The British Expedition to the CrimeaRussell, William Howard, Sir
History
The British Expedition to the Crimea
Russell, William Howard, Sir
Crimean War, 1853-1856
came their guns, in rushed their gunners to the abandoned redoubt, and
the guns of No. 2 soon played upon the dispirited defenders of No. 3
redoubt. Two or three shots in return and all was silent. The Turks
swarmed over the earthworks, and ran in confusion towards the town,
firing at the enemy as they ran. Again the solid column of cavalry
opened like a fan, and resolved itself into a "long spray" of
skirmishers. It lapped the flying Turks, steel flashed in the air, and
down went the Moslem on the plain. In vain the naval guns on the heights
fired on the Russian cavalry; the distance was too great. In vain the
Turkish gunners in the batteries along the French entrenchments
endeavoured to protect their flying countrymen; their shot flew wide and
short of the swarming masses.
The Turks betook themselves towards the Highlanders, where they checked
their flight and formed on the flanks. As the Russian cavalry on the
left of their line crowned the hill across the valley, they perceived
the Highlanders drawn up at the distance of some half a mile. They
halted, and squadron after squadron came up from the rear. The Russians
drew breath for a moment, and then in one grand line charged towards
Balaklava. The ground flew beneath their horses' feet; gathering speed
at every stride, they dashed on towards that _thin red line tipped with
steel_. The Turks fired a volley at eight hundred yards and ran. As the
Russians came within six hundred yards, down went that line of steel in
front, and out rang a rolling volley of Minié musketry. The distance was
too great; the Russians were not checked, but swept onwards, here and
there knocked over by the shot of our batteries; but ere they came
within two hundred and fifty yards, another volley flashed from the
rifles. The Russians wheeled about, and fled faster than they came.
"Bravo, Highlanders! well done!" shouted the excited spectators. But
events thickened; the Highlanders and their splendid front were soon
forgotten--men scarcely had a moment to think of this fact, that the
93rd never altered their formation to receive that tide of horsemen.
"No," said Sir Colin Campbell, "I did not think it worth while to form
them even four deep!" Then they moved _en échelon_, in two bodies, with
another in reserve. The cavalry who had been pursuing the Turks on the
right were coming up to the ridge beneath us, which concealed our
cavalry from view. The Heavy Brigade in advance was drawn up in two
lines. The first line consisted of the Scots Greys, and of their old
companions in glory, the Enniskillens; the second, of the 4th Royal
Irish, of the 5th Dragoon Guards, and of the 1st Royal Dragoons. The
Light Cavalry Brigade was on their left, in two lines also.
[Sidenote: A GALLANT CHARGE.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account