The Crimean campaign (1854-1856) in testimonies of French and Russians military : an attempt on historical anthropology ; La campagne de Crimée à travers les témoignages des militaires russes et français : essai d'anthropologie historique

Abstract

The Crimean campaign was the main theatre of operations in what used to be called the Eastern War. First major European conflict since the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the last military confrontation between France and Russia, the Crimean War has been studied and appreciated in very different ways by historians of the different nations that took part in it: the Russian historiography of this conflict is thus highly developed, whereas in France, academics and amateur historians have barely studied this first victory of the Second Empire. Testimonies from French and Russian combatants are the common denominator of those studies, therefore, they will be at the heart of our study. Heirs of veterans of the Napoleonic Wars and steeped in romantic culture, these men also experienced the beginnings of a military revolution that lastingly transformed the art of war in Europe. On both sides of Sevastopol walls No Man's land, these men told the story of their campaign in Crimea, a campaign of fighting, glory, comradeship and exchanges between enemies, but also of disease, suffering and death. It is also the very representation of this war that could sometimes be questioned, between the quest for adventure, patriotic or religious duty and disillusionment in the face of an unforeseen siege war. ; La campagne de Crimée fut le principal théâtre d'opération de ce qui fut appelée par ses contemporains la Guerre d'Orient. Premier grand conflit européen depuis la fin des guerres napoléoniennes et dernier affrontement militaire entre la France et la Russie, la guerre de Crimée a été étudiée et appréciée de manière très différente par les historiens des différentes nations qui y participèrent : l'historiographie russe de ce conflit est ainsi très développée tandis qu'en France les universitaires et historiens amateurs ne s'intéressèrent guère à cette première victoire du Second Empire. Dénominateur commun de toutes ces études sur la guerre de Crimée, les témoignages des combattants français et russes seront au cœur de notre ...