The Crimean War - The Start of Modern Warfare

The Crimean War was probably the most important war in the nineteenth century. The blunders of the war certainly affected later years and influenced wars much more ahead of its time. It started because of an argument in Palestine, the Ottoman Empire that escalated to the murder of forty Orthodox Christians, which was condoned by Abdulmejid I, the sultane of the Ottoman Empire. The war ended with an Allied (France, the Ottoman Empire, and the U.K.) victory against Russia, however one would not be mistaken for thinking Russia would have won, as they used new technology on the older Allied techniques and strategies. This was also the beginning of media coverage of warfare in the press, and opinions on the war. From new technology and techniques, to bringing the war outside the battlefield, this essay will discuss how the Crimean War is the father of modern warfare.

A spectator to a modern war and an early nineteenth century war would not only notice differences in equipment and technology, but also the way they fight. New techniques, both on and outside of the battlefield were introduced, and old techniques were proved unreliable. To begin, the Crimean War was the first industrial war, meaning technology and industry over weighed logistics and reliable troops. With that being said, rifles were mass produced by both the Allies and the Russians. This is actually not the first instance of mass production of military equipment as it dates back to ancient Carthage. Although the title is sometimes credited to the American Civil War, the Crimean War was the first to mass produce rifles.

The Crimean War was also the first to use on  field nurses. The concept was first introduced by British nurses including Florence Nightingale, who built elementary nursing schools for women to volunteer on the battlefield. This idea was also used by Russian surgeon, Nikolaj Pirogov, who not only pitched the idea of drafting inexperienced Russian women to nurse wounded soldiers on the battlefield, but also modernised the use of anaesthetics.

Additionally, in the Battle of the Alma, while the Allied forces were advancing towards the Russians, they had to pass through an abandoned village. This village had been stuffed with hay and gunpowder and would be exploded by the Russians. This explosion ended up killing few soldiers, however this did not disappoint the Russians. The point of the explosion was to divide the Allied troops and have them lose coordination, a very modern strategy used especially in the Vietnam War.

During the Battle of Balaklava, the British cavalry faced off with the Russian artillery. Looking to improvise, the Russian artillery commander decided to have a gap in the usual square they would form. This would greatly benefit the Russians as the British generals vaguely worded their commands, which were understood as riding their horses right into the Russian artillery. The Allied cavalry rode directly into open fire, which inspired the poem “The Charge of The Light Brigade”.  Forty percent of the soldiers were killed, wounded, captured, or missing in only 20 minutes.  Many historians view this as the start of the downfall of cavalry as cavalry started to decline after this battle until the last successful cavalry battle in 1920.

Additionally, the downfall of bayonets also started with the Battle of Balaklava. The Russian artillery were equipped with bayonets on their long range rifles. This was also the first use of the technique - bayonets on long range rifles, which did not last long, as bayonets have absolutely no purpose on long range rifles other than stabbing soldiers who came from the back. Warfare now tends to be a lot more long range than warfare when bayonets were used, so bayonets slowly lost their purpose until the last successful bayonet charge in 1951.

After the Battle of Balaklava, the Allies attempted to siege Sevastopol', in which they used the traditional method of encircling the city and closing in on it. However this failed as the Russians had about six weeks to prepare for the Allies’ arrival and fortify their battle grounds. When the Allies arrived, fighting lasted for months and many soldiers died from fighting, starvation, cold, and even exhaustion.

Finally, Fredrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia had the idea of selling goods to a deprived Russia for high sums of money. Austria replicated this by doing the same. This philosophy of a neutral country selling overpriced goods to countries in war was particularly used in WWII and is still used to this day. This is not the only instance of neutral parties getting involved with the war, as this was the first war of opinion and press coverage .

The Crimean War was the first war to be reported on to the public and to the press, especially in England, with major newspapers such as London Times, reporting on the status of the war, and which battles were won and lost. This made the public form opinions on the war. For example, before the war, the British press was extremely Russophobic, stating that Russia had no authority going to war with the Ottomans, which made Brits enthusiastic to fight against the Russians. The British press also morphed opinions of the public by making it seem like naval soldiers are cowards for not attacking St. Peterburg. William Howard Russel, a spectator to the war also reported to the press on poor conditions and soldier rights.

William Howard Russel, a spectator to the battle of Balaklava, reported the cavalry blunder mentioned earlier. This caused the soldiers to stop trusting generals as the cavalry blunder was caused by their obliviousness. The British civilians were sceptical of whether or not they would win the war, and debates occurred about soldier rights and safety, as soldiers did not receive proper clothing during the harsh Russian winter, soldiers with diseases and illnesses went untreated until field nurses were introduced in later years.

No anti-war movement was started until the beginning of the Siege of Sevastopol' in January, 1855, where about 1,500 Londoners gathered and threw snowballs at police, pedestrians, and buses. This was done to protest against soldier rights, as soldiers were not given winter clothing, were milked by the press, starving, and protesters were convinced that soldiers were “fighting for nothing”.

While English protesters had vivid information on the war, the same could not be said for Russia and France. Emperor Napoleon III of France and Czar Nicholas I of Russia, were afraid that information about the war would spark protests in their counties too. To combat this, both Russia and France censored their press, or did not allow some news sources to report on the war. 

Also related to the press, war photos were taken for the first time. The first war photo was taken on March 15, 1955, at Balaklava, showcasing the effect of the battle on the city. It showed a pathway with about thirty cannonballs. More photos were taken for the press and for propaganda. The camera is not the only new technology introduced in the war. Many other inventions were brought to the Crimean War that had a huge effect on the future.

Many new technologies were introduced in the Crimean War that are used prominently to this day. However, not all technology used in the Crimean War is still used today. For example, the Crimean War was the first to use telegrams and morse code. This revolutionary technology allowed for communication much faster than mail, as temgrams could be delivered within 5 days, extremely fast for the time.

During the Battle of Sinop, the Russians used explosive shells against the Ottoman’s wooden boats, who used solid cannonballs against the Russians. The Russian shells burned the Ottoman boats, and fires had to be put out with buckets of water. At the end of the battle, only one Ottoman ship returned without being sunk. This manoeuvre could have only been accomplished because of Henri-Joseph Paixhans, a French artillery officer who invented a way for explosive shells to be fired without the risk of the firing ship being damaged, therefore allowing them to be used in naval warfare. Napoleon III, realising how efficient shells were, started using heavy shells in French ships.

The Battle of Sinop is also considered the last last battle in the age of sail, as the British and French started to make ironclad warships which were much lighter, smaller, more reliable, and powerful than the previous steamships. Many historians, including Prof. Andrew Lambert of King’s College London argue that the Crimean war could not have happened because the British and French would have no way of getting to the Black Sea to fight.

Long range cannons were used for the first time by the Russians in the Battle of Balaklava, where they were aligned on a hill, where they could shoot the incoming Allied soldiers. Long range cannons were used throughout the rest of the war, often with castiron barrels.

Long range rifles were produced for the first time too. It started when the British used long range mini rifles in the Battle of the Alma, redeeming themselves for their poor cavalry and winning the battle. The Russians replicated this and used it especially during the Siege of Sevastopol', which is part of the reason it lasted so long.

All in all, the Crimean War was most certainly an important war in determining the future. It introduced new war techniques such as field nurses and revolutionising mass production that are still used today, bringing the war to the press and forming opinions, which is especially prominent in modern times, and introducing revolutionary technology that is still used today. The Crimean War laid the groundwork for modern warfare, and to this day plays a major role in shaping wars around the world today.