SEVASTOPOL - CRIMEA

Location: 44 degrees 37 min. N latitude - 33 degrees 33 min. E longitude, on the southwest corner of Crimea. The population was 77,000 in 1914 and is over 500,000 today. We tour the city with visits to the series of monuments to the city's heroic defense in the Crimean War of 1853-56 between Russia and the coalition of Turkey, Great Britain, France, and Sardinia-Savoy.

Mr Sloan's first visit to the city was in 1992 when he organized a group who were guests of the Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet to witness Russian Naval Day (photos below) and again in summer 1993. This is a report containing information about Sevastopol, with emphasis on its siege during the Crimean War, that the authors obtained during a week long stay in the city in July 1997. We wish to thank especially the staff of the Museum of the Heroic Defense of Sevastopol and their families for their hospitality and extensive support of our visit as well as for educating us on the history of the city. This section is a small part of our overall effort to assemble information on the history of the entire Crimea. For an outline please go to Crimea For anyone wishing to visit Sevastopol we highly recommend our outstanding travel agent Larissa Riazantseva at UKRINTOUR in Kiev who can be reached by email at uit@public.ua.net.
The Sevastopol is on a spectacularly beautiful natural harbor in Crimea formed by the estuary of the Tcherniya River. In the 5th cent BC the area was already a Greek colony called Chersonesus. See our discussion of Chersonesus. From this and nearby ports the Athenians fed their population with exported grain traded from the Scythians. It then became part of the Roman empire and in the Byzantine period was administrative headquarters for the region. It was captured by Vladimir, prince of Kiev, but returned to Byzantium after his conversion to Christianity. During the middle ages the Feodoro Principality (capital at Mangup-kale), allied with Byzantium built a small sea port and fortress at Kalamita on a cliff at the mouth of the Tcherniya River. After the Mongol conquest the Crimea was cut off from the Russian cities. Chersonesus was destroyed during the war between Tamerlane and Toktamish in 1399. The Tatars built a small town there, Ak Yar, (Akhtiar) but had no need for a port.. After the Russian conquest of Crimea in 1783, the harbor was selected for the main base of the new Black Sea Fleet. It was then named Sevastopol "the August city". The fortifications were begun in 1826.

The first modern siege, lasting 11 months, occured during the Crimean War. Several of the main battles of this war, Alma, Inkerman, and Balaklava are all discussed in detail at the above web site (Crimea) .
The city was nearly destroyed and deserted until 1870 when it was refortified and a new naval base started. The second siege, during World War II, was even more devastating. The third siege, as a result of which the Soviet Army retook the city, was not as lengthy. Since World War II the city has again become a major naval base.

Now that it is no longer a 'closed' city, the region should see a great expansion as an ideal tourist spot.

Map

Here is a schematic diagram showing the locations of the main bastions in the Russian defense line. The British and French siege works occupied a semicircle to the east and south of these fortifications.

Many of the photographs shown below were taken at one or another of these bastions, which are identified with the photographs. Not shown here is the north side of the harbor, which was also fortified, but not attacked. For additional maps of Sevastopol and Crimea and the Crimean War please see the Crimea web page or the list of photos below. We also are privileged to have a group of paintings from the famous book by Simpson. The Panorama Museum is located in former Bastion 4. Our photos of the paanorama are not here, but at the following site. Visit the museum.

The harbor consists of a main inlet some four-five miles long and 3/4 mile wide, with several side inlets. The harbor is 65 ft deep. It was guarded at the mouth by Forts Constantine to the north and Alexander on the south. Fort Constantine was a three-tier, casmented position. Fort Alexander mounted 84 large cannon. To its west-south-west was Quarantine Fort. To the east was Artillery Fort. These were the extreme right of the Russian defense line in 1854. The main harbor defense was at Fort Nicholas, a strong stone casmented fort in three tiers on a promontory between the main harbor and Arsenal Creek. Fort Paul was another three tier stone casemeted battery on the opposite (northern) side of the entrance. Other harbor defenses were Fort Wasp, mounting 8 large guns on the cliff north of Fort Constantine, and Telegraph Battery, with 28 guns between the two forts. During the siege a line of ships was sunk across the harbor mouth and a large chain was stretched across, behind the ships. During the Allied naval bombardment it was Fort Wasp and th eTelegraph Battery that caused so much damage to the British ships.

A city tour should include the Defense Museum (currently the Museum of the Black Sea Fleet see photos below) with a review of the exposition "349 Days of Siege"; a visit to St. Vladimir Cathedral on the Central Hill (1888); the burial place of prominent Black Sea naval commanders M. Lazarev, V. Kornilov, P. Nakhimov, and V. Istomin; the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul was rebuilt after the war; a visit to the monument to the heroes of the incursions to the 3d Bastion, the monument to the sunk ships, and the tower of the Kornilov Bastion on Malakhov mound; a tour to the Memorial Panorama "Defense of Sevastopol" featuring a huge picture depicting the storming of the Malakhov mound done in 1904 by a group of painters headed by F. Rubo; a visit to the common grave cemetery on the Northern side of the harbor with the Church of St. Nikolas that was erected to commemorate the warriors who died during the defense of the city in 1854-55 (around 40,000 dead). Currently 427 common graves have been preserved. And Gorchakov and Todleben are also buried here.

Now Sevastopol is a large city occupying both sides of the bay and extending for several miles inland on the south side. The terrain is formed by several long ridges that extend north and north-west, like narrow fingers from the plateau of Sapun Gor. The valleys between these are almost ravines. The northern end of these extend under water creating several narrow inlets off the south side of the main harbor. In 1854 the town occupied only a very small part of several fingers. The defense line could not encompass the entire area to include the high ground to the south and east of the city. Consequently the Russian engineers built a series of bastions along the three inner ridges and connected them with entrenchments that also crossed the low ground between them. But the defense line was nearly cut in two between Bastions 3 and 4 by the long inlet known as South Bay. Thus the Allies were able to occupy significant high ground quite close to the defender's positions. Here is a British map from Kinglake's history of the war. And more maps are here, and here, and here. Note that the British call Bastion 1=Battery of the point; Bastion 2=The Little Redan; Bastion 3=The Redan; and Bastion 4=The Flagstaff Bastion.
Here we take a tour of the Russian positions to observe the view from Bastions 1, 2, Malakov, 3, and 4. Here is a set of more detailed diagrams showing the bastions.
Bastion 1 was located on the crest of the ridge overlooking the point where Carenage inlet meets the main harbor from the south-west. Now it is near ul. Khryleva. From this point one has uninterrupted views north and across the bay. Note the white pyramid in the Russian cemetery. (For discussion see cemetery.) View west to the harbor entrance at the sea, with Fort Constantine at the point, and north-east, east, and east-southeast toward the ridge on which the besiegers established their batteries.
From Bastion 1 the entrenchments ran along the ridge to Bastion 2., located at the head of Carenage inlet and overlooking its extension up Carenage ravine. Now there is a small park with a monument memorial to the units that served at that location.
At Bastion 2 the defense line made a right angle to the right, crossing the ridge and extending to the principal defense work, the Kornilov Tower and Bastion on Malakov Kurgan, which held the entire ridge between the Carenage and South Inlets. (British maps name this "Man of War Harbour"). General view. This is the best preserved of the fortifications facing the land on the south side of the bay. This location is being repaired as part of the museum complex. Here are British cannon. The main fortification was the Kornilov tower bastion, here from outside and inside and the stairs leading to second floor. Close up of one of the memorial plaques. We are standing on top. Still on top. Posing for photos. And again.
The right side of the Kornilov bastion overlooks a ravine. View from the top toward the south-east. View to the south. The defense line is broken by the ravine and continues on the other side to Bastion 3. (The Redan) An obelisk forms part of the monument at Bastion 3. View of the monument at Bastion 3 View to south-east. At Bastion 3 the line turns back to right along the ridge toward the head of south bay (View to south-east.) and then crosses the Vorontsov ravine just at the head of South Bay. From there it climbs the steep hillside and turns left along the ridge to Bastion 4. (The Flagstaff Bastion). This detailed British map from Kinglake shows both The Redan and Flagstaff Bastion plus the Peressip Batteries right at the water's edge at the head of South Bay. Note the British siege parallels and batteries 7 and 8 on the ridge overlooking the Vorontsov and Pickett House roads.

The Panorama Museum is now located in part of the Bastion #4 called Flagstaff Bastion in British texts -a very large defensive work.The museum is at Istouheski Bul'var. The military artist, Frantz Alekseevich Rubo (1856-1928) was professor of military art at the St. Petersburg Academy. He became interested in the battle at the Malakhov Kurgan on 6 June 1855 in which the Russian garrison successfully held off the Anglo-French Army. In 1901 he started work on a large painting. First he visited Sevastopol and studied the historical documents to familiarize himself with the place. He discussed the battle with participants and witnesses. Then he made a large cartoon for the diorama in St. Petersburg. The painting was to measure 14 meters by 115 meters. It was created in Munich, Germany with the help of the artists Shenkhen, Merti, Frosh and twenty students of the Bavarian Academy of Art, who worked simultaneous on the planned area of some 900 square meters. In the summer of 1904 the completed painting was taken to Sevastopol and, for the 50th anniversary of the battle, 14 May 1905 it was opened to the public. The first visitors were veterans of the Crimean War.

During the bombardment of Sevastopol in World War II on 25 June 1942 the panorama was hit by a German bomb and set afire. The sailors and soldiers fought the blaze for 2 hours and managed to save 86 sections of the original. On the night of 27 June these were put on the last ship out of Sevastopol (the Tashkent) along with wounded and women. The ship made it to Novorussisk. In all about two thirds of the 1116 square meters was saved. After the war, restoration was undertaken by a group of artists under direction of V. N. Yakovlev (1893-1953) and P. P. Sokolov-Skalya (1899-1961). They used photographs, documents, records, and original artist sketches to restore the panorama. They tried to create a realistic portrayal of the battle and added some new episodes. On the 100th anniversary, in October 1954, the panorama was reopened to the public.

View from Panorama north to cemetary across bay. View from another location in Bastion 4 toward north. View from Panorama to east. View to south-east. View to south. Another view. At Bastion 4 the line makes a right angle and proceeds more or less straight through Bastions 5 and 6 to the coast. These last two locations are now thoroughly occupied by urban buildings making it difficult to obtain views from them. Bastions 7 and 8 were overlooking the outer harbor. This map gives a larger view of the city on 25 September 1854. Note, what the British thought was 'Genoese fort' is the ruin of Greek Chersonesus. The Wasp" was a small battery that created havoc in the British ships during the single naval bombardment due to its delivering plunging fire onto the decks.
Among the many monuments thoroughout the city are Nakhimov's statue on a pillar like Nelson's at Trafalgar square, Admiral Kornilov's, General Todleben's, Suvorov's bust, another Suvorov, and Prince Vladimir's. The museum of the Black Sea Fleet also has important collections related to the Crimean War.

Museum of the Diorama of the Storming of Sapun Gora:

This is in a building on the heights east of town. The Soviet operation to free the Crimea began on 8 April 1944. Soviet troops came from the north and across the Kerch strait and peninsula. By 16 April they reached the German defenses around Sevastopol. These were strongly echeloned and Hitler had given orders not to surrender the city. The key position was at Sapun Gora Mtn. The German defenses consisted of three and four lines of trenches with bunkers, machine gun nests, barbed wired and mine fields.

The Soviet assault was supported by massive artillery and air bombardments. On 7 May at 10:30 AM the ground attack began along the entire front. Especially vicious battles took place in the area of Sapun, where the attackers fought for each trench line. There were thousands of casualties. By 19:30 the Soviet troops from the 77th and 32nd Guards Rifle Divisions reached Sapun Gor (hill). Sevastopol was liberated by nightfall on 9 May and by 12 May the last German resistance around Chersonesse was eliminated.

In 1956-57 the artist P. T. Mal'tsev, painted a cartoon for a picture depicting the battle and received praise for it at an artistic meeting. Then he and several other artists worked for seven months to create a painting from the cartoon. The painting measures 5.5 meters by 25.5 meters and is 83 square meters in plan. In August 1959 the battle painting left Moscow for Sevastopol to be housed in a special building. The diorama was opened on 4 November 1959. It shows an assault group from the 11th Guards Division and 63rd Rifle Corps. It is semicircular whereas the Panorama of the siege in 1854 is fully circular.

Photo number

Description

Beskrovni map showing Sevastopol at the beginning of the siege.

Diagrams of Sevastopol fortification from Beskrovni book

Schematic of Sevastopol southern defense line

Map from Beskrovni's Atlas of Russian military history for attack on 8 Sept 1855.

Map from Kinglake showing Captain Oldershaw's fight on 13 April - details of Russian defenses at head of South Bay, Redan and Flagstaff Bastion.

Kinglake map of night battle of 22 March showing main Russian defensive works.

Kinglake map showing the city on 25 Sept. 1854 on eve of siege.

Russian map from Beskrovni showing Russian positions and allied siege works.

Old map of Sevastopol

Beskrovni map showing the storming of the city.

Map from Beskrovni atlas showing the battle of Cherniya river on 16 Aug 1855. Photos from the Cherniya River battle area are with the Balaklava battle web site.

View from Bastion #1 northwest across harbor toward North Fort

View North, to right of pic 77 across harbor

View Northeast, to right of pic 78 across harbor, white dot is pyramid in Russian cemetery.

View East-north-east, from Bastion #1 across point of ridge on other side of Caranage bay toward Inkerman

View east to right of pic 75 across Caranage bay to ridge occupied by Allies.

View from ridge behind Bastion #1 west over harbor to sea with Ft Constantine at harbor entrance

Telephoto view of harbor and Ft Constantine from area near Bastion #1.

View across harbor from ridge by bastion 1 to north

View across harbor toward cemetery

Monument at Bastion #3

Close up of Monument - Bastion #3

View of Kornilov bastion on Malakov Kurgan with cannon

Outside Kornilov Bastion - Malakov Kurgan museum

Plaque - Butirsk Infantry regiment (oldest in Russian army).

Plaque - Borodino regiment

Malakov museum British cannon

George, John, Pasha examining a British cannon

Memorial plaque at Malakov

Plaque - Defense tower Kornilov Bastion

Misha on top Kornilov Bastion

Group on top Kornilov Bastion

Pavel, Misha, John on top Kornilov

Group on Kornilov

Inside Kornilov Bastion museum

Stairs to upper level Kornilov Bastion

Malakov Kurgan, Kornilov Bastion museum complex

View from top of Kornilov tower to SE

View from top of Kornilov bastion to south

View east of town to British positions

View east

From Kornilov bastion on Malakov Kurgan looking east

View from Malakov over houses

View from Bastion 3 to SE

View from Bastion 3 toward south

View from bastion 3 to SE

View from bastion 3 to south

View at head of South bay between hills with bastions 3 (left) and 4 (right), defense line was near water edge

View toward head of South Bay between Bastion 3 on left and 4 on right - British psns on ridge in center. Russian line crossed right at end of bay

South bay looking north toward main bay

Mouth of South bay view north across main bay

View from bastion 4 (also called Flagstaff bastion) across South bay

View to SE along inner harbor - south bay

Panorama museum in distance

Panorama Museum on ridge of Bastion 4, note steep decline to harbor level

Panorama museum in distance on Bastion 4

View SE from Panorama museum

View south from Panorama

On parapet Bastion 4 at Panorama museum

A close up of the reconstruction of the rampart and embrasures with cannon at the bastion surrounding the museum.

Reconstruction in concrete to show look of gabions and sandbags

View from Bastion 4 across bay to north- white pyramid in cemetery

View from Panorama museum north across harbor to cemetery

View from Panorama southeast

View from Panorama to east

View from Panorama to south east

Bust of Admiral Istomin outside Panorama - for more busts to to the Panorama section.

Ferris wheel at Panorama museum

View from Inkerman area toward city

View of city from east.

View from Inkerman toward city

View toward Inkerman from Cathcart hill

View from Cathcart hill area north along British lines toward Inkerman

Memorial, British cemetery

British memorial

Sevastopol city street

Cathedral downtown Sevastopol

Building on downtown street corner

View ditch in North Fort

Pyramid in Russian cemetery

Pyramid, another view, near sunset

B/W of painting of naval battle at harbor

Illustration of defensive fortification - from 19th century book

Illustration showing the harbor with line of sunken ships - from 19th century book.

Illustration of Sevastopol harbor with fortifications clear on both shores.

Illustration from 19th century showing remains of town with a church that is still standing.

Display of recovered British regimental hat insignia, for sale

Museum of Black Sea Fleet, weapons outside

Museum of Black Sea Fleet, building

Museum of Black Sea Fleet

A painting showing part of the Panorama. It is on the wall in the Museum of the Black Sea Fleet

Bust of Admiral Kornilov in the Museum of the Black Sea Fleet

Bust of Admiral Nakhimov in the Museum of the Black Sea Fleet

Fort Constantine at harbor mouth from Chersonesus Penn, view north

View from Chersonesus across Quarantine bay inlet to city

Fort Constantine from middle of harbor

Statue of Grand Prince Vladimir

Bust of Suvorov

Bust of Suvorov

Statue of Todleben

Monument to Admiral V. A. Kornilov

Statue of Admiral Nakhimov

Sunset over harbor view from north side toward WSW

Sunset view south across harbor

View of Artillery bay toward sunset

View of Artillery bay in the morning

Bay south-west of Chersonese

World War II armored railroad train engine on siding in Sevastopol

Large caliber railroad artillery piece

Close up of railroad artillery piece

Side view of railroad artillery

Another view of railroad artillery

Memorial at Sapun Gor

Close up of monument at Sapun Gor

Detail of the diorama in the museum at Sapun Gor. It depicts the Russian troops storming the Sapun ridge line to drive out the Germans who had previously captured Sevastopol.

Outdoor exhibit at Sapun Gor museum

Naval guns at Sapun Gor museum to WWII

Naval guns at Sapun Gor

Tanks at Sapun Gor museum

Tanks at Sapun Gor museum

Typical newer suburban highrise apartments

Typical newer suburban highrise apartments.

New construction in suburb SE of city

Goats close to Sevastopol in suburbs

New construction in suburbs taking over allied siege lines.

New home - "Mafia" type for newly rich

New walled home with some Tatar architectural influence

Russian Navy Day demonstration - sailors of Black Sea Fleet forming letters "Glory to Black Sea Fleet"

Black Sea Fleet sailors having a boat race

Carrier Moskva with submarine in foreground

Russian landing ship open with amphibious BMP's conducting firing exercise

Navy Day festival - Neptune's court arrives at reviewing stand

Navy Day "hovercraft" vessel