CHAPTER II.
THE CRIMEA.—THE BATTLE OF THE ALMA.
It was in the Crimean War, as noted in the preceding chapter, that the first Victoria Crosses were won. I do not purpose giving a history of the war here, for space does not permit of it, nor would it be altogether in place. But for a proper appreciation of the incidents which I am about to describe it is necessary to say something about the events which led up to the war. The reader who wants to obtain a completer grasp of the campaign, the first great European war that our army had been engaged in since the war against Napoleon, will of course turn to an authoritative history for information, not forgetting to keep a map in front of him while he reads.
The war in the Crimea originated in the aggressive movements of Russia against her old enemy the Turk. For centuries the Crimea itself had been the scene of constant warfare between the two nations, its independence as a separate state under the rule of its own Khans being at length secured towards the end of the eighteenth century, in the hope that peace would come to the troubled district.
But it was not to be so. Russia could not keep her hands off the desired province, the possession of which meant a step gained in the direction of Constantinople and the conquest of the Ottomans. Accordingly the treaty with the Turks was violated by the Empress Catherine, and the Crimea was seized again by the Russians. Fortresses of formidable dimensions now sprang up on the borders, the greatest and most famous of these being the naval arsenal of Sebastopol, which was built at the southern extremity of the peninsula, in the Black Sea.
In due time the Tsar Nicholas I. ascended the throne of Muscovy, and, believing that the hostility of France towards England needed little to be fanned into flame, he thought the time propitious to carry out his ambitious scheme of conquest. With France involved in a war with this country he had no reason to fear interference with his plans. Having picked a quarrel with the Sultan, therefore, on a matter of dispute between the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches, relating to the guardianship of the Holy Places, especially the Holy Sepulchre in Palestine, the Tsar flung an army into the provinces of the Danube.
But he had reckoned without his host. In the face of this common danger (for the downfall of the Turks meant a Russian menace of the whole of Europe), England and France sank their differences and joined forces against the Russians. In obstinate mood, and confident in the strength of his huge army, the Tsar held on his way, with the result that the Allies declared war. This was in 1854.
Contrary to Russian expectations, the war opened in the Crimea. Here the combined fleets made their appearance in September of the same year, the troops landing on the western coast. The English army was under the command of Lord Raglan, the French commander-in-chief being Marshal St. Arnaud. Marching southward towards Sebastopol, at which a blow was aimed, the allied army gained its first victories at Alma and Balaclava. Then commenced the long and memorable siege of Sebastopol, which was not reduced until September of the following year.
In the meantime, however, was fought the great battle of Inkerman, “the soldiers’ battle,” as it has been called, one of the most terrible fights that Europe has seen. This took place in November 1854.
The winter, spring, and summer of the following year were taken up with the siege operations, which progressed but slowly owing to the severity of the winter and the many natural difficulties to be overcome. Our troops, too, as is now a matter of history, were scandalously ill-equipped for the campaign, and when we read of how badly they were clothed and fed, of what little provision there was for the care of the wounded, and altogether of the gross mismanagement that characterised the conduct of the campaign, we feel all the more pride that our men fought so well and achieved so much success in the face of such tremendous odds.