While one British fleet was attacking the Russians on the southern
shores of their empire, another of still greater power was sent up the
Baltic to prove to them that no part of their coasts was safe. Great
results were naturally expected from it, and, indeed, England had never
before sent so really powerful a fleet to sea--not on account of the
number of the ships, but from their means of inflicting injury, most of
them possessing steam power, while their guns were more effective than
any which had before been used. The fleet consisted of the _Duke of
Wellington_, of 131 guns, _Neptune, Saint George_, and _Royal George_,
120, _Saint Jean d'Arc_, 101, _Princess Royal, James Watt, Nile_, and
_Majestic_, of 91, _Caesar_ and _Prince Regent_, of 90, _Monarch_, 84,
_Cressy_, 80, _Boscawen_ and _Cumberland_, 70, _Edinburgh, Hogue,
Blenheim_, and _Ajax_, of 60, _Imperieuse_ and _Euryalus_, of 51, and
_Arrogant_, of 46, besides frigates, sloops, and numerous
paddle-steamers, the whole under the command of Admiral Sir Charles
Napier. Gallant and energetic as he had always proved himself, he was
now sixty-eight years of age, and those who knew him best feared too
truly that his energies had begun to fail him, and that he would have
acted more wisely by remaining on shore. The French also sent a
considerable fleet to take part in the operations. The first portion of
the fleet entered the Great Belt on the 25th of March, and proceeding to
the Gulf of Finland, established a rigorous blockade. Napier then,
moving towards Helsingfors, prevented a junction of the two portions of
the Russian fleet, while in the meantime Admiral Plumridge, scouring the
Gulf of Bothnia, captured a large number of merchantmen.
One of the first exploits in the Baltic was performed by Captain
Yelverton, of the _Arrogant_, and Captain W.H. Hall, of the _Hecla_,
who, running up a narrow creek, made their way to the town of Ekness,
eight miles from the sea, where, after a sharp engagement with some
batteries, they carried off a large merchant-vessel under the noses of
the enemy. The fleets then appeared off Cronstadt, the approaches to
which had been carefully surveyed by the indefatigable Captain Sulivan,
of the _Lightning_, but the strength of the fortifications induced the
admirals to believe that it would be useless to attack it, and they in
vain endeavoured to tempt the Russian fleet to come out and give them
battle. Bomarsund was the first place of importance assailed. It was
attacked on the land side by the English artillery and French troops, as
well as by the English and French marines, with a brigade of seamen who
were landed after a fort which was in their way had been blown to
pieces, while thirteen ships of the allied fleet assailed it from the
sea. The ships directed their fire against a large circular fort
mounting nearly 100 guns, with a garrison of 2000 men, when the shot
soon shattered the huge masses of stone, which literally crumbled away
before them, and in a short time the garrison, seeing that resistance
was useless, yielded, and Bomarsund was taken possession of. It was,
however, said that the works, though apparently strong, had been
constructed by contract, and were therefore less able to withstand the
shot hurled against them than the other fortresses which Russia
possessed on her sea-board. Still, if such was the case, it does not
detract from the praise due to those who had made the attack. The whole
fortress was forthwith blown up, with the exception of one portion,
which was allowed to stand for a few days to enable the _Edinburgh_ to
try some of her heavy guns against it, and it was finally levelled with
the rest of the works.
The winter season coming on, compelled the fleet to return to England.
Whatever may be said of the gallant old admiral's conduct during the
war, it was acknowledged that the crews of his ships, though
inexperienced when they set sail, returned in a high state of
efficiency.
While these proceedings were taking place in the Baltic, in order as
much as possible to annoy the Russians in all portions of their vast
territory, a small British squadron, consisting of the _Eurydice_,
Captain Ommaney, the _Miranda_, Captain Lyons, and the _Brisk_,
Commander Seymour, were sent into the White Sea, where, though they
found it impossible to attack Archangel, they destroyed several
government establishments. The _Miranda_ also, steaming up the river
Kola for thirty miles, attacked the capital of Russian Lapland, of the
same name, and, with her yardarms almost over the walls, set the city on
fire and destroyed most of the public buildings and magazines. In spite
of the hot fire with which his ship was assailed from the batteries,
Captain Lyons returned from his gallant enterprise without losing a man,
and, after capturing a fleet of merchant-vessels, rejoined Captain
Ommaney.
The most unfortunate event of the whole war occurred on the Pacific
coast, when a small English and French squadron, in attempting to take a
number of Russian vessels anchored off Petro Pauloffsky, they were
driven off, while by bad management the whole of the Russian vessels
escaped.
The following year Admiral Dundas, being appointed to the command in the
Baltic, sailed in the _Duke of Wellington_, of 130 guns, with
Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour as his second in command in the
_Exmouth_, of 90 guns, and numerous other line-of-battle ships,
block-ships, and smaller vessels, nearly all fitted with the screw, and
upwards of twenty gunboats. At the end of May the fleet arrived off
Cronstadt, when the two admirals, going on board the _Merlin_, which,
under the command of Captain Sulivan, had been actively surveying that
and other places in the Baltic, stood in to examine the works and the
Russian fleet protected by them. They were not long in coming to the
conclusion that the place, if not impregnable, would be most difficult
to assail, while it was ascertained that a vast number of torpedoes had
been placed in all directions in the shallow waters over which the ships
must pass. Many had been put down in the preceding year, but, though
looked for, none had been discovered; this year, however, several were
fished up, and one was brought on board the _Exmouth_, when, while
Admiral Seymour and his officers were examining it, it exploded in their
midst. Though the admiral was wounded, as were several other officers
and men, not one was killed. The _Merlin_, also, while passing over a
shallow, exploded two, one of which drove in her side, breaking or
disabling everything in that portion of the ship, though, happily,
without committing any further damage. The greater number discovered
had not been properly set, and thus had become injured from various
causes. The boats, by carefully creeping wherever they were likely to
be placed, ultimately discovered nearly the whole which it was supposed
had been laid down. Very different would have been the result had they
been constructed as torpedoes are at the present day, when in all
probability many of our ships would have been destroyed.
The Russian fleet kept securely within their fortifications while the
English and French remained off Cronstadt. All intention of attacking
it being abandoned, the allies proceeded in different directions. The
smaller vessels cruised off the coast, destroying all the government
magazines and stores they could reach, and capturing innumerable
merchant-vessels; while the admirals were preparing for an attack on the
fortress of Sveaborg, which had been considerably strengthened since the
preceding year. It stands on three islands, round the whole
circumference of which the works form an almost unbroken line, and
within them are vast arsenals full of all descriptions of warlike
stores; while in front of the fortress lies a cluster of rocky islets.
The passages between these islets had been carefully surveyed by Captain
Sulivan, and on each of those nearest the fortress, mortar batteries
were now placed, while the mortar-boats formed in a line outside them.
The gunboats and mortar-vessels in different divisions were directed to
stand in among the islets, where there was sufficient room for their
movements, while the whole were covered by the frigates, which took up
their stations outside. Some of the principal buildings in the fortress
had been selected as targets, and so well had Captain Sulivan placed the
mortar-vessels, that the shells thrown from them fell exactly on the
spots at which they were aimed, as was ascertained by the cloud of smoke
which rose from each. Hitherto it had been considered necessary not to
fire more than seven shots in an hour from a mortar, but Captain Wemyss,
who had charge of the mortar-vessels, considering that should such a
plan be adopted, the enemy would have time to extinguish the flames they
produced, determined to allow a much less interval to elapse, and sent
no less than thirty shells an hour from each mortar. The gunboats were
in the meantime performing their part, moving rapidly in circles, each
boat firing as she brought her guns to bear on the fortifications.
Besides their ordinary armament, each vessel had received on board from
the line-of-battle ships a 10-inch gun, and two of them, the _Snapper_
and _Stork_, had been armed with long Lancaster guns. These were
detached to attack a large three-decker at anchor between the islets,
and so furious a fire did they open that flames several times burst out
from her, while in a short time nearly seventy of her crew had been
killed. The Russians, with their numerous guns, fired away rapidly in
return. Though the gunboats were within range, their small size and
quick movements made them difficult marks to hit, and only one or two
were struck. The batteries thrown up on the small islets were throwing
shells at the same time, while the _Arrogant, Cornwallis, Hastings_, and
_Amphion_ attacked the Drumsio and Sandham batteries, and kept them
amply employed. About noon, some shells fell into several
powder-magazines, which blew up with successive explosions, casting huge
fragments of masonry and numberless shells into the air, proving the
destruction which had been produced. The bombardment continued during
the whole day, and not till sunset did Admiral Dundas withdraw the
gunboats, or till some time afterwards the mortar-vessels, when the
boats of the fleet, armed with rockets, were sent off to attack Vargon
and the other principal islands, under Captain Caldwell, of the _Duke of
Wellington_. Thus fearfully the unhappy garrison were annoyed during
the whole night, and at daybreak the gunboats and mortar-vessels again
began to play on the batteries. The mortars, however, were so
considerably worn by the firing of the previous day, that one or two
burst, and none were so effective as before. East Svarto, which had
before escaped, was now attacked by a division of English and French
mortar-boats, placed by Captain Sulivan considerably nearer the
fortifications than they had hitherto ventured. Their fire was replied
to by some heavy guns, which the enemy had brought up, but no damage was
received from them. In a short time, dense columns of smoke and forked
flames ascending in all directions showed that the buildings, magazines,
and arsenal were being destroyed, and when night came on, one unbroken
sheet of flame ascended from the fortress. To prevent the enemy from
attempting to extinguish it, the rocket-boats were again sent in, and
effectually performed their object. The conflagration continued, raging
all night, and on the morning of the 11th there was no sign of its
abatement. The admiral was therefore satisfied that the work he had
undertaken was accomplished, and as the Russians had ceased to fire, he
discontinued the action. The whole of the operation had been
accomplished without the loss of a single man killed, and scarcely 16 in
the British fleet wounded; but the slaughter among the unfortunate
Russians was prodigious. Of one whole regiment but few had survived,
and at Vargon and Svarto a large number of the garrison had been killed.
Had shells not been used, and an attempt simply been made to destroy
the fortress with the ships' heavy guns, the allies would probably have
been driven away with severe loss, without making any impression on its
massive walls. It was the first time in the history of war that shells
had been thrown from a distance at which the besiegers could not be
reached by the enemy's shot, or that shot had been discharged from
vessels moving at so rapid a rate as to render it scarcely possible for
the besiegers to strike them. These circumstances, with the use of
torpedoes, showed that a new era in marine warfare had commenced, and
that from henceforth the style of fighting which had existed down to the
period of Algiers and Navarino was about entirely to be changed.
No other operation of importance was undertaken, and the winter
approaching, the admiral sent home the sailing-vessels and gunboats,
though he did not finally quit Kiel till the first week in December,
when soon afterwards the whole fleet arrived safely in England.
Happily, the various reverses he had experienced induced the Emperor of
Russia to see the hopelessness of continuing the war, and to sue for
peace.
From the time of the Crimean war and onwards, the British Navy has
happily never had occasion to engage in warfare with the ships of any of
the other great Powers. Individual ships and "naval contingents,"
however, have taken part in operations of more or less importance, and
the first action in which a British vessel was opposed to an ironclad,
took place in 1877, when the cruiser _Shah_ engaged for some hours the
Peruvian turret-ship _Huascar_.
In the course of one of the numerous revolutions that so often convulse
the South American Republics, the latter vessel had become little better
than a pirate, by levying contributions on various seaport towns, but
having been venturesome enough to deal with British vessels in the same
way, the _Shah_ and the _Amethyst_ were sent to demand satisfaction.
The _Huascar_, however, paid no attention, and at last the British ships
opened fire on her.
The _Shah_ was a fast cruiser armed with heavy guns, but was wholly
unarmoured, while the _Amethyst_ was only a small sloop, also
unarmoured. The _Huascar_ was a small, low, turret-ship of the
_Devastation_ type, with only one ten-inch gun mounted in her turret,
but she was thickly armoured, and obtained a great advantage by taking
up such a position that the _Shah_ had frequently to cease fire for fear
of sending her shot into the adjacent town of Ylo.
The combat continued for three hours without result, as the _Shah_ had
to keep at long-range; her shot repeatedly struck her opponent, but
without result, owing to her armour. One shell however pierced the
armour, and bursting inside, killed one man and wounded several more.
None of the _Huascar's_ shot struck the _Shah_ although they fell close
on every side. Night put an end to the combat, and enabled the
_Huascar_ to escape. In the course of the action the _Shah_ fired the
first Whitehead torpedo ever used in actual warfare; the distance
however, was too great and it failed to reach the mark. Next day the
_Huascar_ surrendered to her own government.
The next occasion on which British warships were engaged was at
Alexandria in July 1882. There had been trouble in Egypt for some time,
and a month previously many Europeans had perished at the hands of the
Alexandrian mob. A "National" party, headed by Arabi Pasha, was
preparing revolt, and it was found that the fortifications of Alexandria
were being strengthened, which would give serious trouble if marines had
to be landed again to give protection to the Europeans. As the French
declined to co-operate in any way, the British Government were left to
deal with the matter alone, and, as the Egyptians declined to surrender
the forts, pending the restoration of order, notice was given that the
forts would be bombarded unless the demands were complied with. No
answer being forthcoming, seven of the most powerful ironclads proceeded
to bombard the forts, and after firing the whole day, drove the
Egyptians from their guns and silenced the forts, blowing up a couple of
magazines, and dismounting many of the guns. A large number of the
Egyptians were killed, while on our side, only six men were slain, the
armour giving efficient protection. The armour of the flag-ship
however, was once perforated by a 10-inch shell, which dropped smoking
on the deck, but a brave gunner, named Israel Harding, rushed upstairs,
flung water on it to extinguish the fuse, and then dropped it into a
bucket of water. For this brave deed, he was awarded the Victoria
Cross.
Later on, our sailors gave great assistance during the expedition sent
to relieve General Gordon in Khartoum, manning the gunboats which
advanced up the Nile to that city, only to find that he had been
murdered whenever it became known that they were at hand.