Prince Menshikov

Biography

Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov was born on August 15, 1787, and served as Russia's principal military commander in Crimea from the opening of hostilities until his dismissal in February 1855. He was a man of aristocratic distinction and considerable administrative ability who proved, in the crisis of war, to be a commander of singular incompetence — outmaneuvered, outgeneraled, and consistently wrong in his tactical and strategic assessments. Menshikov first came to grief before the war even began. In early 1853, Tsar Nicholas I sent him to Constantinople on a diplomatic mission to extract religious concessions for Orthodox Christians in Ottoman-controlled lands — a mission that Menshikov conducted with deliberate arrogance, insulting the Ottoman government and French diplomats, and returning empty-handed after creating the very international incident that he was supposed to resolve. His failure helped trigger the alliance between Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire that Russia would spend the next three years fighting. As military commander in Crimea, Menshikov's record was a catalogue of missed opportunities. At the Battle of the Alma on September 20, 1854, he positioned his forces on heights that seemed impregnable and then watched them collapse because he failed to construct proper field fortifications or to place his troops where they could effectively use the terrain. After the Alma, he made the fatal decision not to retreat into Sevastopol but to withdraw his field army northward, separating it from the city's garrison — leaving Sevastopol without the mobile force that might have broken the Allied siege before it could be established. At Balaclava and Inkerman, Menshikov attempted to break the Allied lines with costly frontal attacks that failed to achieve their objectives despite causing significant casualties on both sides. At Inkerman in particular, the Russians came close to success, but poor coordination and Menshikov's inability to coordinate his subordinate commanders squandered the opportunity. He was replaced in February 1855 and died in 1869, having outlived the war but not the shame of Russia's defeat.

Key Battles