Photograph of a painting from a series by Russian artists showing scenes from Sevastopol, 1854-55. The painting shows a scene from the attack on Kamchatka. Soldiers are fighting at close range with bayonets, swords and clubs. Debris surrounds them and there is a cannon in the centre of the fighting. The Siege of Petropavlovsk took place on the Kamchatka Peninsula in August 1854. French and British forces attacked the city of Petropavlovsk in the hope of creating a Pacific front to the Crimean War. Despite outnumbering the Russians, they failed to capture the city and withdrew.