After Russia annexed the Crimea, in 1783 Catherine the Great ordered a port city and a Black Sea fleet built. This is a photo of model ships of that period.
In the 1850's with the Ottomon Empire declining, Russia on the east and European powers on the west tested each other, until the Crimean War broke out, with most battles surrounding the Black Sea. When the European Allies (Britain, France, Sardonia, and Turkey) moved naval assets into the Black Sea and attacked Sevastopol, it was the beginning of one of the most notable events involving the city: the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) . Despite its efforts, the Russian army had to leave its stronghold and evacuate over a pontoon bridge to the north shore of the inlet. The Russians had to sink their entire fleet to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy and at the same time to block the entrance of the Allied ships into the inlet. When enemy troops entered Sevastopol, they were faced with the ruins of a formerly glorious city. This is the famous Monument to the Scuttled Ships looking across the bay to the north shore.
The Russians retreated to the interior but did not give up. They advanced on the hills surrounding Balaclava, an Allied supply port.
The British were afraid they would come down into the port and defended
with a "thin red line" of Highlanders. In an attempt to push the advancing Russians back, a brigade
of cavalry was ordered to advance in the valley above. Though surrounded by Russian
infantry,
artillery, and cavalry, 673 mounted their horses and rode courageously to
their deaths (fewer than 200 survived) as memorialized by Tennyson in his
“Charge of the Light Brigade” This
photo was taken from the hill where the ill-advised British commander directed the battle.
The siege of Sevastopol lasted 349 days, with continued battles and no one gaining advantage. The war ended with no victory for anyone, only a peace treaty that left political questions and tensions that lead to WW I.
In World War II Sevastopol
withstood intensive bombardment by the Germans in 1941–1942, during the Axis siege
which lasted for 250 days before it fell in July 1942. It was liberated by the Red Army on May 9, 1944
and was awarded with the Hero City
title a year later. This giant
concrete Soviet monument honors the World War II
(known in the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War) defenders of
Sevastopol from the years 1941-42. Below the giant stylized fighting man is the
eternal flame as well as a giant marble wall with the name of every sea, air
and land unit of the Black Sea Fleet that defended Sevastopol from the Nazi
onslaught.
After World War II, Sevastopol
was entirely rebuilt, which was mostly finished by the
mid-1950s. Because it continued to be the base of the Black Sea Fleet, it was a "closed city" meaning that any non-residents had to apply to the authorities for a temporary permit to visit the city and it was directly subordinate to the central Russian authorities. Balaclava was incorporated into Sevastopol in 1957
BALACLAVA
Homer’s Odyssey mentions this port as a sheltered pirate hideout where ships
were lured (3000 years ago!). A tight fitting silly-looking full hood hat was knitted by British
women to keep soldiers in Balaclava wam in the Crimean war. In 1854 the British navy was sheltering too many ships in the bay, and a bad November storm sank many.
An underwater cave was the beginning of a secret submarine base the Soviets created in 1957-61 to repair (one dry dock area) and resupply submarines as well as shelter nuclear missiles, 7 middle sized and 9 small sized submarines, and necessary personnel (3000 people for 30 days!) against a bomb 10X size of Hiroshima! This shows the facility's layout.
The entrance tunnel
The dry dock area to the left (water not pumped out) and a small model submarine of the type serviced displayed up in front. The main tunnel waterway is to the right under the supports.
Tight heavy doors to protect against blasts
After the fall of the USSR, Ukraine declared independance. There followed years of disagreements and negotiations until 1997 when Russia finally allow the Crimea to be an autonomous republic in the Ukraine. The Black Sea Fleet was divided among the two nations and all nuclear capabilities were removed. New submarines did not fit into the tight quarters and this site was turned over to Ukraine and into a museum. This photo (under glass) of a joint Russian/Ukrainian navy parade in Sevastopol shows the two differing flags. The Russian navy kept the St Andrew's cross. The Ukrainian navy uses the St George cross with the Ukrainian yellow and blue in the upper left corner.
Here are photos of other naval flags on display at the museums of the two navies starting with the old USSR naval flags with star and sickle and a blue base
