Crimean War Siege of Sevastopol

Setting the scene

The Siege of Sevastopol (1854-1855) was the decisive campaign of the Crimean War, fought between Russia and an alliance of Britain, France, Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia. The war began in 1853 over Russian claims to protect Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. After the Allies won at Alma in September 1854, they besieged Sevastopol, Russia's main Black Sea naval base. The siege lasted 11 months, from October 1854 to September 1855, and became a brutal war of attrition.

What happened

The siege was marked by horrific conditions, incompetence, and technological change. The winter of 1854-1855 saw British troops die from cold, disease, and starvation due to logistical failures—famously documented by Florence Nightingale, who revolutionized nursing at Scutari hospital, and by The Times correspondent William Russell, whose reports sparked public outrage. The war saw the first use of railways for logistics, telegraph for communication, and modern rifles. Key battles included Balaclava (October 1854), where the Charge of the Light Brigade occurred, and Inkerman (November 1854), the 'Soldiers' Battle.'

Why it still matters

Sevastopol fell on September 9, 1855, after French troops captured the Malakoff redoubt. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris (1856), which neutralized the Black Sea and checked Russian expansion. The siege exposed the incompetence of aristocratic officers and led to military reforms in Britain. It also marked the end of the Concert of Europe and set the stage for Italian and German unification. The war's horrors, widely reported for the first time, changed public expectations of warfare and government accountability.

Background

Florence Nightingale reformed military nursing.