The charge of the light brigade film9/21/2023 Nolan soon gets into a highly publicised feud with Cardigan, who is angry at him for ordering Moselle wine at a banquet where all guests were to drink champagne.īritish forces are led by Lord Raglan ( John Gielgud), a Waterloo veteran and an amiable, vague-minded man who proves a poor commander. They endure squalid living conditions and are punished mercilessly for the slightest missteps in their duties. Cardigan's men are typical of the common soldiers of their day though reasonably well-equipped - compared with the Russians - they are also poorly trained and supplied. Nolan's superior is the gruff Lord Cardigan ( Trevor Howard), who treats the regiment under his command as his personal property and who dislikes Nolan as an "Indian" officer with a native Indian servant. As such he regards many of his colleagues, who are mostly aristocratic dilettantes casual about squandering their subordinates' lives, with contempt. A veteran of the Indian Army, Nolan is unusual in the hierarchy of his day both for having combat experience and for having acquired his commission through merited promotion as opposed to purchase. The anti-hero is a relatively competent officer, Captain Louis Nolan ( David Hemmings). Tactical and logistical methodology had not advanced in forty years, and the whole ethos of the army was bound in outmoded social values. Britain had not fought in a European theatre since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and the army had become sclerotic and bound by bureaucracy. The film is about the folly of war, and the poor state of the British Army and its leadership during the Crimean War (1853–56). This sparked a wave of patriotism across the country with scores of roads, bridges, pubs and other buildings being named for icons of the war - particularly, Alma and Inkerman. The Crimean War was also the first war attended on by journalists and photographers - William Russell and photographer Roger Fenton particularly distinguished themselves, and brought the realities of war (and military incompetence) to the notice of the British people. The real lessons were learnt in the field of military logistics, communications and organisation. Ironically, when negotiating the peace, the Turks came off worse than the Russians, and Britain and France hardly gained anything of value. Military inefficiency saw far, far more troops killed by disease it was a 'glorious disaster' for Britain. The campaign saw three famous victories for the allies in 1854 (Alma, Balaclava & Inkerman), and after minor battles in 1855, the Siege of Sebastopol succeeded on 8 September 1855. They had good leaders below senior command level, they had superior rifles, the French Zouave troops excelled themselves and the Russians, although superior in numbers were even worse led and equipped. In summer 1854, the allies decided to teach the Russians a lesson by invading Crimea and sacking Sebastopol and the Russian's Black Sea navy.Īs it turned out, the British troops were incredibly brave and fierce. As in Constantinople, the soldiers were debilitated by cholera, drunkenness and syphilis. When they got there, they found that the Russians had withdrawn from the region, and so they stayed put, whilst deciding what to do. The British and French decided to send a task force to the region, and after liaising in Constantinople (Istanbul), they set off for Varna (in today's Bulgaria). They also attacked and destroyed a large Turkish naval force at Sinope in autumn 1853. Russia never believed old foes Britain and France would join forces, and called their bluff by moving into Ottoman territories in Moldavia-Wallachia (modern day Moldova and Romania). The British were eager to preserve their commercial interests and dominance of the Royal Navy, whilst the French were desperate to restore prestige lost in Napoleonic times, with their slightly unhinged head of state Napoleon III provoking a fight with Russia over the 'custody' of Christian land-marks and relics in the Holy Land. The Crimean War arose through the desire of the British and French to prevent Russia from taking advantage of the crumbling of the Ottoman Empire.
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