'Malakoff or round tower', 1855 (c)

Coloured tinted lithograph, frontispiece, by E Walker, 1855. From 'The Seat of War in the East - First Series' after William Simpson, published by Paul and Dominic Colnaghi and Company, 1855.

The Malakhov was one of the key Russian defences at Sebastopol during the Crimean War (1854-1856). A cornerstone of Lieutenant-General Eduard Totleben's intricate defensive system, its stone tower rested on earthworks and there were artillery batteries on either side, linked up to trenches and firing points. The French successfully assaulted the Malakhov on 8 September 1855, an act that marked the effective end of the siege.