Académique Documents
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by Robert Rogozinski
Proessor !"#es !$ S"%k
History &'(
) De%e#ber '*((
With the advancement of technology in the mid-nineteenth century due in part to the
Industrial Revolution, new innovations and technology were given practical application.
When the Crimean War broke out in the early 1!"s, new innovations and technology that
were available at the time were put to use. #owever, most of these new innovations were
misused, with both sides making many mistakes. While e$amining the incompetence of the
administrations running the war from both sides of the conflict, one can see how new
innovations were introduced during this war. %ecause of them, the Crimean War could,
perhaps, be classified as the first modern war of our time.
&o understand why the Crimean War is the first modern war, one needs to be
familiar with the events leading up to it. &he precursor to the war happened when the
'apoleonic Wars came to an end, when the Russian army invaded and occupied the city of
(aris in 11). &his showed the might of the Russians, and it intimidated the %ritish. *s the
years went on, the %ritish kept constant and close watch so that the balance of power in
+urope would not tip towards the Russians. When Russia invaded the ,ttoman +mpire in
1!- under the prete$t of protecting the people of the ,rthodo$ Christian faith, one of the
ob.ectives of the /enshikov /ission,
1
it ultimately led to a naval skirmish between both
empires in the port city of 0inop at the end of the following 'ovember. &he city was
completely decimated, and this battle served as the basis for the %ritish and 1rench to
1
Gooch, Brison D. Problems In European Civilization: The Origins of the Crimean War.
Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and, 1969 p.xiii. Occurring in March o 1!"#, the Menshi$o%
Mission &as a po'itica' dispute &hich de(anded that the Otto(ans gi%e the )ussians
access to the Ho'* +'aces in the cit* o ,erusa'e( and that a treat* -e rati.ed stating
that a'' Orthodox Churches in the Otto(an /(pire are to -e under )ussian protection.
0hi'e 'itt'e concessions &ere done or the (ost part, the treat* speci*ing the
protection o the Orthodox churches &as denied, as it under(ined the so%ereignt* o
the su'tan. 0ith this denied, the )ussians used the protection o the peop'e o the
Orthodox re'igion as the 1usti.cation or in%ading the Otto(an /(pire.
2
declare war on the Russians. &he %ritish declared war in order to maintain personal
interests within the ,ttoman +mpire,
2
but to also prevent the +mpire from being partitioned
by Russia.
-
&he underlying reason however, was that the %ritish felt threatened by Russian
occupation of ,ttoman territory, since it could interfere with India. *s (hillip Warner writes
in his view of the cause of the Crimean War, 3if any country threatened the line of 4%ritish5
communication through the /iddle +ast that country must be checked.6
)
While Warner has
a valid point about the %ritish protecting India, there was also another reason for the %ritish
action. If the Russians were to have continued on without the declaration of war, they
would most likely have passed through the %osporus and 7ardanelles to con8uer
Constantinople, and then have open access to the /editerranean 0ea, which in turn would
further upset the balance of power of the +mpires of +urope. 1rance .oined in the Crimean
War on the side of the %ritish
!
to not only maintain the balance of power in +urope, but to
protect their interests in the #oly (laces in 9erusalem.
:
In addition, this was a perfect
opportunity for 1rance to declare war. With the rise of the 0econd 1rench +mpire .ust the
year before, it gave +mperor 'apoleon III a chance to not only show the world that the
2
Ha'e, 0i''ia( M., and A. 3. Ba456. Four Centuries of Turco-British elations: !tu"ies in
#iplomatic$ Economic an" Cultural %&airs. 0a'$ington, Be%er'e*, 7orth Hu(-erside:
/othen, 19!8 p."9:6;. <ince 1!#!, the British &ere a''o&ed to ree'* trade &ith the
Otto(an /(pire and %ice %ersa %ia the Co((ercia' =reat* o 1!#! in order to (aintain
re'ations &ith one another. 0hi'e it (ost'* negati%e'* i(pacted the Otto(an /(pire
since its inco(e ro( the trade &asn>t as high as the* &anted it to -e -ecause o 'o&
tari?s descri-ed in the treat* and the rising prices o goods, it u'ti(ate'* ga%e Britain
another reason to go to .ght &ith the Otto(ans &hen the* dec'ared &ar in 1!"8.
#
C'arendon. @=he 0ar &ith )ussia.@ The 'on"on Times 8 Mar. 1!"8.
8
0arner, +hi'ip. The Crimean War: a eappraisal( London: Bar$er, 1992. p."
"
Both /(pires dec'ared &ar on March 2!th, 1!"8.
6
/(peror 7apo'eon AAA during the &ar to'd his citiBens that the Crench &ere .ghting to
deend Christianit* and Otto(an so%ereignt*. =hough that state(ent &as
contradictor*, he a'so ought or Dthe sanctit* o treaties,E &hich the )ussians &ere
%io'ating since Crance and the )o(an Catho'ics &ere e%entua''* a''o&ed the right to
o%ersee the Christian protection o the Ho'* +'aces in ,erusa'e(. Gooch p.%iii, 0arner
p.9.
#
1rench military was still a force to be reckoned with, but also a chance to strike back
against the Russians for what had happened forty years before. &he ,ttomans on the other
hand were obviously in the war
;
to prevent the Russians from partitioning their lands. In the
eyes of the ,ttoman +mpire, the invading force obviously needed to be stopped< otherwise
the conse8uences of doing nothing could even lead to its dissolution. +ven though it was
allied with Christian nations, the ,ttomans called this war a 3#oly War6 under the prete$t
that a Christian army is invading /uslim territory. 'evertheless, these three empires, the
%ritish, the 1rench, and the ,ttoman, .oined forces and were known as the allied force
throughout the war.
&he Crimean War, while largely known for the poor tactical decisions and countless
mistakes made by generals and officers on both sides, it was also known for the new ideas
and devices that came to be of use in future conflicts. Ranging from new weaponry, the new
use of telecommunications and transport, to new professions such as the nursing profession
and the use of war correspondents, the Crimean War was a conflict that populari=ed these
ideas for the first time in recent history.
&he first of these new 3devices6 that shall be discussed is the new weaponry. &he
first of which is used by the Russians at the beginning of the war in the %attle of 0inop.
&hough the Russian naval fleet consisted of wooden ships at this time, it used a new type of
naval artillery, known as the (ai$hans gun, which fired e$plosive shells. While these guns
had been around for about twenty years at this point, the Crimean War was the one of the
first instances where this weapon was used in combat. &he e$plosive shells which were
9
=he Otto(an /(pire dec'ared &ar on )ussia on Octo-er 8
th
, 1!"#.
8
fired from the Russian fleet greatly contributed to the destruction of both the wooden
,ttoman fleet and the town of 0inop itself.