Turkish troops at the defence of Silistria 1853-4

Troops at the siege which precipitated the Crimean War.

Turkish sentry in fort, at Silistria, 1854

Valerio (artist)

Turkish infantry from Anne S K Brown

Paris: Ernest Bourdin, 1854 Raffet, Auguste (artist)
image 4th in collection of 4 col. lith. pl. by Riffault after Raffet; three uniform figures of Turkish infantrymen, standing, with more in background. From here

Ismail Pacha real name Kmety Gyorgy (1810-1865)

I've been trying to learn a little about the Ottoman Army in the Crimean War and I suppose the first port of call should be these Fenton photos of the Hungarian who commanded the Turkish troops - not to be confused with Ismael Pasha - Khedive of Egypt.

The CWRS publish a paper 'The true heroes of Balaklava' which is an attempt to redress the balance from the fact that the Turkish army was misused by the British and French command who wrongly thought they were only good for manual work.

tonnelet

Colour image Cantiniere of the Imperial Guides 1856 and Tonnelet de cantinière, 2e régiment de voltigeurs ayant appartenu à mme Faget Second Empire (1852-1870)

This was the main item for a Cantiniere or Vivandiere, highly decorated with regimental and patriotic adornments.

French military women

Of course it wasn't just Zouave regiments that had women in military-style clothing - it was across the board in the French army though they tended to be comparatively sombre - (left)Armée française, cantinière entre 1860 et 1870 (right) Cantinière et chasseur d'un bataillon de chasseurs à pied en Algérie, vers 1845 Moreau Edouard (1825-1878)

Zouave women

One of the great things about French Zouave units were their womenfolk who wore a kind of feminised version of the men's uniform - the above is a Vivandiere and a Cantiniere of the Garde Imperial Zouaves. To learn more about Vivandiere's this site (specifically about ACW women but covers the whole spectrum) is well worth investigating.

le petit costumier

No confusion as to what to do with this. Don't go saying I don't provide you with activities to do on wet days.

More popular art of the Crimea

I still haven't worked out what these were used for - I can only think people cut them out and used them as paper soldiers - any of you have any ideas?

French artillery c1860

Chasseurs

I have been unintentionally ignoring the regiments of Chasseurs a pied - so here's a few images to redress that balance.

Clairon de chasseurs à pied en tenue de campagne, vers 1870
Berne-Bellecour Etienne-Prosper (1838-1910)

chasseurs à pied de la Garde impériale in the trenches

Siège de Sébastopol, chasseurs à pied de la Garde impériale à la tranchée du Mamelon-Vert
Peint vers 1861 par Deneuville Alphonse Marie (1835-1885), de Neuville (dit)

Chasseurs à pied

Tunique de capitaine, 12e bataillon de chasseurs à pied
vers 1855

95th at the Alma

This page at the WFR museum has some good pictures and information about the regiment's Crimea service including this photo of Corporal Thomas Finn.

More Crimean War Reenactors

In case you missed this link on the comments here are some Ukrainian groups recreating some of the Allied forces - very good indeed. I wonder whether these groups have considered going to Italy to take part in the 1859 events there?

A Bearskin's Crimea

Haven't seen this book but it looks interesting - the bumph reads
Using much previously untapped source material A Bearskin's Crimea is a blow-by-blow account of the Grenadier Guards' experiences in the Crimean War. The principal character, The Honourable Henry Percy, a member of the distiguished and powerful Northumberland family (known as 'The Kings of the North'), was present at all the major battles of that appalling conflict: The Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman and the Seige of Sebastopol. Percy was no ordinary soldier: not only was he a shrewd observer with a skilled pen but a thoroughly capable and courageous officer. This is borne out by his winning the Victoria Cross and his rapid promotion.

The White Angel (1936) trailer

Today in 1854 Florence Nightingale was sent out to the Crimea to nurse wounded soldiers. Somewhat overrated she became a British heroine, as exemplified in this movie. Probably better to watch is the BBC treatment which features the 17th Lancers.

Zouaves 1855

Interesting image of Zouaves in the Crimea (I think) - don't know the artist.

Zouaves at Inkerman

Coming to the aid of the British Guards from Cadogan's Crimea. I have come to the conclusion that there is need for a Zouave unit in Russia and the Ukraine (unless there is one already). There are plenty of patterns out there for Zouave clothing - I personally wouldn't worry about recreating the backpack as it wouldn't be any need for it in a siege/combat situation and a lot of it is tentage and so on anyway. Zouaves often were the assault troops and were pretty much everywhere in the Crimean campaign.

Crimean Memories

This recent hardback book is not cheap - cheapest I've seen it is £50-odd quid from Amazon but it looks pretty invaluable to Crimean War fans like me. The bumph reads:

This book is a broad comprehensive photographic essay regarding surviving artefacts of the Crimean War, fought 150 years ago between Russia and the combined power of Britain, France, Sardinia and Turkey. The authors have spent nearly two years locating and photographing artefacts in national museums, regimental museums, and private collections throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Each artefact is presented as a highly detailed colour photograph, shot from various angles with the researcher in mind, coming alive from the page to the reader. Each photographic image is accompanied by detailed and informative text regarding physical properties, history, and specific origin. The photographs are catalogued under descriptive chapters introducing the British soldier's clothing, accoutrements, necessaries, camp equipment, and weapons, and each is accompanied by detailed and informative text regarding physical properties, history, and specific origin of the item. This definitive work will provide an invaluable resource for serious military researchers and historians.

Crimea River

I considered this is a title to this blog - it's a terrible pun and one that would have worn thin pretty quickly. This image of the Rifles crossing the Alma was a picture I had in mind.

Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) trailer

A film that was shot in Turkey using the army there as extras this is one of the best historical epics that Britain has produced. I'm sure you've all seen it but if not give this a spin to see what you might have been missing.

W G Dawkins

I think Dawkins was in the Coldstream Guards - here on photobucket are some of his Crimean watercolours - like this one of a Bersaglieri on sentry duty presumably.

Coldstream Guards

This regiment and the Brigade of Guards in general drew a lot of praise from the various allies and even the Russians for their professionalism and conduct in action. This is a detail of a James Robertson photo of the Coldstream Guards at Scutari - full image with camp followers and more here.

Crimean Landscapes 1856

Worth a look - seeing them together like this is pretty interesting. 'The Crimean War as photographed by Roger Fenton. The original photos are in the public domain and can be found at the Library of Congress website'. Some interesting contrasting images of the Crimean viewed today here.

Eureka Crimean

Thanks to a tip off from Boris (yes we get readers from Russia) there is an interesting Crimean range in 18mm from Eureka. Looking at the pics they look well-researched and in useful poses. The next question is - how do they match up to 1/72s?

Crimean War in 10mm

Course it's possible that you might think it a good idea to wargame this conflict in a small scale in order to have the space and scope to do it on an industrial scale. Magister Militum have a pretty extensive Crimean and Franco-Prussian range. Pendraken do most 19th century conflicts - see some French painted up on the Waterloo to Mons blog - linked at the top of the page.
Buildings - some Crimean 10mm buildings here

Cossack's song "Всем, всем мальчик был доволен"

Cossack's song about Crimean War (apparently).

Sebastopol is taken

Interesting reconstruction of a sailor's song - more info on the Youtube page. Give it a spin - it might make a good campfire song.

Gettysburg 145th anniversary DVD

Professionally put together film on the reenactment of this battle with a cast of some 15,000 people. Pity all reenactments don't have those sort of numbers - it certainly is a spectacle.

First Opium War

I don't intend to focus much on campaigns outside of my knowledge but this clip from a Chinese movie (I think) is pretty impressive and worth watching.