The Crimean War Then and Now.

The Crimean War Then and Now.
David R. Jones

I recently became aware of this book through a visit to my blog by the author.  After mentioning his book I took the time to look it up and was fascinated by what I found.  Visitors here know of my long time interest in the Crimean war and I have done a number of posts on photography of the battlefields.  I have done this to get a flavor of the terrain so that I can translate it to the table top.  Afterall, one reason we play miniature war games is for the visual appeal.  Well, here are a unique collection of period photography, sketches and engravings from the time of the war and contrasting photographs and maps from today.

The book is a labor of love. Each chapter describes a battle of action, includes maps pointing out locations and then contrasts period illustrations with a view from the same angle today.  It is fascinating how the terrain here has changed in a little over a hundred years.  More trees and orchards change the look of many battlefields.  The river Alma has also changed greatly as shown in the pictures today.  The viewer also gets a better idea of the terrain.  The hill that the Light Division rushed up to capture the great redoubt looks very gentle compared to some prints.  The area the 93rd Highlanders held, and the area the Heavy Brigade charged have me better understanding of this actions.  A mystery to me has been the photographs taken by Colonel Vladislav Klembovsky in 1900 of the battlefields.  I finally know who this man was and his tragic story during the revolution.


The book is not cheep,but is well worth it.  I bought the kindle edition and am very happy with it.  Highly recommended!