The Crimean War
The devastating details of a long ago war are eloquently presented in this documentary. "The Crimean War" is a well-researched look into the conflict that shook Europe during the years 1853-56. The bloody conflict that pitted Russia against a large European coalition is shown here to be part of a chain of long-held antagonisms that continue to this day. Perhaps of all the things we remember of this confrontation, the only positive aspect that emerges is the appearance of Florence Nightingale.
Episodes
The Reason Why
Part One covers the war's beginning, the Battles of Bomarsund, Alma and Balaklava and the Sieges of Silistra and Sebastopol.
Valley of Death
The ineptitude of the British high command led to a large number of deaths in its own army, most famously in the Charge of the Light Brigade. Florence Nightingale and her nurses strove to improve the appalling conditions in which the sick and injured were being treated and when news of the troops' suffering reached home, it brought about the government's downfall.
War and Peace
Concluding the three-part documentary series about the 1853-6 war in the Crimea. The war ended shortly after the bloody battle of Tchernaya and, following over 300 days of siege, the fall of Sebastopol. It left one million dead, a victorious Britain building her global empire, the French army decimated and the defeated Russian tsar facing reform.
