 As the siege dragged on, the French and British armies were reinforced and troops from the Kingdom of Sardinia joined them, reaching a total of 140,000 soldiers, but they suffered terribly from epidemics of typhus, dysentery, and cholera.During the 332 days of the siege, the French lost 95,000 soldiers, including 75,000 due to disease.The suffering of the army in the Crimea was carefully concealed from the French public by press censorship.