
- 308 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Cannon to the left of them; cannon to the right of them… The legend of an extraordinary defeat brought vividly to life
The cavalry charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War remains one of the most iconic disasters in British military history. Here bestseller John Harris casts a fresh view on the subject, rejecting conventional wisdom.
The calamity was, he argues, brought about by something much more complex than the usually suspected cause: internal rivalry and incompetence. The divisional commander Lord Lucan was an earnest, unpopular man trying to do his best, plagued by the obsessions of an over-cautious commander-in-chief, an inexperienced and hot-headed 'expert' and a petulant and unmanageable brigadier itching for glory.
How these facts combined to cause the tragedy is shown in a striking, unputdownable narrative. The story is not just about commanders, but also about the men who took part in the famous charge. We see them not as drink-sodden brutalised soldiers, but as intelligent, able, courageous men led by officers who were far from unpopular fools.
With its slow mounting to the inevitable climax of conflict and with the second half of the book describing the Battle of Balaclava in detail The Charge is a brilliant battle epic.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- The Charge
- Dedication
- Author’s Preface
- 1. The sick man of Europe
- 2. Uneducated as soldiers
- 3. Everything old at the top
- 4. The English Murat
- 5. Such ignorance they displayed
- 6. We expect to be in it red hot
- 7. He neither feels for man nor horse
- 8. In a state of mutiny
- 9. The eye-tooth of the Bear must be drawn
- 10. A pleasant march, though rather hot
- 11. The infantry will advance
- 12. They ought to be damned
- 13. Wait till I get a chance
- 14. The poorest fun I know of
- 15. Those Turks are doing well
- 16. Those damned Heavies!
- 17. There are your guns!
- 18. We’ve a long way to go!
- 19. Look out and catch a horse!
- 20. Has anyone seen Lord Cardigan?
- 21. You have lost the Light Brigade
- 22. They will tell us we have neglected our regiments
- Sources
- Notes on Sources
- About the Author
- Also by John Harris
- Copyright