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Funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
Channel 1
Star Media
babich-design
Russian Military-Historical Society
Present
The Battle of Sinop, 1853
These four hours of the battled passed quickly, like one minute.
The tension reached its utmost point, when the enemy broke down and opened fire.
In the blink of an eye the sky, the water, and the land were became red
as flame and blood. That was a magnificent victory of the imperial fleet.
The entire world witnessed again the decisiveness and courage
of the Russian warriors. It seemed that the Black Sea would be safe forever.
It only remained to wait till the sea becomes calm, the smoke from the fires
disperses, and it would be safe again to approach the home coast,
the bay of Sevastopol.
Only one person, the winner, a famous admiral, Nakhimov, standing on the deck
of Empress Maria, understood: this was only the beginning of a terrible and
merciless world war.
This war is most often called the Crimean War.
But the Crimean battles, including the famous defense of Sevastopol, are
only a part of a greater war.
The warfare embraced vast territories, from the Baltic Sea and Arctic
to the Caucasus and the Pacific Ocean.
The war was waged on the lands that were remote from each other,
its players were pursuing global goals.
With every new step the ideological struggle was growing more intense.
These factors are signs of a world war.
That was namely the reason why the Crimean War of the mid-19th century
was called the Zero World War.
It became a kind of a rehearsal for the upcoming First and Second world wars.
ZERO WORLD WAR
Episode 1
London, 1844
On June 1, 1844 in London, at the Thames quay, three-time gunfire saluted
the arrival of three steamboats.
An imperial flag was waving on one of them, Cyclops.
It meant that Russian Czar Nicholas I was on board.
The British capital welcomed Nicholas with a pompous reception.
The Russian emperor was surrounded by a crowd of admirers whenever and
wherever he went.
Confident glance, impeccable manners and most significantly,
a knight nobility breathed by every gesture he made. The Morning Post.
Taking part in official events, the Russian czar didn’t forget
even for a moment about the main purpose of his visit.
During his meeting with Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel,
Nicholas shed light on the interests of his state.
He didn’t doubt the sincerity of his vis-a-vis.
Getting control of the Bosporus and Dardanelles, the straits between
the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, has been the most important
goal of the Russian diplomacy since the time of Catherine the Great.
Taking the straits would eliminate the military threat from the Black Sea coast
and facilitate the South Russian sea trade.
Nicholas I understood: as long as the straits are not under the Russian control,
his empire will be vulnerable. And Bosporus and Dardanelles had belonged
to the Ottoman Empire for many centuries.
The Ottoman Empire emerged in the end of the 13th century.
It reached its height in 1453, after the seizure of the capital of Byzantium,
Constantinople. At the moment of its greatest prosperity, it included the countries
of Near East and North Africa, Greece, the Crimea, and the Balkan lands.
In the middle of the 19th century the Ottoman Empire was in the state of decay,
being shaken by national revolts and losing its lands in various parts of the world.
It was not without a reason that Nicholas I called the Ottoman Empire
“the sick man of Europe.” Different revolts were taking place in its different parts.
It was indeed close to collapse.
That is why in his conversation with the British premier, the Russian emperor
immediately got to the core.
“The collapse of the Ottoman Empire is inevitable, but Russia doesn’t claim to
any part of its territory.”
Nicholas was speaking so excitedly that Sir Robert suggested that he stepped back
from the window, because someone could hear his words.
The emperor made several steps towards the center of the chamber, and said
with utmost clarity, “If the Ottoman throne falls for any external reasons,
“I will never allow Constantinople to become a British or French territory.”
The English prime minister and the Russian czar came to an agreement:
if the Ottoman Empire collapses, Britain and Russia will together discuss
the plan to divide it. As a sign of his good intentions, Sir Robert shook hands
with Nicholas. However the parties didn’t sign any papers during the meeting.
Nicholas was an open person. He sincerely considered the English as his
partners and believed that a gentlemen’s agreement would be enough.
But the British government, which didn’t confirm a union with Russia on paper,
left freedom of maneuver for itself. The thing is that in the relations
between the countries there were numerous hidden problems.
In 1832 the share of England in Russia’s export made 73 percent,
Russian share in English export was 41 percent.
Raw materials were exported from Russia, and ready produce was imported.
It was a matter of vital concern for Britain to preserve this state of things.
But it started to change.
In 1825 through 1845 the import of a variety of machines and equipment
to Russia increased by nearly 30 times, and the number of factory workers
and industrial companies doubled.
Numerous textile factories were opened, and the import of raw cotton increased
by 280 percent. Railways and motorways were being constructed,
and along with the steamboat connection, they linked the developing
industrial centers. Banks and insurance companies received tax subsidies,
and the currency rate of ruble was stable.
England’s Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel invited Russian Ambassador
von Brunnow and tried to persuade him, “Russia by its nature is meant
to be a rural, rather than a manufacture country.” In other words,
the British premier without any shade of embarrassment suggested that
Russia should refuse from the very idea of economic development.
At that time Russian merchants were actively trading domestic products on the
shore of the Caspian Sea, in Persia and the Asian territory of Turkey.
Not only were they competing with the English, but they were often successful.
From the British point of view, this Russian expansion had to be stopped
at any cost.
On the 9th of June the Thames was overcrowded.
His Majesty appeared to the strains of the farewell naval salute.
Once His Majesty boarded the vessel,
a small row - boat with a lonely oarer inside approached it.
The oarer brought a sack of straw, for everybody knew the Russian Tsar liked to
sleep on a straw-stuffed matrass. The Daily News.
Nicholas left for his homeland in perfect airs. He thought he had fulfilled
his mission. Now, when two most powerful states in the world, Russia and Britain,
agreed to act together, he had nothing to worry about.
Only about his daughter, Alexandra, Adini, as she was called by her family.
Since March she was feeling unwell, but before the emperor’s departure
her condition improved. So, everything was supposed to be fine.
When The Black Eagle, the emperor’s ship, disappeared behind the horizon,
a British schooner with several hundred kilos of gunpowder was ready to depart.
The load was heading to the Caucasus to support the highlanders in their war
against the Russian army.
Nicholas spent only two months with his daughter - died in August,
saying only two words before her death, “Be happy.”
The peace with Britain won’t persist even for 10 years.
The war between the two great powers was predetermined at the very
moment when the English prime minister swore allegiance to the Russian emperor.
Warsaw, 1848
The English worried not only about Russia’s economic growth.
Europe remembered Russia’s power, when in March 1814 the triumphant Russian
army, after defeating Napoleon, went across the Champs-Elysees.
And now the Russian army was again in Europe. In 1846 a revolution took place
in the Austrian Empire. Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne
in favor of his son. 18-year-old Franz-Joseph came to power.
Hungary rose in revolt soon. The Hungarian rebels gathered an army,
pronounced the fall of the Habsburgs and defeated the governmental forces.
Franz-Joseph I was born on August 18, 1830. An emperor of Austria,
king of Hungary, king of Bohemia, king of Croatia and Slavonia,
King of Galicia and Lodomeria. During the 70-year-long reign of Franz-Joseph,
the Austrian Empire went through a lot. Having inherited a weakened country,
Franz-Joseph managed to strengthen it, but at the end of the emperor’s life
Austria was totally defeated on the fields of the World War I.
As a result it collapsed. Franz-Joseph died on November 21, 1916 at the age of 86.
Franz-Joseph came to Russian Warsaw, where Nicholas I was staying,
kissed the Russian czar’s hand and begged him for help.
Nicholas treated the young emperor as his son and agreed to give him
military assistance. Several days later he threw 100,000 soldiers against
the Hungarians under the command of Field-Marshal Paskevich.
Paskevich Ivan Fedorovich, Count of Yerevan, was born in 1782.
He started his career during the reign of Paul I, and at the age of 18 became his
aid-de-camp. A hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Russo-Persian and
Russo-Turkish wars. He commanded the conquering of the highlanders in
North Caucasus and the suppression of the Polish rebellion, later he
was appointed the Namestnik (Viceroy) of the Kingdom of Poland.
He was a front name of Emperor Nicholas I.
In June 1849 four corps of the Russian army entered the territory of
the Austrian Empire. The army under Paskevich’s command energetically
advanced in all directions, surrounding the forces of the rebels step by step.
On August 13, the Hungarian rebellion army capitulated.
Paskevich sends a message to Nicholas, “Hungary is at the feet of Your Majesty.”
The Russian czar saved the Austrian Empire from collapse and didn’t demand
anything in return. Franz-Joseph’s gratitude was enough for him.
During her visit to the Parliament, Her Majesty Queen Victoria
had to go through a couple of quite a diaagreeable moments.
Although Her Majesty couldn't give the answer to the question
if Tsar Nicoaly is still considered our ally or not,
it looks like the answer is obvious: now that this country has put its boots on
the Austrian ground, Russia becomes a real threat to our security as well. The Times
Saint-Petersburg, 1853
It was then that Russia received the name of “Europe’s gendarme.”
Nicholas didn’t see the fear and irritation of the European states.
In this situation he decided to return to the dialogue with the British government.
In January 1853 the Russian emperor met with English Ambassador
Hamilton Seymour. Seymour was listening to the details of secret of plan of
Division of the Ottoman Empire, proposed by Nicholas, in respectful silence.
According to this plan, England would get Egypt and the Island of Crete.
Russia, additionally to the protectorate over the Danube Principalities of
Moldavia and Walachia, would get under its control the Slavonic lands,
Serbia and Bulgaria. The thorny issue of the straits wasn’t broached directly.
Before saying goodbye to the ambassador, Nicholas said that he trusted the British
government completely and that he wasn’t asking for any obligations or
agreements, “This is a free exchange of opinions, and if necessity arises,
a word of gentleman.”
Seymour was so depressed by the scale of Russian emperor’s plans that
he stumbled and fell, when he was leaving the office.
Nicholas kindly smiled and helped the English ambassador rise to his feet.
In his plan, Nicholas sincerely tried to consider the interests of Britain.
However, the English were not glad to hear his offer.
To stop Russia, they secretly decided to defend Turkey’s sovereignty,
even with arms, if there would be such a need.
In 1838 the English government imposed on Turkey the unequal trade agreement,
according to which Britain got a serious advantage in customs fees.
As a result, a stream of English manufactured goods flushed to Turkey.
They were so cheap that the local manufacturers went bankrupt, because they
couldn’t stand the competition. To keep the country’s sinking economy afloat,
the Ottoman minister of finance on a regular basis kept going to beg for loans
to London and Paris stock exchanges.
That brought Turkey even deeper into economic slavery.
In those years Charles Stratford Canning was carrying out the British policy
in Constantinople.
Charles Stratford Canning was a younger son of a London trader of Irish origin.
He was born in 1786. He was appointed ambassador to Constantinople in 1842
and soon started to implement a critical influence on the home and foreign
policy of the Ottoman Empire.
Constantinople, 1853
They said about Canning, “this man is able to fall out with his own sandwich.”
The ambassador’s assistants kept their hands on the door ***,
to run out of the office as soon as they felt that he was getting angry.
His arrogant look and majestic posture were enough to make the Turks
respect him. The tiniest disagreement with the plans of the great ambassador,
“Great Elci” as they called him, could result in immediate resignation for
the ministers and state officials. When Canning entered, the great vizier
of the Ottoman Empire became speechless.
Canning was obsessed with the idea of British hegemony in the world.
He didn’t have any kind feelings either for Russia or personally for Nicholas I,
who in his time refused his candidature for an ambassador in Saint-Petersburg.
But there was another European politician who held grudge against
Emperor Nicholas.
North of France, 1846
In the Fortress of Ham, located in the north of France, the repair works were
in full swing. The prisoners of this fortress were not considered as people at all:
diseases and death were considered a normal thing. An attempt of escape
was equal to a suicide. The prisoners included a man who was sentenced to
life imprisonment for the attempt of conquest of power.
He dreamt of grandeur and believed in destiny, although often went too far in his
games with the fate. At that time he, as usual, was waiting for a chance.
And he got such a chance.
Charles Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1808 to the younger brother
of Napoleon I, King of Holland Louis Bonaparte and his wife, Hortense
de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s adopted daughter. Raised in the splendid court of
his uncle in Paris, he didn’t know his father.
After Bonaparte was thrown down and the dynasty of Bourbons came to power,
Louis-Napoleon’s mother had to leave France and was wandering across Europe,
till she settled in Switzerland. Unable to obtain any education, Louis-Napoleon
became a military serviceman.
Paris, 1848. Elysee Palace.
Louis Napoleon perceived the change of his destiny as the universal injustice.
He declared himself the legal heir of Bonaparte’s empire and decided
to seize the throne. With this aim, with a group of his supporters, he secretly
entered France. He was holding a domesticated eagle. According to the intent,
at the moment of recognizing Louis-Napoleon the emperor, the bird was supposed
to rise above his head. But the first military patrol detained Louis-Napoleon,
and soon he found himself in Picardie, the Castle of Ham.
Six years later he escaped.
It was not long before the moment of his triumph arrived.
In 1848 the Bourbons Dynasty was thrown down, and France
was declared a republic. Louis Napoleon was elected its first president.
But, according to the constitution, the president didn’t have the right to be
elected for the second term. Knowing Louis-Napoleon, there was no doubt
that he would find a way to bypass the constitution.
On December 2, on the anniversary of crowning Napoleon Bonaparte,
his nephew accomplished a coup d’etat. He dismissed the National Assembly,
cruelly suppressed the resistance and implemented in the country a regime of
personal power, and a year later Louis-Napoleon declared himself
Emperor Napoleon III. Soon the ex-prisoner would take part in the destinies
of the countries of Europe, but at that moment his emperor’s title had
to be recognized by other European states.
The coup d’etat became a direct challenge for entire Europe:
the Bonaparte dynasty had been excluded from the line of succession
by the decision of the Wien Congress in 1815.
However, the European states and members of the ruling dynasties
recognized Louis Napoleon as a legal monarch.
Only Nicholas I caused a diplomatic scandal. In his greeting letter he called
Napoleon III not his “dear brother,” as it was required according to the protocol,
but only his “dear friends.” In such a way he made Louis Napoleon understand
that he didn’t consider an emperor equal to himself.
When Louis-Napoleon read the letter, he was extremely outraged.
From that moment on he saw in Nicholas I his personal enemy and waited
eagerly for a chance to take revenge.
“It is time to make the blood run faster in our veins and take revenge
for the defeat of 1812. Only after France wipes away the stain of that retreat,
it can bring back its pride. Military victories are what the French nation needs.”
Russia was a perfect enemy: two many envied it, too many were afraid of it.
Besides, Louis-Napoleon wanted to break the old anti-French alliance.
Choosing the Russian Empire as his enemy, he could firmly count on
England’s sympathy. He only had to find a reason for an open conflict.
And he did find it, again in the East.
To win popularity in the country, Louis staked on the clergy.
The church was showered with all kinds of gifts and subsidies.
The Catholic priests even returned to schools, from which they were
turned out by the Great French Revolution. In such a way, Bonaparte’s heir,
a non-religious person, received a full support of the Catholic churches.
And they dreamt to return control of two greatest churches of Christianity,
the Jerusalem and Bethlehem churches. These churches have had many different
owners. Muslim Turks for bribes gave the keys to different Christian communities.
In the 18th century the rights to the sacred places were again owned by
the Orthodox Christians. Few people were upset about this in France:
atheism was popular at that time.
But Louis-Napoleon suddenly decided to start a struggle for the sacred places.
He sent a note with a demand to return the keys from the Bethlehem Church
to the Catholics to the Ottoman government.
Turks hesitated, trying to please both sides, Russia and France. However, Louis
was ready to take any measures to make Sultan Abdulmecid tcooperate
with the Catholic Church.
Abdulmecid was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was born in 1823.
He was an older son of the previous sultan, Mahmud II. He came to power,
when he was 16. He fathered 11 sons and 15 daughters from 22 wives.
The affairs of the empire were a burden for him, and he often preferred
entertainment events, which consisted of balls, banquets, and theater performances.
Constantinople, 1853
Abdulmecid since childhood was fragile and sickly. He mother, afraid that
the new sultan, like his father, would become addicted to wine, commanded
to destroy the wine reserves. Over 50 bottles of the drink, forbidden for Muslims,
were taken to the coast of the Bosporus and broken against the wall of its quay.
The sultan’s mother decided that numerous concubines would be a good substitute
for her son, so she started to gather a harem for him.
So it went that way. The sultan ruled the empire for the most part from his harem.
To impress this ruler, French 90-gun frigate Carl the Great approached the coast of
the Ottoman capital. Abdulmecid preferred not to irritate such a sea power.
“Without doubt, this day will be remembered in history: on December 11, 1852
the keys from the Bethlehem Church were granted to Latin Patriarch Giuseppe
Valerge. Isn’t it too soon to celebrate? Russia won’t give up.
It is a matter of life and death for her. We wish Paris knows this well.”
(Journal Des Debats)
What happened in Bethlehem was a real challenge for Petersburg.
Orthodox believers around the world were under protection of the Russian
Emperor. Nicholas picked up the glove, tactically thrown to him by
Napoleon, and sent Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador, Prince
Menshikov to Constantinople.
Menshikov Alexander Sergeevich. Was born in 1787.
An adjutant general, marine minister of the Russian empire,
governor-general of Finland. He was a great grandson of Peter I’s closest
brother-in-arms, Alexander Menshikov. He took part in Russo-Turkish wars,
the Patriotic War of 1812. He had a violent temper.
Menshikov was ordered by Nicholas to return all rights to the Orthodox Church
on the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Besides, the Orthodox Christians
were supposed to be granted various privileges, and Abdulmecid had to confirm
Russia’s right to their protection in written form.
Indeed, brave warrior Menshikov was not going to beat around the bush
with Turks. Subtle flattering and covert intrigues were not in his character.
When he got to the Bosporus coast on the corvette Gromonosets, Menshikov
demanded the great vizier, the sultan’s son-in-law, to meet him personally
at the gates of the palace. Of course, this unheard-of demand was rejected.
But the prince continued to violate the rules of diplomatic etiquette.
With his retinue, he came to the governmental palace wearing a coat and a hat,
instead of his parade uniform with all regalia.
No one was ready for such willfulness of the Russian ambassador.
No one, except for Canning.
The Menshikov's crankeries never ended.
In order to make the Prince bow his head to Abdal-Mejid,
the height of the doorway in the reception hall was reduced.
But once the trick was found out,
Menshikov turned his head, bowed and entered the hall, showing to the Sultan
one of his less flattering sides. A height of inprudence. The Daily News.
At first such behavior yielded its fruit: the issue of the rights of the Orthodox
Church was resolved in favor of Russia. But that was only the first part
of Menshikov’s mission. In a while the prince presented for the Ottoman
government a document, according to which Nicholas I was acknowledged
the protector of all the Orthodox parishioners. The Turks were not excited to hear
about such a prospect, because the sultan was traditionally called the “protector of
the Christians,” who made one-third of the population in the Ottoman empire.
“Don’t make any concessions to Russia, stop any contacts with such messengers as
Menshikov and, finally, stop being afraid of this bear!” Abdulmecid learned this
Canning’s phrase by heart. It made him feel calmer.
He was especially warmed up by the promise given by his British friend,
“The Russians won’t dare to start a war. If it happens, Britain won’t stand aside.”
So Menshikov got a refusal. The prince was outraged. After long contemplations,
he ordered the employees of the embassy to pack their things and leave for
Russia, taking all the documents and the embassy’s archives.
For three days, Gromonosets remained off the harbor.
The extraordinary ambassador was waiting for the Turks to come to their senses.
But they didn’t. The ship raised anchor. The prince was leaving Constantinople,
although he hadn’t fulfilled his mission.
If Stratford Canning didn’t intrude, everything could have ended differently.
But now, to make the sultan accept Russia’s terms, Nicholas had to use force.
He ordered the 80,000-people Russian army to take the Danube Principalities,
Moldavia and Walachia. But that didn’t mean the beginning of the war.
Saint-Petersburg, 1853
Nicholas I was till the last moment sure that if he would have to wage war,
it would be only against the weakened Ottoman Empire. He continued to consider
Britain his ally and was sure that Louis - Napoleon wouldn’t dare to stand against
Russia alone. But there were no people to give proper advice to the emperor.
Chancellor of the Russian Empire Karl Nesselrode avoided arguing with Nicholas.
After serving as the foreign minister since 1816, close to the end of his career,
Nesselrode was clearly tired of the service and gave a considerable part of his
duties to his assistants. Only the meetings with the emperor made him leave his
main passion, growing flowers. He often listened to reports in his greenhouse.
Namely inattentive Nesselrode overlooked the secret coalition with the two
most important European states, Britain and France. The events in the mainland
were developing rapidly. Nonetheless, there remained a chance to avoid the war.
At first it seemed that the Russian emperor achieved his goal.
Nicholas received an offer: in exchange for the concession of Turkey, he
was demanded to withdraw the Russian forces from the Danube Principalities.
And he was ready to sign this document under one condition: the sultan
wouldn’t amend it. However, Abdulmecid, backed by experienced
manipulator Canning, refused to take the compromise. On September 22,
Turkey declared war on Russia.
Nicholas wanted to make a bold leap through the Balkan Mountains and approach
Constantinople. Then, as the emperor thought, he would impose siege
on the Bosporus. He considered that the next step would be recognition
of Serbia’s independence. Resolute attacks of the Russian army could have ended
the war before the intrusion of Europe. But things took a different turn.
Austria, which seemed to be a trusted ally, suddenly turned away from Russia.
Paskevich was telling the emperor that that was a deadlock situation:
if the Russian army advanced to Constantinople, the Austrians with full force
would attack its flank, and then they would be joined by the English
and the French.
Nicholas said, “Jan Sobieski was the dumbest Polish king, and I am the dumbest
Russian emperor. Sobieski - because he saved Austria from the Turks in 1683,
and I - because I saved it from the Hungarians in 1848.”
Paskevich was well aware that after the end of the war of 1812, the Russian army
hadn’t been rearmed. In the army the main emphasis was made not on
military tactics, but on holding parades. The army wasn’t mobile enough.
And now the Danube army was flailing around. Instead of a resolute advancement,
the corps were staying on the same place till the Turks started to advance.
In autumn 1853, active armed hostilities began in the Balkans. The Turkish army
with 14,000 bayonets, under the command of Omer Pasha, moved to the north
bank of the Danube and ousted the Russians from the village of Oltenita.
The Russian soldiers were enthusiastic: finally they had a real task.
They spent the night around the bonfire, having excited conversations:
they were recalling the past events, telling jokes, singing cheerful songs.
In the morning, the brigade of only 6,000 people, although outnumbered
by the enemy, started an assault on the Turkish reinforcements.
From the high land the enemy showered the storming troops with shells and
bullets. However, the Russian forces, having lost about 1,000 officers and soldiers
of lower ranks, launched an attack again. In spite of the favorable position of
the enemy, the Turks lost twice as many people as Russians.
The Turks, who hadn’t expect such a vigor, in panic started to leave the
fortifications and get ready to leave to the southern bank of the Danube.
The Russian soldiers took the high point.
And suddenly they heard an order to retreat. They didn’t believe what they heard:
the victory was in their hands. But they had to obey the order.
The Turks were no less shocked, they even thought that the retreat of
the Russians was a kind of military trickery. There were rumors among
the soldiers that there were traitors among the leadership.
But there was no treachery. The commanders didn’t risk unfolding active
advancement. Chief Commander Count Paskevich was expecting a betrayal
of the Austrians and their attack on the flank of the Russian army.
That is why the advancement in the Balkans was meaningless.
The main battle of this war was taking place in the diplomatic front.
And it was already lost.
Unlike the top commanders, ordinary soldiers and officers wanted to fight
and showed miracles of self-sacrifice. During the second battle, to prevent
the enemy from the taking the weapons they had left with them, a decision
was made to take the ravine. But they failed to fulfill this task several times:
before the walls there was a deep ditch. There was neither descent, nor bridge.
Then Private Nikifor Dvornik jumped into the ditch, stood across it and, bending,
shouted, “Guys, go over me! It will be faster!” When about 40 people crossed
the ditch on the backs of their friends and took the position abandoned by the
enemies, Nikofor Dvornik asked to pull him up and rushed into the center
of the battle.
The war against the Turks was taking place not only in the Danube region.
There was warfare in the Caucasus too. On the night of October 16,
the Ottoman forces launched an attack: 5,000 Turks landed on the Russian territory
and attacked the border post in Western Georgia, guarded by several dozens of
men with two main guns. The Russian unit was fighting back desperately, but
nearly all of the servicemen were slaughtered. Turkish bashibazouks were
especially ardent.
Bashibazouk is translated from Turkish as “crazy head” or “free-headed.”
Those were special troops of the Ottoman army which were recruited from the
aggressive tribes of Asia Minor and Albania. They were known for their extreme
cruelty, proneness to looting, and total lack of discipline.
Bashibazouks organized a demonstrative punishment for Russians:
they crucified local state official, cut of a priest’s head, and tortured
a pregnant woman.
“The Ottoman forces show excellent training and high battle qualities.
After the victory in Oltenita, a new triumph followed, now in the Caucasus:
the impregnable fortress, a borderline stronghold was taken.
Abdulmecid can now be proud of its army. Russia, tremble in fear!” (Le Figaro)
However, the Turks didn’t please their European friends with similar successes,
which were shamelessly exaggerated. At the first serious battle with the Russian
army they were mercilessly crushed.
On November 14, Prince Bebutov with 7,000 infantry men and 2,800 cavalry men
started to pursue the 36,000-people army of Ahmet Pasha, which had crossed
the Russian border, avoiding battles. Three days later the Turks were returning
to the Ottoman territory and made a halt. Bebutov ordered the troops to attack
the enemy, they took provision enough for five days and carriages
for the wounded.
The Ottoman Empire, village Baskadiklar, 1853
When Ahmet Pasha learned about the approaching Russian forces, he didn’t
believe at first, and then he told his close people, “The Russians must be either
crazy, or totally drunk with their disgusting ***.”
He ordered to make ready the ropes which were supposed to be used for tying
the generals and officers taken prisoners and then sending them to Constantinople -
Ahmet-pasha didn’t doubt that he would defeat the small corps of the Russians.
Early on November 19 Bebutov’s forces approached the enemy’s position and
embattled at the distance of two versts. At noon the artillery started shelling.
An hour later Bebutov moved four battalions to bypass the Turks from the right
flank. They went down to the ravine, ascend across the opposite slope and,
entering the enemy’s battery, manage to seize several cannons.
The Turks, impressed by the bravery of the Russians, sent their reserve forces
to face them. Then Prince Bebutov personally led two reserve companies to the
battle. The Turks started to leave their positions. It took the Russian
forces, numbering four times less, two hours to make the Ottoman army retreat.
When the fight was over, the wounded were taken from the battlefield.
A Russian grenadier, whose arm was torn off by a scab, refused to take help
and pointed at the Turkish soldier lying next to him, saying, “Help him.
His wounds are worse.”
1,100 Russians were killed or wounded during the battle.
The Turks lost over 6,000. Russians took from the enemy 24 cannons, a flag,
and a camp with the tents and provision.
Having defeated the Ottoman army, the Russian forces in the Caucasus
could spend the winter undisturbed, whereas the enemy was depressed.
But Turkey posed a threat to Russia not only from the mainland. The theater
of war included also the Black Sea.
Since October the Ottoman fleet was preparing to send its landing troops
to the Caucasus. The Russian Black Sea squadron with Admiral Nakhimov
at the helm was supposed to prevent this. When the admiral finally got permission
to attack the enemy, he sent the steamboat Bessarabia to do the reconnaissance.
Several days later the steamboat brought back the message that the Turkish
squadron was gathering in the bay of the town of Sinop. Nakhimov started to
get ready for a big battle.
Pavel Nakhimov was born in 1802 to the family of not wealthy landowner
in Vyazma district of Smolensk Gubernia. At the age of 13 he entered
the Navy Cadet Corps. He took part in the world cruise on frigate Kreiser
under the command of legendary Admiral Lazarev and was one of his favorite
students. He took part in the Battle of Navarino in 1827, when the Turkish fleet
was crushed. Since 1834 he was serving at the Black Sea Fleet.
The Black Sea, 1853. The Bay of Sinop
Nakhimov didn’t have a family, he didn’t have friends on the mainland,
and he felt at home only when he was in the open sea on a warship.
When he was a lieutenant, he was nearly killed, trying to save a sailor who fell
into the sea. After becoming an admiral, he helped retired sailors, their wives
and children. In Sevastopol there was no person who didn’t know
or disliked Nakhimov. He remembered all of the sailors he had served together.
The sailors were proud of their special status. No surprise that with such an attitude
to people under command, the discipline, the training, and morale at the Russian
fleet were many times higher than in the land army. The Battle of Sinop was
an absolute proof of this. Having approached with his squadron to the Bay of
Sinop, Nakhimov found a unit of Turkish ships, including seven frigates, three
corvettes, two steamships, and several boats of other types.
This fleet was under protection of six coastal batteries. Nakhimov decided to block
the port. Three 84-gun battleships, Empress Maria, Chesma, and Rostislav
stood at the entry to the harbor. The admiral was not delivering a battle,
as he was waiting for the reinforcement from Sevastopol.
On November 16 Nakhimov was joined by the squadron of Rear Admiral
Novosilsky: three 120-gun battleships, Paris, Great Prince Constantine,
and Three Saints. Two frigates came as well, Kagul and Kulevchi.
Now, when the Russian squadron outnumbered the enemy in terms of guns,
Nakhimov decided to attack.
The Bay of Sinop, 1853
On the night of November 18 it was raining, the wind was squally.
The weather didn’t change in the morning. Nakhimov was waiting.
The tension was growing. The sailors and officers could see the enemy
from their ships. Only the whistle of the wind broke the silence.
The first shot was made. The Turks couldn’t stand this any longer.
It was followed by the firing from all Turkish boats and batteries.
Nakhimov led the ships ahead. They started an artillery battle with the Turkish
boats and the coastal batteries. At first, the ship Constantine got into a dangerous
situation - it was surrounded and came under furious firing, but
Chesma helped Constantine out. Frigate Navek-Bahra was blasted, and the debris
fell on the coastal battery, breaking it down. Turkish steamboat-frigate Taif
escaped the battlefield. The artillery of the enemy fails to drown any Russian ship.
However, the fire from the Russian boats, armed with the modern bombing
guns, destroyed the Turkish ships one by one.
The panicking Turks were rushing about the burning decks and jumped into water.
But they didn’t find any rescue there either, the debris of the ships were falling and
covering them. The burning Turkish ships set fire to Sinop and it brightly lit
the Bay of Sinop. It was light as during the day, hot as in hell.
The fire was everywhere. Four hours later the battle will be over,
and a day later entire Europe will learn about the battle.
Later the press of the European countries will write that the Russians purposely
set the city on fire. Of course, this is a lie. Sinop, an Ancient Greek city,
at that time was divided into two parts, the Turkish one and the Greek one.
During the attack of the Russian fleet the Orthodox Greeks stayed on their half.
They were not afraid of the Russians and extinguished the fires on time.
But the Turkish part was empty, and there was simply no one to extinguish
the fire set by the burning debris of the ships.
It took only four hours to destroy the entire Turkish fleet and the coastal batteries.
3,000 Turkish soldiers, sailors, and officers were either killed or wounded.
Around 200 people were taken prisoners. 37 and 235 Russians were killed
and wounded, respectively.
After the battle Nakhimov was looking for a long time at the bullet-ridden
St. Andrew’s flag. The admiral was the only person who didn’t share the common joy.
Nakhimov understood that the European states wouldn’t stand aside.
A great war was inevitable.
The news about the brilliant victory made the Russian hearts beat faster.
All Sevastopol residents met the admiral with endless “Hooray” shouts.
Czar Nicholas, encouraged by Nakhimov’s outstanding heroic feat,
awarded him with St. George’s Order of the Second Degree.
Meanwhile in London the leader of the Liberal Party John Russell stated from
the tribune of the House of Commons, “We need to tear the teeth from the
bear’s jaws. As long as his fleet and navy arsenal in the Black Sea are safe
and sound, Constantinople won’t be safe, and there won’t be any peace in Europe.”
Napoleon III sent to the Russian emperor an ultimatum, to withdraw the forces
from the Danube Principalities and start negotiations with the Turks.
Otherwise, Russia risked staying absolutely alone.
On February 9, Russia rejected the ultimatum and announced the break
of diplomatic relations with Britain and France. On March 15, Britain declared
war on the Russian Empire. A day later it was joined by France.
Saint-Petersburg, 1853
On March 30, Empress Alexandra saw her husband tearful in his office.
For a few seconds Nicholas was looking at the wife, as if looking for support.
Finally his face showed determination. The emperor took a pen and signed
a manifesto, by which he declared war on two Western states, France and Britain.
The diplomatic games were over. A great war was beginning.
The Zero World War.