The Thin Red Line

The Crimean War was the first 'modern' war for the British forces: journalists reported home via the telegraph, a device that also tempted the government to micro-manage the war from the comfort of Whitehall. It is most famous for the charge of the Light Brigade, celebrated in poetry and film as a classic British military disaster. It also gave us 'The Thin Red Line', when a handful of British infantry saw off a horde of Russian cavalry. It was the first war in which ordinary British soldiers recorded their experiences - and Julian Spilsbury brings their story to life, together with the very different world of their officers and assorted mistresses. The army in the Crimea was a microcosm of Victorian society with all its strengths and weaknesses.

“His skill lies in knitting together many disparate reports so that a clear picture of the action emerges from the smoke, confusion - and gore - of battle.”

- BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE (May 2006)

Julian Spilsbury is the military obituarist for the Daily Telegraph and a script writer for The Bill, Taggart and Casualty. He is the author of several thrillers including Night of the Bear and Vision of the Hunter.

The Crimean War was the first 'modern' war for the British forces: journalists reported home via the telegraph, a device that also tempted the government to micro-manage the war from the comfort of Whitehall. It is most famous for the charge of the Light Brigade, celebrated in poetry and film as a classic British military disaster. It also gave us 'The Thin Red Line', when a handful of British infantry saw off a horde of Russian cavalry. It was the first war in which ordinary British soldiers recorded their experiences - and Julian Spilsbury brings their story to life, together with the very different world of their officers and assorted mistresses. The army in the Crimea was a microcosm of Victorian society with all its strengths and weaknesses.

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