Author Description

This volume reproduces the January 1856 Cabinet Confidential print, compiled when the British Government still anticipated further campaigns in both main theatres. Following the successful bombardment of Sweaborg in August, extensive planning for an assault on Cronstadt and the decision to retain Admiral Sir Richard Dundas in command the material is significantly less contentious than that for 1854. With the Crimean campaign dominating the attention of British and French politicians and media Baltic operations had been largely ignored until the fall of Sevastopol in September. By December the Baltic was once again the central focus of British war planning. The volume deals extensively with the legal issues raised by economic warfare, diplomatic relations with neutrals, coastal warfare, blockade service and the problems of allied co-operation. The 1854 and 1855 Baltic prints have excellent introductions by Admiralty Librarian David Bonner-Smith.