The battle of Alma (1854) was the first major battle of the Crimean War. Results of the Crimean War

The battle of Alma was the first serious battle in the course of the Crimean War. It was important for the subsequent course of confrontation between our country and the coalition of European allies. Despite the defeat of the Russian troops, this battle suspended the enemy's swift attack on Sevastopol and allowed the city to prepare for the siege. Thus, it was not taken by storm, which postponed the victory of the enemy.

Prehistory

The years of the Crimean War (1853-1856) have become a real test for our country. Beginning as a conflict between two old enemies (Russia and Turkey), it very soon developed into a large-scale confrontation between several major European states. After a series of victories of the domestic troops over the enemy on land and at sea, England and France hurried to enter the war on the Turkish side. Both states sought to strike at once in several directions in order to disengage the Russian forces in order to ensure the free passage of the Turkish army to the peninsula. Allies concentrated on the Black Sea superior forces, which allowed them to land on the coast.

The years of the Crimean War showed one of the main problems of Russia at that time - its military and technical backwardness. Despite the fact that the landing of European troops was carried out extremely casually, without the necessary precautions, Russian troops could not take advantage of this error, since the enemy had steam ships with which domestic vessels could not compete.

Ground troops

The battle of Alma was, in fact, a confrontation of unequal forces. The Allies had an almost twofold superiority in the number of troops supported by the sea fleet from the sea. The European army was better equipped with weapons both in quantity and quality. The Allies had about 130 guns, the Russians 80. The Russian commander, Prince Alexander Menshikov, chose the left bank of the river as the main point of attack. It was a very profitable strategic position: its height allowed the troops to retreat.

However, a significant drawback was the stretch of the coastline, as well as the fact that the Russian troops could not approach the sea because of the enemy fleet, which led a continuous artillery shelling of land. The battle of Alma was a battle, which, in fact, was the first serious test of the capabilities of opponents. The Russian battalions were lined up in two lines, in addition, the Cossack regiment participated in the battle.

Military positions

One of the important strategic errors of the Russian command was that it overestimated the possibility of its own left flank, which was covered by one battalion. In the center there were artillery batteries, infantry regiments, naval battalions. Approximately the same arrangement of forces was observed on the right side. Allies, taking advantage of their superiority, decided to bypass Russian troops from the left flank, then go to the rear to the right, which would allow them to win. It should be noted in advance that they managed to fully implement this plan. The commander of the allied forces wanted first of all to seize the main strategic point - the Telegraph Hill. British troops had to bypass the right flank, and the French - to seize the Russian positions on the left side.

The beginning of the battle

The battle of Alma began on September 7, 1854, with a skirmish fought by several French units with the support of British and Turkish divisions. Already on this first day, the Allied advantage was evident in many respects due to artillery support from the sea. The next morning the French troops went on the attack and took the main position on the left flank.

This allowed the British and the Turks to form an offensive. They crossed the river Almu with great losses, but thanks to the actions of Commander Bosque and the ship bombardment, all the same, they began fighting along the front lines. The Russians tried to push back the enemy with bayonet guns, but were forced to retreat under the firing fire of the enemy. The situation was saved by the Hussar and Cossack regiments, which covered the retreat of the main forces.

The further course of the battle

The battle of Alma in 1854 still raises questions and disputes among historians. One of these vague moments is the question of the course of action of the French forces under the command of Bosque. In the middle of the day he sent several battle columns into the battle, the advance of which was not met with serious resistance from the Russians. On this account, there are two explanations. Some scholars believe that the Allied group was right behind the Minsk regiment, opened fire on it and forced it to retreat.

According to another version, the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops Menshikov, upon learning of the arrival of the enemy on the plateau, sent him the regiment together with Moscow. However, these forces were under crossfire from the fleet, which led to a retreat.

Retreat

The battle of Alma in 1854 ended in the defeat of the Russian troops in large part because of the powerful support of the artillery fire from the fleet. Initially, the main goal of the Russian command was the desire to drop Bosquet's forces beyond the river. To this end, the commander ordered a bayonet attack. Circumstances favored this maneuver, since the insufficient number of artillery on land for some time delayed the advance of the French. However, soon the enemy reinforcements came from the north, which threw back the forces of the Moscow regiment. This onslaught made it impossible to try to throw French parts off the river, moreover, the immediate flank was exposed to immediate danger. Recent events allowed the enemy to raise artillery on the plateau and begin shelling. Then Alexander Sergeevich Menshikov ordered several regiments to retreat.

The second onslaught of the enemy

Another failure of the Russian troops was that the three regiments, located in the center, were also forced to retreat. The situation worsened after the British units began to attack, which began the offensive after the French. And if the latter sought to disarm the left flank, then the first were the right regiments of the Russian army.

It should be noted that they got one of the most difficult sites, since here they did not receive support from the sea. The battle of Alma in the Crimea showed that the support of the Allies from the sea largely determined their victory. The English could not immediately accomplish the goal set before them and stayed for several hours. The purpose of the attack was the Mound Hill, which was defended by Russian troops. In order to reach him, the British had to cross the river.

Counterattack

The Battle of Alma continued with the offensive of the Russians, who took advantage of the disorganization of the enemy. However, they failed to develop success. Soldiers of the regiment guarding the hill, attacking the enemy, could not line up in an organized military line, than prevented their artillery from striking. This led to serious losses in command. When the artillery of the Russian troops began to strike at the enemy, it failed to develop a success, since the allies advanced very disorderly numbers, and therefore the volleys of the guns did not cause them serious damage. One of the most severe defeats of the Russians during the war was the Battle of Alma in the Crimea. In short, he can sum up the following: the Allies were much better armed, which provided them with a victory. After the events described, the British managed to take Grand Redoubt and achieve a final retreat. However, this was not their complete victory, because they did not have enough reserve forces to consolidate success.

A new attack by Russian troops

The results of the Crimean War were very unpleasant for our country. Particularly difficult was the condition for declaring the neutrality of the Black Sea and the loss of a number of territories. The first major battle showed that the Russian army is inferior in technical terms to the Allied forces. Nevertheless, the personal heroism of the soldiers and the skillful actions of the command for some time delayed the inevitable defeat.

The attack of the Vladimir regiment was successful. His men undertook a bayonet attack, which brought confusion to the ranks of the enemy. They managed to press the British to the river itself. But this success was not fixed, since the central heights were occupied by the French troops. In addition, enemy artillery strongly interfered in the rear.

The second sortie of the French

The results of the Crimean War greatly shook the political prestige of the Russian Empire in the international arena. The main setbacks began with a defeat during the first major battle. The French commander of St. Arno undertook a new attack, which the Moscow regiment could not repel. The latter held back the advance of another enemy division. Then the French strengthened the attack, which this time was crowned with success. The Russian regiments were again forced to retreat, in addition, some commanders were seriously wounded. This had a very bad effect on the morale of other units, which, seeing the retreat of neighboring units, were also forced to leave their own positions. In English historiography, there is a view that one of the key positions of the Russian troops, the Telegraphic Hill, was occupied without a single shot. According to several studies, the commander of the British troops was looking for a convenient position for observation and accidentally fell on this hill. However, in domestic science, the point of view prevails that Russian troops resisted the French. According to another version, the general ordered to leave the hill.

Results

Despite the victory of the Allies, the latter did not pursue Russian troops, so Alexander Menshikov retained fresh forces, while the British and French troops were tired and somewhat disorganized. It is considered that one more reason for the defeat was the error of the command.

The main of them is the fact that only half of the Russian forces took part in the battle, the rest of the tactical miscalculations could not support the regiments that were under enemy strikes. After this battle, the road to Sevastopol was opened, but the offensive on it was suspended. Currently, on the battlefield, the military historical memorial "The Field of the Battle of Alma" has been built. Here there are mass graves, as well as monuments to fallen soldiers and officers. The construction of the complex began in the 19th century and continued in the following decades up to the present day.