what countries were involved in the crimean war what were the causes of the war
Crimean War The Crimean War (French: Guerre de Crimée; Russian: Кры́мская война́, translit. Krymskaya voina or Russian: Восто́чная война́, translit. Vostochnaya voina, lit. 'Eastern War'; Turkish: Kırım Savaşı; Italian: Guerra di Crimea) was a military conflict fought from October 1853 to February 1856[5] in which the Russian Empire lost to an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, Britain and Sardinia. The immediate cause involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, which was a part of the Ottoman Empire. The French promoted the rights of Roman Catholics, while Russia promoted those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The longer-term causes involved the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the unwillingness of Britain and France to allow Russia to gain territory and power at Ottoman expense. It has widely been noted that the causes, in one case involving an argument over a key, have never revealed a "greater confusion of purpose", yet led to a war noted for its "notoriously incompetent international butchery".[6]
Role of geography in World War I Due to the geographical positioning of the Triple Entente, the Central Powers were faced on all sides by their enemies. Once Italy had joined in on the side of the Allies, the war became a three front war. The big Western front was in France, and Italian Front in the mountains of Italy, and the Eastern Front was on the border of Russia.[3] Because Germany and Austria-Hungary had to split their armies, they were severely weakened. While the Schlieffen Plan intended for Germany to send ninety percent of their army to France and quickly overtake it then move to Russia, they were held up by fierce fighting at the First Battle of the Marne.[4]