There now commenced a siege such as has seldom occurred in the history of the world. The first attempt to storm by a united attack of the land army and the fleet showed the resistance to be much more formidable than had been expected by the allies. Eight days later the English were surprised in their strong position near Balaklava by General Liprandi. The battle of Balaklava was decided in favor of the allies, and on the 5th of November, when Menzikoff had obtained fresh reinforcements, the murderous battle of Inkermann was fought under the eyes of the two Grand Princes Nicholas and Michael, and after a mighty struggle was won by the allied armies. Fighting in the ranks were two other princely personages, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Napoleon, son of Jerome, former King of Westphalia. Of the engagements here named there is only one to which special attention need be directed, the battle of Balaklava, in which occurred that mad but heroic "Charge of the Light Brigade," which has become famous in song and story. The purpose of this conflict on the part of the Russians was to cut the line of communication of the allies, by capturing the redoubts that guarded them, and thus to enforce a retreat by depriving the enemy of supplies. [=The Highlanders' "Thin, Red Line"=] The day began with a defeat of the Turks and the capture by the Russians of several of the redoubts. Then a great body of Russian cavalry, 3,000 strong, charged upon the 93d Highlanders, who were drawn up in line to receive them. There was comparatively but a handful of these gallant Scotchmen, 550 all told, but they have made themselves famous in history as the invincible "thin, red line." Sir Colin Campbell, their noble leader, said to them: "Remember, lads, there is no retreat from here. You must die where you stand." "Ay, ay, Sir Colin," shouted the sturdy Highlanders, "we will do just that." They did not need to. The murderous fire from their "thin, red line" was more than the Russians cared to endure, and they were driven back in disorder. The British cavalry completed the work of the infantry. On the serried mass of Russian horsemen charged Scarlett's Heavy Brigade, vastly inferior to them in number, but inspired with a spirit and courage that carried its bold horsemen through the Russian columns with such resistless energy that the great body of Muscovite cavalry broke and fled--3,000 completely routed by 800 gallant dragoons. And now came the unfortunate but world-famous event of the day. It was due to a mistaken order. Lord Raglan, thinking that the Russians intended to carry off the guns captured in the Turkish redoubts, sent an order to the brigade of light cavalry to "advance rapidly to the front and prevent the enemy from carrying off the guns." [=Captain Nolan and the Order to Charge=] Lord Lucan, to whom the command was brought, did not understand it. Apparently, Captain Nolan, who conveyed the order, did not clearly explain its purport.