The Forgotten Crimean War Battle Fought In The Pacific

The battle of Petropavlovsk 1854, during the Crimean War.
A forgotten battle on Russia's remote Siberian Pacific coast.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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In the summer of 1854, while the world's attention was focused on events in the Crimea, a combined British and French naval squadron was sailing towards the isolated Russian port of Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula. What should have been a straightforward victory for the overwhelmingly superior Allied fleet instead became a humiliating disaster that the Admiralty would later describe as "that melancholy failure at Petropavlovsk."

The expedition was doomed from the start. 64-year-old Rear Admiral David Price, a Napoleonic War veteran commanding the British squadron, died under mysterious circumstances - either by accident or by his own hand - just as the bombardment began. With their commander dead and facing unexpectedly strong Russian defences, the Allied landing force of British Marines and French sailors walked straight into a carefully prepared trap.

Despite outnumbering the Russian defenders nearly four-to-one in ships, men, and guns, the British and French forces were ignominiously repulsed. In scenes of chaos and confusion, French troops even opened fire on their British allies by mistake. The Royal Marines' colour was lost when the bearer was shot and fell overboard, later washing up on the beach as a trophy for the victorious Russians.




TIMELINE OF EVENTS
• March 1854 - Britain and France declare war on Russia
• July 17, 1854 - Allied fleet arrives in Honolulu
• July 25, 1854 - Fleet departs Honolulu for Petropavlovsk
• August 1854 - Russians complete defensive preparations
• August 28, 1854 - Allied fleet approaches Avacha Bay
• August 30, 1854 - Bombardment begins; Admiral Price dies at 12:15 PM
• August 31, 1854 - First Allied landing attempt fails
• September 1, 1854 - Admiral Price buried
• September 4, 1854 - Major Allied assault and defeat
• September 7, 1854 - Allied fleet withdraws
• September 1854 - British and French troops land in Crimea
• May 30, 1855 - British return expedition arrives
• May 31, 1855 - Town found deserted
• June 12, 1855 - British fleet departs

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:35 Where is Petropavlovsk?
2:29 British Naval Strategy
3:53 Admiral Price
4:44 The Allied Fleet
5:31 Russian Pacific Fleet
6:13 The Chase
7:05 Russian Defences
8:00 Strange Death of Admiral Price
9:40 Bombardment
10:40 Complete Confusion
12:02 Battle of Petropavlovsk
14:44 Withdrawal & Return
16:13 A Forgotten Battle

#CrimeanWar #RoyalNavy #BritishHistory #NavalHistory #MilitaryHistory #PacificWar #Russia #Siberia #Petropavlovsk #19thCentury



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My name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.

History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or Youtube animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.

My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"

Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham and am a member of the Royal Historical Society.
I am also a member of the Victorian Military Society, the Anglo Zulu War Society and the Military Historical Society.

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