Russia and the Crimean War

Outcome of Slavic Ambitions in the Near East

TURKEY THE "SICK MAN" OF EUROPE—OPPRESSION OF THE CHRISTIANS—ENGLAND AND FRANCE DECLARE WAR—INVASION OF THE CRIMEA—THE SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL—CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE—THE GALLANT SIX HUNDRED—TENNYSON'S FAMOUS POEM—SEBASTOPOL TAKEN—THE TREATY OF PARIS.

Among the most interesting phases of nineteenth-century history is that of the conflict between Russia and Turkey, a struggle for dominion that came down from the preceding centuries, and still seems only temporarily laid aside for final settlement in the years to come. In the eighteenth century the Turks proved quite able to hold their own against all the power of Russia and all the armies of Catharine the Great, and they entered the nineteenth century with their ancient dominion largely intact. But they were declining in strength while Russia was growing, and long before 1900 the empire of the Sultan would have become the prey of the Czar had not the other Powers of Europe come to the rescue. The Czar Nicholas designated the Sultan as the "sick man" of Europe, and such he and his empire had truly become.

Turkey—The "Sick Man" of Europe

The ambitious designs of Russia found abundant warrant in the cruel treatment of the Christian people of Turkey. A number of Christian kingdoms lay under the Sultan's rule, in the south inhabited by Greeks, in the north by Slavs; their people treated always with harshness and tyranny; their every attempt at revolt repressed with savage cruelty. We have seen how the Greeks rebelled against their oppressors in 1821, and, with the aid of Europe, won their freedom in 1829. Stirred by this struggle, Russia declared war against Turkey in 1828, and in the treaty of peace signed at Adrianople in 1829 secured not only the independence of Greece, but a large degree of home rule for the northern principalities of Servia, Moldavia, and Wallachia. Turkey was forced in a measure to loosen her grip on Christian Europe. But the Russians were not satisfied with this. They had got next to nothing for themselves. England and the other Western Powers, fearful of seeing Russia in possession of Constantinople, had forced her to release the fruits of her victory. It was the first step in that jealous watchfulness of England over Constantinople which was to have a more decided outcome in later years. The new-born idea of maintaining the balance of power in Europe stood in Russia's way, the nations of the West viewing in alarm the threatening growth of the great Muscovite Empire.

Oppression of the Christians

The ambitious Czar Nicholas looked upon Turkey as his destined prey, and waited with impatience a sufficient excuse to send his armies again to the Balkan Peninsula, whose mountain barrier formed the great natural bulwark of Turkey in the north. Though the Turkish government at this time avoided direct oppression of its Christian subjects, the fanatical Mohammedans were difficult to restrain, and the robbery and murder of Christians was of common occurrence. A source of hostility at length arose from the question of protecting these ill-treated peoples. By favor of old treaties the Czar claimed a certain right to protect the Christians of the Greek faith. France assumed a similar protectorate over the Roman Catholics of Palestine, but the greater number of Greek Christians in the Holy Land, and the powerful support of the Czar, gave the latter the advantage in the frequent quarrels which arose in Jerusalem between the pilgrims from the East and the West.

Nicholas, instigated by his advantage in this quarter, determined to declare himself the protector of all the Christians in the Turkish Empire, a claim which the Sultan dared not admit if he wished to hold control over his Mohammedan subjects. War was in the air, and England and France, resolute to preserve the "balance of power," in June, 1853, sent their fleets to the Dardanelles as useful lookers-on.

England and France Declare War

The Sultan had already rejected the Russian demand, and Nicholas lost no time in sending an army, led by Prince Gortschakoff, with orders to cross the Pruth and take possession of the Turkish provinces on the Danube. The gauntlet had been thrown down. War was inevitable. The English newspapers demanded of their government a vigorous policy. The old Turkish party in Constantinople was equally urgent in its demand for hostilities. At length, on October 4, 1853, the Sultan declared war against Russia unless the Danubian principalities were at once evacuated. Instead of doing so, Nicholas ordered his generals to invade the Balkan territory, and on the other hand France and England entered into alliance with the Porte and sent their fleets to the Bosporus. Shortly afterwards the Russian Admiral Nakhimof surprised a Turkish squadron in the harbor of Sinope, attacked it, and—though the Turks fought with the greatest courage—the fleet was destroyed and nearly the whole of its crews were slain.

This turned the tide in England and France, which declared war in March, 1854, while Prussia and Austria maintained a waiting attitude. No event of special importance took place early in the war. In April Lord Raglan, with an English army of 20,000 men, landed in Turkey and the siege of the Russian city of Odessa was begun. Meanwhile the Russians, who had crossed the Danube, found it advisable to retreat and withdraw across the Pruth, on a threat of hostilities from Austria and Prussia unless the principalities were evacuated.

The French had met with heavy losses in an advance from Varna, and the British fleet had made an expedition against St. Petersburg, but had been checked before the powerful fortress of Kronstadt. Such was the state of affairs in the summer of 1854, when the allies determined to carry the war into the enemy's territory, attack the maritime city of Sebastopol in the Crimea, and seek to destroy the Russian naval power in the Black Sea.

Invasion of the Crimea

Of the allied armies, 15,000 men had already perished. With the remaining forces, rather more than 50,000 British and French and 6,000 Turks, the fleet set sail in September across the Black Sea, and landed near Eupatoria on the west coast of the Crimean peninsula, on the 4th of September, 1854. Southward from Eupatoria the sea forms a bay, into which, near the ruins of the old town of Inkermann, the little river Tschernaja pours. On its southern side lay the fortified town of Sebastopol, on its northern side strong fortifications were raised for the defense of the anchored fleet of the allies. Farther north the western mountain range is intersected by the river Alma, the heights over which Prince Menshikoff governor of the Crimea, garrisoned with an army of 38,000 men.

THE BATTLE OF ALMA IN THE CRIMEAN WAR ON THE LANDING OF THE ALLIED BRITISH, FRENCH AND TURKISH TROOPS IN THE CRIMEA IN SEPTEMBER, 1854, PRINCE MENSHIKOFF OCCUPIED THE COMMANDING HEIGHTS WITH AN ARMY OF 30,000 MEN. HE WAS ATTACKED BY THE ALLIES AND DRIVEN FROM HIS POSITION IN THE GREAT BATTLE OF ALMA. FROM THAT POINT THE INVADERS MARCHED TO COMMENCE THE CELEBRATED SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

Against the latter the allies first directed their attack, and, in spite of the strong position of the Russians on the rocky slopes, Menshikoff was compelled to retreat, owing his escape from entire destruction only to the want of cavalry in the army of the allies. This dearly bought and bloody battle on the Alma gave rise to hopes of a speedy termination of the campaign; but the allies, weakened and wearied by the severe struggle, delayed a further attack, and Menshikoff gained, time to strengthen his garrison, and i o surround Sebastopol with strong fortifications. When the allies approached the town they were soon convinced that any attack on such formidable defenses would be fruitless, and that they must await the arrival of fresh reinforcements and ammunition. The English took up their position on the Bay of Balaklava, and the French to the west, on the Kamiesch.

The Siege of Sebastopol

There now commenced a siege of a kind seldom occurring in the history of the world. The first attempt to storm the city by a united attack of the land army and the fleet showed the resistance to be much more formidable than had been expected by the allies. A portion of the Russian fleet, now useless, was sunk to obstruct entrance to the harbor. Between fifteen and twenty thousand sailors, under Admirals Kornilof, Istornin and Nakhimof, all three of whom were to perish defending the city, reinforced the garrison. The population of the city had been reduced from forty-five thousand to twelve thousand souls. Colonel Todleben, manager of the defense, could thus, with very considerable effective forces and material—the fleet alone had furnished eight hundred guns—ably create a whole system of earthworks which, while improvised, were none the less effective. The siege of Sebastopol was, then, less a siege than the struggle of an army defending its positions against another reduced to attacking them by the usual besieging processes. During the siege there were nearly fifty miles of galleries and trenches dug by the allies.

On the north side, which it had been impossible to invest, the Russians received everything they needed and kept in constant relations with the army, which held the country and sought on several occasions to make the invaders raise the siege. The Anglo-French, giving up the idea of attacking from the north, crossed the Tchernaia to make an assault on Sebastopol from the south. They installed themselves on the Chersonesus plateau, a natural fortress from which they could resist diversions coming from without, and took possession of Kamiesch and Balaklava bays, through which they could secure provisions much more easily than their adversaries, who were reduced to having everything brought by interminable convoys.

THE WOUNDING OF GENERAL BOSQUET AT SEBASTOPOL PIERRE FRANCOIS JOSEPH BOSQUET WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FRENCH MARSHALS IN THE CRIMEAN WAR. HE HAD PART IN WINNING THE BATTLE OF INKERMANN, BUT WAS SERIOUSLY WOUNDED AT THE CAPTURE OF THE MALAKOFF, SEPTEMBER 8, 1855, DURING THE FAMOUS SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL.

Marshal Saint-Arnaud died of cholera on September 27th and was succeeded by the incompetent Canrobert. His colleague, Lord Raglan, an old man of sixty-six and a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, could not make his dignity compensate for his headstrong incapacity.

The siege was destined to absorb for a year the resources of the belligerents. Accordingly the other operations became of minor importance. In the Black Sea, on April 22nd, the allied fleet had bombarded the military port of Odessa, but respected the city and the commercial harbor. The Russians themselves destroyed their posts on the coast near the Caucasus. In the Baltic, after despairing of an attack on Kronstadt, a landing was made on the Aland islands, where an unfinished fortress was seized (August 16th). In 1855 Sveaborg was bombarded. Other not very profitable expeditions were sent to the White Sea and Pacific coast.

Charge of the Light Brigade

In October Menshikoff, reinforced, tried to interrupt the siege by attacking Balaklava. Eight days after the beginning of siege operations the British were surprised in their strong position near Balaklava by General Liprandi, with a considerable Russian force. This engagement was rendered notable by the mad but heroic "Charge of the Light Brigade," which has become famous in song and story. The purpose of this assault on the part of the Russians was to cut the line of communication of the allies, by capturing the redoubts that guarded them, and thus to enforce a retreat by depriving the enemy of supplies.

The day began with a defeat of the Turks and the capture by the Russians of several of the redoubts. Then a great body of Russian cavalry, 3,000 strong, charged upon the Ninety-third Highlanders, who were drawn up in line to receive them. There was comparatively but a handful of these gallant Scotchmen, 550 all told, but they have made themselves famous in history as the invincible "thin, red line."

Sir Colin Campbell, their noble leader, said to them: "Remember, lads, there is no retreat from here. You must die where you stand." "Aye, aye, Sir Colin," shouted the sturdy Highlanders, "we will do just that."

They did not need to. The murderous fire from their "thin, red line" was more than the Russians cared to endure, and they were driven back in disorder.

The British cavalry completed the work of the infantry. On the serried mass of Russian horsemen charged Scarlett's Heavy Brigade, greatly inferior to them in number, but inspired with a spirit and courage that carried its bold horsemen through the Russian columns with such resistless energy that the great body of Muscovite cavalry broke and fled—3,000 completely routed by 800 gallant dragoons.

And now came the unfortunate but world-famous event of the day. It was due to a mistaken order. Lord Raglan, thinking that the Russians intended to carry off the guns captured in the Turkish redoubts, sent an order to the brigade of light cavalry to "advance rapidly to the front and prevent the enemy from carrying off the guns."

Lord Lucan, to whom the command was brought, did not understand it. Apparently, Captain Nolan, who conveyed the order, did not clearly explain its purport.

"Lord Raglan orders that the cavalry shall attack immediately," he said, impatient at Lucan's hesitation.

"Attack, sir; attack what?" asked Lucan.

"There, my lord, is your enemy; there are your guns," said Nolan, with a wave of his hand towards the hostile lines.

The guns he appeared to indicate were those of a Russian battery at the end of the valley, to attack which by an unsupported cavalry charge was sheer madness. Lucan rode to Lord Cardigan, in command of the cavalry, and repeated the order.

"But there is a battery in front of us and guns and riflemen on either flank," said Cardigan.

"I know it," answered Lucan. "But Lord Raglan will have it. We have no choice but to obey."

"The brigade will advance," said Cardigan, without further hesitation.

The Gallant Six Hundred

In a moment more the "gallant six hundred" were in motion—going in the wrong direction, as Captain Nolan is thought to have perceived. At all events he spurred his horse across the front of the brigade, waving his sword as if with the intention to set them right. But no one understood him, and at that instant a fragment of shell struck him and hurled him dead to the earth. There was no further hope of stopping the mad charge.

THE THIN RED LINE OF BALAKLAVA THIS STIRRING PICTURE SHOWS THE GALLANT SIEGE OF THE NINETY-THIRD HIGHLANDERS AT THE BATTLE OF BALAKLAVA IN THE CRIMEAN WAR. THIS ENGAGEMENT WAS FOUGHT OCTOBER 25, 1854, AND WAS THE SCENE OF THE FAMOUS "CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE," IMMORTALIZED BY TENNYSON.

On and on went the devoted Light Brigade, their pace increasing at every stride, headed straight for the Russian battery half a league away. As they went fire was opened on them from the guns in flank. Soon they came within range of the guns in front, which also opened a raking fire. They were enveloped in "a zone of fire, and the air was filled with the rush of shot, the bursting of shells, and the moan of bullets, while amidst the infernal din the work of death went on, and men and horses were incessantly clashed to the ground."

But no thought of retreat seems to have entered the minds of those brave dragoons and their gallant leader. Their pace increased; they reached the battery and dashed in among the guns; the gunners were cut clown as they served their pieces. Masses of Russian cavalry standing near were charged and forced hack. The men fought madly in the face of death until the word came to retreat.

Then, emerging from the smoke of the battle, a feeble remnant of the "gallant six hundred" appeared upon the plain, comprising one or two large groups, though the most of them were in scattered parties of two or three. One group of about seventy men cut their way through three squadrons of Russian lancers. Another party of equal strength broke through a second intercepting force. Out of some 647 men in all, 247 were killed and wounded, and nearly all the horses were slain. Lord Cardigan, the first to enter the battery, was one of those who came back alive. The whole affair had occupied no more than twenty minutes. But it was a twenty minutes of which the British nation has ever since been proud, and which Tennyson has made famous by one of the most spirit-stirring of his odes. The French General Bosquet fairly characterized it by his often quoted remark: "C'est inagnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre."  (It is magnificent, but it is not war.)

Tennyson's Famous Poem

Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of death Rode the six hundred. "Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!" he said. Into the valley of death, Rode the six hundred. "Forward, the Light Brigade!" Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldiers knew Some one had blundered: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die; Into the valley of death, Rode the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them, volleyed and thundered: Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well: Into the jaws of death, Into the mouth of hell, Rode the six hundred. Flashed all their sabres bare, Flashed as they turned in air, Sab'ring the gunners there, Charging an army, while All the world wondered: Plunged in the battery smoke, Right through the line they broke, Cossack and Russian Reeled from the sabre-stroke, Shattered and sundered. Then they rode back—but not, Not the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them, Volleyed and thundered. Stormed at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well, Came through the jaws of death, Back from the mouth of hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred. When can their glory fade? O, the wild charge they made! All the world wondered. Honor the charge they made! Honor the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred!

The battle of Balaklava was decided in favor of the allies, and on the 5th of November, when Menshikoff had obtained fresh reinforcements, the murderous battle of Inkermann was fought under the eyes of the two Grand Princes Nicholas and Michael, and after a mighty struggle was won by the allied armies. Fighting in the ranks were two other princely personages, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Napoleon, son of Jerome, former King of Westphalia.

Sebastopol Taken

These battles in the field brought no changes in the state of affairs. The siege of Sebastopol went on through the winter of 1854-55, during which the allied armies suffered the utmost misery and privation, partly the effect of climate, largely the result of fraud and incompetency at home. Sisters of Mercy and self-sacrificing English ladies—chief among them the noble Florence Nightingale—strove to assuage the sufferings brought on the soldiers by cold, hunger, and disease, enemies which proved more fatal than the sword.

In the year 1855 the war was carried on with increased energy. Sardinia joined the allies and sent them an army of 15,000 men. Austria broke with Russia and began preparations for war. And in March the obstinate Czar Nicholas died and his milder son Alexander took his place. Peace was demanded in Russia, yet 25,000 of her sons had fallen and the honor of the nation seemed involved. The war went on, both sides increasing their forces. Month by month the allies more closely invested the besieged city. After the middle of August the assault became almost incessant, cannon balls dropping like an unceasing storm of hail in forts and streets.

On the 5th of September began a terrific bombardment, continuing day and night for three days, and sweeping down more than 5,000 Russians on the ramparts. At length, as the hour of noon struck on September 8th, the attack, of which this play of artillery was the prelude, began, the French assailing the Malakoff, the British the Redan, these being the most formidable of the defensive works of the town. The French assault was successful and Sebastopol became untenable. That night the Russians blew up their remaining forts, sunk their ships of war, and marched out of the town, leaving it as the prize of victory to the allies.

The Treaty of Paris

Britain, Turkey and Piedmont would have liked to continue the war, as they saw in it prospects of gain. The British were already contemplating a decisive expedition against Icronstadt, and Sweden had just signed a treaty with the allies (November 21st). But Napoleon III wanted no more of it. He was driven to this resolution by domestic reasons, and also by the desire to become allied with Russia, in order to satisfy with its aid (as was actually to happen) the Italian Utopias of which he already intimated he had been dreaming. Russia was far from being conquered, but its finances were in a most deplorable condition, and peace was necessary to it. Austria, whose weakness after the Hungarian crisis, and fear of Prussia, where Bismarck was already concocting his plans, had kept neutral, made the way easy for negotiations to be opened.

As regards France and England the negotiations were con-fined to vague promises, and to Russia they proposed the acceptance of guarantees to which the conclusion of peace was subordinate. When the capture of Kars by the Russians (November 27th) had brought a degree of satisfaction to their national pride that made it more easy for them to yield, Austria decided on submitting to them an ultimatum which it knew would be accepted, a course advised also by Prussia.

The terms of peace were agreed upon in the Paris congress (February 25 to March 30, 1856). The independence and integrity of Turkey were declared to be of European interest, and any conflict which should arise between the Ottoman empire and one of the signing Powers was to justify the mediation of the others. The Straits treaty was renewed, the free navigation of the Danube assured, and an international commission entrusted with seeing to the maintenance of the necessary works at its estuary. To Moldavia was to be added a portion of Russian Bessarabia, so that Russia would not touch on the great river. The Russian protectorate over the principalities was abolished. The Aland islands in the Baltic were neutralized. But the chief clause was that relating to the Black Sea, from which the war vessels of all nations were excluded. The Sultan once more proclaimed religious liberty, acknowledged the civil equality of all his subjects, and admitted Christians to military service—promises that were not to be kept.