Východ proti Západu? - Krymská válka – Wohlmuth Petr (2020)

This study of the Crimean War approaches the conflict through historical anthropology, rejecting superficial patriotic and heroic narratives in favour of the harsh, immediate and transformative experiences of the people involved. Soldiers, the wounded and dying, support staff, medical workers, spiritual caregivers and others sometimes left behind ego-documents such as diaries, letters, autobiographies and personal notes. Drawing mainly on these personal sources, the author examines the Crimean War of 1853–1856, the first war to acquire an entirely unexpected dimension partly through the application of technological innovations from the Industrial Revolution. He moves beyond the usual schematic view of the war as a religiously motivated civilizational conflict, taking neither side, and analyses the experience and culture of warfare chiefly during the great siege of Sevastopol in 1854–1855, through the eyes of 137 Russian and British participants. The book also examines the historical mythology of both sides, including the idea of Sevastopol as a hero city, the Thin Red Line and the Charge of the Light Brigade, revealing deeper cultural traumas and structures shaping the conflict. The contents are in Czech.