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Lot Essay
The Battle of Inkerman and the Battle of Balaclava both took place during the Crimean War of 1853-56. Although the achievements of this campaign were of relatively little long term strategic importance, the conflict is distinguished as being the first to be photographed and the first to have been reported on by a correspondent using the telegraph to transmit his copy. The journalist W. H. Russell's reporting for the Times newspaper had a massive impact on the public's perception of the conflict as he exposed the grim reality of warfare and the suffering of the poorly equipped British army.
The Crimean conflict was fought between Russia on one side and an alliance of Britain, France, Austria and the Ottoman Empire on the other. The cause was simmering tensions in Europe caused by the struggle between the major powers for precedence in the declining territories of the Ottoman Empire, and in particular, who had "sovereign authority" in the Holy Land. In response to Russian expansion in the Black Sea area, the Ottoman Empire declared war in October 1853, against the advice of its allies, but when Russia destroyed the Ottoman fleet at Sinope, Britain and France joined the conflict. The Battle of Inkerman was fought as Russia attempted to relieve the port of Sebastapool, which the British had laid siege to. The British force was able to successfully defend the Inkerman ridge and the Russians retreated with much loss of life. The Battle of Balaclava, which included the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade, was a Russian attack on the port with the intention of cutting British supply links. The first Russian attack broke through the Turkish line but further attacks were unsuccessful as the Thin Red Line repelled one assault and the Heavy Brigade led a successful charge against the Russian infantry. However this was followed by the disastrous cavalry charge of the Light Brigade against the Russian guns following a misinterpreted order from the British army commander Lord Raglan which led to significant loss of life and a public outcry at home.
The Crimean conflict was fought between Russia on one side and an alliance of Britain, France, Austria and the Ottoman Empire on the other. The cause was simmering tensions in Europe caused by the struggle between the major powers for precedence in the declining territories of the Ottoman Empire, and in particular, who had "sovereign authority" in the Holy Land. In response to Russian expansion in the Black Sea area, the Ottoman Empire declared war in October 1853, against the advice of its allies, but when Russia destroyed the Ottoman fleet at Sinope, Britain and France joined the conflict. The Battle of Inkerman was fought as Russia attempted to relieve the port of Sebastapool, which the British had laid siege to. The British force was able to successfully defend the Inkerman ridge and the Russians retreated with much loss of life. The Battle of Balaclava, which included the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade, was a Russian attack on the port with the intention of cutting British supply links. The first Russian attack broke through the Turkish line but further attacks were unsuccessful as the Thin Red Line repelled one assault and the Heavy Brigade led a successful charge against the Russian infantry. However this was followed by the disastrous cavalry charge of the Light Brigade against the Russian guns following a misinterpreted order from the British army commander Lord Raglan which led to significant loss of life and a public outcry at home.