United Kingdom. Lot Of Two Crimean War Books

1. "Cadogan's Crimea" written by Lieutenant Colonel Somerset J. Gough Calthorpe, illustrated by General the Honourable Sir George Cadogan K.C.B.: hardcover, sapphire blue cloth cover, the text on the spine in gold-colored ink, with dust jacket, first published under the title " 'Letters From Headquarters' by a Staff Officer", this abridged and illustrated edition first published in 1979 by Hamish Hamilton Limited of London, copyrighted by Editor Books LImited of Croydon, Surrey in 1979, printed by Ebenezer Baylis and Son Limited, The Trinity Press of Worcester and London, bound by Webb Son & Company Limited, ISBN 0 241 10232 4. As stated on the dust jacket: "If all conflicts of arms were to be regarded as pointless bloodletting, then the war in the Crimea might be the most likely event to head a long list. Willam Howard Russell, the famous war correspondent of "The Times", was full of condemnation while viewing the spectacle of carnage 'from the wings', so to speak. Colonel the Hon. George Cadogan saw the war as a participant, and recorded his observations in pictures while on the battlefield. His superb watercolours, carefully arranged in a large album which has been kept treasured by his family, present the Crimean War from a soldier's point of view - sometimes horrifying, sometimes whimsical, sometimes sentimental, but at all times true to the prevailing atmosphere and events of the period. The text is an abridged version of "Letters from Headquarters" by Lt. Col. S.J.G. Calthorpe, an officer of the Headquarters Staff, which was first published in two volumes in 1856 by John Murray and had two further editions in 1857 and 1858. Cadogan's fellow officer had published his impressions of the war primarily in defence of the one man for whom he declared a boundless admiration - the much-maligned leader of the Expeditionary Force, Lord Raglan. The writer's powers of observation combine the horror and dignity of war with charm and humour - witness the story of the spy who was to be 'comfortably' hanged in the morning, or the occasion when Lord Raglan ordered up a troop of horse artillery and battery fire on the Russians. The author records: 'If one had not seen the cannon-balls coming along at the rate of a thousand miles an hour, and bounding like cricket-balls, one would have thought it only a little cavalry review.' Nostalgia provides an element of dash and daring which, to the many students of wars and military history, is perhaps part of the appeal of their chosen subject. During the Crimean War, for example, dress uniforms were used in battle and occasionally an officer, a lady on his arm, strolled across the heights above a battlefield showing her where he would be attacking in the morning. All this is shown in the illustrations. The superimposing of these brilliant yet delicate watercolours by one serving officer upon a vivid narrative by another allows the modern reader a unique view of the Crimean War. This is art and military history combined to extraordinary effect." It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by an Acknowledgements and a Foreword by The Earl Cadogan. It is divided into sixteen chapters: 1. Start of the Expedition; 2. Battle of Alma; 3. Surrender of Balaklava; 4. Defences of Sevastopol; 5. Captain Nolan and Lord Lucan; 6. Battle of Inkermann; 7. Russian deserters; 8. Onset of winter; 9. No progress either side; 10. Attack on Eupatoria; 11. Councils of war; 12. Capture of ambuscades; 13. General Canrobert resigns; 14. Assaults on enemy positions; 15. Death of Lord Raglan; 16. The fall of Sevastopol. It concludes with five Appendices and an eight page Index. The book contains 288 pages of text, charts and artwork photographs, printed in black ink, with four-colour plates interspersed throughout, on a thick white paper stock, measuring 192 mm (w) x 245 (h) x 26 mm (d), exhibiting foxing on the top edges and slight undulation, better than very fine.

2. "Heroes of the Crimea: The Battles of Balaclava and Inkerman by Michael Barthorp: hardcover, olive green cloth cover, the text on the spine in gold-colored ink, with dust jacket, copyrighted by the author in 1991, published by Blandford - an imprint of Casell Villiers House of London in 1991, typeset by Bookworm Typesetting, printed and bound in Great Britain by Bath Press of Avon, ISBN 0 7137 2102 2. As stated on the dust jacket: "Britain and Russia have been for the most part, allies, especially in the great wars against Napoleon, The Kaiser and Hitler. Only once have they been enemies with the differences between the nations resolved by force of arms. This stark and bloody conflict from 1854 to 1856 is known as the Crimean War. The British Army in the Crimea has not had a good press, compared with Welington's Peninsular Army or the later Expeditionary Force of 1914. Undoubtedly there has been a tendency for the Army to rest on its laurels following the defeat of Napoleon. Moreover, though numerous campaigns had been fought in India and other colonies since 1815, there had been no likelihood of the Army being tested in Europe. The Army that went to war in 1854 revealed very serious command, staff and administrative failings. However, these shortcomings, highlighted by such famous follies as the Light Cavalry Brigade's gallant but futile charge at Balaclava, have been allowed to overshadow the fact that much was being done to modernize the Victorian Army. The Battle of Balaclava heralded the first major Russian effort to eject British from the Crimea. This counter-offensive culminated 11 days later in the Battle of Inkerman, a struggle of far greater military and historical consequence than Balaclava yet one which has received far less attention. Those autumn days of 1854 presented the British soldier with the severest test of fortitude faced since Waterloo." It begins with a Table of Contents, a List of Maps and a Preface. It is divided into four parts, each of which contains two or three chapters: Part I: To Thwart the Russian Bear (1. Cheer, Boys, Cheer!; 2. A Blow at Sebastopol); Part II: The Bear Strikes Back (3. The Trumpet, the Gallop, the Charge; 4. The Minie's Murderous Effect; 5. The English Shall Be Attacked); Part III: The Soldiers' Battle (6. Facing Fearful Odds; 7. Load, Fire and Charge!; 8. A Hell of a Towelling); Part IV: (9. The Reckoning; 10. Noble Exertions). It concludes with two Appendices, a List of Sources, Picture Credits, References and a four page Index. The book contains 160 pages of text, maps, artwork and field photographs, printed in black ink, on a white paper stock, measuring 192 mm (w) x 252 (h) x 16 mm (d), near extremely fine.