The Battle of Alma (September 20, 1854) was the first battle of the Crimean War. It was a Franco-English victory against the General Menchikov's Russian army, which lost around 6,000 troops. The French were under the command of General St. Arnaud, while the English were under Lord Raglan. 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 English to advance to Sevastopol.