This, the second division of Henry Tyrell's The History of the Present War with Russia (1855) is also splendidly written.

In this book we rejoin events as Montengro declares war, and the allied armies are still pursued by cholera. Continuing, we hear of the seizure of Peta, then the invasion of Piraeus, the battles of Kars, Ozurghetti, Bayazid & Kurkdere. The destruction of Redout-Kaleh, the battle of the Alma, the death of French Marshal St Arnaud, the occupation of Balaklava followed by the immense siege of Sebastopol. Included with coverage of the siege of Sebastopol are numerous letters from commanders and soldiers on the field giving us a grim picture of how events really played out.

After moving coverage of the siege of Sebastopol the Russian counter-attack on Balaklava is covered as are the battles of Inkermann, Eupatroia & the allied attack on Petropaulovsky. Numerous letters are also included in regards to the battle of Balaklava.

This division comes to a close with the enormous hurricane of 1854 which assailed the allied forces causing the loss of tens of ships-of-war & over 300 crew.

It paints a vivid scene of history, told as the events unfolded, in a level of detail which one won't soon forget. ( )