Why don't we know about her?
This war is known in our historiography as the Second Crimean, and in the West, under the name of the Eastern. But judge for yourself: 5 empires directly or indirectly participated in it (Russian against the Ottoman, British, French and with passive participation at one of the stages of the Austrian)! The fighting was conducted in the Black, Baltic, Azov, Barents and White Seas, the Pacific Ocean, the Caucasus, Crimea and the Balkans.
The reasons that led to it were the rivalry of empires in the Mediterranean, Balkan, Central Asian and Black Sea regions. As a result of this war, by 1914, the victors - the British and French empires, divided 2/3 of the world's territory into zones of influence (semi-colonies) or colonies.
During the battles along the entire perimeter of the Russian Empire, our troops and population showed an example of courage and heroism, and the British-French naval forces were actually humiliated and remained inglorious aggressors in history. At the same time, in the West, a means was found to turn their shame into victory - PRESS! Since then, Western politicians do not care about real actions and consequences, only one thing is important: how all this is covered in the media.
But something else is especially interesting: the storming of St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Solovetsky monastery, Petropavlovsk - were failed. In fact, the Allied operations against Russia in the North, the Far East and the Caucasus have failed. Their actions can be considered relatively successful only in Crimea. But for some reason unknown to me, we are actively told only about the defeat in Sevastopol in the Crimean theater of military operations, and extremely rarely and sparingly - about victories in the remaining sectors of this global war! The tearfully compassionate manner of narrating our Great story, in fact filled with heroism, courage and victories, does not want to leave the stage….
Promotional video:
Preconditions for the war with Russia
Ottoman (Ottoman) Empire
By the middle of the 19th century, it had lost its former power and was on the verge of collapse. In 1827, the combined Anglo-French-Russian fleet (!) In the Battle of Navarino destroyed almost the entire Ottoman fleet. In 1830, after a 10-year war of independence and the Russian-Turkish war (1828-1829), Greece became independent. According to the Adrianople Peace Treaty, Russian and foreign ships gained the right to freely pass through the Black Sea straits, Serbia became autonomous, and the Danube principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) passed under the protectorate of Russia.
In 1831, its most powerful vassal, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, broke away from the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman troops were defeated in a number of battles, and the inevitability of the capture of Istanbul by the Egyptians forced Sultan Mahmud II to accept military assistance from Russia (!). The 10-thousandth corps of Russian troops, landed on the shores of the Bosphorus in 1833, prevented the capture of Istanbul, and with it, probably, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (did you know about that?).
In 1839, the situation repeats itself - Muhammad Ali, dissatisfied with the incompleteness of his control over Syria, resumes hostilities. In the battle of Nizib on June 24, 1839, the Ottoman troops were again utterly defeated. The Ottoman Empire was again saved by the intervention of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia (!).
Cavalry attack.
British empire
Great Britain in 1838 concluded a free trade agreement with Turkey, which gave the Anglo-Saxons most favored nation treatment and exempted the import of British goods from customs duties and taxes. After that, she was not interested in the separation of any territories from the Ottoman Empire, which was in fact a dependent state and an important market for English goods.
In addition, Great Britain was worried about Russia's expansion in the Caucasus, its growing influence in the Balkans, and feared its possible advance to Central Asia (and there it is not far from India). In general, she viewed Russia as her geopolitical adversary.
French and Austrian empires
In France, a significant part of society supported the idea of revenge for the defeat in the Napoleonic wars and was ready to take part in the war against Russia, provided that England would take their side.
Russia and Austria were in the Holy Alliance, the main purpose of which was to prevent revolutionary situations in Europe. In the summer of 1849, at the request of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, the Russian army under the command of Ivan Paskevich took part in suppressing the Hungarian National Revolution (which saved the Austrian Empire from collapse!).
After all this, Nicholas I counted on Austria's support in the Eastern question, but she was frightened by the prospect of the emergence of independent states in the Balkans, probably friendly to Russia.
Reason for war
It is safe to say that anti-Russian sentiments have been growing in Europe since the 1940s (including Greece, which had just received its state with the help of Russia). The strength of the Russian Empire was growing, its weight in Europe was increasing, and neighboring countries watched with fear. Separate mention should be made of Russia's desire to seize Constantinople and control the Black Sea straits.
The starting point that triggered the impending events can be considered the conflict between Nicholas I and Napoleon III, who came to power in France after the coup of 1851. Nicholas I considered the new French emperor illegitimate, since the Bonaparte dynasty was excluded from the French succession to the throne.
France demanded that the keys to the church in Palestine (which at the time belonged to the Orthodox community) be given to the Catholic clergy. Russia demanded that the keys remain with the Orthodox community. Both sides backed up their words with references to the decrees of the sultans (different years) and threats. The Ottomans, unable to refuse, promised to fulfill both the French and Russian demands.
Photos of Allied warships in Crimea.
At the end of the summer of 1852, France brought the 80-gun battleship "Charlemagne" under the walls of Istanbul and received the symbolic keys to the Church of the Nativity of Christ. In response, Russian Chancellor Nesselrode, on behalf of Nicholas I, declared that Russia "will not tolerate the insult received from the Ottoman Empire." The concentration of the Russian army began on the border with Moldova and Wallachia.
For negotiations with the Ottoman Sultan in Constantinople, the extraordinary ambassador of Russia Menshikov arrived, and the ambassador of Great Britain hurried there. The British ambassador, knowing that the fleets of France and Britain had already been sent to the eastern part of the Mediterranean (to be nearby and ready) to enter the war with Russia, convinced the Sultan to meet ALL the requirements of the Russian ambassador regarding church issues. He knew for sure that the decision had already been made in St. Petersburg, and in London, and in Paris. Having removed the formal reason, it was already impossible to prevent the war.
Menshikov was announced that he agreed with all the requirements and issued a Sultan's decree in this regard, guaranteeing the rights and privileges of Christian churches, but especially the rights and advantages of the Orthodox Church. Our ambassador refused everything, presented a note of breaking off relations and left Constantinople.
On June 14, 1853, Nicholas I issued a manifesto on the occupation of the Danube principalities, and on June 21, Russian troops crossed the Prut River and invaded Moldavia. The war has begun….
Continued: Part 2. All-round defense