French

After the Ottomans were initially pushed back, France rushed forces to Gallipoli and pushed north in time for the Russians to abandon Silistra. They continued to hit Sevastopol, the centre of Russian strength, landing in September 1854 and fighting their way forward. A Russian counterattack on 25 October was repulsed as well as a second counterattack against the Ottoman forces, before the front settled into a siege and brutal conditions for troops on both sides. After eleven months, Sevastopol fell and previously neutral countries began to join the Allied cause. Russia sued for peace in March 1856, a move welcomed by France as their subjects were beginning to turn against the government. The war was ended by the Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 March 1856.