Crimean War Documentary (1 Viewer)

[Cardigan600]

Yo Troopers, looks good when you see our lovely painted Soldiers & models of the Crimean War. Watched a documentary last night and letters sent back to the UK from some of the Soldiers. HELL was not a good enough word for this war. The best Army the British had ever sent abroad was reduced to a death camp all through bureaucracy back in the UK. Total lost 5,000 in battle, 16,000 through disease. They were not prepared for a winter campaign, so a hurricane sank 21 ships in Balaklava harbour, all the Troopers tents blew away, so they had no cover all winter. One Scots guy wrote home, I will keep walking around until I have to stop, then I will lie down and die, and he did. A surgeon wrote back that the men are soaking wet 24/7 and when he gets to see them they have lost their feet and fingers through frostbite. He goes on to say, I pulled a glove off a Soldier and his fingers came off with his glove. It wasn't until one of the senior Officers wrote to the Times news paper to tell them what was going on, that anything was done about it. Then there was such an outcry from the British public, that the War office had to do something about it with new supplies and buildings for the Troops to shelter in. At the end the British could only muster 10,000 fighting men, the French who had prepared much better could muster 120,000 fighting Troops. When you see the reality of the War, it changes your thinking somewhat, about all the smart uniforms we have on our models.
Beranrd.

 

[MCKENNA77]

Yo Troopers, looks good when you see our lovely painted Soldiers & models of the Crimean War. Watched a documentary last night and letters sent back to the UK from some of the Soldiers. HELL was not a good enough word for this war. The best Army the British had ever sent abroad was reduced to a death camp all through bureaucracy back in the UK. Total lost 5,000 in battle, 16,000 through disease. They were not prepared for a winter campaign, so a hurricane sank 21 ships in Balaklava harbour, all the Troopers tents blew away, so they had no cover all winter. One Scots guy wrote home, I will keep walking around until I have to stop, then I will lie down and die, and he did. A surgeon wrote back that the men are soaking wet 24/7 and when he gets to see them they have lost their feet and fingers through frostbite. He goes on to say, I pulled a glove off a Soldier and his fingers came off with his glove. It wasn't until one of the senior Officers wrote to the Times news paper to tell them what was going on, that anything was done about it. Then there was such an outcry from the British public, that the War office had to do something about it with new supplies and buildings for the Troops to shelter in. At the end the British could only muster 10,000 fighting men, the French who had prepared much better could muster 120,000 fighting Troops. When you see the reality of the War, it changes your thinking somewhat, about all the smart uniforms we have on our models.
Beranrd.

Dude that is crazy! Do you recall the name of the documentary? At the Royal College of Surgeons Museum in Edinburgh they claimed that the first war to have medical staff and tents near the front line was the Crimean conflict. They had a story there of a corporal I believe who got his arm blown off by a cannon, he then some how managed to ride 80 miles on a horse to this medical tent and believe it or not he lived. You would have to be one tough mother to be able to hack all that pain! They had a bunch of war trauma exhibits there including a German WWII soldier's skull who had "caught" a mortar shell. I guess the only good thing about that is that you would never even know what hit you.

Take Care

 

[marco55]

It was the worst led,worst run war in modern British Army history.
Mark

 

[4th Hussar]

It was the worst led,worst run war in modern British Army history.
Mark

Agree, the Brits kicked russki butt until the weather changed. Kind of like Napoleon's and Hitlers treks into Russia - can't beat you but winter Will

 

[glossman]

Here is an image of a set of British surgical instruments used in the Crimean War.

It is from a book entitled "The Crimean War" by Denis Judd, Page 109 in the now out of print British at War series.

No need to say what the saw was used for.....

 

[trooper]

The saddest thing is that people do not learn from the mistakes shown by history. It has always been the case that politicians neglect the army during times of peace and then expect the troops at the sharp end to pull a rabbit out of the hat for them. It is still going on. When the troops went into Iraq a lot of them had to wear European forest camouflage because the bean counters had refused to carry sufficient desert pattern, body armour had to be shared because there wasn't enough for every man to have his own. A lot of the troops bought their own equipment as the issue kit, supplied by the firms with the lowest tender, was inadequate. Mobile phones were used as being more efficient. The war criminals are the politicians who put their own men and women in harm's way in order to save a few pennys.