24 Hours at Balaclava: 25 October 1854: Voices from the Battlefield

by Robert Kershaw

In 1854 Britain and France were at war to save 'poor little Turkey', the crumbling Ottoman Empire, from the menace of Russian expansionism. On 25 October they were nine days into what would become an eleven-month siege, with little to show for it. Suddenly, from behind them came the unmistakeable sound of cannon. The Russians had arrived. Vastly outnumbered, the British gained an unlikely upper hand with the charge of the Heavy Brigade and the efforts of the Thin Red Line. But then, within two hours of achieving near victory, the British squandered it in dramatic style with the charge of the Light Brigade. Using eyewitness accounts, letters and diaries, acclaimed military historian Robert Kershaw presents a new, intimate look at the Battle of Balaclava, from the perspective of the men who 'saw little and knew even less'. Come down from the Heights and see the real story of one of the most ill-fated military expeditions in British history.

Genres: History

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 2, 2019

About the author

Born in 1950 and a graduate of Reading University, Robert Kershaw joined the Parachute Regiment in 1973.

He served numerous regimental appointments until selected to command the 10th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (10 PARA). He attended the German Staff College (Fuhrungsakademie) spending a further two years with the Bundeswehr as an infantry, airborne and arctic warfare instructor. He speaks fluent German and has extensive experience with NATO, multinational operations and all aspects of operations and training.

His active service includes several tours in Northern Ireland, the First Gulf War and Bosnia. He has exercised in many parts of the world and served in the Middle East and Africa. His final army appointment was with the Intelligence Division at HQ NATO in Brussels Belgium.

On leaving the Army in 2006 he became a full-time author of military history as well as a consultant military analyst. He has written a paper on the military impact of HIV AIDS for Cranfield University and more recently was the historical editor for ParaData, an on-line archive for the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces.

Reviews

[Emerson Stokes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kershaw’s wonderful accounts of battles, charges and clashes provide a vivid description of the events during the Battle of Balaclava. Unlike the British, his skill certainly hasn’t dwindled since his book on Waterloo. Personal accounts sprinkled all throughout the book show what men were thinking on the battlefield and after it as well as giving a more in-depth view of what the battle might have looked like compared to Raglan’s top-down point of view.

[TG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. I love to study military history and i allways had a soft spot for 19th century warfare.
This book delivers. It's simple, the writing style its not boring at all, have a few maps so you can try to follow the action and it is focused only in this battle so maybe a bit of background knowledge on the war as a whole is needed.
I'd like maybe a bit more maps an details on them but if you already read about the war and this battle you know what's going on.
Five stars.

[Olle Bergman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book of this genre that I’ve read.

[Mat]

Militär Historia * undoubtedly one of the year's most readable books