The battle of Alma is the first serious battle during the Crimean War. It was of great importance 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 advance 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.
Backstory
The years of the Crimean War (1853–1856) became a real test for our country. Starting as a conflict between two old opponents (Russia and Turkey), it very soon developed into a large-scale confrontation between several major European states. After a series of victories by 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 militarytechnical 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 mistake, since the enemy had steam ships that domestic ships could not compete with.
Ground Forces
The battle of Alma was, in fact, a confrontation between unequal forces. The Allies had an almost twofold superiority in the number of troops, which were supported from the sea by the navy. The European army was better equipped and weapons both in 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. It was a very advantageous strategic position: its height allowed the troops to retreat.
However, a significant disadvantage was the stretching of the coastline, as well as the fact that the Russian troops could not approach the sea because of the enemy fleet, which was continuously shelling land. The Alma battle became a battle, which, in fact, became the first serious test of the opponents' capabilities. Russian battalions lined up in two lines, in addition, a Cossack regiment took part 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, infantryregiments, 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 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 capture the main strategic point - Telegraph Hill. The British troops were to go around the right flank, and the French were to capture the Russian positions on the left side.
Start of battle
The Alma battle began on September 7, 1854 with a skirmish, which was started by several French units with the support of British and Turkish divisions. Already on this first day, the advantage of the allies was marked largely due to artillery support from the sea. On the morning of the next day, the French troops went on the attack and took the main position on the left flank.
This allowed the British and Turks to form an offensive. They crossed the Alma River with heavy losses, but thanks to the actions of Commander Bosquet and ship shelling, they nevertheless began hostilities along the front line. The Russians tried to push the enemy back with bayonet guns, but were forced to retreat under enemy fire. The situation was saved by the hussar and Cossack regiments, which covered the retreat of the main forces.
Further course of the battle
The battle of Alma in 1854 still raises questions and disputes among historians. One ofsuch unclear moments is the question of the course of action of the French forces under the command of Bosquet. In the middle of the day he sent several battle columns into battle, the advance of which did not meet with serious resistance from the Russians. There are two explanations for this. Some scientists believe that a group of allies was in the rear of the Minsk regiment, opened fire on him and forced him to retreat.
According to another version, the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops Menshikov, having learned about the arrival of the enemy on the plateau, sent the said regiment along with the Moscow one to meet him. However, these forces were under cross fire from the fleet, which led to the retreat.
Retreat
The battle of Alma in 1854 ended in the defeat of the Russian troops, 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 push Bosque's forces across the river. To do this, the commander ordered a bayonet attack. Circumstances favored this maneuver, as insufficient artillery on land delayed the French advance for some time. However, soon enemy reinforcements came from the north, which drove 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 on the plateau and begin shelling. Then Alexander Sergeevich Menshikov gave an order to some regimentsretreat.
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 went on the attack, which launched an offensive after the French. And if the latter sought to disarm the left flank, then 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 sites, since here they did not receive support from the sea. The Alma battle in the Crimea showed that the support of the allies from the sea largely determined their victory. The British could not immediately fulfill their goal and were delayed for several hours. The target of the attack was Kurgan Hill, which was defended by Russian troops. In order to get to it, the British had to cross the river.
Counterattack
The battle on Alma continued with the offensive of the Russians, who took advantage of the disorganization of the enemy. However, they failed to build on the 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, they failed to develop success, since the allies advanced in very discordant ranks, and therefore the volleys of guns did not cause them serious damage. One of the heaviest defeats of the Russians during the war years was the Battle of Alma in the Crimea. Briefly, he canto sum up the following: the allies were much better armed, which ensured their victory. After the events described, the British managed to take the Great Redoubt and achieve a final retreat. However, this was not their complete victory, as 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. Particularly difficult was the condition of declaring the neutrality of the Black Sea and the loss of a number of territories. The very first major battle showed that the Russian army was technically inferior to the Allied troops. Nevertheless, the personal heroism of the soldiers and the skillful actions of the command delayed the inevitable defeat for some time.
The attack of the Vladimir regiment was successful. His fighters launched a bayonet attack, which caused confusion in the ranks of the enemy. They managed to push the British to the river itself. But this success was not consolidated, since the central heights were occupied by French troops. In addition, enemy artillery interfered greatly in the rear.
Second French sortie
The results of the Crimean War have greatly shaken the political prestige of the Russian Empire in the international arena. The main failures began with the defeat during the first major battle. The French commander Saint-Arnaud launched a new attack, which the Moscow regiment could not repulse. The latter held back the advance of another enemy division. Then the French stepped up the attack, which this time was successful. Russian regiments were again forcedretreat, 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 being fired. 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 point of view prevails that the Russian troops resisted the French. According to another version, the general himself ordered to leave the hill.
Results
Despite the victory of the allies, the latter did not pursue the Russian troops, so Alexander Sergeevich Menshikov kept fresh forces, while the British and French troops were tired and somewhat disorganized. It is generally accepted that command errors were another reason for the defeat.
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, a military-historical memorial "The Field of the Alma Battle" has been erected 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 andcontinued in subsequent decades up to the present day.
