ABSTRACT
Lord De Ros, Lord Raglan's Quartermaster-General in Varna but invalided home before the Crimean landings, had visited the Crimea in 1835. During the Crimean War the commercial infrastructure of the peninsula doubled as the Russian military communication and supply system. The Duke of Newcastle sent Raglan climatological information that he had received from a Dr Lee, who had resided 'many years ago' on the Crimean coast. On 27 July General Brown, Lord Raglan's most senior divisional commander, informed his chief that the Katscha offered the 'the most favourable' location for landing. During the Crimean War the commercial infrastructure of the peninsula doubled as the Russian military communication and supply system. Reconnaissances provided intelligence about the Crimean coast to a depth of a few miles, but it could not determine more fundamental issues. While some Allied officers were willing to take hasty or risky decisions on this basis, Sir John Fox Burgoyne steered the command toward a technically better operation.
