The Crimean War: British Grand Strategy, 1853-56 (War, Armed Forces and Society)

This detailed study of British strategy during the Crimean War, from the Eastern crisis of March 1853 to the Treaty of Paris in May 1856, adopts a maritime perspective. It uses fresh archive material to focus on the fact that the Crimean invasion was solely in order to destroy the Russian fleet and base, not to capture territory. The pivotal role of the British Navy is examined, as well as the manner in which the British fleet, threatening St Petersburg in 1855, forced Russia to accept the allied terms. The text will be of interest to students and historians of strategy, diplomacy and 19th-century war and politics.