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''The Charge of the Light Brigade'' is a 1968 British war film made by Woodfall Film Productions and distributed by United Artists, depicting parts of the Crimean War and the eponymous charge. It was directed by Tony Richardson and produced by Neil Hartley. ==Historical background== The Crimean War arose through the desire of the British and French to prevent Russia from taking advantage of the crumbling of the Ottoman Empire. The British were eager to preserve their commercial interests and dominance of the Royal Navy, whilst the French were desperate to restore prestige lost in Napoleonic times, with their slightly unhinged head of state Napoleon III provoking a fight with Russia over the 'custody' of Christian land-marks and relics in the Holy Land. Russia never believed old foes Britain and France would join forces, and called their bluff by moving into Ottoman territories in Moldavia-Wallachia (modern day Moldova and Romania). They also attacked and destroyed a large Turkish naval force at Sinope in autumn 1853. The British and French decided to send a task force to the region, and after liaising in Constantinople (Istanbul), they set off for Varna (today Bulgaria). When they got there, they found that the Russians had withdrawn from the region, and so they stayed put, whilst deciding what to do. As in Constantinople, the soldiers were debilitated by cholera, drunkenness and syphilis. In summer 1854, the allies decided to teach the Russians a lesson by invading Crimea and sacking Sebastopol and the Russian's Black Sea navy. As it turned out, the British troops were incredibly brave and fierce. They had good leaders below senior command level, they had superior rifles, the French Zouave troops excelled themselves and the Russians, although superior in numbers were even worse led and equipped. The campaign saw three famous victories for the allies in 1854 (Alma, Balaclava & Inkerman), and after minor battles in 1855, the Siege of Sebastopol succeeded on 8 September 1855. Military inefficiency saw far, far more troops killed by disease; it was a 'glorious disaster' for Britain. Ironically, when negotiating the peace, the Turks came off worse than the Russians, and Britain and France hardly gained anything of value. The real lessons were learnt in the field of military logistics, communications and organization. The Crimean War was also the first war attended on by journalists and photographers - William Russell and photographer Roger Fenton particularly distinguished themselves, and brought the realities of war (and military incompetence) to the notice of the British people. This sparked a wave of patriotism across the country with scores of roads, bridges, pubs and other buildings being named for icons of the war - particularly, Alma and Inkerman. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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