), it turns out that they died in vain. The defeat of Russia in all rights affected not only its internal situation, but also the entire balance of world forces. Weaknesses in management and equipment of armies were exposed, but there was also a demonstration of the unshakable Russian spirit and the inexhaustible heroism of Russian soldiers. The public in the country began to speak more and more boldly and truthfully, and Nikolaev’s rule was exposed. The government has taken serious action on reforms in the state.

Kornilov

Vladimir Alekseevich Kornilov, vice admiral, was a hereditary naval officer. He took part in the famous (1827) against the Egyptian and Turkish fleet, where the crew of the flagship Azov entrusted to him showed exceptional valor and was the first in the history of Russia to receive the St. George flag.

Two other heroes of the Crimean War fought next to Kornilov at that time: young lieutenant Nakhimov and midshipman Istomin. At the very beginning of the war, in October 1853, Kornilov, while on reconnaissance, discovered a Turkish ship in the bay, forced a battle on it, won and brought it in tow to Sevastopol. After repairs, this steamer - a rarity for Russia at that time - was put into operation and sailed as part of the Black Sea Fleet under the name "Kornilov".

Last order

Before the siege, he strongly suggested that the council of flagships and commanders give the coalition its last naval battle. But the majority did not support him; the fleet was simply sunk at the entrance so that the enemy could not approach the city from the sea.

Then Vladimir Alekseevich organized the construction of fortifications and prepared the bastions for a siege. On Malakhov Kurgan he was mortally wounded during massive artillery shelling while driving around new fortifications. Kornilov managed to order: “Defend Sevastopol!” and died a few minutes later. Although, as the Crimean War (1853) showed, heroes do not die!

Nakhimov

Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov was the son of a military man, whose five sons became outstanding military sailors: vice admiral, director of the naval cadet corps, where all five studied, and his younger brother, Sergei. However, it was Pavel who covered this surname with undying glory. He served as a midshipman on the brig Phoenix to Denmark and Sweden, then served in the Baltic. He became the captain of the ship "Navarine", distinguished himself in the blockade of the Dardanelles (1828) and was among those awarded orders.

In 1832, he stepped into the role of commander of the famous frigate Pallada, and continued to serve in the Baltic under the leadership of the legendary F. Bellingshausen. Two years later he was transferred to Sevastopol, given the leadership of Silistria, where Nakhimov lived for the next eleven years. Need I say that the ship has become exemplary? The best in the fleet! The name Nakhimov became more and more popular day by day: a demanding, but kind and cheerful person awakens the best feelings in everyone around him.

Deeds of a Hero

The Crimean War showed that the people were not mistaken in assessing the personal qualities of Pavel Stepanovich. At the beginning of the war, in November 1853, Nakhimov identified an enemy squadron heading to the Caucasus, but hiding from a storm in Sinop Bay. Nakhimov had eight ships, and Osman Pasha had sixteen. How the attack of the Russian fleet ended was stated above. For this brilliant victory, Vice Admiral Nakhimov received the Order of St. George from the sovereign, and Kornilov wrote that the battle was unprecedented, higher even than Chesma, and Nakhimov thus forever entered the history of the Russian fleet.

Next, Nakhimov happily came under the command of Kornilov during the siege of Sevastopol, and after his death he took the place of commander. Several assaults were heroically repulsed, the tsar granted awards to Nakhimov for this, to which Pavel Stepanovich complained with annoyance: “It would be better if they brought shells and bombs!” In June, Nakhimov died in almost the same place on the Malakhov Kurgan as his predecessor. But the country still remembers its hero today!