British-French Assault on the Finnish Coast
During the Crimean War
by
Ulf Fagerlund
by
Ulf Fagerlund
During the first half of the 19th century great changes in economic and social conditions took place in Europe. Britain saw massive momentum in industrial development, and industrialization was also beginning in central Europe. Social and political awareness amongst workers created a demand by the middle classes for a greater role in society. Development in France was moving in the same direction. In Britain, the evolving industrialization brought about a social revolution in which financial power gradually moved from the aristocracy to the new industrialists. In 1848, the changes in Western European society resulted in revolution in France and the establishment of Napoleon III as Emperor. The unrest rapidly spread to Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, and into Sweden.
The Eastern part of Europe did not experience similar development. There, the old autocratic form of society was still in the hands of aristocracy and landowners. In Russia, Emperor Nicholas I denounced the liberal movements. He called for the defense of Rus-sia’s territories and transferred large forces to the western borders. The brutal suppression of a revolt in Hungary in 1849 increased the growing unpopularity of the Emperor in Western Europe. At the same time, Russian foreign politics was directed towards expansion on the Balkan peninsula. Thus, tensions foreshadowed an armed conflict in Europe called the Crimean War.
In October 1853, Turkey declared war on Russia and fighting ensued at the eastern end of the Black Sea. A Turkish squadron was sent into the Black Sea to support the forces east of the Sea. Due to bad weather, the squadron put into the bay of Sinope on the northern coast of Turkey. The British-trained commander of the squadron was not confident about the ability of the squadron to sustain bad weather. The Russian naval fleet in the Black Sea was based in Sebastopol in the southern Crimea, only 130 miles away. Ships from the fleet annihilated the Turkish Squadron.
For the first time in naval warfare, explosive shells were used in this battle. The battle represented the beginning of a new era in naval warfare, an era which also introduced the propulsion of ships by steam-powered machinery. The Russian expansion and the strength of the Russian naval fleet were seen as a threat to international security, and Britain and France formed a coalition with Turkey in the war against Russia. The aversion to Russia took expression in enthusiasm for Turkey, despite the fact that Turkey was, at that time, a corrupt, decaying, and alien society.
The most extensive military operations during the war took place on the Crimean peninsula, but there was also a Baltic dimension to the war. Russia’s Baltic fleet, based in Kronstadt, Sveaborg, and Reval (Tallin) in the Gulf of Finland, was known to be bigger than the British Western Squadron. Only a few days sail from the east coast of Britain, it presented a constant threat, underscored by the events in the Crimea. These led to the sailing of a Baltic fleet from Britain in March 1854, before war had been declared with Russia. During 1854 and 1855, allied British and French ships conducted operations partly against fortifications in Finland, and partly against the country’s coastal cities and against commercial shipping. These actions were the only military ones in Finland during a century of peace under Russian rule.
Of fortifications, the most important one was at Sveaborg. Others were at Viborg, Svensksund, Lovisa, Hangö Head, and the extensive fortifications at Bomarsund on Åland, which Russia had been constructing since 1830. The Russian Baltic navy played a passive role. Although its strength was substantial, it had been neglected while Russia’s main attention was focused on its operations on the Crimean peninsula. The allied fleet consequently could operate unopposed.
Landings of smaller army units, which ravaged and harassed port towns, accompanied the blockade of Finland’s coasts by the allied navy. The operations, which were ruthless, served military purposes. Property which could be of importance for the Russian war effort was destroyed; sailing ships, wharfs, lumber, and tar supplies were burned. Finnish merchant shipping suffered seriously. The operations by the Allies destroyed any sympathies that the Finnish population had for the British.
At an Imperial Russian council on December 20, 1855, Czar Alexander II approved the acceptance of peace terms offered by the Allies. The signing of the Treaty of Paris on March 30, 1856, formally ended the Crimean war.
To illustrate the upheaval all these enemy actions caused the Finnish population in coastal communities, a short chronicle reported by the Finnish newspapers at the time, is given below. (Source: "After 1809" published by Bernces Förlag AB, Helsingfors, Malmö, 1981)
From the 1854 press:
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
From the 1855 press:
March
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Visited 1454times
[since 26 Dec 2003]