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The '''Crimean War''' lasted from October 1853 to February 1856.  It was a war fought primarily on the [[Crimean Peninsula]] between the [[Russia]]ns on one side, and the British, French, and the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottoman Empire]] on the other, with the [[Kingdom]] of [[Sardinia]] joining the Allies later in the war..

The '''Crimean War''' lasted from October 1853 to February 1856.  It was a war fought primarily on the [[Crimean Peninsula]] between the [[Russia]]ns on one side, and the British, French, and the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottoman Empire]] on the other, with the [[Kingdom]] of [[Sardinia]] joining the Allies later in the war. Other theatres of war included the [[Baltic Sea]], the provinces of [[Wallachia]] and [[Moldavia]] (both in modern [[Romania]]) and the [[Sea of Japan]]<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/crimea_01.shtml</ref><ref>http://www.jstor.org/pss/2049762</ref>.

The beginnings of the war can be traced to 1851, when [[Napoleon III]] (France) demanded that the Ottomans acknowledge [[France]] as the 'sovereign authority' of the [[Holy Land]].

The beginnings of the war can be traced to 1851, when the French president Louis-Napoléon (soon to be emperor [[Napoleon III]])<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10699a.htm</ref> demanded that the Ottomans acknowledge [[France]] as the 'sovereign authority' of the [[Holy Land]].

However, this flew in the face of two earlier treaties between the Russians and the Ottomans, and so the Ottomans renounced the treaty. Napoleon III responded by sending a warship, the ''Charlemagne'' to the [[Black Sea]]. This show of force, along with some diplomacy and money, led the Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid I to reverse his decision, and a new treaty confirmed France and the Catholic Church as the supreme Christian Organization in the Holy Land. It also gave the keys to the [[Church of the Nativity]], previously in the hands of the [[Greek Orthodox Church]], to the [[Catholic Church]].  

However, this flew in the face of two earlier treaties between the Russians and the Ottomans, and so the Ottomans renounced the treaty. Napoleon III responded by sending a warship, the ''Charlemagne'' to the [[Black Sea]]. This show of force, along with some diplomacy and money, led the Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid I to reverse his decision, and a new treaty confirmed France and the Catholic Church as the supreme Christian Organization in the Holy Land. It also gave the keys to the [[Church of the Nativity]], previously in the hands of the [[Greek Orthodox Church]], to the [[Catholic Church]].  

The Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest medal for gallantry, was first awarded for acts during the Crimean War.

The Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest medal for gallantry, was first awarded for acts during the Crimean War.

[[Category:Wars]]

[[Category:Wars]]

[[Category:British History]]

[[Category:British History]]