"Into the valley of death rode the six hundred." Here in Episode 41, we take a closer look at the events that inspired Lord Alfred Tennyson to write those words in his epic poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade". We also explore both the long-term and short-term causes of the Crimean War and why it was a "first" in many areas of modern warfare, interrupting as it did a largely peaceful 19th century Europe between 1815-1914.

Episode Edit:

Just to be clear, the antagonists in the Crimean War were the British, French, Turks and Piedmontese on the one side and the Russians on the other side. Kim was thinking a little too far ahead at the 2:48 mark as well as the 5:38 mark.

Books:

The Ottoman Centuries by Lord Kinross
Dictionary of Modern History: 1789-1945 edited by Duncan Townson
The Charge of the Light Brigade by Lord Alfred Tennyson
The Crimean War by Orlando Figes
Florence Nightingale: The Making of an Icon by Mark Bostridge
Notes on Nursing: What it is and What it is Not by Florence Nightingale

Film:

The Crimean War (2018) documentary
Florence Nightingale (1985) staring Jaclyn Smith
Charge of the Light Brigade ((1936) staring Errol Flynn
The Charge of The Light Brigade (1968) staring Trevor Howard