Petropavlovsk Defense of 1854
Petropavlovsk Defense of 1854
the heroic defense of Petropavlovsk (present-day Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii) from August 18 to 24 (August 30 to September 5) during the Crimean War of 1853-56. The defense was directed by Major General V. S. Zavoiko, the military governor of Kamchatka, and Lieutenant Captain I. N. Izylmet’ev, commander of the frigate Avrora. The garrison had more than 1,000 men. The frigate Avrora and the transport ship Dvina were in the bay. The ships and seven coast batteries had a total of 67 guns.
On August 7 an Anglo-French squadron (three frigates, one corvette, one brig, one steamship, and 218 guns) under the command of Rear Admiral Price and Rear Admiral Février de Pointe appeared near Petropavlovsk and dropped anchor in Avachinskaia Bay on August 18. The allies intended to seize from Russia an area in the northeastern Pacific Ocean that was rich in natural resources. The main strike was directed against Petropavlovsk, a major Russian base in the Far East. On August 20 the allies, after silencing the fire of two batteries, disembarked a landing party of up to 600 men south of the city, but a Russian detachment of 230 men counterattacked and pushed the allied troops into the sea. On August 24 the allied squadron routed two batteries on the peninsula and disembarked a large landing party of 970 men west and northwest of the city. The defenders of Petropavlovsk (360 men) stopped the enemy, counterattacked, and again pushed them into the sea. The allies lost about 450 men and the Russians about 100 men. On August 27 the allied squadron left Petropavlovsk. In April 1855, because of the absence of troops and naval forces, Petropavlovsk was evacuated by order of N. N. Murav’ev, the governor-general of Irkutsk.