Crimea: The Great Crimean War, 1854-1856: The Great Crimean War, 1854-1856

This was my first book about the Crimean war and i was looking for something that could get me started on the subject.The author does a magnificent job in explaining the causes of the war and at the end of the book does a great job of explaining briefly the consequences in the future.What i like most about this book is the bold and clear explanations the author gives when explaining the situations sorrounding this war.He talks firm and clear about Lord Clarendon,about Lord Palmerston and some of the other players in the Crimean conflict.I found fascinating the accounts of the soldiers in thir battles and how stupid were their generals during the conflict.This is a great start for someone looking for information on how things carry on all the way to World War I and II.The author explains how everything came back around for the allies....Excellent book!!

While shopping for a history of the Crimean War I hesitated at first to purchase this version because of the negative comments regarding the maps. I'm glad I went ahead and bought a copy because it is a wonderful narration of the Crimean War, and I found the maps to be quite adequate. The only problem with the maps is that they aren't referenced in any manner. There's isn't even a list of maps in the table of contents. No problem. I simply wrote my own list on one of the blank pages following the table of contents. The maps do a poor job of providing the "big picture" as they are mostly restricted to the theater of battle. But there are hundreds, nay, thousands, of maps accessible on the Internet to provide additional perspective. So I say to the cry babies below: Get of your lazy, complaining butts and do a little work! It is well worth the small amount of effort!

Crimea: The Great Crimean War, 1854-1856 by Trevor Royle may be improperly titled since it is a history of much more than the Crimean War. While concentrating on the Crimean War, Royle gives the reader a thorough overview of European history from the end of the Napoleonic conflicts till the outbreak of World War II. The book is history at its finest since it not only explains the actual events but also discusses the historical context of the War and how the war effected future events.Royle writes in a very reader friendly manner and the book easily holds the interest of the reader. If the book has a weakness it is its continual focus on the British perspective. At times this is disturbing considering the fact that the French made a much greater investment in men and arms to the conflict and the French front around Sevastopol was where the crucial battles were fought. Maybe, it is too much to expect a British historian to concentrate on anything other than the British involvement. To Royle's credit he does not ignore the French, Turkish or Sardinian role, nor is he an apologist for the numerous errors that the British made that led to countless and needless deaths. Much of the book is devoted to discussing the inadequacies of the British supply system and the miserable hospital conditions. The chapter relating to Florence Nightingale and her difficulties in reforming the hospital and medical system is compelling. Royle also discusses the inadequacies of the British army and their failure to move beyond the strategy and tactics of the Napoleonic Wars. These failures and the ability to purchase commissions are contrasted with the more modern approach of the French.Perhaps the strongest part of the book relates to the diplomatic front, although the discussion is almost exclusively focused on the British and only mentions the other participants as they relate to British interests. In reading the book, one gets a real understanding of what the British war aims were, even though they were murky at the time. This a book that is well worth reading.

The Crimean War is an odd quantity. On paper, it represented an immense military triumph by Britain and France against Russia. But just as their contemporary victory in the Second Opium War against China went largely uncelebrated, the Crimean War is largely remembered as a disaster, immortalized in the best-remembered engagement, the "Charge of the Light Brigade." As Royle explains, this is largely due to the weaknesses in the British supply and support lines: the Commissariat's failure to clothe the troops over the first winter of 1853-54 and its appalling hospital conditions are what is most remembered about the campaign. The fact that the major force to expose these weaknesses was the newly emboldened media - The Times of London - brings odd parallels to Vietnam, where similar home front dynamics had a tremendous effect on the army's morale. Royle's comprehension of nineteenth century diplomacy is superb: in his description of the intrigues of the British, French and Russian ambassadors in Moscow, Vienna, Prussia, Washington and Constantinople, he takes us into the lost world of men-on-the-spot with authority to conduct foreign policy single-handed. His military narrative is similarly high-calibre: he has a special respect for the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Raglan, whose reputation has been much impugned, and he is also adept at describing the Allies' numerous naval misadventures in both the Baltic and Black Seas.

Having never learned much about the Crimean War, aside from Tennyson's famous bit of poetry, I was a bit intimidated by the breadth of this book. That ended once I opened it and found a coherent and well-annotated history that had enough meat to satisfy hard-core historians, yet enough cheese to intrigue and lure along the casual reader. While I cannot say "I couldn't put it down," (the author's English writing style compelled me to take periodic breaks to absorb) I eagerly went through this book and not only learned a great deal about the war itself but, as Royle's thesis observes, its greater impact on warfare, medicine, politics, media, and nearly every other aspect of the world. If you believe Royle, and I am inclined to, the Crimean War was a seminal event of World History.