Crimean War (1/2) | Animated History (REMASTER IN DESCRIPTION)

The Crimean War was one of the most deadly conflicts in late European history. Its impact was subtle, but spanned from improving military technology and medicine to indirectly leading to the end of the Ottoman Empire. It was the largest European war after the Napoleonic Wars, and would remain that way until World War I. So the fact that this war is so briefly mentioned in general history books is astounding. For this reason, I'd like to discuss the informational side of this war, as later I will be creating a video essay on the effects of the war. The Crimean War was fought by Russia against the United Kingdom, France, the Ottomans, and Sardinia-Piedmont. It's commonly believed that the war had been started on the grounds of religious disagreements over Christian shrines in the Ottoman-controlled Palestine region, but many believe this simply to be an excuse for Russia to exercise power in the Balkans and seize Constantinople, two regions also belonging to the Ottoman Empire. At this time, Russia had protection rights in all of the Christian shrines in Ottoman land, but because France had recently claimed the title of protector of the Catholic faith, they aimed to change this. The religious contention started when the new president of France, Napoleon III, threatened to seize the churches and place them under Catholic rule. Napoleon III yearned to gain prestige for his newly declared Second French Empire, and wanted to improve relations with the Catholic Church. So to assert his power, Napoleon III would send ships to the Black Sea between Russia and the Ottomans. Since Orthodox rights were now under threat, Nicholas of Russia sent an ultimatum to the Ottomans in May of 1853, and demanded that all Orthodox land under the Ottomans be placed under his protection directly. Because of the growing tension, Britain tried to mediate the discord, but was unable to find any compromise between the three nations. When the Ottomans refused to accept Russia's ultimatum, Nicholas of Russia invaded the Orthodox Romania and Moldavia in July of 1853. There was little response at first, as the Ottomans and French were unsure what to do. It's important to know that Russia made this audacious move because they expected support from Austria, Britain, and even some of the other major European powers, but they were mistaken. The Ottomans were dubbed the sick man of Europe, their economy was in shambles, and increasing autonomy within the Ottoman subjects led to extreme domestic instability. And so Russia's impression of this was that Britain and Austria would want to take advantage of the weakened Turkish state and seize new land. But because Britain wanted to maintain the balance of power in Europe as set in the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the British would join the side of the French, and many other countries would simply remain neutral. Britain figured that Russia gaining monopoly in the Black Sea would hurt Britain more, even if they could take land from the Ottomans. The British and French knew that the main objective of the Russians at the time was to gain control of Constantinople. After all, the Russians saw themselves as the new Byzantine Empire and wanted to control the birthplace of Orthodox Christianity. But back to the conflict. The Turks were hesitant at Russia's aggression, but soon declared war on Russia in October of 1853, just three months after the Russians entered the Balkans. The Turkish army crossed the Danube, met the Russian army head-on, and defeated them in the Battle of Altynayta. Compensating for their defeat, however, the Russians destroyed a huge Turkish fleet at Sinop in late November 1853. This naval battle was a no-work, as it was the first battle to feature After this naval defeat, the British and French fleets hurried to blockade the Russians in the Black Sea, arriving in early January 1854. In late March 1854, the British and French would officially declare war, after much pressuring from the Ottomans. That same month, the Russians crossed the Danube again and invaded Turkish Bulgaria. Austria, however, protested at Russia's expansion, and so in August of 1854, they forced the Russians to withdraw. This is really important, as Austria's main and really only ally was Russia. So by losing her only real ally, Austria would remain helpless until the turn of the century. Before I talk about the major offensive that broke out in Crimea, it is important to know that this war was not exclusive to the small peninsula of Crimea. The war was also fought in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. But for the sake of this video, we're going to just be focusing on the Balkans and Crimea. Now it's time for Britain and France to finally act. They decided that landing in Crimea would be perfect, as it would allow them to threaten Russia's Black Sea trade, eliminate the Russian fleet, and lay siege to major Russian cities, while still maintaining logistical efficiency through their proximity to the Ottomans through the Balkans. And before I even talk about Crimea, it's also important to know that leadership on both sides of the Crimean was really abysmal. This is explicitly shown in the beginning of the Allied campaign. So as the Allies would set sail under Lord Regland for the British and the seriously ill Marshal Armand de Saint-Arnaud for the French, these leaders didn't even really know where to land until they finally reached Crimea. And when they did, they chose to land at a beach, an open beach, not a port, and this was about 30 miles north from Sevastopol. The landing took an entire five days, and this showed a lack of ability from the Russian commander Alexander Menshikov, as he did not take this very clear opportunity to completely wipe out the Allied forces. And only now, with the Allies fully equipped and ready, did Prince Menshikov attempt to stop the Allies at the Battle of Alma in mid-September of 1854. This attempt to hold the Russian line at the River Alma cost Menshikov 5,700 of his original 36,400 men, and only cost the Allies about half of that, around 3,000 of their original 52,000 men. As Menshikov received word of Russian reinforcements, he pulled back to fortify Sevastopol. The Allies chased Menshikov and would finally reach the city by late September 1854. The French and British are now ready, or at least believe they're ready, to lay siege to Sevastopol. To see the continuation of their campaign, please watch part two. Thank you, and I'll see you next time.