The Siege of Sevastopol, 1854–1855

The War in the Crimea Told Through Newspaper Reports, Official Documents and the Accounts of Those Who Were There

Anthony Dawson

• Publisher: Frontline Books
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781848329577
• eBook ISBN: 9781848329591
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

A history of the grueling Crimean War battle as told through personal accounts of those who fought there.
The Crimean War, the most destructive and deadly war of the nineteenth century, has been the subject of countless books, yet historian Anthony Dawson has amassed an astonishing collection of previously unknown and unpublished material, including numerous letters and private journals. Many untapped French sources reveal aspects of the fighting in the Crimea that have never been portrayed before.
The accounts demonstrate the suffering of the troops during the savage winter and the ravages of cholera and dysentery that resulted in the deaths of more than 16,000 British troops and 75,000 French. Whilst there is graphic first-hand testimony from those that fought up the slopes of the Alma, in the valley of death at Balaklava, and the fog of Inkerman, the book focusses upon the siege; the great artillery bombardments, the storming of the Redan and the Mamelon, and the largest man-made hole in history up to that time when the Russians blew up the defences they could not hold, with their own men inside.
The Siege of Sevastopol also highlights, for the first time, the fourth major engagement in the Crimea, the Battle of the Tchernaya in August 1855, the Russians' last great attempt to break the siege. This predominantly French-fought battle has never before examined in such in English language books.
Praise for The Siege of Sevastopol, 1854–1855
"In this fascinating book, the voices of men involved in the war in the Crimea are heard for the first time. Compelling and intriguing stuff." — Books Monthly
"The author has collected a large amount of previously unpublished material for this new work. Entries from private letters and journal are mixed with French sources previously unused in the English-speaking world. The result is a work that effectively conveys the thoughts and experiences of the participants to the reader." —Warfare History Network

Chapter 1

Invasion of the Crimea

The Allied fleets hove into view of the Crimean coast around dawn on Thursday 14 September 1854. From onboard the Euphrates, lieutenant Marie-Octave Cullet of the 20e Légère watched as the coastline drew larger:

The land is seen; through the sea-fog we see the serrations of the enemy coast … before us, the beach extended off to the horizon; flat, barren and deserted.1

Maréchal de Saint-Arnaud was mindful of his orders from Paris: to capture Sebastopol quickly before winter set in. A speedy landing and march on Sebastopol was of the essence.2 By 07.00 hours the Allied fleet was formed in three parallel lines; the first line was composed of warships with their guns run out to protect the landings. With them were the transports of the French 1e Division, in the second line the 2e Division and in the third line the 3e Division. The 4e Division, accompanied by Allied warships commanded by Admiral Dundas was to land further south, at the River Katcha where they would ‘simulate a landing’ with much firing of artillery and rockets, to keep the Russians guessing as to the Allies’ intent. At 07.10 hours a rocket fired from the French flagship, Ville de Paris was the order to commence landing.3

Within minutes the first French troops were making their way ashore in the aptly-named Kalamita Bay: ‘In an instant’, wrote lieutenant Cullet, ‘the sea was covered with rowboats, canoes, landing-craft of all dimensions’ conveying the troops ashore.4 There was a race to see which regiment could plant their Eagle on the beach first. Capitaine Charles Nicholas Lacretelle, of the Légion Étrangère (Foreign Legion), remarked:

The Division Canrobert (1e), of which my battalion was a part, disembarked first, and advanced toward the beach in a line of landing-craft, their flags flying, the band playing the national hymn. The spectacle was imposing; a calm sea favoured us. To our great astonishment, the Russians did not stop us, and did nothing to oppose our movement.5

Colonel Jean-Joseph Gustave Cler, commanding 2e Régiment des Zouaves, however, claimed the glory of landing on the beach for his regiment:

Three of my companies were the first to land on the beach, having at no point met any resistance, and all the army disembarked without a single Russian to soldier to fight. The inhabitants have all left in fear at our approach.6

French historian César Louis de Bazancourt, who accompanied the expeditionary force, watched as:

The 1e Division was the first to land on the beach. Its 1e Brigade was directed to the right, towards the hills… the 2e Brigade directed to the left, where to its left was the 2e Division … Conducted by General Bosquet to their camping site, they soon established their bivouac. The 3e Division, which was commanded by the Prince Napoleon, here took its place on the left of the French line, and not far from the right of the English; and, in almost a twinkling of an eye, the Zouaves had formed their bivouac, and thrown out their pickets.7

Capitaine J. F. J. Herbé of the 20e Légère noted that:

At a signal from the flagship, the landing craft moored to the sides of the warships, boats of all kinds, were put to sea, and filled with soldiers; the small steam ships taking in tow several of the boats and took them as close as possible to the shore.

To disembark, the soldiers jumped into the water, and gained the terra firma, getting wet just up to the knees. The generals of division set the example, [and went first] followed by their troops. At 2pm all of the infantry was landed; at 5pm, 60 pieces of artillery, their caissons, horses, even our mules and bât horses.

The cavalrymen, directed by the officers of the staff, and without wasting any time, marked the line of battle on which we must place our small tents, and at 6pm, we occupied our locations; the camp was established. The line described a semi-circle, with each end resting on the sea; the French on the right, the English on the left; the division of the Prince [Napoleon, i.e. 3e Division] occupying the middle of the half-circle; the Turks were in the centre, backing on to the sea. The disembarkation continued into the night, but the wind came up, so the operation had to be suspended.8

By 15.00 hours the French had completed landing the infantry of the 1e, 2e and 3e Divisions:

The maréchal [de Saint-Arnaud] disembarked and all the army paraded in front of him whilst marching from the beach to occupy its position. All the men saluted him with cries of ‘Vive l’Empereur,’ our general in chief, of which almost everyone knows the sufferings and agonies. The disembarkation continued after dark with the unloading of artillery and horses. Our men carried their knapsacks containing eight days’ rations of rice, sugar, coffee, bacon and biscuit. In front of our brigade, the first battalion of the 20e is detached, and sent forward a kilometre to form the advanced posts.9

The officers had landed without their baggage or their bât ponies; colonel Le Breton (commanding 74e de Ligne) complained that ‘we are without baggage, only carrying cartridges for four days and biscuit and salted lard.’10 He wrote home asking for a parcel of ‘several geese, meat paté, chocolate, four bottles of good old wine.’11 Staff officer Henri de Bouillé complained that the French staff had not eaten any soup or had any coffee to drink for thirty-six hours due to a lack of water.12 Capitaine Herbé related that before the officers had landed they had each taken two loaves of bread (each weighing 1kg) but neither officers nor men had their soup or ate a meal the first night ashore.13

Amongst the French troops that landed in the Crimea were the three Minart brothers: Charles (aged 30) who was serving as a capitaine in the 27e Régiment de Ligne; Alfred (aged 26) who was a sergent-major in the 27e and Édouard (aged 20) who was a caporal in the 1e Régiment des Zouaves. Charles wrote to their mother before the French fleet left Varna informing her that all three sons were in good health.14 He wrote again on 29 September:

The 14th, the fleet continued its movement to the chosen point of disembarkation. The disembarkation commenced at ten o’clock in the morning, and the operation took place with no resistance … the terrain represented a vast plain, without cultivation, lightly undulating. Our first camp in the Crimea is established at the Old Fort. In the afternoon, there were several razzias [raids], and we captured a wagonload of plums, and one was given to each man. The sojourn in the camp is disagreeable, the water is brackish and wood scarce. I interrupt my letter, to communicate the promotions … Alfred is promoted to sergeant-major of the voltigeur company in my battalion.

The 16th. Our sojourn in the camp of Old Fort continues; the previous day we had seen for the first time Russian uniforms. A post of ten men with a sergeant were taken prisoner [by us].15

The newly-promoted sergent-major Alfred Minart was also eager to inform his mother of his promotion and that all three were well:

Charles is constantly at Division, for the Council of War, for which he is the rapporteur. Édouard is ten minutes away from me. I do not see him [Charles] often because he is on such a high perch.16

The landings were not without incident: as colonel Le Breton (74e de ligne) relates:

16 September 1854. I disembarked around two o’clock. My horse is thrown into the sea at the nightfall and I arrive swimming with a few light bruises The sea swept with such violence that the boats and barges could not quite get to the beach … several horses are wounded; some of them have drowned. A vigorous sailor grabbed me by the shoulders to drag me to land, and I was able to land on foot.17

Despite being terminally ill with congenital heart disease, maréchal de Saint Arnaud presented ‘indomitably energy’ and was to be seen in all quarters of the French camp:

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction, The Crimean War
• Map of the Crimea, 1854 – 55
• Chapter 1 Invasion of the Crimea
• Chapter 2 Battle of the Alma
• Chapter 3 March on Sebastopol
• Chapter 4 Battle of Balaklava
• Chapter 5 Inkerman
• Chapter 6 ‘Generals December, January and February’
• Chapter 7 Spring Assaults
• Chapter 8 The Malakoff and the Great Redan
• Chapter 9 The Battle for Sebastopol
• Chapter 10 The Importance of the Siege of Sebastopol
• Bibliography
• Plate section