View from the Mamelon towards the Malakhov, 1855

Photograph by James Robertson (1813-1888), Crimean War (1854-1856) 1855.

The Mamelon was one of Sevastopol's outer defensive works during the great siege. It fell swiftly to the French on 7 June 1855. However, the Malakhov, one of Sevastopol's principle fortresses, proved a much tougher proposition. A precipitate assault by the French on 18 June was bloodily repulsed and it was not until 8 September that a second, more powerful attack succeeded in taking the position.