Crimean
War Summary | Crimean
War Statistics and Data | Crimean
War Sources
The
Crimean War was, in many senses a war fought throughout
the world between seveal of the most powerful nations on
Earth. The British Empire, the newly recreated French
Empire, the Turkish Ottoman Empire, along witht the
smaller Kingdom of Sardinia , battled against the
huge Russian Empire. While the bulk of the ground
fighting took place in the Russian Crimean Peninsula
(from whence the war's name originates), combat also
occurred in the Ottoman-controlled Balkans, along the
Russian-Ottoman Caucasus border region, in the Russian
Far East, and naval combat took place in the Baltic Sea,
the Black Sea, and the western Pacific Ocean region. The
Crimean War was publicly about control of the "Holy
Lands," but was really about geopolitics and
diplomatic/military strategy. Russia sought to chip away
at Ottoman control of the Balkans and other areas, and
sought to use the sensitive issue of the Muslim Ottomans'
control of Jerusalem and other areas holy to both
Christians and Muslims.
Historians consider the Crimean War to be one of the
first truly modern wars for several reasons.
New technologies, and new ways to apply existing
technologies to warfare were pioneered in the Crimean
war. These modernities includied the first tactical use
of railways to transport troops, and the use of the
electric telegraph to improve communication between the
national leadership of Britan and France to the
battlefield commanders in far-off Crimea. The Crimean War
also saw an improvement in the care of wounded and ill
soldiers through the work of Florence Nightingale and
Mary Seacole, two nurses who pioneered modern nursing
practices in the British Army.
In terms of new weapons technology, the British and
French used the new rifled muskets, thereby increasing
accuracy and the deadliness of their fire.
The public back home in Britain were more engaged and
informed in this war due to the work of what we now call
the news media, in the written reports and photographs of
combat submitted by journalists such as William Russell
(for The Times newspaper) and Roger Fenton.
The aftermath of the
British Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean
War
Crimean
War Statistics and Data:
The
Crimean War Began:
The Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia on October 23,
1853. France and Britain formally declared war on Russia
on March 28, 1854.
The
Crimean War Ended:
March 30, 1856, with the signing of the Treaty of
Paris.
The
Crimean War Was Fought Between:
The Allies (France, Britain, Sardinia, and the Ottoman
Empire vs. The Russian Empire
The
Crimean War Also Involved: Rebels
in Greek-populated parts of the Ottoman Empire's Balkan
territories staged rebellions against the Ottoman Turks
during the Crimean War. In the Russian-occupied Caucusus
region, Chechen rebels led by Imam Shamil rebelled in
1853 and 1854.
The
Crimean War Resulted In:
Allied victory.
The
Crimean War Casualties:
French
Crimean War Casualties: 95,000 dead (10,240 killed
in action, 20,000 died of wounds, and some 60,000 died
of disease)
British
Crimean War Casualties: 21,097 dead (2,755
killed in action, 2,019 died of wounds, and 16,323
died of disease)
Sardinian Crimean
War Casualties: 2,050 dead
Ottoman Crimean War
Casualties: 175,300 dead
Russian Crimean War
Casualties: 450,015 dead
Crimean
War Sources
and Links:
Crimean
War --Wikipedia Article
Crimean
War--From the BBC
