A comprehensive overview of the activities of the British navy in the Baltic Sea from the earliest times until the twentieth century.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1857 Edition.

The 1854 war between Russia and Britain - with its French and Turkish allies - is known as the Crimean War from the location of its chief campaign. But it is often forgotten that there was fighting in the northern Baltic Sea between British and Russian Naval forces. This book is a full account of that sideshow , based on the papers of the Senior British Naval officer, Vice-Admiral Sir C. Napier (not to be confused with his more famous military namesake Gen. Sir Charles Napier). There is a good reason for the oblivion that has befallen the Baltic campaign - it was a total and unmitigated failure, (apart from the capture of some unfortunate Finns who subsequently died of fever in Lewes jail!) The pupose of this book is to exonerate Admiral Napier, commander of the Baltic expedition, from blame for the failure, which the author, G. Butler Earp, lays squarely at the doors of the Lords of the Admiralty for sending Napier with an inadequate, run-down fleet and for refusing to give him the necessary means ( mortars and gunboats) to reduce the Russian ports and forts which he was expected to silence. Earp forcefully defends Napier from charges of incompetence and near-cowardice, and equally forcefully attacks the Admiraly for cheeseparing and injustice. It is a story of military versus political needs which has echoes to this day.

Too often historical writing on the Russian War of 1854-56 focuses narrowly on the land campaign fought in the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea. The wider war waged at sea by the British and French navies against the Russians is ignored. The allied navies aimed to strike at Russian interests anywhere in the world where naval force could be brought to bear, and as a result campaigns were waged in the Baltic, the Black Sea, the White Sea, on the Russian Pacific coast and in the Sea of Azoff. Yet it is the land campaign in the Crimea that shapes our understanding of events. In this graphic and original study, Peter Duckers seeks to set the record straight. He shows how these neglected naval campaigns were remarkably successful, in contrast to the wretched failures that beset the British army on land. Allied warships ranged across Russian waters sinking shipping, disrupting trade, raiding ports, bombarding fortresses, destroying vast quantities of stores and shelling coastal towns. The scale and intensity of the naval operations embarked upon during the war are astonishing, and little appreciated, and this new book offers the first overall survey of them.

For a relatively short war, the Crimean War holds an important place in history. Finally, a resource that provides a historical overview of the war from a number of different angles including, the causes, the motivations, the course, and the consequences. This volume fully explores the: o Main engagements o Principal political figures and rulers o Military leaders and naval commanders o Events leading up to the conflict This Dictionary is an excellent window into the political, national, and military intrigue that surrounded one of the most costly campaigns of all time. Includes a chronology, maps, and a comprehensive bibliography full of primary sources, as well as classic sources and histories that will allow researchers to trace the changing perception of the war through history.

The Crimean War was the most destructive armed conflict of the Victorian era. It is remembered for the unreasoning courage of the Charge of the Light Brigade, for the precise volleys of the Thin Red Line and the impossible assaults upon Sevastopol's Redan. It also demonstrated the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the British military system based on privilege and purchase.??Poor organisation at staff level and weak leadership from the Commander-in-Chief with a lack of appreciation of the conditions the troops would experience in the Crimea resulted in the needless death of thousands of soldiers. The Royal Navy, by comparison, was highly effective and successfully undertook its operations in the Baltic, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.??The relative performance of the two branches of Britain's armed forces is reflected in the despatches sent back to the UK by the?respective commanders. The comparative wealth of detail provided by Admirals Napier, Dundas and Lyons contrast sharply with the limited, though frequent, communications from Generals Raglan, Codrington and Simpson.??The despatches of all these commanding officers are presented in this compilation just as they were when first published in the 1850s. They tell of the great battles of the Alma, Balaklava and Inkerman, of the continuing struggle against Sevastopol and the naval operations which cut the Russian communications and ensured an eventual, if costly, victory. They can be read, just as they were when revealed to the general public more than 150 years ago.