From 1853 to 1856 the European great powers
fought to determine the balance of power, resolve the Eastern Question, and for
religious glory. Armies and navies battled on three continents in a war some
called the “last crusade”: the Crimean War. In the mid-19th century, the European order
established after Napoleon’s downfall in 1815 is under threat. The once-mighty Ottoman
Empire has fallen behind in modernization and technology since the late 18th century,
earning it the nickname “the sick man of Europe.” This increases tensions
among the other Great Powers since Ottoman weakness threatens to upset the
balance of power - a problem known as the Eastern Question . It’s a problem that also leads
to numerous Russo-Turkish wars from the 1760s to the 1820s, which the Russians mostly win.
By the 1850s, some Russian leaders dream of an orthodox Christian empire centred on
Constantinople and expansion in Central Asia. The Ottomans of course want to preserve their
state, but they need alliances with other powers to assist them – even when Britain and France
demand concessions. For their part, Britain, France and Austria do not want to see Russia
gain too much at Constantinople’s expense. One of the prestige questions that has
long created tensions is the status of Christian minorities in Ottoman lands. Russia
sees itself as protector of the Orthodox, while France supports Roman Catholics. In
1852, the latest dispute is raging about which clergymen should have access to the Church
of the Nativity in Ottoman-ruled Bethlehem, one of Christianity’s holiest sites . Emperor
Napoleon III sends the warship Charlemagne towards Constantinople to back up his demands. Ottoman
Sultan Abdulmejid I relents, which enrages the Russian government and the pious Tsar Nicholas I.
In February 1853 Russian envoy Alexander MEnshikov travels to Constantinople and demands the
Sultan reverse his decision and recognize Russia as protector of the Ottoman Orthodox
population. On May 5, Menshikov threatens to break off relations, but the British and
French encourage the Ottomans to stand firm. French newspaper L’Union franc-comtoise
warns its readers of what is at stake: “If we allow the Russians to take
over Turkey, we will soon see the Greek heresy [Orthodox Christianity] imposed
by Cossack arms on all of us; […] The Catholic religion will perish in the frozen deserts of
Siberia, where those who raise their voices to defend it will be sent.” (Figes, p.152f.)
Saint Petersburg breaks off the negotiations. Ottoman politicians are divided between a
peace party wanting compromise, and a war party demanding resistance to Russia at all costs.
But even the peace party agrees the Empire must strengthen its military and look for allies in
Europe. Ironically, this bolsters the war party, and the Ottoman army mobilizes. Some historians
argue that these Ottoman defensive preparations may have actually increased the likelihood of war.
The crisis continues for several months, until the Russians decide to force the
Ottomans to relent: Russian troops move into the Danubian Principalities of Moldovia
and Wallachia, which are formally under Ottoman control. Britain and France pledge to
support the Ottomans, and since the Ottomans can’t afford to maintain mobilization for long,
they declare war on Russia on October 4, 1853. The Eastern War, which will later become known
as the Crimean War, begins in 1853. For now, it is yet another Russo-Turkish war, this time
with even more religious aspects than usual. Historians will later debate about whether
religion or geopolitics play a larger role in the outbreak of the war, which some will
call “the last crusade.” Tsar Nicholas, for his part, insists his motives are
pure: “[I am] waging war neither for worldly advantages nor for conquests, but for
a solely Christian purpose.” (Figes, p.157) All the powers make grandiose statements about
religion, but their geopolitical goals are much more concrete. The Russians want to dismember the
Ottoman Empire: they plan to annex some territory, and create Russian-friendly states in the Balkans.
This would allow them to reach their long-term goal of dominating the Turkish Straits.
The Ottomans want to preserve their empire, get back control of the Russian-occupied Danubian
principalities, and create independent states in Georgia, Crimea, and Circassia with
eventual British and French help. To achieve its goals, the Russian Empire has the
world’s largest army, with 900,000 regulars and 500,000 reservists. Supply limitations and the
need to defend the vast borders of the empire, means only a minority of the army is available
to fight in the Balkans, Crimea, or the Caucasus. Despite efforts at modernization, the Ottoman
army is poorly equipped and organized – officials estimate they have 105,000 regulars and 104,000
reserves, but even they aren’t entirely sure of the numbers. On the other hand, they do have
modern western artillery. By one calculation, the Ottoman government spends just 18 silver roubles
annually per soldier, while the Russians spend 32, the French 85 and the British as much as 134.
On the Black Sea, the Russian fleet does have modern warships, while the
Ottoman fleet is much weaker. The Eastern War is an existential struggle
for the Ottomans, and a chance at Imperial glory for the Russians – and it gets
off to a dramatically one-sided start. The first battle of a war between two land
powers happens in November 1853 at sea, and Ottoman navy orders from Patrona
Pasha betray their desperation: “The enemy’s ships are at sea and we cannot cope
with them. If we put out to sea we will be lost; the best thing is to fight them, if they come,
so long as we have a gun left. If there be any danger of their capturing you, slip your cable,
run your ships on shore and let fire to them.” (Badem, p.119)
In November 1853, Russian warships attack an Ottoman fleet
anchored at Sinop, and the Russians use newly invented explosive shells for the first
time in history. The results are devastating: they sink11 Ottoman ships, giving
Russia control of the Black Sea at the cost of negative publicity in British and
French press over the “massacre at Sinop.” The land campaigns begin along the Danube river.
Russian leadership hopes that if they march into the mostly Christian Balkans, local people might
revolt against the Muslim Ottomans. But Ottoman troops have taken up defensive positions along
the river, and limited Russian attacks fail . The winter of 1853-54 is quiet, but 45,000 Russian
troops take the offensive again in March 1854. They cross the Danube to attack the Ottoman
fortresses of Vidin, which blocks the route to Russian-friendly Serbia, and Silistra . Silistra
is well-defended by 12,000 Ottoman troops, so the Russians besiege it. The garrison makes a
good impression on British Captain James Butler: “It was impossible not to admire the cool
indifference of the Turks to danger. Three men were shot in the space of five minutes while
throwing up earth for the new parapet, […] and they were succeeded by the nearest bystander,
who took the spade from the dying man’s hands and set to work as calmly as if he were going
to cut a ditch by the road-side.” (Figes, p.173) Ottoman and Russian forces also fight
several battles in the Caucasus, but minor Ottoman victories are offset
by Russian counterattacks. Anti-Russian rebels in Georgia and Circassia are
too weak to have a major impact. In June 1854, the Russians prepare to storm
Silistra, But two hours before the planned start, Russian units receive orders to leave –
because the war has taken on a new character. While Ottoman and Russian forces are fighting,
diplomatic talks have been going on in Vienna. When the Ottomans and Russians can’t agree on
peace terms , France and Britain give Russia an ultimatum: leave the Danubian principalities
or face the consequences. Russia refuses, so in March 1854 Britain and France declare war on
Russia. The Eastern War is now a Great Power war. Britain's goals are to block Russian expansion,
prevent Russian control of the Straits, and protect its commercial interests. Politicians
propose different solutions, like returning Finland to Sweden, an independent Poland, and
neutral Prussia annexing the Baltics . Lord Palmerston is among the most hawkish, and hopes
to weaken the Russia as a long-term rival. The French join the war to gain prestige and
influence, protect their commercial interests, and to support national unification
movements of smaller peoples when convenient to French interests. Napoleon III is
also ideologically opposed to Tsarist autocracy. The new British-French-Ottoman alliance has the
world’s best army and navy. The French army has about 439,000 men and excels not only in combat
but also in logistics . The British army is more old-fashioned and only has 153,000 men. Most
of these are spread throughout the empire, so only 21,500 are available to help the Ottomans
. The army’s weaknesses are inexperienced officers and difficulties with organization and supply.
Both the French and the British have new mass-produced rifles that outrange the Russians.
On the seas, the Allied navies have 60 ships of the line (both sail and screw-driven) against 40
Russian. But in total, the Allies have about 400 warships of all types – the Russians have
less than 100. (Filming for a collab: If you want to learn more about the Crimean War
at Sea by the way, check out Drachinifel’s video on the topic. He is probably the best
naval historian on YouTube and goes into much more detail about the “wetter” parts of this war.
Just click on the link in the video description.) The Franco-British declaration outrages many
Russians, like nationalist author Mikhail Pogodin: “France takes Algeria from Turkey, and
almost every year England annexes another Indian principality […] but when Russia occupies
Moldavia and Wallachia, albeit only temporarily, that disturbs the balance of power. […] We can
expect nothing from the West but blind hatred and malice, which does not understand and
does not want to understand.” (Figes, p.134) The Allies promise to send more than 100,000
troops to the Black Sea port of Varna to fight alongside the Ottomans, part of the reason the
Russians withdraw from their siege of Silistra. On the diplomatic front, the Sultan allows
Austria to temporarily occupy the Danubian principalities so the Russians will leave .
Habsburg Emperor Franz Josef mobilizes 280,000 men and demands a Russian withdrawal. Vienna
fears a stronger Russian presence in the Balkans may encourage revolts among the Slavic peoples in
the Austrian empire, as some had risen up in 1848. If Austria joins the war, the Russian army
in the Balkans will be in grave danger, so the Tsar withdraws and Austrian units
arrive in the principalities unopposed. Some Bulgarians leave with the
Russians rather than stay under Ottoman rule. British and French troops do land
at Varna, but there is nothing for them to do. After the Russian retreat from the
Danube, the Balkan front is quiet. Now that the British and French are also
at war, the Crimean War comes to Crimea. The British and French high command plan to use
their naval superiority to send their armies, who are still in disease-ridden camps in Varna,
to invade the strategically important Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea. Their main objective
is to capture the city of Sevastopol and its Russian naval base. Allied commanders expect a
quick campaign despite logistical problems – like the fact they lack good maps of the region . The
Allied fleet of 400 ships lands 60,000 mainly French but also British and Ottoman troops at
EvpatOria on September 14, 1854. Many are already sick with cholera, and the lack of transport
means they need to confiscate supplies from local Tatar civilians. Russia does not place as much
importance on the peninsula and don’t expect a landing so late in the season, so they’re taken by
surprise and only have 25,000 men in the Crimea. The Allied army under Lord Raglan and Marechal
Jacques le Roy de Saint Arnaud now marches on Sevastopol. Russian commander Prince Alexander
Menshikov maneuvers his troops onto the heights above the Alma river to block their path.
The Allies attack on September 20, and soon run into trouble despite the support of
their fleet’s guns just off the coast. Lord Raglan delays his advance so the French can break through
first, exposing his waiting men to the fire of the Russian artillery . As the French assault goes in,
Lieutenant Cullet watches his comrades advance: “In front of us, the Zouaves and the Marine
Infantry pushed back the enemy skirmishers, crossed the Alma [...], and boldly began to climb
the heights. A hail of [Russian] projectiles passed over the heads of our leading brigade and
churned up the earth around us.” (Gouttman, p.296) Part of the French attack gets bogged down,
French commanders demand British support, and Lord Raglan gives the order. British troops
cross the river and charge up the hills straight into the teeth of the Russian defence . Ensign
Hugh Annesley is in the middle of it all: “We had got within 30 or 40 yards of the
intrenchment, when a musket ball hit me full in the mouth and I thought it was all over
with me; just then [we got] the order to retire; I turned round and ran as fast as I could
down the hill to the river.” (Figes, p.214) The Russians counterattack but the British recover
and stop the enemy thanks to accurate fire from their modern Minie rifles. Russian officer Eduard
Totleben witnesses the futility of the advance: “The enemy, perfectly convinced of the superiority
of his small arms, avoided close combat; every time our battalions charged, he retired
for some distance, and began a murderous fusillade. Our columns only succeeded in suffering
terrible losses, […] [and] were obliged to fall back before reaching the enemy.” (Figes, p.215)
Following its introduction at the end of the war, several British soldiers will
retroactively receive the first ever Victoria Crosses for actions at the Alma.
Meanwhile the French and Ottomans successfully storm the heights on their side of the Allied
line. Russian morale breaks and the Allies are victorious but in just three hours, they
lose about 3,600 men, and the Russians nearly 5,000. Both sides leave their wounded
unattended, as a Russian orderly recalls: “Hundreds of wounded had been deserted by their
regiments, and these, with heart-rending cries and moans and pleading gestures, begged to be
lifted into the carts and carriages. […] One man […] had his leg blown off and his jaw
smashed, with his tongue torn out […] only the expression on his face pleaded for
a mouthful of water.” (Figes, p.221) After the Allied victory at the Alma, the way to Sevastopol lies open
– but the victors don’t know it. Following their success at the Alma, Raglan and
Saint Arnaud don’t realize how weak the Russians are, so two days go by before they begin to
march around Sevastopol to its supposedly weaker southern flank. The Allies also take BalaklAva
and make its harbor their primary supply base, while most Russian forces withdraw to
the peninsula’s interior. The Allies now lay siege to Sevastopol, set up camp, and
dig entrenchments and redoubts to protect themselves from the Russian garrison. British
captain Radcliffe describes routine trench duty: “[A] few men were placed on the look out,
their heads a few inches above the work, to give notice when the [Russians] fired,
by watching the smoke from the guns by day and the flash by night and calling out ‘Shot’ –
when all in the trenches lie down and get under cover of the breastwork till it has passed,
and then resume their work. ” (Figes, p.237) The Russians hatch a plan to sever the Allied
supply route from Balaklava and destroy the harbour, which would force the Allies to leave
Sevastopol. The Russians attack at daybreak on October 25. The 500 Ottoman troops defending
the first redoubt offer strong resistance, but are eventually driven out. This defeat breaks
the morale of the other Allied defenders, and soon only the British 93rd Division stands between the
Russians and the harbour. The British once again rely on the stopping power of their rifles and
form a line . Reporter William Howard Russell is there: “The Russians dash at the Highlanders.
The ground flies beneath their horses' feet; gathering speed at every stride, they dash
on towards that thin red streak topped with a line of steel.” (Figes, p.244) These words are
later and forever misquoted as a “thin red line.” Accurate British fire forces the Russians
to abandon the attack. And with more allied reinforcements on the way, the Russians withdraw
from two of the redoubts and take the Allied cannons as booty. Lord Raglan’s pride is so hurt
that he orders his troops to recapture the guns, but the commanders on the ground don’t understand
which guns he means. In the confusion, the British Light Cavalry Brigade mistakenly charges straight
into the Russians main force. After reaching Russian lines and taking heavy casualties,
the Brigade retreats, an infamous action that becomes a symbol of officer incompetence and
inspires Lord Tennyson to write an immortal poem. The Battle of Balaklava ends in a limited Russian
victory, despite not quite reaching the harbor. The Tsar is encouraged, so he orders more
attacks against the British and French at InkermAn Ridge . If the Russians take
Inkerman, they can fire their cannons into the rear of the Allied siege lines – they
plan to attack the British sector of the line, which they consider weaker than the French. On
November 5, 50,000 Russians attack just 16,000 Allied troops, but thick fog confuses
Russian command and control. The battle develops into a series of chaotic small-scale
actions, with the Russians taking redoubts before losing them to British counterattacks.
Russian confusion prevents planned diversionary attacks against French positions. French troops
now come to the aid of their hard-pressed British allies, leading to dramatic scenes
in the memoir of French soldier Louis Noir: “It’s time to finish them! The Zouaves cried
impatiently […] Suddenly Bosquet turned and drew his sword, placed himself at the head of his
Zouaves, […] and pointing his sword towards the 20,000 Russian troops […], shouted in a thunderous
voice: ‘En avant! A la baionette! (Figes, p.264f.) The French charge shakes the Russians, whose
officers can’t even locate their reserves. The Zouaves pour fire into the wavering Russian ranks,
which soon forces the Russians to pull back. The Battle of Inkerman is a clear allied victory: they
protect their lines of communication, and inflict 12,000 casualties while taking just 4,300 of
their own. The British could little afford the losses they’d suffered, but Russian hopes
to relieve Sevastopol in 1854 are crushed. After the Allied victory at Inkerman, the fighting
in Crimea settles in for winter with the Allies holding a small bridgehead in the southwest.
Meanwhile, the war has a major impact elsewhere. European media might focus on Crimea,
but there is also fighting on new fronts. The powerful Royal Navy leads
the Allied efforts in the Baltic Sea, where it hopes to attack the Russian ships
at Reval. But the Russian fleet withdraws, and the British vessels bombard several Russian
coastal outposts with little result. On August 8, 1854, French troops land on the Russian-controlled
Baltic Åland Islands and besiege the fortress of Bomarsund, forcing the garrison’s surrender.
The Allies offer the islands to Sweden if it joins the war, but the Swedes refuse so
the Allies leave and the Russians return. Allied ships sail much farther afield as well,
launching several attacks in the arctic White Sea, and in the Pacific they attempt an
aborted landing on the coast of Kamchatka. On the diplomatic front, the Kingdom of Sardinia
joins the Allies in January 1855 and sends 15,000 troops to Crimea. King Victor Emmanuel
and the Count of Cavour hope that by joining France they can gain Napoleon III’s support for
Italian unification under the House of Savoy. The winter of 1854-1855 is a long one for
the Russian soldiers and civilians trapped in Sevastopol, and for the blockading Allied
troops. Disease has been running rampant since the start of the war, and both Raglan and
Saint Arnaud die from dysentery or cholera. The Allies also suffer from
extreme logistical problems. Ottoman commanders rely on the Allies for
resupply and their troops are short of food. British Admiral Adolphus Slade, serving with
the Ottomans as Mushaver Pasha, criticizes Ottoman officers’ unwillingness to
complain on their troops’ behalf: “[For the] pashas serving the Allies […]
the loss of a thousand men was not to be named in the same breath with the loss of
the English general’s smile.” (Badem,p.277) The British are totally unprepared for
the cold weather, but the French are much better equipped. Suffering British
troops write letters home complaining about the army’s inability to care for them.
In fact, during the Crimean War the public is flooded with news like never before. Thanks
to new technology like the telegraph French, British and Russian readers can follow
and react to events on the battlefield thousands of kilometres away within a day or
two. Journalists like William Howard Russell become famous for their war reporting,
and their articles are often accompanied by another innovation – photographs . These are
mostly posed shots of officers, and serve up a sanitized version of the war for propaganda,
but the overall media effect is palpable. British poet Edmund Gosse is one of
those connected to the war through media: “The declaration of war with Russia brought
the first breath of outside life into our Calvinist cloister. My parents took in a daily
newspaper, which they had never done before, and events in picturesque places, which
my Father and I looked at on the map, were eagerly discussed.” (Figes, P.306)
The media frenzy and speed of news from the front also means that the public can react to
events and pressure governments like never before. One name in the news is British nurse Florence
Nightingale, who rises to fame for her work as an administrator at a British hospital near
Constantinople. Despite her important impact in professionalizing nursing, there is still a
heated debate today about whether she reduces the death rate of her hospital’s patients.
The terrible conditions in Crimea and the disaster of the Light Brigade at Balaklava become
major scandals, and even help force Prime Minster Lord Aberdeen to resign in January 1855 . He
is replaced by the more aggressive Palmerston. The Russians also have problems with supply and
medical care, but there is at least one positive. Surgeon Nikolai PirogOv pioneers the system
of medical triage to treat life-threatening cases more efficiently, a system that other
armies only adopt in the First World War. Thanks to his work, wounded Russian soldiers
have higher survival rates than their Allied counterparts, especially after amputations.
Conditions in Sevastopol, though, are still miserable, as artillery
officer Leo Tolstoy observes: “We have no army, we have a horde of slaves cowed
by discipline, ordered about by thieves and slave traders. This horde is not an army because it
possesses neither any real loyalty to faith, tsar and fatherland – words that have
been so much misused! – nor valour, nor military dignity. All it possesses are, on
the one hand, passive patience and repressed discontent, and on the other, cruelty,
servitude and corruption.” (Figes, p.445) The soldiers are suffering, but so are
the civilians. Most of the population are Crimean Tatars, a Muslim people who speak a Turkic
language. The Tsarist government suspects them of Ottoman sympathies, and adopts repressive policies
including frequent individual deportations to Central Asia . During the war, some Tatars
escape and re-settle in the Ottoman Balkans, and the Russians replace them with Christians
fleeing the Balkans and Slavs from other parts of the empire. After the war, the Crimean Tatars
become a minority in their own homeland for good. The war is being felt in Crimea and across Europe, even as prime ministers and monarchs come
and go. Tsar Nicholas dies in March 1855 and is succeeded by his son Alexander
– just in time for a major defeat. In spring 1855, the Allies are determined to
take Sevastopol to the point of neglecting their efforts in the Baltic and the Caucasus. Royal Navy
ships block Russian supply routes through the Sea of Azov , and British and French industrial might
makes itself felt. A new railway line allows them to fire more than 160,000 shells into Sevastopol
in April alone . This marks the first time that railroad technology is used this way in war .
Allied ground forces capture the city’s outer defenses on June 6, and attack the Malkhov and
Great Redan redoubts on June 18, at French request on the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo .
The plan is for the French to attack the Malakhov first, followed by a British attack on the Redan
– militarily unnecessary if the French succeed, but Raglan wants to preserve British honor.
French soldier Herbé is shocked when Russian officers cross No Man’s Land
the night before the assault: “[The Russian said to us]
‘Allons, Messieurs les Francais, when you are ready, we shall be waiting’.
[…] It was obvious that the enemy knew all our plans, and that we would find a
well-prepared defence.” (Figes,p. 367) The first French and British attacks fail
completely. The first Russian volley takes out a third of the British attackers, and the
rest flee despite their officers threatening to shoot them. Russian Empire soldier
Prokofi Podpalov remembers the slaughter: “Suddenly the enemy came towards us in a huge
wave. […] our bugles sounded, followed by the booming of our cannon and the firing of our guns;
[…] it was so dark from the gun smoke that nothing could be seen. When it cleared, we could see that
the ground in front of us was covered with the bodies of the British fallen.” (Figes, p.368)
The Allies lose 7500 men for nothing. The stalemate continues into its tenth month.
There are more and more cases of “trench fatigue”, and Louis Noir sees even battle-hardened
Zouaves wake up from nightmares screaming for help against imaginary enemies. The
Russians are losing 250 men a day whom they cannot replace, and in July Allied shelling
kills Sevastopol commander Admiral Pavel NakhImov. The Tsar knows his army is running out of time
with the Sea of Azov supplies cut off, so in August the Russians launch an attack on the Allied
watering places on the Tchernaya river. The 30,000 Russian infantry outnumber the 9,000 Sardinians
and 18,000 French defenders, but the Russians lack cavalry or artillery and the Allies have the
high ground . Russian troops launch a frontal assault with unclear orders, which goes nowhere.
They lose 8000 dead and wounded for nothing. The Allies try again in September. They
extend their trenches to within just 50m of the Russian positions, but lose 200 men daily
to Russian sharpshooters. The plan is again for the French to attack Malakhov first, followed
by the British at Redan. When the French attack on September 8, they catch the Russians
by surprise. Prokofi Podpalov remembers: “The French were in the Malakhov
before our boys had a chance to grab their guns. In a few seconds they had
filled the fort with hundreds of their men, and hardly a shot was fired
from our side.” (Figes, p.388) At Redan, the British try and fail three times
– a bitter memory for Lieutenant Griffith: “We rushed madly along the trenches, grapeshot
flying about our ears [and] and men falling down on all sides. When I got to the edge of
the ditch of the Redan […] Radcliffe and I got hold of the ladder and went up it
to the top of the parapet where we were stopped by the press – wounded and dead men
kept tumbling down on us […]”(Figes, p.390) Panicked British infantrymen again retreat to
their lines, this time after 2600 casualties. Their officers order another attack, but there is
no need – since the French have taken Malakhov, Redan cannot be held and the Russians withdraw.
Russian command now sees the writing on the wall and orders an evacuation
of Sevastopol. Nurse Alexandra StAkhova is in the midst of the disaster:
“The whole city was engulfed in flames – from everywhere the sound of explosions. It was a
scene of terror and chaos! … Sevastopol was covered in black smoke, our own troops were
setting fire to the town.” (Figes, p.394) The siege of Sevastopol is over, at the cost
of 102,000 Russian and 71,000 Allied lives. Back in St Petersburg, Tsar Alexander is
defiant: “Sevastopol is not Moscow. The Crimea is not Russia. Two years after the
burning of Moscow [in 1812], our victorious troops were in Paris. We are still the same
Russians and God is with us.” (Figes, p.397) By late 1855, the Allies and Russians are
exhausted, and winter is coming . On the Caucasus front, Russians capture the besieged
city of Kars on November 26 despite the efforts of the Anglo-Ottoman garrison. This leaves
Russia in control of more enemy territory than the Allies – a bargaining chip for peace talks.
Simultaneously, the British assemble a powerful Baltic fleet called the Grand Armament
of 1856, to finish the war the next year. Some historians suggest that the threat of
this fleet helps end the war, even though it never sees action . That’s because Napoleon
III is satisfied with French victories and wants peace. In January 1856, the French reject
British proposals to open new fronts, and the two nations decide to end the Crimea campaign.
The French now approach the neutral Austrians, and the two powers present Russia with
an ultimatum. The Tsar cannot risk Austrian intervention, so negotiations begin in
Paris. At first the French and British argue, since the British insist on harder terms, but in
the end the French prevail and the Treaty of Paris is signed on March 30, 1856. Russia agrees to give
parts of Bessarabia back to Moldavia; renounce influence over the Danubian principalities;
accept demilitarization of the Black Sea; and abandon its claim to represent Ottoman
Christians. The Ottoman Empire’s pre-war boundaries are preserved, plus some small gains in
Bessarabia – a major victory for Constantinople. The Treaty of Paris though, is not a long-term
answer to the Eastern Question, and the Concert of Europe is restless. Russia still wants to expand
south as soon as it can regain its strength. The Ottomans are more integrated into European
affairs but they’re still weak, and outside interference in Ottoman affairs continues. Austria
is isolated and will find itself without allies in the coming wars against France, Sardinia, and
Prussia . Britain remains the main global power, but there is public disappointment at scandals
and heavy losses for the sake of preserving the Ottomans . France on the other hand, gains
international prestige, ends the war on its terms, and solidifies the new Emperor’s authority.
As for the Sardinians, the Kingdom improves its relations with France, which will bear
fruit in future wars for Italian unification. For regular soldiers, nurses, and civilians
though, geopolitics are a distant reality from the pain and loss of war. Russia loses about 450,000
dead, the French around 100,000, the Ottomans some 45,000, the British 22,000, and the Sardinians
2300. Most of the men die of disease, not combat. Aside from being deadly, the Crimean
War is also a transitional conflict: it is partly a traditional cabinet war, and
is the last European war where religion is used as a primary justification. But it’s also
modern in terms of technology, science, media, and cultural aspects – the first industrial
war. Some even consider it the first modern war, though that debate still rages on today,
when another modern war has come to Crimea. Of course any technological advance comes with
new challenges for simple humans like us who need to use new gadgets. In 1853 that cutting edge
telegraph connection brought with it its own set of problems like messages being intercepted. And
170 years later the issue is not so different if you look at browsing the internet and trying
to use secure passwords so that you can safely do your online shopping or watch the latest
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Newton for their help with this episode. As usual you can find all our sources
for this video in the video description. If you are watching this on Patreon or Nebula,
thank you so much for the support, we couldn’t do this without you. I’m Jesse Alexander and
this is a production of Real Time History, the only history channel that wants to remind you
that the Tsar himself said Crimea is not Russia
