On 17 October 1854 the British and French opened their first bombardment of Sevastopol, and the campaign became an eleven-month siege. On the same date in 1855 French armored floating batteries forced the Russian forts at Kinburn to surrender, the first time armor was tested in battle. Each has its own full story below.
Sevastopol, 1854
British and French guns opened their first bombardment of Sevastopol, the Russian naval base in the Crimea, on 17 October 1854. A French magazine blew up, British fire wrecked the Malakhov and killed Admiral Kornilov, and the planned assault was called off. The siege lasted until September 1855.1
Read the full story of Sevastopol, 1854 ›Kinburn, 1855
A year later to the day, an Anglo-French fleet attacked the Russian forts on the Kinburn Spit, led by three French floating batteries covered in iron plate. The batteries shot the main fort to pieces at close range and were barely damaged, and the garrison surrendered: the first battle of armored warships.2
Read the full story of Kinburn, 1855 ›
