160 years ago, the West began the invasion of the Crimea
160 years ago, 2 (14) September 1854, the landing of the expeditionary army of the anti-Russian coalition in Evpatoria began. Thus, the invasion of the troops of the then "world community" in the Crimea began.
Prehistory Attack on Odessa
In January 1854, the combined Anglo-French fleet entered the Black Sea. 17 (29) January, the French Emperor Napoleon III demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from the Danube principalities (Danube campaign of the Eastern War) and start negotiations with Porto. Russia rejected this ultimatum. 15 (27) March 1854, England and France declared war on the Russian Empire. Even before the official declaration of war, Napoleon III ordered the formation of an "eastern army" and appointed Marshal Armand Leroy de Saint-Arno to command it.
As a result, there was a threat of landing of Allied forces in the Russian Black Sea region. All Black Sea ports were threatened by bombing. Of particular importance was Kerch. Practically nothing was done for her defense, and Vice Admiral Serebryakov in April 1854 of the year complained that the Kerch governor was not doing anything and was still waiting for official instructions. The coastal trade voyage, which had a base in Kerch, provided the entire Crimean army and troops on the coast of the Caucasus. The enemy could still attack the defenseless Kerch in the spring and capture or sink transport ships.
Unfortunately, until June, the commander of the Russian troops in the Crimea, Alexander Menshikov, did nothing to strengthen the coastal defense. Fortunately for Russia, the allies also did not differ in promptness and did not establish maritime intelligence. For a long time they could not determine where it was most convenient for them to launch an offensive.
29 March (9 April) 1854. An 16-type steam frigate “Furious” approached Odessa. Officially, he had to evacuate from the city the consuls of the allied states and all other subjects of these powers who wish to leave Russia. Unofficially, the ship was supposed to conduct reconnaissance of coastal fortifications. On March 30 (April 10) the ship approached the port and launched the boat, which, under the white (parliamentary) flag, approached the pier. There the British were informed that the consuls had already left Odessa. The boat returned safely to the frigate. Then the ship headed for the coastal battery line. To discourage the enemy, the Russian guns gave two warning shots.
The Allies decided to use this incident as a pretext for an attack. The captain of the frigate reported to the commander of the Allied fleet Admirals Dondas and Gamelen, that “the Russians do not respect parliamentarians,” and they fired on a boat sailing under the white flag and had an officer sent for negotiations on board. French Admiral Gamelin immediately "offended" for the English delegate. The British admiral Dondas, who had not been in a hurry to attack Russian ships or harbors before, believing that the allied army landing in Varna was not worth starting, had to agree with the Frenchman. Gamelin reported to Paris that the Allied fleet would open military operations against Odessa, "in order to demand reparations from the authorities of this city for the outrageous assault of port batteries on the English frigate and the English boat sailing under the parliamentary flag."
The 8 (20) of April allied fleet, including 28 pennants (including 6 battleships, 13 frigates), approached Odessa. Odessa was declared a state of siege. 100-thousand The city and the largest Russian trade port on the Black Sea was fortified very weakly. The six coastal batteries built at the beginning of the war were armed with 40 old fortress guns. The garrison of the city made up a detachment of 16 reserve battalions commanded by Dmitry Osten-Sacken.
On April 9 (21), an envoy arrived to Baron Osten-Sacken and, on behalf of Admiral Dondas and Admiral Gamelin, demanded the extradition of all the Russian ships in the harbor, as well as British and French (commercial) ships. The Russian general said that he would not respond to such audacity.
10 (22) April around 6: The morning 40 began shelling. 9 of enemy steamer frigates (one 54-gun, eight others mostly 32-gun) approached the break. The fire was sent to the batteries, which, due to the weakness of the weapons, could not meet the enemy ships. At the very end of the Practical Mole was the battery number 6 (the so-called left battery), which in fact alone was able to respond to the enemy. She was armed with all the 4 guns - one was soon shot down, and the second was inconvenient and could not fire. Battery commanded 21-year-old graduate of the cadet corps Ensign Alexander Schegolev. Shchegolev battery bombarded 9 enemy ships. Battery No. 6 fought 6 hours and was able to damage one enemy ship. In total, during the battle 4 enemy ships were damaged. After many hours of shelling, the Allies attempted to land reconnaissance ships in order to assess the damage, but this attempt at an assault force was reflected by field gun fire.
11 (23) April, the enemy squadron took off from the anchor and went to sea. The garrison lost about 250 people. A part of the city adjacent to the port was destroyed, the port berths, warehouses of both Russians and neutral commercial ships in the harbor were burned.
However, a few days later the Allied squadron suffered the first annoying loss. April 30 (12 May) in the morning, with thick fog, 6 versts from Odessa ran aground as one of the newest and best British steamers - the 16-cannon-powered steam-frigate Tigr. Desperate efforts of the crew to remove the frigate from the shoals ended in failure. The Russians quickly deployed field batteries on the shore and shot down the enemy ship. Steamer frigate fired up. The crew lowered the flag and surrendered. 225 people were captured. Captain Giffard was wounded and soon passed away. A steam engine was removed from the ship’s wreck (later it was installed on an imperial yacht) and part of the guns, they strengthened the coastal defense of Odessa.
The death of "Tiger" has become a landmark event. Given the insignificant, from a military point of view, the results of the shelling of Odessa, the loss of the newest ship was a painful blow to the Allied squadron. It should be noted that in London and Paris were dissatisfied with the actions of their fleets. The actions of the powerful allied fleet in the Baltic were practically fruitless. The expedition to the White Sea ended with little success (The barbaric attack of the British on the Solovki monastery and the burning of Coke). Soon the news will come that the expedition to the Pacific to Petropavlovsk ended in complete failure (Heroic defense of Petropavlovsk). This fact will generally try to shut up. The barren shelling of Odessa also did not appeal to the Western public, who eagerly awaited the victorious news. Therefore, the closest attention was paid to the expeditionary army, which was transferred to the Bulgarian Varna.
Trophy gun with a frigate "Tiger"
Varna
12 (24) March 1854. Napoleon III signed a decree on the formation of a special eastern army. Initially, it consisted of four infantry and one cavalry divisions, 7 1 / 2 batteries and a special siege park (24 guns, 12 howitzers and 22 mortars). In total, there were about 40 thousand soldiers in the army. 24 March (5 April) 1854 began boarding. The preliminary landing took place in Turkish in Gallipoli. At the end of May, the troops began to transfer to Varna. By early June, three divisions had been deployed. As a result, French troops appeared on the Danube when the Russian army was already withdrawing from it. In addition, part of the French remained in Gallipoli and Constantinople.
Almost immediately between the allies began to disagree. The French marshal of Saint-Arno, an adventurer by nature, noted the atrocities in Algeria, where his troops were called "hellish column" (Napoleon III brought him closer and elevated because of his qualities - mercilessness to enemies and complete lack of principle), he tried to subdue the British and Turkish troops under the command of Lord Raglan and Omer Pasha. However, the British were not going to obey the French. Lord Raglan had instructions that commanded him to obey exclusively to the British War Minister and to no one else. Although, ultimately, in the course of hostilities, the will of Marshal Saint-Arno became decisive. He was much more experienced in warfare than the British lord.
Arriving in Varna, the allies from the very beginning felt uncomfortable. The Bulgarians for the most part sympathized with the Russians, not the allies, who came to preserve the Ottoman yoke over Bulgaria. Problems began with the issue of transport. Despite the fact that the Allies initially offered good money by local standards, there were few willing people. Then Saint-Arnaud, who was accustomed in Africa not to intercede with the local population and never considered Arabs to be people, allowing his soldiers to rob and kill them for the slightest disobedience, ordered the 800 Bulgarians and their oxen and carts to be captured and held. However, the Bulgarians responded with a mass flight and began to break and burn their carts, risking being shot.
True, in Varna there were many Turks, Vlachs and Moldovans. However, according to the observations of foreigners, the Turks did not want to work. Wallachs and Moldovans were also lazy, although they wanted to get money for their work. It was necessary to seize again and detain the Bulgarians, who did not want to support the allies of their oppressors.
Moreover, the relations between the allies themselves were not friendly. The French quarreled with the British. French officers believed that the British lured their unprofitable event, which will strengthen only England. Annoyed by the French and too modest participation of British troops in the campaign. Initially, England exhibited only one corps of 20 thousand people. In addition, Saint-Arno and his generals did not like the quality of the English soldiers. In England, soldiers were recruited through “voluntary” employment, and a lot of drunkards, loafers, tramps, and other dubious individuals fell into it, a significant part of whom were ready to desert at the first opportunity (in this historical period from the English army defected to a quarter of the composition). Therefore, the discipline of the British supported the most severe executions.
In general, the British army was a caste - the officers were the "highest caste." The officers bought their officers' patents for money (and often for big money), and tried to “return” the money. Special military training of British officers in most cases was equal to zero. The British were not ready for a new war. At the same time, they were distinguished by their resilience, dying without much benefit, which, taking into account the complete illiteracy of the command, often happened. On the other hand, the English were well supplied. In this, the French envied them.
The French did not like the Turks. They witnessed the decline and degradation of the Ottoman Empire and understood, as the witness of the campaign noted, the French officer Charles Baucher, "the Russian emperor had reason and truth for himself when he claimed that Turkey was in agony ...". France stood up for Turkey and did not get anything from it, unlike the British.
Complicated the matter and the Polish question. The Poles dreamed that they would create a special detachment or corps (legion) from the emigrants, which would become the army and take part in the “liberation of Poland”. However, both Paris and London, although at one time the Poles made a lot of promises, did not want to create a Polish legion. This was due to the position of Austria. A significant part of the Polish lands was part of Austria, and the creation of a separate Polish military contingent with the slogan "liberation of Poland" could have frightened Vienna and strengthened its ties with St. Petersburg. Therefore, the Poles were offered to quietly join the Turkish army and fight in Asia (on the Caucasian front).
Moreover, the mood of the expeditionary army and the cholera epidemic did not improve. The fight against the epidemic was very difficult. The city, occupied by the whole army, was extremely filthy, just impassable from debris and sewage. Nobody wanted to clean up the dirt and debris. The Bulgarians did not go to this work either for money or under the influence of threats and corporal punishment. The detachment, which was sent to reconnaissance, completely lost its combat capability due to illness. In their completely aimless expedition to Dobrudja (the Russian troops had already retreated), French troops lost 3,5 thousand people dead from cholera and exhaustion. Only in August, about 10% of the entire crew died in the fleet, even more lay on the bunks, waiting for death.
13 July St. Arnaud received an order to prepare for an expedition to the Crimea. The plan of operation should have been worked out in the command of the eastern army. The reason for this order was the failure of the actions of the allies in the Baltic strategic direction, where the Anglo-French fleet could do nothing, and Sweden did not want to fight with Russia and the position of Austria. The Vienna court was in no hurry to speak out against Russia and took a wait-and-see attitude.
Preparations for the expedition began. From the very beginning it was clear that the main goal was Sevastopol. But for a successful expedition to the Crimea, it was necessary to conduct reconnaissance, organize the landing of the army, provide it with everything necessary, etc. A whole month passed while we were preparing for the march.
10 (22) August, a terrible fire of "unknown" origin almost destroyed the powder depots and a huge depot of ammunition, the allied army, where there were 8 million shells. The whole army desperately rushed to save the army reserves. Soldiers and officers worked with axes, destroying buildings, along which fire went to powder stores. The situation was desperate. Four times, by his own admission, the French commander-in-chief was ready to order the troops to drop everything and flee in order to save themselves from the consequences of the inevitable unheard of force of the explosion. This fire nearly destroyed the entire 1854 campaign of the year. The Allied army lost reserves of supplies, ammunition, but rescued ammunition.
The fire forced the Allies to finally decide, as soon as possible to leave the “damned place” - Varna. The allies were annoyed and frightened, believing that hidden enemies had set the fire and turned their anger on the local population. As a result, even the Turks began to complain about the ugly behavior of their "defenders". They noted that the enemies (the Russians who occupied Varna in 1828-1829) treated them much better than their “friends”. The Russians did not make a complaint to anyone about their behavior, and left the city behind in better condition than it was before.
Delaying the departure from Varna became already impossible. The Allies finally stopped in the Crimea. The issue of landing on the coast of the Caucasus has disappeared. The British wanted to help Shamil and expel the Russians from the South Caucasus, but they would prefer to do this with the hands of the Ottomans and the French. They themselves did not want to go to the Caucasus. The French did not want to die in the Caucasus because of the interests of Britain (guarding the routes to Persia and India). Therefore, when the delegation of Shamil arrived in Varna on July 25, she was warmly welcomed, but no more. From the attack on the Danube direction also refused. For success on the Danube and Prut, active assistance was necessary for Austria, but it was not there.
In mid-August, St. Arnaud's 1854 held a military meeting. On it the naval commanders — the English and French admirals Dondas and Gamelin, spoke out against the expedition to the Crimea. Dondas said that the allies' all power lies in the fleet, and in the Crimea and at Sevastopol they will have to risk the fleet. Gamelin supported the English admiral. He was worried that cholera would continue to the Crimea, and replacing a good sailor or midshipman is much more difficult than a soldier. In addition, he believed that Sevastopol could not be taken from the sea. Apparently, both admirals also kept in mind the brilliant victory of Nakhimov at Sinop (Sinop battle 18 (30) November 1853 g), to drop the Black Sea Fleet was not worth it. The dispute went on for a long time. However, Saint-Arnaud suppressed resistance and pushed the decision on the expedition to the Crimea. In addition, Lord Raglan knew that in London, waiting for an attack on the Russian coast and did not resist. It was no longer possible to stay in Varna, nor to return to Constantinople. This would be a confession in defeat. Naval commanders were forced to accept. It should be noted that the Ottomans were not even invited to the meeting and were informed about its results only after the decision was made.
Disembarkation
The landing of troops and artillery on ships began on August 31. Saint-Arno himself boarded the ship 2 (14) September. 5 (17) September, the French squadron was removed from the anchor. The British squadron joined her a little later, and the whole armada moved to the Crimea.
On September 8, on the way, St. Arnaud held a meeting where it was decided to send a commission to the peninsula to determine the best place to land. Four ships accompanied this commission. On September 11, the exploration commission returned and set out the findings. According to her, the Russians prepared positions at Kachi and Alma, although there are no large defenses there. A place convenient for disembarking was found on the coast between Alma and Evpatoria. The city itself Evpatoria can be the first supporting base of the landing.
Saint-Arnaud suggested landing at Kachi, pushing the Russian troops back with a fight and immediately moving to Sevastopol, saving it a few days. Lord Raglan and all British generals opposed this bold plan. They did not want to risk it. French admiral Gamelin supported the British. The French commander, who on that day experienced an acute crisis of illness (she would soon bring him to the grave), could not insist on his own. Therefore, they decided to land at Evpatoria.
On the morning of September 13, the first ships entered the bay. The city was not protected and had no garrison. St. Arnaud and Raglan approved the plan for the near future. They planned to occupy the city with a general garrison and in a few days to move to Sevastopol, leaning their flank to the sea. From the sea, the army was supposed to support artillery and supply part of the fleet with supplies.
At three o'clock in the morning, the landing of the army began on a signal shot. The city was busy without a fight. It left a small garrison. By noon, the landing of the French divisions was over. The British began to land after the French. Artillery, horses and various supplies were unloaded until late in the evening. By nightfall, a squadron of Admiral Dondas arrived, which left to do a demonstration in front of Kachey and Alma, in order to mislead the Russians. The next day, the fourth French division was landed. The Turks began to land after all. As a result, about 62-64 thousand bayonets and sabers were planted. The French and the British had an approximately equal number - in 27-29 thousand people, the Ottomans - 6-7 thousand people.
St. Arnaud was in a hurry, he knew that he was dying and wanted to open the campaign with a successful battle, but the attack on 17 September, as the Marshal had planned, failed. The British landed extremely slowly and carried with them a lot more cargo than the French. On September 17, Lord Raglan’s troops just completed their disembarkation. By this time, Saint-Arnaud received news that the Russian army was on the Alma, blocking the road to Sevastopol. September 19 at 7 in the morning the Allied army moved on to Sevastopol.
W. Simpson. Landing in Evpatoria
Prehistory Attack on Odessa
In January 1854, the combined Anglo-French fleet entered the Black Sea. 17 (29) January, the French Emperor Napoleon III demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from the Danube principalities (Danube campaign of the Eastern War) and start negotiations with Porto. Russia rejected this ultimatum. 15 (27) March 1854, England and France declared war on the Russian Empire. Even before the official declaration of war, Napoleon III ordered the formation of an "eastern army" and appointed Marshal Armand Leroy de Saint-Arno to command it.
As a result, there was a threat of landing of Allied forces in the Russian Black Sea region. All Black Sea ports were threatened by bombing. Of particular importance was Kerch. Practically nothing was done for her defense, and Vice Admiral Serebryakov in April 1854 of the year complained that the Kerch governor was not doing anything and was still waiting for official instructions. The coastal trade voyage, which had a base in Kerch, provided the entire Crimean army and troops on the coast of the Caucasus. The enemy could still attack the defenseless Kerch in the spring and capture or sink transport ships.
Unfortunately, until June, the commander of the Russian troops in the Crimea, Alexander Menshikov, did nothing to strengthen the coastal defense. Fortunately for Russia, the allies also did not differ in promptness and did not establish maritime intelligence. For a long time they could not determine where it was most convenient for them to launch an offensive.
29 March (9 April) 1854. An 16-type steam frigate “Furious” approached Odessa. Officially, he had to evacuate from the city the consuls of the allied states and all other subjects of these powers who wish to leave Russia. Unofficially, the ship was supposed to conduct reconnaissance of coastal fortifications. On March 30 (April 10) the ship approached the port and launched the boat, which, under the white (parliamentary) flag, approached the pier. There the British were informed that the consuls had already left Odessa. The boat returned safely to the frigate. Then the ship headed for the coastal battery line. To discourage the enemy, the Russian guns gave two warning shots.
The Allies decided to use this incident as a pretext for an attack. The captain of the frigate reported to the commander of the Allied fleet Admirals Dondas and Gamelen, that “the Russians do not respect parliamentarians,” and they fired on a boat sailing under the white flag and had an officer sent for negotiations on board. French Admiral Gamelin immediately "offended" for the English delegate. The British admiral Dondas, who had not been in a hurry to attack Russian ships or harbors before, believing that the allied army landing in Varna was not worth starting, had to agree with the Frenchman. Gamelin reported to Paris that the Allied fleet would open military operations against Odessa, "in order to demand reparations from the authorities of this city for the outrageous assault of port batteries on the English frigate and the English boat sailing under the parliamentary flag."
The 8 (20) of April allied fleet, including 28 pennants (including 6 battleships, 13 frigates), approached Odessa. Odessa was declared a state of siege. 100-thousand The city and the largest Russian trade port on the Black Sea was fortified very weakly. The six coastal batteries built at the beginning of the war were armed with 40 old fortress guns. The garrison of the city made up a detachment of 16 reserve battalions commanded by Dmitry Osten-Sacken.
On April 9 (21), an envoy arrived to Baron Osten-Sacken and, on behalf of Admiral Dondas and Admiral Gamelin, demanded the extradition of all the Russian ships in the harbor, as well as British and French (commercial) ships. The Russian general said that he would not respond to such audacity.
10 (22) April around 6: The morning 40 began shelling. 9 of enemy steamer frigates (one 54-gun, eight others mostly 32-gun) approached the break. The fire was sent to the batteries, which, due to the weakness of the weapons, could not meet the enemy ships. At the very end of the Practical Mole was the battery number 6 (the so-called left battery), which in fact alone was able to respond to the enemy. She was armed with all the 4 guns - one was soon shot down, and the second was inconvenient and could not fire. Battery commanded 21-year-old graduate of the cadet corps Ensign Alexander Schegolev. Shchegolev battery bombarded 9 enemy ships. Battery No. 6 fought 6 hours and was able to damage one enemy ship. In total, during the battle 4 enemy ships were damaged. After many hours of shelling, the Allies attempted to land reconnaissance ships in order to assess the damage, but this attempt at an assault force was reflected by field gun fire.
11 (23) April, the enemy squadron took off from the anchor and went to sea. The garrison lost about 250 people. A part of the city adjacent to the port was destroyed, the port berths, warehouses of both Russians and neutral commercial ships in the harbor were burned.
However, a few days later the Allied squadron suffered the first annoying loss. April 30 (12 May) in the morning, with thick fog, 6 versts from Odessa ran aground as one of the newest and best British steamers - the 16-cannon-powered steam-frigate Tigr. Desperate efforts of the crew to remove the frigate from the shoals ended in failure. The Russians quickly deployed field batteries on the shore and shot down the enemy ship. Steamer frigate fired up. The crew lowered the flag and surrendered. 225 people were captured. Captain Giffard was wounded and soon passed away. A steam engine was removed from the ship’s wreck (later it was installed on an imperial yacht) and part of the guns, they strengthened the coastal defense of Odessa.
The death of "Tiger" has become a landmark event. Given the insignificant, from a military point of view, the results of the shelling of Odessa, the loss of the newest ship was a painful blow to the Allied squadron. It should be noted that in London and Paris were dissatisfied with the actions of their fleets. The actions of the powerful allied fleet in the Baltic were practically fruitless. The expedition to the White Sea ended with little success (The barbaric attack of the British on the Solovki monastery and the burning of Coke). Soon the news will come that the expedition to the Pacific to Petropavlovsk ended in complete failure (Heroic defense of Petropavlovsk). This fact will generally try to shut up. The barren shelling of Odessa also did not appeal to the Western public, who eagerly awaited the victorious news. Therefore, the closest attention was paid to the expeditionary army, which was transferred to the Bulgarian Varna.
Trophy gun with a frigate "Tiger"
Varna
12 (24) March 1854. Napoleon III signed a decree on the formation of a special eastern army. Initially, it consisted of four infantry and one cavalry divisions, 7 1 / 2 batteries and a special siege park (24 guns, 12 howitzers and 22 mortars). In total, there were about 40 thousand soldiers in the army. 24 March (5 April) 1854 began boarding. The preliminary landing took place in Turkish in Gallipoli. At the end of May, the troops began to transfer to Varna. By early June, three divisions had been deployed. As a result, French troops appeared on the Danube when the Russian army was already withdrawing from it. In addition, part of the French remained in Gallipoli and Constantinople.
Almost immediately between the allies began to disagree. The French marshal of Saint-Arno, an adventurer by nature, noted the atrocities in Algeria, where his troops were called "hellish column" (Napoleon III brought him closer and elevated because of his qualities - mercilessness to enemies and complete lack of principle), he tried to subdue the British and Turkish troops under the command of Lord Raglan and Omer Pasha. However, the British were not going to obey the French. Lord Raglan had instructions that commanded him to obey exclusively to the British War Minister and to no one else. Although, ultimately, in the course of hostilities, the will of Marshal Saint-Arno became decisive. He was much more experienced in warfare than the British lord.
Arriving in Varna, the allies from the very beginning felt uncomfortable. The Bulgarians for the most part sympathized with the Russians, not the allies, who came to preserve the Ottoman yoke over Bulgaria. Problems began with the issue of transport. Despite the fact that the Allies initially offered good money by local standards, there were few willing people. Then Saint-Arnaud, who was accustomed in Africa not to intercede with the local population and never considered Arabs to be people, allowing his soldiers to rob and kill them for the slightest disobedience, ordered the 800 Bulgarians and their oxen and carts to be captured and held. However, the Bulgarians responded with a mass flight and began to break and burn their carts, risking being shot.
True, in Varna there were many Turks, Vlachs and Moldovans. However, according to the observations of foreigners, the Turks did not want to work. Wallachs and Moldovans were also lazy, although they wanted to get money for their work. It was necessary to seize again and detain the Bulgarians, who did not want to support the allies of their oppressors.
Moreover, the relations between the allies themselves were not friendly. The French quarreled with the British. French officers believed that the British lured their unprofitable event, which will strengthen only England. Annoyed by the French and too modest participation of British troops in the campaign. Initially, England exhibited only one corps of 20 thousand people. In addition, Saint-Arno and his generals did not like the quality of the English soldiers. In England, soldiers were recruited through “voluntary” employment, and a lot of drunkards, loafers, tramps, and other dubious individuals fell into it, a significant part of whom were ready to desert at the first opportunity (in this historical period from the English army defected to a quarter of the composition). Therefore, the discipline of the British supported the most severe executions.
In general, the British army was a caste - the officers were the "highest caste." The officers bought their officers' patents for money (and often for big money), and tried to “return” the money. Special military training of British officers in most cases was equal to zero. The British were not ready for a new war. At the same time, they were distinguished by their resilience, dying without much benefit, which, taking into account the complete illiteracy of the command, often happened. On the other hand, the English were well supplied. In this, the French envied them.
The French did not like the Turks. They witnessed the decline and degradation of the Ottoman Empire and understood, as the witness of the campaign noted, the French officer Charles Baucher, "the Russian emperor had reason and truth for himself when he claimed that Turkey was in agony ...". France stood up for Turkey and did not get anything from it, unlike the British.
Complicated the matter and the Polish question. The Poles dreamed that they would create a special detachment or corps (legion) from the emigrants, which would become the army and take part in the “liberation of Poland”. However, both Paris and London, although at one time the Poles made a lot of promises, did not want to create a Polish legion. This was due to the position of Austria. A significant part of the Polish lands was part of Austria, and the creation of a separate Polish military contingent with the slogan "liberation of Poland" could have frightened Vienna and strengthened its ties with St. Petersburg. Therefore, the Poles were offered to quietly join the Turkish army and fight in Asia (on the Caucasian front).
Moreover, the mood of the expeditionary army and the cholera epidemic did not improve. The fight against the epidemic was very difficult. The city, occupied by the whole army, was extremely filthy, just impassable from debris and sewage. Nobody wanted to clean up the dirt and debris. The Bulgarians did not go to this work either for money or under the influence of threats and corporal punishment. The detachment, which was sent to reconnaissance, completely lost its combat capability due to illness. In their completely aimless expedition to Dobrudja (the Russian troops had already retreated), French troops lost 3,5 thousand people dead from cholera and exhaustion. Only in August, about 10% of the entire crew died in the fleet, even more lay on the bunks, waiting for death.
13 July St. Arnaud received an order to prepare for an expedition to the Crimea. The plan of operation should have been worked out in the command of the eastern army. The reason for this order was the failure of the actions of the allies in the Baltic strategic direction, where the Anglo-French fleet could do nothing, and Sweden did not want to fight with Russia and the position of Austria. The Vienna court was in no hurry to speak out against Russia and took a wait-and-see attitude.
Preparations for the expedition began. From the very beginning it was clear that the main goal was Sevastopol. But for a successful expedition to the Crimea, it was necessary to conduct reconnaissance, organize the landing of the army, provide it with everything necessary, etc. A whole month passed while we were preparing for the march.
10 (22) August, a terrible fire of "unknown" origin almost destroyed the powder depots and a huge depot of ammunition, the allied army, where there were 8 million shells. The whole army desperately rushed to save the army reserves. Soldiers and officers worked with axes, destroying buildings, along which fire went to powder stores. The situation was desperate. Four times, by his own admission, the French commander-in-chief was ready to order the troops to drop everything and flee in order to save themselves from the consequences of the inevitable unheard of force of the explosion. This fire nearly destroyed the entire 1854 campaign of the year. The Allied army lost reserves of supplies, ammunition, but rescued ammunition.
The fire forced the Allies to finally decide, as soon as possible to leave the “damned place” - Varna. The allies were annoyed and frightened, believing that hidden enemies had set the fire and turned their anger on the local population. As a result, even the Turks began to complain about the ugly behavior of their "defenders". They noted that the enemies (the Russians who occupied Varna in 1828-1829) treated them much better than their “friends”. The Russians did not make a complaint to anyone about their behavior, and left the city behind in better condition than it was before.
Delaying the departure from Varna became already impossible. The Allies finally stopped in the Crimea. The issue of landing on the coast of the Caucasus has disappeared. The British wanted to help Shamil and expel the Russians from the South Caucasus, but they would prefer to do this with the hands of the Ottomans and the French. They themselves did not want to go to the Caucasus. The French did not want to die in the Caucasus because of the interests of Britain (guarding the routes to Persia and India). Therefore, when the delegation of Shamil arrived in Varna on July 25, she was warmly welcomed, but no more. From the attack on the Danube direction also refused. For success on the Danube and Prut, active assistance was necessary for Austria, but it was not there.
In mid-August, St. Arnaud's 1854 held a military meeting. On it the naval commanders — the English and French admirals Dondas and Gamelin, spoke out against the expedition to the Crimea. Dondas said that the allies' all power lies in the fleet, and in the Crimea and at Sevastopol they will have to risk the fleet. Gamelin supported the English admiral. He was worried that cholera would continue to the Crimea, and replacing a good sailor or midshipman is much more difficult than a soldier. In addition, he believed that Sevastopol could not be taken from the sea. Apparently, both admirals also kept in mind the brilliant victory of Nakhimov at Sinop (Sinop battle 18 (30) November 1853 g), to drop the Black Sea Fleet was not worth it. The dispute went on for a long time. However, Saint-Arnaud suppressed resistance and pushed the decision on the expedition to the Crimea. In addition, Lord Raglan knew that in London, waiting for an attack on the Russian coast and did not resist. It was no longer possible to stay in Varna, nor to return to Constantinople. This would be a confession in defeat. Naval commanders were forced to accept. It should be noted that the Ottomans were not even invited to the meeting and were informed about its results only after the decision was made.
Disembarkation
The landing of troops and artillery on ships began on August 31. Saint-Arno himself boarded the ship 2 (14) September. 5 (17) September, the French squadron was removed from the anchor. The British squadron joined her a little later, and the whole armada moved to the Crimea.
On September 8, on the way, St. Arnaud held a meeting where it was decided to send a commission to the peninsula to determine the best place to land. Four ships accompanied this commission. On September 11, the exploration commission returned and set out the findings. According to her, the Russians prepared positions at Kachi and Alma, although there are no large defenses there. A place convenient for disembarking was found on the coast between Alma and Evpatoria. The city itself Evpatoria can be the first supporting base of the landing.
Saint-Arnaud suggested landing at Kachi, pushing the Russian troops back with a fight and immediately moving to Sevastopol, saving it a few days. Lord Raglan and all British generals opposed this bold plan. They did not want to risk it. French admiral Gamelin supported the British. The French commander, who on that day experienced an acute crisis of illness (she would soon bring him to the grave), could not insist on his own. Therefore, they decided to land at Evpatoria.
On the morning of September 13, the first ships entered the bay. The city was not protected and had no garrison. St. Arnaud and Raglan approved the plan for the near future. They planned to occupy the city with a general garrison and in a few days to move to Sevastopol, leaning their flank to the sea. From the sea, the army was supposed to support artillery and supply part of the fleet with supplies.
At three o'clock in the morning, the landing of the army began on a signal shot. The city was busy without a fight. It left a small garrison. By noon, the landing of the French divisions was over. The British began to land after the French. Artillery, horses and various supplies were unloaded until late in the evening. By nightfall, a squadron of Admiral Dondas arrived, which left to do a demonstration in front of Kachey and Alma, in order to mislead the Russians. The next day, the fourth French division was landed. The Turks began to land after all. As a result, about 62-64 thousand bayonets and sabers were planted. The French and the British had an approximately equal number - in 27-29 thousand people, the Ottomans - 6-7 thousand people.
St. Arnaud was in a hurry, he knew that he was dying and wanted to open the campaign with a successful battle, but the attack on 17 September, as the Marshal had planned, failed. The British landed extremely slowly and carried with them a lot more cargo than the French. On September 17, Lord Raglan’s troops just completed their disembarkation. By this time, Saint-Arnaud received news that the Russian army was on the Alma, blocking the road to Sevastopol. September 19 at 7 in the morning the Allied army moved on to Sevastopol.
W. Simpson. Landing in Evpatoria
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