Cream of the Crop 22/Cream of the Crop 22.iso/games/aor101.zip/GAZETTE/CRIMEA.TXT

Text File | 1996-09-18 | 7KB | 231 lines

The Crimean War was the
first significant conflict
between major powers in Europe
after the Napoleonic Wars, and
therefore the earlies notable
contest of the Age of Rifles.

In a state of decline, the
Ottoman Empire suffered from
internal curruption and was
vulnerable to military actions
on the part of Russia, it's
closest and most formidable
neighbor.  The "Sick Man of
Europe" was losoing control
of its perimiter regions in
Europe, and Rusia felt the
future of teh Slavic region
was an issue to be decided by
heself - without intervention
by the Western Powers.

England felt preserving the
Ottomans was essential to
ensuring the overland route to
Persia (a route soon to be
rendered irrelevant with the
construction of the Suez Canal),
and further did not want Russia
to become a Mediterranean power.
In France, Napoleon II needed to
court favor and acceptance for
his government - his friendship
with the Sultan became a reason
to help shore up the Ottoman
Empire.  Austria viewed Russia's
claims of the Bulgars and Serbs
being the southern branch of the
great Slav race with alarm, as
this covered the bulk of the
Astrian Empire.  The final ally,
Sardinia, saw the cause as a
means of gaining the prestige it
needed to unify Italy under its
flag.

Thus, Russia found itself alone
without any allies while Turkey
found itself with an abundance.
Without anything in place to
check his ambitions, Russian
Czar Nicholas I plunged on.

In 1854, Russia crossed the
Danube and invaded Ottoman
territory.  Almost immediately
England and France declared war
and dispatched troops to help
the Turks defend their territory
- but before they could even get
there Russia bowed to Austria's
demands that they remove their
forces.  Determined on their
course of war, England and
France decided nevertheless to
teach Russia a lesson.

The allied forces landed on the
Crimean coast in September
without opposition with the
intention of seizing the Russian
naval base at Sebastopol.  On
the way they encountered a
Russian army entrenched on the
heights overlooking the Alma
River.  The British attacked,
overwhelming the defenders
through their superior
technology - the British rifled
musket allowed them to engage
the Russians long before the
Russian's outdated muskets came
within range.

The allies continued on their
march to Sebastopol.  An
immediate assault would likely
have captured the port, but the
allies decided to take a
cautious approach and began
preparations for a siege.  The
Russians took advantage of the
lull and went on the offense,
making two attempts to break
through and bring relief to the
garrison.

The first attempt was made at
Balaclava, a battle destined to
be made famous by the Light
Brigade.  Through a combination
of mistakes, the British cavalry
attacked the Russian artillery
positions at the end of a long
valley.  The "Charge of the
Light Brigade" would be added
to the long list of heroic
failures, as the situation was
hopeless . In spite of this
disaster the allies held the
field.  The second attempt at
Inkerman was no more successful
for the Russians.

In the end, the outcome was
determined, as it was at Alma,
by the Allied troops' rifled
muskets.  The Russians suffered
12,000 casualties and the
allies only 3,000.  It was
the Russian winter, coupled
with an inadequate supply and
medical system that finally
stalled the British for the
remainder of 1854.  Early 1855
found the British troops
exhausted and their ranks
decimated, and the fight was
passed on to the French and
Sardinian forces.

From April 8-18, 1855, a major
portion of the Russian defenses
were destroyed during what came
to be known as the Easter
Bombardment.  The Russian
army deployed to meet the
French and Italian forces,
however, a fully committed
attack was never made.  The
Allied field commanders were
instead forced to debate
tactics with their home
governments, and never
actually launched an all-out,
frontal assault assault (French
general Canrobert resigned his
command over the interference).
Still, Russia lost over 6,000
casualties through the course
of the battle.

The British army was functional
again by June, and plans were
made for a renewed assault
by the Allied forces. The
objectives were two Russian
strong points, the French
would take the Malakoff and
the British the Redan.
Unfortunately, the French
attack was premature, a fatal
mistake compounded by British
high command's failure to
properly support their attack
arm with artillery, and
devastating bombardments by
the Russian navy. The battle
ended miserably, by 8 a.m.,
with heavy losses for the
Allied armies.  Lord Raglan,
commander of all British
forces, died heartbroken ten
days later.

Despite the Allied setback,
the RussianÆs last hope for
repelling their enemies ended
with in their defeat on August
16th at the Battle of the
Traktir Ridge.  Though Russia
was still in a precarious
position, pressure from the
new Czar, Alexander II, forced
an attempt to break out of the
siege. Two Russian corps were
thrown against approximately
37,000 French and Sardinian
resulting in over 7,000
Russian casualties, against
only 1,700 Allied casualties.

The end came on September 8,
with the storming of the
Malakoff. After an intense
bombardment the French launched
an assault with Bosquet's entire
corps.  To preserve secrecy, no
signal to attack was given;
instead the commanders
synchronized their watches and
attacked at the designated time
(perhaps for the first time in
history).  By nightfall it was
over - the cost, 13,000 Russian
dead, 10,000 allied dead.

All told the Crimean War had
little impact on world affairs.
It only temporarily stopped
Russian involvement in the
Balkans and served only to
delay the end of the Ottoman
Empire.  In the end, the casus
belli was the power vacuum left
by the withering of the Ottoman
Empire.  Politically it started
the major change in the British
military system, gave a lift to
Napoleon III's power base, and
indirectly played a part in the
unification of Italy.
Nevertheless, the Crimean War
proved to be a watershed for
the weaponry and evolving
technology of the Age of Rifles.