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Siege of Sevastopol (1854-1855)

Siege of Sevastopol
Part of the Crimean War
Panorama dentro.JPG
Siege of Sevastopol by Franz Roubaud
Date 17 October 1854 – 9 September 1855
Location Sevastopol, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire
Result Decisive Allied victory
Belligerents
 Russia
Commanders and leaders
Strength
  • October 1854: 67,000
  • July 1855 total strength: 175,000, consisting of:
  • French: 75,000
  • British: 35,000
  • Ottoman: 60,000
  • Piedmontese: 15,000
  • Arriving in August:
  • British Ottoman Contingent: 22,000
  • German Legion: 9,000
  • Swiss Legion: 3,000
  • Polish Legion: 1,500
  • Italian Legion: 2,000
  • French Reserve Army at Constantinople: 30,000
  • British Reserve Army at Malta: 15,000+
  • October 1854 garrison: 36,600
  • May 1855 garrison: 43,000 and 42,000 army in the Crimea, with 8,886 naval gunners
Casualties and losses
  • French: 10,240 killed in action, 20,000 died of wounds, 50,000 died of disease
  • British: 2,755 killed in action, 2,019 died of wounds, 16,323 died of disease
  • Piedmontese: 2,050 died from all causes
  • Total deaths: 128,387
Total casualties: 102,000 killed, wounded, and died from disease

The Siege of Sevastopol (at the time called in English the Siege of Sebastopol) lasted from September 1854 until September 1855, during the Crimean War. The allies (French, Ottoman, and British) landed at Eupatoria on 14 September 1854, intending to make a triumphal march to Sevastopol, the capital of the Crimea, with 50,000 men. The 56-kilometre (35 mi) traverse took a year of fighting against the Russians. Major battles along the way were Alma (September 1854), Balaklava (October 1854), Inkerman (November 1854), Tchernaya (August 1855), Redan (September 1855), and, finally, Sevastopol (September 1855). During the siege, the allied navy undertook six bombardments of the capital, on 17 October 1854; and on 9 April, 6 June, 17 June, 17 August, and 5 September 1855.

Sevastopol is one of the classic sieges of all time. The city of Sevastopol was the home of the Tsar's Black Sea Fleet, which threatened the Mediterranean. The Russian field army withdrew before the allies could encircle it. The siege was the culminating struggle for the strategic Russian port in 1854–1855 and was the final episode in the Crimean War.

During the Victorian Era, these battles were repeatedly memorialized. The Siege of Sevastopol was the subject of Crimean soldier Leo Tolstoy's Sebastopol Sketches and the subject of the first Russian feature film, Defence of Sevastopol. The Battle of Balaklava was made famous by Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and Robert Gibb's painting The Thin Red Line, as well as by a panorama of the siege painted by Franz Roubaud. Treating the wounded from these battles were celebrated English nurses Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale.


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