The battles of the world : $b or, cyclopedia of battles, sieges, and important military eventsBorthwick, J. Douglas (John Douglas)
History
The battles of the world : $b or, cyclopedia of battles, sieges, and important military events
Borthwick, J. Douglas (John Douglas)
Battles; Military history
Strengthened by this considerable reinforcement, the Russian
Generals decided upon an attack upon the position of the Allies
in such strength that it should be scarcely possible to make
an effectual resistance. The Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas,
sons of the Emperor, had arrived at Sebastopol, with the purpose
of encouraging the garrison by their presence, and witnessing
the total defeat of the haughty invaders. On Sunday, the 4th
of November, solemn religious services were held in the town.
Patriarchs and Bishops of the Greek Church addressed the soldiery,
urged upon them the importance of the trust which their good father
the Czar had thought proper to impose upon them,--assured them
that death in his service was only the road to a martyr’s crown,
and that the English were monsters of cruelty, who committed the
most atrocious barbarities upon all prisoners of war. Finally,
they said the British camp abounded in treasure, one-third of
which should be the property of the soldiery. Incited by these
promises,--stimulated by extra rations of ardent spirits,--and
fanatically believing that the destruction of the English heretics
would be a work of acceptable piety, the Russian soldiers mingled
shouts of devotion to the Czar and death to the Allies, and
prepared themselves for the encounter of the morrow.
The plan of attack, as decided upon by the enemy’s commanders, was
shortly this:--The extreme right of the British position, near the
bridge which crossed the Tchernaya at Inkermann, was notoriously
our weak point. Sir De Lacy Evans, whose division occupied this
position, had repeatedly called Lord Raglan’s attention to this
vulnerable point; but so laborious were the duties devolving
upon our men, and so extended the line of defence, that it was
impossible to spare either men or guns for the establishment of
works. The French, whose large numbers and secure position on the
western plateau left them a far smaller share of the duty, had
been early applied to for assistance, but had hitherto refused.
Sir John Burgoyne had called the special attention of General Biot
to the danger of leaving exposed such an avenue to the camp of the
Allies; but the French commander seems to have been at this time
but little disposed to relieve the English of any of the toil or
danger they had so willingly undertaken, but which proved too much
for their effectual performance. At length the English, by almost
superhuman exertions, had erected a small work on the brow of the
hill, intended to carry two guns, but they had not yet been mounted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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