Struggle in Russia

With Raglan's death, the new coalition siege of Sevastopol could only come to an end. The coalition forces used 20,000 living lives to prove one thing - it is definitely not that easy to capture Sevastopol.

Because there was nothing they could do against the Russian army's solid fortifications, the only thing the coalition forces could do was to continue digging trenches and trenches to besiege Sevastopol. At most, they would shell out again at intervals.

To be honest, this is very monotonous and tiring. It is simply endless torture for the coalition soldiers!

For example, General Bosquet's adjutant and the son of French Marshal de Castellane wrote to his father: "My dear father, I feel that all my letters should begin with the same sentence - that is There is no new progress! In other words, we continue to dig trenches and organize forts. We drink around the campfire every night, and two companies of soldiers are sent to the hospital every day..."

The exhausted soldiers of both armies generally felt that the siege would last forever. They were frustrated and eager to end the war as soon as possible, so all kinds of strange ideas came to mind.

For example, Prince Urusov, a good friend of the great writer Tolstoy, was a chess master. He personally tried to persuade Kornilov to decide where the most fiercely contested trench between the two sides should belong through a game of chess. one party.

After being rebuffed, it was Tolstoy's turn. He suggested that the outcome of the war should simply be decided by a duel, and whoever wins would be the winner.

Kornilov would definitely not agree to these ridiculous suggestions, but the reason why these strange suggestions came out shows that both warring parties are really exhausted.

Compared with the Russian army, the morale of the coalition forces was even lower, because they found that even though the Russian army was hit by devastating and continuous artillery fire, it was still constantly repairing new fortifications, and even made the existing fortifications stronger.

Obviously this will be more difficult to conquer, so on the one hand, the coalition soldiers are worried that they will be thrown out as cannon fodder by the generals and on the other hand, they are also worried that this war will not end in a short time. Maybe they will have to cross the border in Sevastopol. It’s the second winter.

Almost every soldier wrote to his family about how much he missed home and wanted to go home. Even mid-level officers began to say to their families: "I have made up my mind to go home no matter what. I cannot and will not go home again." Bear with me one winter. I know if I live another winter here, within a year I will be a useless, feeble old man. I would rather be a living donkey than a dead lion!"

Soldiers began to generally envy their comrades who had been injured and lost legs or arms in previous battles. According to a British officer: "Many people will be happy to lose an arm. As long as they can get out of here, it doesn't matter if they lose a leg or an arm." !”

But the reality is disappointing,

The coalition soldiers had no way to return home and could only immerse themselves in despair and depression. As a result, many people began to doubt this war, began to hate and question this war.

French army chaplain Andre Damas said that a soldier of the Zouave Division had strong doubts about the war because when they arrived in Crimea, their superiors told them that they were fighting barbarians and protecting the weak and just. Act of.

But during the process of cleaning up dead and wounded soldiers on June 18, he helped a seriously injured Russian officer. Out of gratitude, the officer took a leather pendant from his neck and gave it to him, with an embossed seal on it. With the image of the Madonna and Child.

"This war must end," he told Father Damas. "It is a coward's war. We are all Christians. We all believe in God. No religion will make us so brave. But why should we fight against each other?" Fight hard and decide whether you and I live or die?"

To be honest, the soldier of the Zhuav Division was in relatively good condition. He only doubted the necessity of war. Compared with those suffering from trench fatigue, his doubts would not have bad consequences.

The former is much more troublesome! When there was no end in sight for the siege, the soldiers were exhausted and mentally broken due to lack of sleep from living under continuous bombardment for a long time.

Many people described in detail the scenes of "trench madness" in their memoirs. For example, a group of battle-hardened Zhuav soldiers suddenly jumped up in the middle of the night, grabbed their weapons and began hysterically calling for support, fighting against an enemy that did not exist.

At first, such incidents still happened occasionally, but as time went by, they became more and more common and contagious!

And most of these symptoms first appeared in the bravest and strongest soldiers. Many officers recalled that inexplicably some of the most experienced and brave soldiers suddenly went crazy, or jumped up and down like a psycho. Either rush directly to the Russian army and raise your hands to surrender, or even the most extreme ones will take their own lives with their own hands!

Many veterans seemed to be fine. One moment they were drinking, playing cards and chatting with their comrades in the tent, but suddenly they said they had had enough, picked up their guns and went out and shot them in the head.

The place where the morale of the coalition forces is the lowest and most collapsed is the field hospital. The huge number of casualties has created a large number of wounded soldiers. Most of them are bloody and missing arms and legs, groaning in pain day after day. How can you feel better living in such an environment?

Perhaps the only good news for the coalition forces is that there is no arbitrary monarch who is directing blindly regardless of the actual situation. uuReading When Nicholas I realized that Sevastopol could not be captured for a while, his restless heart became active again.

He gave Kornilov an order, hoping that Kornilov would organize a final offensive to break through the coalition's front. In his opinion, as long as it succeeded, it could shake the will of the coalition and strive for an honorable end to the war for Russia. .

Kornilov was naturally not so confused. He wrote back to Nicholas I: "It is extremely foolish to attack an enemy who has a numerical advantage and has solid fortifications. Doing so is tantamount to suicide!"

But Nicholas I was by no means a master who listened to others' advice. He insisted that the Sevastopol garrison must do something. He urgently needed a hearty victory, so he once again forcefully ordered Kornilov to do something. The reason for attacking is that he believes that the coalition forces are still increasing their troops. If nothing is done, they will really only be passively beaten in the future.

He even threatened Kornilov that if he did not attack quickly, he would not send new reinforcements to Sevastopol on the grounds that: "Otherwise, all the reinforcements I sent you will be like the past Fall into the bottomless pit of Sevastopol like that!"