Who or what started the Crimean War

< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Q.Where was it fought

A.The Crimean War (October 1853 to February 1856) was fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula between the Russians and the British, French, and Ottoman Turkish.

Q. What started it

A. It was a war waiting to happen. Russia wanted Constantinople and its Mediterranean seaports. Russia was also demanding to ‘exercise protection’ over the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman sultan. Russia and France were in dispute over the privileges of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in the holy places in Palestine. At the time Turkey controlled Palestine, Egypt, and large chunks of the Middle East. The Moslem ruler of Turkey had given privileges to protect the Christians and their churches in the Holy Land to many nations.

Q. Who moved first

A. In July 1853, Russian troops occupied Turkish provinces Moldavia and Walachia — in the Danubian principalities, now modern Romania. Supported by Britain, the Turks took a firm stand against the Russians. The British fleet was ordered to Constantinople on 23 September. On 4 October, the Turks declared war on Russia and opened an offensive against the Russians.

Q. And the Russian Bear then roared

A. Yes. Loudly. The Russian Black Sea fleet destroyed a Turkish squadron at Sinope, on the Turkish side of the Black Sea. So the British and French fleets entered the Black Sea on 3 January 1854, to protect Turkish troops. On 28 March, Britain and France declared war on Russia. To stop Austria also entering the war, Russia left the Danubian principalities.

Q. No mention of the word Crimea yet.

A. I’m just getting to that. In September, 1854, the allies landed in Russian Crimea, on the north shore of the Black Sea, and began a year-long siege of the Russian fortress of Sevastopol. Major engagements were fought at the Alma River on 20 September, at Balaklava on 25 October, and at Inkerman on 5 November. On 26 January, 1855, Sardinia-Piedmont entered the war and sent 10,000 troops. After continued assaults on 11 September 1855 Sevastopol fell after continued assaults and the Russians fled.

Q. So that was the end

A. Lesser operations were conducted in the Caucasus and in the Baltic Sea. Austria threatened to join the allies, so Russia accepted preliminary peace terms on 1 February 1856.

Q. A peace treaty

A. The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 March 1856, guaranteed the integrity of Ottoman Turkey and obliged Russia to surrender southern Bessarabia, at the mouth of the Danube. The Black Sea was neutralised, and the Danube was opened to the shipping of all nations.

Q. And what was the cost

A. About 250,000 men died on each side — many of them victims to disease. The war did not settle the relations of the powers in eastern Europe. It made, however, the new Russian emperor Alexander II realise Russia was a backward country that had to sharpen up to compete successfully with other European powers. A further result of the war was that Austria, having sided with Great Britain and France, lost the support of Russia in central European affairs. Austria became dependent on Britain and France, which failed to support that country, leading to the Austrian defeats in 1859 and 1866 that, in turn, led to the unification of Italy and Germany.