How did Russia lose the Crimean War?

The Crimean War (1853-1856)

The Crimean War was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/Russian-Empire" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Russian Empire</a> and an ultimately victorious alliance of the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-the-Ottoman-Empire" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ottoman Empire</a>, <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-France" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">France</a>, the <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-England" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">United Kingdom</a> and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the expansion of the Russian Empire in the preceding Russo-Turkish Wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe. The flashpoint was a disagreement over the rights of <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Christianity" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Christian</a> minorities in Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire, with the French promoting the rights of Roman Catholics, and Russia promoting those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Crimean War was one of the first conflicts in which military forces used modern technologies such as explosive naval shells, railways and telegraphs. The war was also one of the first to be documented extensively in written reports and in photographs. The war quickly became a symbol of logistical, medical and tactical failures and of mismanagement. The reaction in Britain led to a demand for professionalisation of medicine, most famously achieved by Florence Nightingale, who gained worldwide attention for pioneering modern nursing while she treated the wounded. The Crimean War marked a turning point for the Russian Empire. The war weakened the Imperial Russian Army, drained the treasury and undermined Russia's influence in Europe. The empire would take decades to recover. Russia's humiliation forced its educated elites to identify its problems and to recognise the need for fundamental reforms. They saw rapid modernisation as the sole way to recover the empire's status as a European power. The war thus became a catalyst for reforms of Russia's social institutions, including the abolition of serfdom and overhauls in the justice system, local self-government, education and military service.

Visual Timelines

Crimean War Timeline

Crimean War Timeline

Prologue

Ottoman declares war on Russia

Caucasus theatre

Battle of Oltenița

Battle of Sinop

Battle of Başgedikler

Battle of Cetate

Siege of Calafat

Baltic theatre

Siege of Silistria

Peace attempts

Battle of Bomarsund

Battle of Kurekdere

Russians withdraw from Danubian Principalities

Crimean campaign

Battle of the Alma

Siege of Sevastopol

Florence Nightingale

Battle of Balaclava

Battle of Inkerman

Winter of 1854

Dissatisfaction

Grand Crimean Central Railway

Battle of Eupatoria

Sardinian expeditionary corps

Azov campaign

Siege of Kars

Battle of Suomenlinna

Battle of the Chernaya

Battle of Malakoff

Battle of the Great Redan

Battle of Kinburn

Peace negotiations

Epilogue

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