Attack on the Redan: Sergeant Jack Crossman and the Battle for Sebastopol, Kilworth, Garry Douglas

Hard cover. Language: English. Pages: 282. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 282 p. In the sequel to The Winter Soldiers, "Fancy Jack" concludes his Crimean tour of duty amid the brutal clash of the British and Russian empires. The year is 1855, the port of Sebastopol is still under siege by the Allies, and the czar's troops are putting up a vigorous defense. Sergeant Jack Crossman and his hardy band of brothers make forays to harass the enemy in the hills and valleys around the troubled city. Russian sharpshooters disappear mysteriously as Crossman and his men chip away at the enemy's morale. But these foxhunts serve as a mere prelude to the British attack on the Redan, the massive fortification guarding Sebastopol itself. The British assault is as ill planned as it is ill advised, and it ends in a disaster as severe as the Charge of the Light Brigade. Crossman must witness the wholesale massacre of his fellow soldiers. And then-two months after this devastating failure, French and Sardinian forces foil a massive Russian counterattack to relieve their fortress. The Allies' final attack on the Redan will determine Sebastopol's fate, and the outcome of the first truly modern war.