Crimea: The Great Crimean War, 1854-1856

The Crimean War is one of history's most compelling subjects. It encompassed human suffering, woeful leadership and maladministration 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. 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. The war paved the way for the greater conflagration which broke out in 1914 and greatly prefigured the current situation in Eastern Europe.

Trevor Royle is a well-known, highly respected writer on the history of war and empire who has written many books. He is an Associate Editor of the Sunday Herald and he is a regular commentator on international affairs for BBC radio. He lives in Edinburgh.