The Alminskaya battle is the first serious battle during the Crimean War. It was important for the subsequent course of the confrontation between our country and the coalition of European allies. Despite the defeat of the Russian troops, this battle stopped the enemy’s rapid attack on Sevastopol and made it possible to prepare the city for a siege. Thus, he was not taken by storm, which delayed the victory of the enemy.
Background
The years of the Crimean War (1853–1856) became a real test for our country. Starting as a conflict of two old opponents (Russia and Turkey), it very soon grew into a large-scale confrontation of several major European states. After a series of victories of domestic troops over the enemy on land and at sea, England and France hastened to enter the war on the Turkish side. Both states sought to strike in several directions at once in order to separate the Russian forces in order to ensure the free passage of the Turkish army to the peninsula. The Allies concentrated superior forces on the Black Sea, which allowed them to land on the coast.
The years of the Crimean War showed one of the main problems of the then Russia - its military-technical backwardness. Despite the fact that the landing of European troops was carried out extremely carelessly, without the necessary precautions, the Russian troops could not take advantage of this error, since the enemy had steam ships that domestic ships could not compete with.
Ground troops
The battle of Alma’s was essentially a confrontation of unequal forces. The Allies had an almost twofold superiority in the number of troops supported by the navy from the sea. The European army was better equipped with weapons in both quantity and quality. The allies had about 130 guns, the Russians had 80. The commander of the Russian troops, Prince A. S. Menshikov, chose the left bank of the river as the main point of attack. This was a very advantageous strategic position: its height allowed the troops to retreat.
However, the significant drawback was the extension of the coastline, as well as the fact that the Russian troops could not approach the sea because of the enemy fleet, which conducted continuous artillery shelling of land. The Alminsky battle was a battle, which, in fact, was the first serious test of the capabilities of opponents. Russian battalions lined up in two lines, in addition, the Cossack regiment participated in the battle.
Military positions
One of the important strategic mistakes of the Russian command was that it overestimated the capabilities of its own left flank, which turned out to be covered by one battalion. In the center were artillery batteries, infantry regiments, and naval battalions. Approximately the same arrangement of forces was observed on the right side. The Allies, taking advantage of their superiority, decided to bypass the Russian troops from the left flank, then go behind 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 primarily wanted to capture the main strategic point - Telegraph Hill. The British troops were to bypass the right flank, and the French - to capture Russian positions on the left.
Start of battle
The battle of Alma’s began on September 7, 1854 with a shootout which was launched by several French units with the support of the English and Turkish divisions. Already on this first day, the Allied advantage was indicated largely due to artillery support from the sea. The next morning, the French troops launched an attack and took up the main position on the left flank.
This allowed the British and Turks to form an offensive. They crossed the Almu River with heavy losses, but thanks to the actions of the commander of Bosque and ship's shelling, they nevertheless began fighting on the front line. The Russians tried to push back the enemy with bayonet guns, but were forced to retreat under enemy fire. The position 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 Almins of 1854 still raises questions and debates among historians. One of these obscure points is the question of the progress of the French forces under the command of Bosque. In the middle of the day, he sent several battle towers into battle, the advance of which did not meet any serious resistance from the Russians. There are two explanations for this. Some scholars believe that a group of allies was at the very rear of the Minsk regiment, opened fire on it and forced it to retreat.
According to another version, the commander of the Russian troops Menshikov, learning about the arrival of the enemy on the plateau, sent him the said regiment along with the Moscow. However, these forces were under crossfire from the fleet, which led to the retreat.
Retreat
The battle of Alminsk in 1854 ended in the defeat of the Russian forces, largely due to the powerful support of artillery fire from the fleet. At first, the main goal of the Russian command was the desire to throw Bosque forces beyond the river. To do this, the commander ordered to switch to a bayonet attack. Circumstances favored such a maneuver, since insufficient land artillery delayed the French advance for some time. However, soon enemy reinforcements arrived from the north, which threw back the forces of the Moscow regiment. This onslaught made it impossible to push the French units across the river, moreover, the left flank was in immediate danger. Recent events have allowed the enemy to raise artillery to a plateau and begin shelling. Then Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov ordered some 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 English units attacked, following the French attack. And if the latter sought to disarm the left flank, the goal of the former was the right regiments of the Russian army.
It should be noted that they got one of the most difficult areas, since here they did not receive support from the sea. The battle of Alma’s in Crimea showed that the support of the allies from the sea in many ways determined their victory. The British could not immediately fulfill the goal set before them and were delayed for several hours. The aim of the attack was Kurgan Hill, which was defended by Russian troops. In order to reach it, the British had to force the river.
Counterattack
The battle on Alma continued with the advance of the Russians, who took advantage of the enemy’s disorganization. However, they failed to build on success. The soldiers of the regiment guarding the hill, attacking the enemy, could not line up in an organized military line, which 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 success, since the Allies advanced in very disordered rows, and therefore the salvos 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’s in Crimea. Briefly, he can summarize the following result: the allies were much better armed, which ensured their victory. After the events described, the British managed to take the Big Redoubt and achieve a final retreat. However, this was not their complete victory, because they did not have enough reserve forces to consolidate their success.
New attack of Russian troops
The results of the Crimean War were very unpleasant for our country. Especially difficult was the condition of declaring the neutrality of the Black Sea and the loss of a number of territories. The first major battle showed that the domestic army was technically inferior to the Allied forces. Nevertheless, the personal heroism of the soldiers and the skillful actions of the command postponed the inevitable defeat for some time.
The attack of the Vladimir regiment was successful. His fighters launched a bayonet attack, which brought confusion into the ranks of the enemy. They managed to press the English to the river itself. But this success was not consolidated, since the central heights were occupied by French troops. In addition, enemy artillery interfered strongly in the rear.
Second French outing
The results of the Crimean War greatly shook the political prestige of the Russian Empire in the international arena. The main setbacks began with defeat during the first major battle. The French commander of Saint-Arno launched a new attack, which the Moscow regiment could not repel. The latter restrained the advance of another enemy division. Then the French intensified the attack, which this time was crowned with success. The Russian regiments were again forced to retreat, in addition, some commanders were seriously injured. 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 point of view that one of the key positions of the Russian troops, Telegraph Hill, was occupied without a single shot. According to a number of 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 prevailing view is that Russian troops resisted the French. According to another version, the general ordered the hill to leave.
Summary
Despite the victory of the Allies, the latter did not pursue the Russian troops, so Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov kept fresh forces, while the British and French troops were tired and somewhat disorganized. It is believed that another reason for the defeat was the error of command.
The main one is the fact that only half of the Russian forces took part in the battle, while the rest, due to tactical miscalculations, could not support the regiments that were under enemy attacks. After this battle, the path to Sevastopol was opened, but the attack on it was suspended. At present, the military historical memorial “Alminsky Battle Field” has been built at the site of the battle. Here 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 subsequent decades until our days.