The Crimean War at Sea: The Naval Campaigns Against Russia 1854-56 Hardcover – July 12, 2011

The Crimean War is one of the lesser known major conflicts of the 19th century with its naval element even more obscure, This book will provide a lot of details to the afficianado and would be a good addition to your library but it is not geared towards the casual reader.

If you looking for obscure military history books, here's one for your list. I mean the Crimean War is not much of a hot topic even by itself, but zero in on the naval campaign - - - which even the most hard core enthusiast might find little to salivate a lot about - - - and you're charging into the Valley of Remote. This can lead your lancer into some rather tough, downright dull reading. However, if you want to add to your collection of some pretty cool, extremely early photos when the camera was in its infancy, catch some of the full frontal shots in this book. And parts of the text do satisfy the demand for some shell shock. It's not a long half a league, but you won't be galloping at top speed through this one.

These operations, at least the main ones, didn't happen exactly in Crimea. It's a fascinating account of a obscure part of the terrible war, which confronted Russia against France, Britain, Turkey and Piemonte (Italia didn' t exist then). Very interesting !

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If like me your knowledge of the naval aspects of the Crimean war is rather scant, I promise this book will be a revelation to you. If on the other hand your knowledge is more expansive you will instead revel in the detail that this book offers.First off the title of this book, as Mr Duckers comments himself in the foreword, is a little mis-leading since from the outset of the war with Russia the Allies instituted a policy of harassing Russia and her economic trade wherever and whenever they were able.After outlining the background to the war with Russia and describing the opposing fleets, the book then divides into several discreet chapters describing the naval campaigns in the Baltic, the White Sea, the Pacific and of course in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azoff. He also covers the actions of the naval brigade during the land campaign in the Crimea.Mr Duckers writing style is clear and accessible, and his opinions measured and backed up with supporting facts. There are also a smattering of quotations from contemporary first hand accounts, including from the then midshipman George Tryon.Make no mistake, there is no stirring Trafalgaresque fleet engagement to describe here, though as the author points out there was very real potential for this, and indeed expectation from the British public. Rather there are a series of coastal bombardments, blockade and small ship actions as the allies attempt to winkle out elements of the Russian fleet from their often heavily fortified naval bases. You do however get a real sense of the problems facing the commanders and the reasoning involved in fighting a naval campaign during the era of transition from sail to steam and the kind of re-adjustments and extemporisations the commanders on the spot had to make.The treasure trove for the naval history buff comes in the appendices and notes which run to a full 58 pages, and contain, amongst other things, lists of all the ships on both sides in each theatre that detail the ship designation, number of guns and the captain, figures for the naval brigade losses during the land campaign, a list of the Victoria crosses won during the campaign and a copy of Sir Charles Napier's defence of his conduct of the naval campaign in the Baltic in 1854.All in all, thoroughly recommended.

My great great grandfather was on the Duke of Wellington during the Baltic campaign of the Crimean War. Very easy to read and very informative. Wonderful illustrations of the different ships. Just what I needed for my family history research.

Good book for history addicts. Lots of detailed information and pictures. Well bound and solid.

A bit more history, for the Gulf of Finland, that may have involved my ancestors/relatives who were under Russian rule.