The British Expedition to the CrimeaRussell, William Howard, Sir
History
The British Expedition to the Crimea
Russell, William Howard, Sir
Crimean War, 1853-1856
Finding our friend was getting into that helpless state of confusion
into which the first glimpses of decimal fractions are wont to plunge
the youthful arithmetician, we left him. Now let us combine our
information, and see what, according to this Polish authority, a Russian
division consists of. It stands thus:--
1 Rota = 250 men.
16 Rotas = 1 polk = 4,000 "
4 Polks = 1 division = 16,000 " One Division of infantry.
The men resembled those we met at the Alma, and were clad in the same
way. We saw no infantry with helmets, however, and our soldiers were
disappointed to find the Russians had, in most cases, come out without
their knapsacks. Their persons were very cleanly, and the whiteness of
their faces and of their feet were remarkable. Few of them had socks,
and the marauders had removed their boots whenever they were worth
taking. Our soldiers and sailors, as well as the French, looked out with
avidity for a good pair of Russian boots, and were quite adepts in
fitting themselves to a nicety by their simple mode of measurement--viz.,
placing their feet against those of the dead men. Many had medals, "the
campaign of 1848-49 in Hungary and Transylvania." They were generally
carried inside tin cases about their persons. Officers and men wore the
same long grey coats, the former being alone distinguishable by the
stripe of gold lace on the shoulder. Their uniform coats, of dark green
with white facings and red and yellow trimmings, were put on underneath
the great coat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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