Battle of Alma

The Battle of Alma (September 20, 1854), the first battle of the Crimean War (1854 - 1856), took place in the vicinity of the River Alma in the Crimea. A Franco-British force gained a victory against General Menshikov's Russian army, which lost around 6,000 troops. General St. Arnaud commanded the French, while Lord Raglan commanded the British.

The French Zouaves contributed to the victory by taking the Russian-held redoubts. During the battle, the first batallion of Zouaves lost 222 men, the second batallion 74 men and the third batallion 63 men.

The victory opened the way up for the French and British to advance to Sevastopol.

Side note: "Alma", as a girls name, became popular in the UK as a result of the victory.