Siege of Petropavlovsk

The Siege of Petropavlovsk was the main operation on the Pacific Theatre of the Crimean War. The Russian casualties are estimated at 100 soldiers; the Allies lost five times as many.

In the China and Japan seas, at the beginning of the war, the Russian Rear-Admiral Yevfimy Putyatin had under his orders the Pallada, 52 guns, Aurora, 44, and Dvina, 12. The British force on the station was under Rear-Admiral David Price (newly promoted after serving as post captain for 39 years) and the French under Rear-Admiral Auguste Febvrier-Despointes. In total Allied fleet had nine ships and over 200 cannons. Putyatin was, of course, helpless at sea against such a force; and therefore he sent the Pallada far up the river Amur, and utilised her people in reinforcing the weak garrisons on the littoral. The Aurora and Dvina took refuge in Petropavlovsk, a post against which it was foreseen that the allies would probably attempt operations. Price and Febvrier-Despointes, after having detached the Amphitrite, Artémise, and Trincomalee to cruise for the protection of trade off the coasts of California, went in search of the Russians, and, on August 18, sighted the shores of Kamchatka.

The siege
The siege started on 18 August 1854, when an Allied squadron of three British and French frigates, one corvette, one brig and one steamship cast anchor in the Avacha Bay. The Allied forces far outnumbered the Russians, and the main Russian vessel, the 44-gun Pallada, was sent far up the River Amur out of harm's way. Aurora was anchored behind a sand spit topped by a shore battery.

The Allied force, commanded by Rear Admirals Febvrier-Despointes and Price advanced to bombard Petropavlosk on 20 August 1854. They had some 218 cannons at its disposal, as compared to 67 cannons available to the defenders of Kamchatka's main city under Vasily Zavoyko. Almost immediately, Price went below decks and shot himself, either on purpose or by accident. The Allies withdrew, but returned to resume the bombardment the next day, 22 August, with Captain Nicolson of HMS Pique in temporary command.

The Petropavlovsk garrison consisted of 41 officers, 476 soldiers, 349 seamen, 18 Russian volunteers and 36 Kamchadals (total 920 men). The Allied squadron re-entered Avacha Bay to storm the city. On 24 August (5 September in Gregorian calendar), after a neutralization of Russian batteries, 970 Allied troops (with oarsmen reinforcements) landed west of Petropavlovsk, but were repelled by 360 Russians. A Naval Brigade of around 680 British and French seamen and marines landed, under Captains Burridge and de La Grandiere, but they were ambushed and, after some heavy fighting, retreated with 107 British and 101 French dead or wounded. The commanding officer of a landing party was killed. The Russians captured a British flag, seven officers swords and a quantity of firearms, swords, and bayonets.

The Allies withdrew, although President and Virago managed to capture the Russian Anadis, a small schooner, and the 10-gun transport Sitka on 28 September 1854. The Allies left Petropavlovsk to the Russians until April 1855, when Nikolay Muravyov, aware of the insufficiency of troops and weapons to repel another attack on the city, had Petropavlovsk garrison evacuated under the cover of snow.

British
The British force on the station was under Rear-Admiral David Price, and consisted of:


 * HMS President, 50-gun frigate (flagship), Captain Richard Burridge
 * HMS Pique, 40, fifth-rate frigate, Captain Sir Frederick William Erskine Nicolson, Bart.,
 * HMS Trincomalee, 24, Leda-class frigate, Captain Wallace Houstoun
 * HMS Amphitrite, 24, Leda-class frigate, Captain Charles Frederick,
 * HMS Virago, 6, paddle steamer, Commander Edward Marshall

French
The French Rear-Admiral Auguste Febvrier-Despointes had at his disposal:
 * Forte, 60 (flagship)
 * Eurydice, 30
 * Artémise, 30
 * Obligado, 18.

In the action
From the British side - President, Pique and Virago. From the French side - Forte, Eurydice and Obligado. Total about 204 cannons.