An officer in the 14th artillery brigade, Tolstoy participated in many actions of the ill-fated Battle of Sevastopol (1854-55), with its appalling waste of men and means, and its tragic conclusion that laid bare the weakness of the Russian monarchy. Wishing to see at first hand the action of what would become known as the Crimean War, he was spurred on by a fierce patriotism, but also by an equally fierce desire to alert the authorities to appalling conditions in the army. Out of this experience arise the three Sevastopol Sketches, very different in structure and materials, but absolutely unified in tone and problematic: the harsh, lucid, firm denunciation of the absurdity of war. The three Sevastopol Sketches - 'December', 'May' and 'August' - re-create what happened during different phases of the siege and its effect on the ordinary men around Tolstoy.
