The Siege of Sebastopol, Retreat Of The Russians From The South To The North Side

Description

This dramatic and impressive scene depicts one of the most critical moments of the Crimean War, the fall of Sevastopol and the Russian army's evacuation of the city to the northern shore of the Sevastopol Bay (Severnaya Storona). Sevastopol was the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and was the site of the longest and bloodiest siege of the war (October 1854 – September 1855). On September 8, 1855, the French captured the Malakoff Redoubt and on the same day, the British attacked the Redan fortifications, causing the Russian defenses to collapse. On the morning of September 9, the Russian army evacuated the city and withdrew to the northern shore of the Sevastopol Bay (Severnaya Storona), and some of the military structures behind were blown up by the Russian Army and some by the Allied forces. The scene of the retreat is quite dramatic in the engraving; in the background, clouds of smoke from large fires and explosions can be seen in various parts of the city. The faces of the soldiers are exhausted, hopeless and demoralized. Some are wounded and fallen, while others are in an orderly but demoralized retreat, using makeshift bridges to cross to the north. Beyond being a visual document of an epic historical moment, the engraving also conveys the destructiveness of war to the viewer on a sensory level.