Private ranks model 1841 Artillery saber made by Zlatoust Arms Factory with Crimean war and defence of Savastopol related engraving on the blade.
Description: Private ranks model 1841 cavalry saber marked on the blade with Zlatoust Arms Factory and 1842 manufacture date in addition to arsenal markings. Etched and gilt enscription related to Crimea war on the blade in Slavic script: "Sevastopol from 14 october to 23 december of 1854" and on the other side "Inkerman, 24 of October 1854."
Condition: All original parts, showing significant wear consistent with battle-used item.
The Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856) was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Duchy of Nassau. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, but there were smaller campaigns in western Turkey, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea.
Following the evacuation of the Danubian Principalities, though the immediate cause of war was withdrawn, allied troops landed in the Crimea and besieged the city of Sevastopol, home of the Tsar's Black Sea Fleet and the associated threat of potential Russian penetration into the Mediterranean.
The Crimean campaign opened in September 1854 with the a landing of the allied expeditionary force at Eupatoria, north of Sevastopol. After crossing the Alma the allies moved on to invest the city, while the Russian army retreated to the interior. A Russian assault on the allied supply base at Balaclava was rebuffed in October, and an attempt to raise the siege in November was defeated at Inkerman. Meanwhile the allies had surrounded the city with entrenchments and in October unleashed an all–out bombardment (the first of many) of the cities defences.
