The Cause of the Charge of BalaclavaMorley, Thomas
History
The Cause of the Charge of Balaclava
Morley, Thomas
Balaklava, Battle of, Balaklava, Ukraine, 1854; Crimean War, 1853-1856; Morley, Thomas, 1831 or 1832-1906
The Russian General could not see any troops near the three redoubts, as
Lord Lucan had retired with his fifteen hundred cavalry and troop of
Horse Artillery and left the poor badly armed Turks to themselves. No
one had sense enough to order the Turks to fall back to the three
redoubts which had not yet been armed. We had plenty of Artillery Horses
(without ammunition for their guns) which could have removed the seven
guns and the ammunition out of the first three redoubts into the three
redoubts without guns. Had this been done we should not have lost any
guns, but our victory would have been complete and the Light Brigade
would not have been destroyed. The Russians had thirty guns and eight
pieces of heavy calibre firing at number 1 redoubt with three guns, yet
the Turks held on until the Russians stormed it with some thousands of
Infantry. Kinglake says thirty guns opened upon numbers 2 and 3 redoubts
and eleven battallions of Infantry stormed them; the same guns opened
fire on 2 and 3 redoubts. If five hundred Turks were defending number 1
redoubt only seven hundred Turks would be in numbers 2 and 3 redoubts of
two guns each. These ran away before the Russians got near them and also
left their guns unspiked.
CHARGE OF THE HEAVY BRIGADE.
The British Army and the Turkish Infantry were in the south valley. The
Russian General, not seeing the enemy in his front, thought he had a
clear road to Balaclava Harbour. He began to advance his army toward it.
He sent four strong squadrons of cavalry from near number 1 redoubt which
he had just captured to reconnoitre, and they advanced toward Balaclava
Harbour. Sir Colin Campbell commanding the Infantry, had taken up his
position on a knoll and ordered his command to lie down, the commanding
officer of the four squadrons of Russian Cavalry could not see them
because of the long grass and brush. Sir Colin Campbell was between
Balaclava Harbour and the Russian Cavalry. When they arrived within
firing distance Sir Colin ordered his command to form a single line two
deep and from that position they fired a volley into the four squadrons
of Russian Cavalry advancing. It took them by such surprise that it
seemed to paralyse them by the sudden shock. They all wheeled about and
retired in a kind of circle back to the point from which they advanced.
Their loss, however, was but slight. The British Cavalry was on the
slopes of the Causeway heights in the south valley, looking on at Sir
Colin Campbell, and his few Highlanders instead of assisting him with our
Horse Artillery. We had a sailor’s battery near the Harbour on the
hills. They fired at the Russians, but I could not see at whom. The
British Frigate lying across the harbour of Balaclava also opened fire on
the Russians. After this for some time everything seemed to be quiet.
Sir Colin Campbell’s command and the Turkish Infantry were ordered to
take position at Kadikoe, to defend the approach to Balaclava Harbour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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