Sevastopol’s Wars

Sevastopol’s Wars

Author: Mungo Melvin CB OBE

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-05-18

Total Pages: 802

ISBN-13: 1472822285

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Sevastopol's Wars is the first book in any language to cover the full history of Russia's historic Crimean naval citadel, from its founding through to the current tensions that threaten the region. Founded by Catherine the Great, the maritime city of Sevastopol has been fought over for centuries. Crucial battles of the Crimean War were fought on the hills surrounding the city, and the memory of this stalwart defence inspired those who fruitlessly battled the Germans during World War II. Twice the city has faced complete obliteration yet twice it has risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes. In this groundbreaking volume, award-winning author Mungo Melvin explores how Sevastopol became the crucible of conflict over three major engagements – the Crimean War, the Russian Civil War and World War II – witnessing the death and destruction of countless armies yet creating the indomitable 'spirit of Sevastopol'. By weaving together first-hand interviews, detailed operational reports and battle analysis, Melvin creates a rich tapestry of history.


The Siege of Sevastopol, 1854–1855

The Siege of Sevastopol, 1854–1855

Author: Anthony Dawson

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2017-06-30

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 1848329598

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A history of the grueling Crimean War battle as told through personal accounts of those who fought there. The Crimean War, the most destructive and deadly war of the nineteenth century, has been the subject of countless books, yet historian Anthony Dawson has amassed an astonishing collection of previously unknown and unpublished material, including numerous letters and private journals. Many untapped French sources reveal aspects of the fighting in the Crimea that have never been portrayed before. The accounts demonstrate the suffering of the troops during the savage winter and the ravages of cholera and dysentery that resulted in the deaths of more than 16,000 British troops and 75,000 French. Whilst there is graphic first-hand testimony from those that fought up the slopes of the Alma, in the valley of death at Balaklava, and the fog of Inkerman, the book focusses upon the siege; the great artillery bombardments, the storming of the Redan and the Mamelon, and the largest man-made hole in history up to that time when the Russians blew up the defences they could not hold, with their own men inside. The Siege of Sevastopol also highlights, for the first time, the fourth major engagement in the Crimea, the Battle of the Tchernaya in August 1855, the Russians’ last great attempt to break the siege. This predominantly French-fought battle has never before examined in such in English language books. Praise for The Siege of Sevastopol, 1854–1855 “In this fascinating book, the voices of men involved in the war in the Crimea are heard for the first time. Compelling and intriguing stuff.” —Books Monthly “The author has collected a large amount of previously unpublished material for this new work. Entries from private letters and journal are mixed with French sources previously unused in the English-speaking world. The result is a work that effectively conveys the thoughts and experiences of the participants to the reader.” —Warfare History Network


From Ruins to Reconstruction

From Ruins to Reconstruction

Author: Karl D. Qualls

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2018-07-05

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 080146241X

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Sevastopol, located in present-day Ukraine but still home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet and revered by Russians for its role in the Crimean War, was utterly destroyed by German forces during World War II. In From Ruins to Reconstruction, Karl D. Qualls tells the complex story of the city's rebuilding. Based on extensive research in archives in both Moscow and Sevastopol, architectural plans and drawings, interviews, and his own extensive experience in Sevastopol, Qualls tells a unique story in which the periphery "bests" the Stalinist center: the city's experience shows that local officials had considerable room to maneuver even during the peak years of Stalinist control.Qualls first paints a vivid portrait of the ruined city and the sufferings of its surviving inhabitants. He then turns to Moscow's plans to remake the ancient city on the heroic socialist model prized by Stalin and visited upon most other postwar Soviet cities and towns. In Sevastopol, however, the architects and city planners sent out from the center "went native," deviating from Moscow's blueprints to collaborate with local officials and residents, who seized control of the planning process and rebuilt the city in a manner that celebrated its distinctive historical identity. When completed, postwar Sevastopol resembled a nineteenth-century Russian city, with tree-lined boulevards; wide walkways; and buildings, street names, and memorials to its heroism in wars both long past and recent. Though visually Russian (and still containing a majority Russian-speaking population), Sevastopol was in 1954 joined to Ukraine, which in 1991 became an independent state. In his concluding chapter, Qualls explores how the "Russianness" of the city and the presence of the Russian fleet affect relations between Ukraine, Russia, and the West.


Blood and Iron

Blood and Iron

Author: C. G. Sweeting

Publisher: Potomac Books

Published: 2005-10

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781574887976

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Narrates the epic World War II battles for the most strongly fortified city in the world.


Sevastopol

Sevastopol

Author: Emilio Fraia

Publisher: New Directions Publishing

Published: 2021-06-01

Total Pages: 69

ISBN-13: 0811230929

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Three subtly connected stories converge in this chimerical debut, showcasing a powerful new Brazilian voice Three subtly connected stories converge in this chimerical debut, each burrowing into a turning point in a person’s life: a young woman gives a melancholy account of her obsession with climbing Mount Everest; a Peruvian-Brazilian vanishes into the forest after staying in a musty, semi-abandoned inn in the haunted depths of the Brazilian countryside; a young playwright embarks on the production of a play about the city of Sevastopol and a Russian painter portraying Crimean War soldiers. Inspired by Tolstoy’s The Sevastopol Sketches, Emilio Fraia masterfully weaves together these stories of yearning and loss, obsession and madness, failure and the desire to persist, in a restrained manner reminiscent of Anton Chekhov, Roberto Bolano, and Rachel Cusk.


The Defence of Sevastopol, 1941–1942

The Defence of Sevastopol, 1941–1942

Author: Clayton Donnell

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2016-02-29

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1473879264

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This vividly detailed WWII history chronicles one of the hardest-fought battles of the Crimea Campaign. In December 1941, while America was reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor and the offensives of the German Army Groups North and Center were stalled in the brutal Russian winter, the German Eleventh Army encircled the vast fortress of Sevastopol in the Crimea. The Red Army faced massive air, artillery and land attacks against their heavily defended positions in one of the most remarkable campaigns in the history of modern warfare: The Siege of Sevastopol. Drawing on his expert knowledge of the history of modern fortifications, Donnell describes the design and development of the Red Army’s formidable base at Sevastopol. He then chronicles the sequence of attacks mounted by the Wehrmacht against the city’s strongpoints. The forts and bunkers had to be taken one by one in a bitter six-month struggle with sever casualties on both sides. Using documentary records and a range of personal accounts, Clayton Donnell reconstructs the events and experience of the campaign in vivid detail.


Sevastopol Sketches (Crimean War History)

Sevastopol Sketches (Crimean War History)

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-07-11

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 9781387940042

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In the Sevastopol Sketches, Leo Tolstoy evocatively recollects his experiences at the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854-1855, over the course of three short stories. Although the trio of tales which comprise the Sevastopol Sketches are ostensibly fictional and written in the second person, they accurately recall Tolstoy's experiences as a young man witnessing the Crimean War. All three possess philosophical overtones, with the overarching theme being a vilification of war as a wasteful, senseless and foolish expenditure of human life. The Sevastopol Sketches establish Tolstoy as a pacifist who considered war to be one of the most depraved and lamentable events characterizing mankind. Years after publishing these sketches, Tolstoy would draw upon the Siege of Sevastopol as a critical supplement to the narrative of his epic novel - War and Peace.


Sevastopol

Sevastopol

Author: Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy

Publisher: Library of Alexandria

Published: 2020-09-28

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 1465602852

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This book contains three linked stories about the siege of the city of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. They are based in part on Tolstoy's own experiences as an officer in the Russian army during the war.


British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854-1856

British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854-1856

Author: John Grehan

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2014-01-22

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 1781593302

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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.