Crimean War
The Crimean War is commonly known as the Charge of the Light Brigade, during which Britain made a wrong attack. The war was fought between Britain and France, which were the allied nations against Russia, which was a common enemy. However, the war did not have massive significance in Europe as minimal changes took place. This war erupted because of religious conflict of people in the holy land. It has been argued that the war occurred because large European powers war to keep in other in check. Even though Crimean War is not remembered today for military success, it was the first modern war, offered first war photography, and portrayed acts of heroism to the rest of the world.
What led to the Crimean War? It is worthy noting that in early 19th century, Russia experienced massive military empowerment, becoming a major military power in the world. By around 1850, it was evident that Russia was determined to spread its military influence to the south. This became concern to British, as it felt that Russia would extend its influence to Mediterranean, when it was in control. Additionally, around the same time, Napoleon III had coerced Ottoman Empire to acknowledge France as a sovereign state in the Holy Land. Nevertheless, Russia rejected this and initiated its own diplomatic links as Russians claimed to protect the interest and freedom of Christians in the Holy Land.
These unclear diplomatic relations, led to hostilities, causing France and Britain to declare war against Russia in March 1854. Even though Russia appeared ready to avoid the war, it was unable to meet the conditions, which France and Britain put forward. This meant that the simmering war was inevitable. In September 1854, the two allies struck Crimea, a section of today’s Ukraine. They targeted Sevastopol, which was home to Russia’s naval base. Upon landing at Calamita Bay, the allied army of about 60,000 men marched southwards and encounters Russian troops at River Alma, where the battle ensured. Even though Lord Raglan had severe coordination challenges with French troops, the allied side managed to drive away their common enemy.
After fleeing, Russians regrouped at Sevastopol as British attacked Balaclava, bypassing this military bas. It is believed that the decision to attack the town was because it could be used by Russians as a supply zone. After considerable timing and evaluation, the allied forces attacked Sevastopol on October 17, 1854. On October 25, same year, Prince Aleksandr Menshikov, who was in charge of Russian troops, gave an order to attack allied forces. They implemented this by attacking the weak points of the allied military before they were turned back by Scottish Highlanders.
During this fighting, another Russian unit took advantage of British loopholes and got British guns, which were abandoned. Even though Lord Raglan ordered his troops to stop these actions, the information was not well interpreted, leading to the launch of the “Charge of the Light Brigade” on wrong Russian position. The first few minutes of the battle left about 100 men dead and the encounter ended with a great loss on British side though the standoff was still in place.
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Retrieved from:
http://news.usni.org/2014/03/11/brief-history-conflict-ukraine
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_crimean.html
http://history1800s.about.com/od/europeanwars/a/crimeanwar01.htm