Winfried Baumgart’s masterful history of the Crimean War has been expanded and fully updated to reflect advances made in the field since the book’s first publication. It convincingly argues that if the war had continued after 1856, the First World War would have taken place 60 years earlier, but that fighting ultimately ceased because diplomacy never lost its control over the use of war as an instrument in power politics.
With 19 images, 13 maps and additional tables as well as a brand new chapters on 'the medical services', this expanded and fully-updated 2nd edition explores
* The origins and diplomacy of the Crimean War
* The war aims and general attitudes of the belligerent powers (Russia, France, and Britain), non-belligerent German powers (Austria and Prussia) and a selected number of neutral powers, including the United States
* The characteristics and capabilities of the armies involved
* The nature of the fighting itself
The Crimean War: 1853-1856 examines the conflict in both its Europe-wide and global contexts, moving beyond the five great European powers to consider the role and importance of smaller states and theatres of war that have otherwise been under-served. To this end, it looks at fighting on the Danube front, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caucasian battlefield, as well as the White Sea and the Pacific, with final chapters devoted to the Paris peace congress of 1856, the end of the war and its legacy.
This book remains the definitive study of one of the most important wars in modern history.
List of Images List of Maps General Editor’s Preface Preface to 1st Edition Preface to 2nd Edition Part 1 - Origins and Diplomacy of the War 1. The Real Cause of the War – the Eastern Question 2. Diplomacy during the War, 1853-56 Part 2 - The Belligerents and the Non-Belligerents 3. The War Aims of the Belligerents 4. The Non-Belligerent German Powers: Austria and Prussia 5. The Neutral Powers Part 3 - The Armies of the Belligerents 6. Russia 7. France 8. Great Britain 9. Turkey 10. Sardinia Part 4 - The War 11. The Danube Front, 1853-54 12. The Black Sea Theatre 13. The Campaigns in the Baltic, 1854 and 1855 14. The Caucasian Battlefield, 1853-1855 15. The Minor Theatres of War: The White Sea and the Pacific 16. Allied War Preparations for 1856 and the War Council in Paris, January 1856 17. The Medical Services Part 5 - The End of the War 18. The Paris Peace Congress, February-April 1856 19. The Results of the War for International Relations Annotated Bibliography Bibliographical Index General Index
Winfried Baumgart is Professor Emeritus at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. He is the author of 31 books in German and English, including Imperialism: The Idea and Reality of British and French Colonial Expansion, 1880-1914 (1982) and The Peace of Paris, 1856: Studies in War Diplomacy and Peacemaking (1981).
Reviews for The Crimean War: 1853-1856
This book offers a masterful treatment of the Crimean War in all its many facets. Building on the excellent core of the first edition, this second edition provides updated annotated bibliographic discussion and a very well executed integration of the latest scholarship. Baumgart is to be commended for blending diplomatic, international, military, political, and medical history within a succinct and highly readable text. This text will be invaluable for courses in 19th century Europe, military history, international relations, conflict studies, and Balkan history. * Jonathan Grant, Professor of History, Florida State University, USA *
