The siege of Sebastopol began in October, and during its progress important battles occurred—­that of Balaklava, that of Inkerman, November 5th, in which the Russians were defeated by the English and the French; that of Tchernaya, August 16, 1855, a victory for the Russians; and the storming of the Malakoff, described below.  The capture of Sebastopol was followed by the taking of Kars by the Russians, November 28, 1855, and the war ended.  In accordance with the Treaty of Paris, March 30, 1856, Russia abandoned her claim to a protectorate over Christians in Turkey, and the Sultan agreed to grant them more favorable terms.

Sir Edward Bruce Hamley and Sir Henry Evelyn Wood, British generals who served in the Crimean War, give us the best accounts of the siege and capture of Sebastopol, in which they were active participants.  The siege had continued through many weeks without decisive developments, when on June 18, 1855, the French made a strong but unsuccessful assault on the Malakoff, which, like the Redan, formed one of the main defences.  The following narratives describe the British assault on the Redan and the final storming of the Malakoff by the French.

SIR EDWARD BRUCE HAMLEY

Seeing how desperate was the condition of the fortress, Prince Gortschakoff had resolved, after the Battle of the Tchernaya, to abandon Sebastopol.  In letters to the Minister of War, of August 18 and 24, 1855, he expressed this intention, saying there was not a man in the army who would not call it folly to continue the defence longer.  With a view to conducting a retreat he pressed forward rapidly the construction of the bridge across the harbor, which was to have a roadway of sixteen feet and to bear heavy vehicles.  He also conferred with Todleben on other measures to protect the withdrawal, and accordingly barricades were built across the streets and formed into armed and defensible works which were intended, as a last resort, to hold in check the assailants.  Preparations were also made for blowing up the principal forts and magazines.

Another great cannonade had begun on August 17th.  The French lines had now approached so close to the place that new additions to them were immediately destroyed or rendered untenable by the fire from the Malakoff and Little Redan; and the shower of small shells, easily cast into the trenches from the ramparts, and called by the French “bouquets,” greatly increased their losses.  For the silencing of the artillery, which thus hindered the French sappers, the allied batteries opened in full force against the part of the enemy’s lines from the Redan to the great harbor.  But the town front was not included, and the English batteries suffered greatly from want of support by the works on their left.