Editing Battle of the Chernaya

{{Short description|1855 battle of the Crimean War}}
{{Redirect|Tchernaya|the Tchernaya River|Chyornaya (Crimea)}}
{{for|a battle of the [[American War of Independence]]|Battle of the Black River}}

{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of the Chernaya
| image             = Battle of the Tchernaya, August 16th 1855.PNG
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = ''Battle of the Tchernaya, August 16th 1855''<br>William Simpson, 1856
| date              = August 16, 1855
| place             = Traktir Bridge, [[Chyornaya (Crimea)|Chyornaya River]], [[Russian Empire]]
| coordinates       = {{coord|44|33|26|N|33|38|50|E|display=inline, title}}
| result            = Allied victory{{sfnp|Dupuy|1993|p=906}}
| combatant1        ={{flagicon|France|1794}} [[Second French Empire|French Empire]]<br>{{flag|Kingdom of Sardinia|1851}}{{sfnp|Schneid|2012|p=23}}<br> {{flag|Ottoman Empire}}{{sfn|Önen|2016|p=111}}
| combatant2        = {{flag|Russian Empire}}
| commander1        = {{flagicon|France|1794}} '''[[Aimable Pélissier]]'''<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Sardinia|1851}} '''[[Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora|Alfonso La Màrmora]]'''{{sfnp|Schneid|2012|p=23}}<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Sardinia|1851}} [[Giovanni Durando]]{{sfnp|Schneid|2012|p=23}}<br>{{flagicon|Ottoman Empire}} '''[[Osman Nuri Pasha]]'''{{sfn|Önen|2016|p=111}}
| commander2        = {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} '''[[Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov|Mikhail Gorchakov]]'''<br>{{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Pavel Liprandi]]<br>{{flagicon|Russian Empire}} {{ill| Nikolay Read|ru|Реад, Николай Андреевич}}{{KIA}}
| strength1         = '''36,000:'''<br>27,000 French<br>9,000 Piedmontese{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=193}}<br>10,000 Ottomans (reserve)
| strength2         = '''60,000'''{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=193}}
| casualties1       = '''1,800–1,900 casualties:'''(1,700 French, 200 Sardinians{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=193}})<br>250 killed<br>1,550 wounded{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=516}}
| casualties2       = '''8,800 casualties:'''<br>3,330 killed<br>3,370 wounded<br>1,500 captured{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=474}}
| partof            = [[Crimean War]]
}}
{{Campaignbox Crimean War}}

The '''Battle of the Chernaya''' (also '''Tchernaïa'''; Russian: Сражение у Черной  речки, Сражение у реки Черной, literally: '''Battle of the Black River''') was fought near the Traktir Bridge on the [[Chorna (river)|Chernaya River]] during the [[Crimean War]] on August 16, 1855. The battle was fought between [[Russia]]n,  [[France|French]], [[Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia|Piedmontese]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] troops. The Chernaya River is on the outskirts of [[Sevastopol]], near the line of the allies' siege of the city. In the battle, the Russians were the attacking side. It ended in a Russian retreat and a victory for the French, Piedmontese, and Ottomans.

==Planning==
The battle was planned as an offensive by the Russians with the aim of forcing the Allied forces (French, British, Piedmontese, and Ottoman{{sfnp| Kozelsky |2019|p=153}}) to retreat and abandon their [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)|siege of Sevastopol]]. Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] had ordered his commander in chief in the Crimea, [[Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov|Prince Michael Gorchakov]] to attack the besieging forces before they were reinforced further.
<br>The Russian generals prepared a massive force: a 47,000-strong infantry, supported by a 10,000-strong cavalry, which were organized in 6 divisions: the IV, the V, the VI, the VII, the XII, the XVII, together with another division, the II, in reserve.<br>
The Tsar hoped that by gaining a victory, he could force a more favorable resolution to the conflict. Gorchakov did not think that an attack would be successful but believed the greatest chance of success to be near the French and Piedmontese positions on the Chernaya River. The Tsar ordered the hesitating Gorchakov to hold a war council to plan the attack. The attack was planned for the morning of August 16 in the hope to surprise the French and Piedmontese as they had just celebrated the Feast day of the Emperor (France) and [[Assumption of Mary|Assumption Day]] (Piedmontese). The Russians hoped that because of these feasts the enemy would be tired and less attentive to the Russians.{{sfnp|Figes|2010|pp=380-381}}

==The battle==
[[File:Battle of the Chernaya.jpg|thumb|305px|Battle of the Chernaya, the forces at the beginning of the battle and the Russian advance. The Russians are shown in brown, Frenchmen in red, Sardinians in blue, Turks in green, British in orange]]
[[File:Artgate Fondazione Cariplo - Induno Gerolamo, La battaglia della Cernaia.jpg|thumb|305px|''La battaglia della Cernaia'', [[Gerolamo Induno]].]]
58,000 Russian troops in two army [[corps]] under Prince Michael Gorchakov fought against 36,000 French and [[Sardinian Expeditionary Corps in the Crimean War|Sardinian troops]] under French General [[Aimable Pélissier]] and Piedmontese General [[Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora]]. Ottoman forces—six [[battalion]]s of infantry and one [[artillery battery]]—were commanded by {{ill|Władysław Kościelski|pl}} [(Ottoman name "Sefer Pasha").<ref>{{harvnb|Russell|1858|p=412}}</ref> Although the British correspondents were amazed at the courageousness and impetuosity of the Russian attack,<ref>{{harvnb|Russell|1858|p=404}}: "The rush of the Russians was splendid."</ref> the assault was handicapped by poor organization and lack of experienced soldiers which, due to Sevastopol, forced their corps to consist mostly of militia.

In the cover of the morning fog, the Russians advanced towards Traktir Bridge with 47,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 270 cannon under command of General [[Pavel Liprandi]] on the left and General {{ill| Nikolay Read|ru|Реад, Николай Андреевич}} on the right. The two generals had been ordered by Gorchakov not to cross the river until given explicit orders.  Annoyed that things weren't happening fast enough, Gorchakov sent a note to his generals with the words ''"Let's start it."'' By this, Gorchakov only meant that the Russians should start to deploy their forces. His generals interpreted his words as his order to attack and they acted accordingly, although reserve forces were still en route to the battlefield.{{sfnp|Figes|2010|pp=381-382}} 
[[File:Traktir Bridge after the Battle of Tchernaya, 1855, 'The Officers' Portfolio of the Striking Reminiscences of the War, from Drawings, Photographs, and Notes, Taken on the Spot.' (1856). NAM 1005006.jpg|thumb|Traktir Bridge after the Battle.]]
The attacking Russians immediately met stiff resistance from the French and Sardinians. Read's forces crossed the river near the Traktir Bridge but without cavalry and artillery support, they were easily stopped by the French on the Fedyukhin Heights (Федюхины высоты). Read then ordered his reserve formation, the 5th Infantry Division, to attack the Heights but instead of launching a coordinated assault, he fed them piecemeal into the fray. Going in regiment by regiment, the assaulting reserve troops accomplished nothing. Seeing this, Gorchakov ordered Read to deploy the entire division against the French. This forced the French back up the hill but the Russians could not capture the Heights. In the following retreat General Read was killed. Upon the death of Read, Gorchakov took personal command of the right and ordered 8 battalions of Liprandi's left wing to reinforce the right wing. These forces came under fire from the Sardinians and were driven back. At 10 o’clock in the morning, Gorchakov concluded that the situation was hopeless and ordered a general retreat.{{sfnp|Figes|2010|pp=382-383}}

The bravery of Sardinian troops and the French soldiers of the 50th, 82nd, 95th, 97th of the line; the 19th Foot Chasseurs; and the 2nd and 3rd [[Zouave]]s was especially noted. The Sardinian troops' valiant effort at the battle was a contributing factor to their inclusion at the negotiation tables at the end of the war; it was there that the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] began looking for the aid of other European nations towards the [[Italian unification|Unification of Italy]].

==Tolstoy==
Russian Count [[Leo Tolstoy]] was a participant in the Battle of the Chernaya River. He witnessed as the Russians crossed the river and started up the hillside in the morning sunlight. Tolstoy saw Russian soldiers being killed in clusters as shells exploded around them. Before the morning was over, the Russians were forced to retreat. They left thousands of their dead comrades behind. Tolstoy was depressed and angered by the slaughter. He believed much of it was due to incompetent generals and staff. Tolstoy vented his anger by composing a [[:s:ru:Песня про сражение на реке Черной 4 августа 1855 г. (Толстой)|satiric stanza]], an approximate translation of which reads:

''The toppest brass''<br />
''Sat down to meet''<br />
''And pondered long;''<br />
''Topographers''<br />
''Lined paper black''<br />
''But all forgot''<br />
''The deep ravine''<br />
''They had to cross!''{{sfnp|Troyat|2001|p=125}}

<br>This humorous song soon gained widespread popularity among the Russian soldiers, and is the only piece of verse Tolstoy is known to have written. The stanza from Tolstoy's song "Гладко вписано в бумаге, Да забыли про овраги" ("It was smoothly written into the papers / But it was forgotten about the ravines") entered as a [[Catchphrase|catch phrase]], in a slightly modified form "Гладко было на бумаге..." ("It was 
smooth on the paper, ...").{{sfnp|Troyat|2001|p=158}}

==Aftermath==
The battle was a disaster for the Russians. Even with numerical superiority, the Russians had managed to lose the battle and suffer almost five times as many casualties as the Allies. Tsar Alexander had hoped for a Russian victory so that he could negotiate a peace with favorable terms. That hope was now lost. As a result of the slaughter that took place at the battle, the Russian soldiers had lost their trust in the Russian commanders and it was now only a question of time before the Russian army would be forced to surrender Sevastopol.{{sfnp|Figes|2010|pp=384-385}}{{sfnp|Royle|2000|p=409}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|indent=yes}}
*{{cite book|last=Bodart|first=Gaston|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_A0kNAAAAYAAJ|title=Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905)|year=1908|publisher=Wien und Leipzig, C. W. Stern |access-date=|url-access=}}
*{{cite book|last=Clodfelter|first=M.|title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|year=2017|edition=4th|isbn=978-0-7864-7470-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dupuy |first1=Trevor N. |last2=Dupuy |first2=R. Ernest |title=The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History |date=1993 |publisher=HarperCollins |ref={{sfnref|Dupuy|1993|p=906}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Figes |first=Orlando |title=Crimea. The Last Crusade|year= 2010|publisher=Allen Lane |location=London |isbn=978-0-7139-9704-0 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Kozelsky |first1=Mara |title=Crimea in war and transformation |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780190644710 }}
*{{cite thesis |last= Önen|first=Saliha |date= September 2016|title= Cerİde-İ Havadİs Gazetesİ’nİn Gözünden 1853-1856 Kirim Savaşi|url=https://acikerisim.nevsehir.edu.tr/bitstream/handle/20.500.11787/217/saliha_onen_tez.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |degree= M. A. |chapter= |publisher=History Department, Institute of Social Sciences, [[Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University]] |lang=tr|access-date=26 October 2024|location=[[Nevşehir]]}}
* {{cite book |last= Raugh |first=Harold E. |title=The Victorians at war, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History |year=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-925-6 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Royle |first1=Trevor |title=Crimea: The Great Crimean War 1854-1856 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |date=2000 |isbn=0-312-23079-6}}
*{{cite book |last1=Russell |first1=William Howard|authorlink1=William Howard Russell |title=The British Expedition to the Crimea|publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London |date=1858 |oclc= 474917219}}
* {{cite book |last= Schneid |first= Frederick C. |title=The Second War of Italian Unification 1859-61 |date=2012 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |location=[[Oxford]] |isbn=978-1-84908-787-2 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Troyat|first=Henri|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45195641|title=Tolstoy|date=2001|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=0-8021-3768-7|edition=1st Grove Press|location=New York|oclc=45195641}}

{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Category:Battle of the Chernaya}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chernaya, Battle of the}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1855]]
[[Category:Battles of the Crimean War|Chernaya River 1855]]
[[Category:Battles involving France|Chernaya River 1855]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Kingdom of Sardinia|Chernaya River 1855]]
[[Category:1855 in Europe]]
[[Category:Leo Tolstoy]]
[[Category:Taurida Governorate]]
[[Category:August 1855]]