The Crimean War, Military Conduct, 1854-56 (Edexcel A Level History: Paper 3 Options): Revision Note

Facing the Russian threat: Alma, Balaclava and the Siege of Sebastopol

• When Russia began invading lands that belonged to the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France viewed it as a strategic threat

  • They were determined to prevent Russia from gaining access to the Mediterranean

  • In March 1854, Britain and France became allies and declared war on Russia

  • The Crimean War was the first major European war since 1815

The Battle of Alma

• In September 1854, a combined British and French force of 63,000 troops landed in Crimea

  • The plan was to march across land and capture the Russian naval base at Sebastopol

  • When they reached the River Alma on 20 September 1854, they were met by a Russian army that had occupied the high ground surrounding the river

  • The Russians were outnumbered and were forced to withdraw after some fierce fighting, despite their strong position

• The head of the British Expeditionary Force of 26,000 men was Lord Raglan

  • He wanted to press on towards Sebastopol after the victory at Alma

  • His French counterpart refused, and the Russians were allowed to retreat, regroup and reinforce Sebastopol's defences

• Britain's troops had performed well in this first engagement

  • However, the Battle of Alma had exposed a lack of training in some troops and poor leadership from some officers

The Battle of Balaclava

• The Allied forces slowly proceeded towards Sebastopol and laid siege to the town in October 1854

  • British troops took up positions around the tiny nearby port of Balaclava

• On 25 October 1854, a Russian field army attacked from outside the siege lines, aiming to capture the British supply base at Balaclava

  • The 93rd Highlanders, commanded by Sir Colin Campbell, faced an attack by Russian cavalry

  • Instead of forming the traditional defensive infantry square, Campbell deployed his men in a thin line, roughly two ranks deep

  • The Highlanders fired disciplined volleys that helped drive back the Russian cavalry

  • The Times correspondent William Howard Russell described them as a “thin red streak tipped with a line of steel,” which later became the phrase “the Thin Red Line.”

  • The episode became a celebrated symbol of British discipline, courage and military professionalism

• However, misunderstood orders led to the Light Brigade being sent to attack well-positioned and well-defended Russian artillery

  • The charge of the Light Brigade was a disaster, with almost half of the men who took part either being killed, injured or captured

• The Russians kept the Causeway Heights and the only paved road to the siege lines, so British supplies had to use a muddy track through the winter

Approach

Tennyson wrote this poem only weeks after the charge at the Battle of Balaclava, based on newspaper reports. He was Poet Laureate and an important public figure, meaning the poem was written for a British audience while the Crimean War was still being fought. This makes it valuable for understanding contemporary British attitudes towards the soldiers and the conduct of the war.

The poem strongly praises the courage, discipline and sacrifice of the ordinary soldier, but the phrase “Someone had blundered” acknowledges the command failure that sent them into danger. This makes it a valuable source for investigating the argument that Britain fought the Crimean War with courage at the level of the ordinary soldier but weaknesses in command and organisation at senior level.

The Battle of Inkerman

• Although the British troops had repelled the attack on Balaclava, the battle still boosted the morale of the Russian troops

  • It was boosted further in November when they were joined by a large number of reinforcements

• The new Russian troops were immediately sent into action, and they attacked Inkerman Ridge, which was held by small units of British infantry

  • Despite being massively outnumbered, the British troops managed to hold on to the Ridge until the arrival of French troops caused the Russians to retreat

  • An estimated 597 British soldiers were killed and 1,860 wounded

  • The Russians suffered over 11,000 casualties

The Siege of Sebastopol

• Although Britain's troops had been well equipped to fight in Crimea, they had not been equipped to spend a winter there

  • The weather is cold and wet during the winter in Crimea, and the lack of tents combined with the lack of firewood made conditions very difficult for British troops

• Supplies were dispatched from Britain and travelled the 4,000 miles to Crimea with ease

  • However, moving the supplies six miles from the port of Balaclava to the siege lines around Sebastopol was far more difficult

  • Scenes around Balaclava were chaotic and led to troops suffering from exposure without essential fuel, tents, clothing or food

• This led to an official investigation, known as the McNeill-Tulloch report, which strongly criticised the organisation of the Army

• The supply crisis also led to the construction of the Grand Crimean Central Railway by civilian contractors in 1855

  • The railway connected Balaclava with British positions around Sevastopol

  • This allowed food, ammunition and other supplies to be transported much more efficiently

  • It demonstrated how industrial technology and civilian expertise could improve military logistics and contributed to the more effective continuation of the siege

The capture of Sebastopol

• The harsh winter of 1854–55 meant that the British and French held their ground rather than attack

  • They renewed assaults in June, but these failed

  • In September, with another winter approaching, the French captured the Malakoff fortress on 8 September 1855 (the British attack on the Redan failed), and the Russians abandoned Sebastopol

  • The Crimean War was formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in March 1856

The role of Lord Raglan

• Lord Raglan was the head of the British Expeditionary Force

  • He had fought at Waterloo and lost an arm in the battle

  • By the time of the Crimean War, he was 65 years old and had not been involved in any military action since 1815

    • He had spent his career as a staff officer and had never commanded an army in the field

    • He left Balaclava weakly defended, which let the Russians seize the Causeway Heights

    • He struggled to work with the French commander, Saint-Arnaud, after Alma

• Although he was seen as brave and capable, he was criticised as being outdated

  • He had served with the Duke of Wellington and then became his military secretary

  • Wellington had enormous influence over both Raglan and the British Army in general

  • Wellington strongly believed that the methods he had used to defeat Napoleon in the Peninsular War and Waterloo remained the best methods

  • As the war dragged into 1855, newspapers and politicians criticised Raglan for his failure to innovate

• Raglan was also blamed for the failure to supply his troops

  • However, incompetent Commissariat officials were more responsible than Raglan

  • Responsibility was shared across a divided system

    • The Commissariat answered to the Treasury, and the army had no proper land transport

• Raglan also bore some responsibility for the disastrous charge of the Light Brigade

  • He saw Russian troops attempting to remove captured British guns from the battlefield and ordered the cavalry to prevent this

  • However, his written orders were vague and poorly worded

  • Lord Lucan, who commanded the cavalry, could not see the captured guns and assumed the orders referred to the Russian artillery

    • He ordered Lord Cardigan, commander of the Light Brigade, to attack

    • Captain Nolan, who delivered the orders, failed to clarify which guns were meant, and many lives were lost unnecessarily

• Raglan died of dysentery whilst in Crimea in June 1855 and did not live to see the Russians abandon Sebastopol

How effectively did Britain conduct the Crimean War?

The argument that Britain conducted the war poorly

• The organisation was chaotic, and men were exposed without tents, fuel or food throughout the winter of 1854-55

• The command of the Army under Lord Raglan was confused and outdated

  • The disastrous charge of the Light Brigade was symbolic of this

  • Vague instructions were misinterpreted

  • This led to accusations of incompetence, even though the British soldiers fought bravely

The argument that Britain conducted itself effectively during the war

• The British Army performed impressively and won the important battles

  • Alma, Inkerman and even Balaclava, despite the Light Brigade disaster, were British victories

• The supply system, although chaotic at the start, did improve

  • Medical provision did improve

  • Britain harnessed its superior technology in the form of steamships, railways and the telegraph system to help win the war

• Sebastopol was captured by British and French troops, and Russia was prevented from gaining access to the Mediterranean

Judgement

• The Crimean War exposed inadequacies in British organisation, logistics and medical provision

  • It showed that the British Army, as an organisation, had failed to keep up with technological developments

• However, the troops remained effective on the battlefield, captured Sebastopol and forced Russia to accept peace

  • Although it was fought in an incompetent way at the beginning, it was ultimately successful