Synopses & Reviews
The Crimean War, one of history's most compelling subjects, encompassed human suffering, woeful leadership and misadministration on a grand scale. It created a heroic myth out of the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade and, in Florence Nightingale, it produced one of history's great heroes. The war was a watershed in world history and pointed the way to what mass warfare would be like in the twentieth century. New weapons were introduced; trench combat became a fact of daily warfare outside Sebastopol; medical innovation saved countless soldiers' lives that would otherwise have been lost. Ultimately, by failing to solve the Eastern Question, the war paved the way for the greater conflagration which broke out in 1914 and greatly prefigured the current situation in Eastern Europe.
Review
“Trevor Royle, a very well-respected military historian, has written a new and up to date account of [the Crimean] war, giving proper attention to the Russian side. His book is gripping . . .” —Norman Stone
“Thorough and informative, this scholarly book will interest readers of history and military history alike; for the present, it also stands as the definitive treatment of the Crimean War.” —Publishers Weekly
“Trevor Royle's achievement is to have skillfully encompassed and explained the complexities of his subject in a single volume of no excessive length.” —New York Review of Books
“a well-written, thorough study of what can be considered the first modern war.” —New York Times Book Review
...a sound and solid description of the Crimean War. —Victorian Studies
Synopsis
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year: The definitive history of the Crimean War.
Synopsis
The definitive history of the Crimean War from world-renowned historian Trevor Royle.
The Crimean War, one of history's most compelling subjects, encompassed human suffering, woeful leadership and misadministration on a grand scale. It created a heroic myth out of the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade and, in Florence Nightingale, it produced one of history's great heroes. The war was a watershed in world history and pointed the way to what mass warfare would be like in the twentieth century. New weapons were introduced; trench combat became a fact of daily warfare outside Sebastopol; medical innovation saved countless soldiers' lives that would otherwise have been lost. Ultimately, by failing to solve the Eastern Question, the war paved the way for the greater conflagration which broke out in 1914 and greatly prefigured the current situation in Eastern Europe.
Synopsis
The war was a watershed in world history and pointed the way to what mass warfare would be like in the twentieth century.
About the Author
Trevor Royle is Associate Editor of the Sunday Herald and a regular commentator on international affairs for BBC radio.
Table of Contents
Preface * Prologue: 1851 *
Part I * A Churchwardens' Quarrel * Menshikov's Mission * Getting into Deep Waters * The Thousand and One Notes * Phoney War * The Affair at Sinope * Drifting Towards War * "Our Beautiful Guards" * Uneasy Partners * Opening Shots * Varna Interlude * Hurrah for the Crimea! *
Part II * Advance to Contact * The Alma: The Infantry Will Advance * Missed Opportunities * Ladies with Lamps * Balaklava: A Cavalryman's Battle * Inkerman: An Infantryman's Battle * Arrival of General Winter * Muddle in Washington, Progress in Vienna * "Pam Enters the Fray" * Spring Stalemate * Todleben's Triumph * Spring Cruise, Summer Success * Trench Warfare: Massacre in the Redoubts * Sebastopol Falls * The Forgotten War: Kars and Erzerum * A Second Winter *
Part III * Peace Feelers * Tying Up Some Loose Ends * Peacetime in Paris * The New World Order * Learning the Lessons the Hard Way * Epilogue: 1914