Great Britain -- Defenses; Imaginary wars and battles
"It was well for us that this was so, otherwise we might have fared much
worse than we did. As it was, Cossacks and Dragoons wrought frightful
havoc among our infantry; while, on the other hand, the fire discipline
of the latter was magnificent. Every bit of cover on the hills seem to
bristle with hidden rifles, that emptied their magazines without smoke
and with fatal effect. Many a gallant dash was made by our men, the
Volunteers especially displaying conspicuous courage. The 1st
Dumbartonshire Volunteers, under Col. Thomson, V.D., the 1st
Renfrewshire, under Col. Lamont, V.D., and the 4th Battalion Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders, under Col. D. M'Fayden, V.D., operated together
with magnificent success, for they completely cut up a strong Russian
detachment on the Glasgow road beyond Uddingston, driving them out of
the wood near Daldowie, and there annihilating them, and afterwards
holding their own on the banks of the North Calder without suffering
very much loss. They handled their Maxims as smartly as any body of
Regulars; and indeed, throughout the day their performances everywhere
were marked by steady discipline and cool courage that was in the
highest degree commendable.
"About two o'clock in the afternoon the battle was at its height. Under
the blazing sun that beat down upon us mercilessly, my battalion fought
on, feeling confident that the enemy were gradually being defeated. The
slaughter everywhere was frightful, and the green hillsides and fields
were covered with dead and dying soldiers of the Tsar. The grey coats
were soaked with blood, and dark, ugly stains dyed the grass of the
fertile meadows beside the winding Clyde. Since their sudden landing in
Scotland, the enemy's early successes had been followed by defeat after
defeat. Their transports had been destroyed, their ammunition and stores
seized, both their 2nd and 3rd Army Corps had been totally annihilated,
leaving nearly twelve thousand men in our hands as prisoners, and now
the defeat of this force of picked regiments, who had, on landing,
immediately marched straight across Scotland, would effect a crushing
and decisive blow.
"But the struggle was terrific, the din deafening, the wholesale
butchery appalling. Our men knew they were fighting for Caledonia and
their Queen, and their conduct, from the first moment of hostilities,
until stray bullets laid them low one after another, was magnificent;
they were splendid examples of the true, loyal, and fearless Briton, who
will fight on even while his life-blood ebbs.
"Evening fell, but the continuous firing did not cease. The sun sank red
and angry into dark storm-clouds behind the long range of purple hills
beyond the Clyde, but the clash of arms continued over hill and dale on
the east of Glasgow, and we, exerting every effort in our successful
attempt to hold the five converging roads near Broomhouse, knew not
which side were victors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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