The Battle of Eupatoria (Russian: Штурм Евпатории (Storm of Eupatoria), Turkish: Gözleve Muharebesi) occurred on 17 February 1855 during the Crimean War when the army of the Russian Empire unsuccessfully attempted to capture the Crimean port city of Eupatoria held by the forces of the Ottoman Empire. Background On 28 March 1854, the United Kingdom and France formally entered the Crimean War as allies of the Ottoman Empire by declaring war against Russia. In September 1854, Allied forces landed on the coast of the Crimean Peninsula as a part of a military offensive to attack and capture Russia's primary Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol. By mid-October, the Allies had surrounded Sevastopol and put the port city under siege. During the fall and winter of 1854-1855, the belligerents reinforced their armies on Crimea. While the Russians brought troops to Crimea overland from the mainland, the Allies brought in their reinforcements by means of transports across the Black Sea with Eupatoria being one of two major disembarkation points for the Allies on Crimea. In December 1855, Tsar Nicholas I wrote to Prince Alexander Menshikov, the Russian Commander-in-chief for the Crimean War, demanding that the reinforcements being sent to Crimea be put to a useful purpose and expressing a fear that enemy landings at Eupatoria were a danger. The Tsar feared rightfully so that additional Allied forces at Eupatoria, located 75 kilometers north of Sebastopol, could sever Crimea from Russia at the Isthmus of Perekop cutting-off the flow of communications, materials, and reinforcements. Shortly thereafter, Prince Menshikov informed his officers on Crimea that Tsar Nicholas insisted that Eupatoria be captured and destroyed if it could not be held. To conduct the attack, Menshikov added that he had been authorized to use the reinforcements currently en route to Crimea including the 8th Infantry Division. Menshikov then acted to select a commanding officer for the attack to which his first and second choices both declined the assignment, making excuses to avoid leading an offensive that neither believed would have a successful outcome. Ultimately, Menshikov selected Lieutenant General Stepan Khrulev, an artillery staff officer described as willing to "do exactly what you tell him," as the officer in overall charge of the undertaking. Strength and deployment To prepare for the attack, Khrulev inspected Eupatoria by means of numerous reconnaissance missions. In the opinion of the Russian commander, the town was strongly fortified as it was