The army was reinforced from time to time by regiments from home and from India, and when peace was declared in 1856 it was composed of close on 50,000 well-equipped men, capable of carrying on the Siege of Sevastopol to a satisfactory conclusion. The casualties during the campaign, apart from those incurred at the Battles of Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman, and the two assaults on the Redan, were not heavy, the losses in some regiments being remarkably small; but the losses from disease were regrettably severe--the more regrettable as, with proper forethought, many hundreds--nay, thousands--of valuable lives might have been saved. The campaign is memorable as the first in which the whole of our infantry were armed with a _percussion_ arm, and also the first in which a body of lady nurses was organized for service in military hospitals. The honoured name of Florence Nightingale must for ever be associated with the war in the Crimea. It was also the first in which officers and men were authorized to accept and to wear foreign medals and decorations; and, lastly, it was to recognize the bravery of subordinate officers and men in the campaign that the decoration of the Victoria Cross was instituted. ALMA, SEPTEMBER 20, 1854. This battle honour is borne by the following regiments: 4th Hussars. 8th Hussars. 11th Hussars. 13th Hussars. 17th Lancers. Grenadier Guards. Coldstream Guards. Scots Guards. Royal Scots. King's Own (Lancasters). Royal Fusiliers. Yorkshire. Lancashire Fusiliers. Royal Scots Fusiliers. Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Gloucesters. East Lancashires. West Riding. Border. South Staffords. Welsh. Royal Highlanders. Sherwood Foresters. North Lancashire. Royal Berkshire. West Kent. Middlesex. Manchester. Durham Light Infantry. Cameron Highlanders. Connaught Rangers. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Rifle Brigade. At the Alma the Russians occupied a strong natural position, following the crest of a range of hills dominating the valley of the Alma River. Their front was covered by one or two redoubts, but no serious effort had been made to strengthen it. Had this been done, the disparity in numbers would have been compensated for. The actual strength of the combatants and casualties are as follows: +----------------+--------+-------+-----------+---------------+ | | | |_Officers._| _Men._ | |_Troops Engaged_| _Men._ |_Guns._|-----+-----+-------+-------+ | | | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +----------------+--------+-------+-----+-----+-------+-------+ |British | 27,000 | 54 | 26 | 73 | 327 | 1,557 | |French | 23,000 | 72 | 3 | 54 | 253 | 1,033 | |Turks | 6,500 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |Russians | 37,500 | 96 | 45 | 100 | 1,762 | 2,720 | +----------------+--------+-------+-----+-----+-------+-------+