INVASION OF THE CRIMEA (9 Volumes)

Standard detailed operational history in nine volumes of the Crimean War to June 1855, including all the early battles and the first attack on the Redan. Alexander William Kinglake (1809-1891) visited the Crimea in 1854, as a civilian, and was present at the Battle of the Alma (20 Sep 1854). The British Commander-in-Chief, Lord Raglan, suggested to Kinglake that he write a history of the Crimean War and made available all his private papers. The result is this monumental and elaborate piece of work which tells the story of the war from its origin to the death of Raglan on 28 June 1855; the conflict still had another eight months to run to its conclusion at the Treaty of Paris on 28th February 1856. These volumes between them number over four thousand pages and the period they cover is less than a year, so the amount of detail can be imagined. Volume 3, for example, covers the Alma; Volume 4 the Siege of Sevastopol; Volume 5 is devoted to Balaclava; Volume 6 to the Battle of Inkerman and Volume 7 to the dreadful winter of 1854-1855. Maps and battlefield diagrams include a number of coloured maps and Volume 9 (which describes the death of Lord Raglan) has the index to the whole work - sixty-two pages! Reprint of the 1876 original edition.