Atlas of Battles

battle, major, nineteenth century

Battle of Alma

Battle of Alma was a battle fought on 20 September 1854 at Alma, in what is now Russia. It was part of the Crimean War, which ran from 1853 to 1856. The recorded result: Allied victory.

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The battle of the Alma in 1854 (1856), by Horace Vernet
The battle of the Alma in 1854 (1856), by Horace Vernet. Horace Vernet, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought20 September 1854
WhereAlma, Russia44.831N, 33.669E
OutcomeAllied victory
BelligerentsUnited Kingdom; France; Ottoman EmpireagainstRussia
Part ofCrimean War1853 to 1856

Where it sits in the Crimean War

Battle of Oltenița, 1853Battle of Pitsunda, 1853Battle of Akhaltsikhe, 1853Battle of Shekvetili, 1853Battle of Sinop, 1853Battle of Başgedikler, 1853Battle of Cetate, 1853Siege of Sevastopol, 1854Siege of Silistra (1854), 1854Battle of Nigoiti, 1854Battle of the Choloki, 1854Battle of Kurekdere, 1854Siege of Petropavlovsk, 1854Battle of Alma, 1854Battle of Balaclava, 1854Charge of the Light Brigade, 1854Thin Red Line, 1854Battle of Inkerman, 1854Battle of Eupatoria, 1855Battle of Malakoff, 1855Battle of Suomenlinna, 1855Battle of the Chernaya, 1855Battle of the Great Redan, 1855Battle of Kanghil, 1855Battle of Kinburn, 1855Battle of Enguri, 1855Siege of Taganrog, 1855Siege of Kars, 185518531855Battle of Alma, 1854
28 placed engagements of the Crimean War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date20 September 1854
PlaceAlma, Russia
44.831N, 33.669E
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Strength56,500–58,000
Commanders
Battle of AlmaBattle of AlmaSiege of SevastopolBattle of the Great RedanBattle of MalakoffSiege of SevastopolBattle of InkermanSiege of SevastopolBattle of the Great RedanSimferopolYevpatoriyaDzhankoy100 km44.831N, 33.669E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Alma
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Alma today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-09-23. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 100 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 182 m, 182 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 55% grassland, 30% cropland, 11% built-up.

grassland: 55%cropland: 30%built-up: 11%tree cover: 3%grassland 55%cropland 30%built-up 11%tree cover 3%
west to east, 10.0 km31 to 113 mnorth to south, 10.0 km25 to 123 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1854

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: BR, FR & TURK ARMIESDefender: RUSS ARMY
Strength65,00036,400
Casualties2,562 (3.9%)5,709 (15.7%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1063
Outcomeattacker won
Duration1 day
Front width10 km11 km
Attacker advanced3 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 165), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Alma is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 350 in present-day Russia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q913604, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Alma, revision 1375360043, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.