On September 20 the Battle of the Alma was fought, and the country, as Greville noted, was "in a fever of excitement." The disembarkation of the allied British and French forces for the invasion of the Crimea had begun on the 14th. Their advance was not resisted until they reached the bank of the Alma, where the Russian commander was awaiting attack, in so strong a position that he was confident of victory. In less than three hours the allied troops had driven the enemy from every part of the ground. Lord Raglan, the Commander of the Forces, congratulated the troops on "the brilliant success that attended their unrivalled efforts in the battle, on which occasion they carried a most formidable position, defended by large masses of Russian infantry, and a most powerful and numerous artillery." The river which the Russian commander had hoped to make the grave of the invaders became famous in the annals of British valour:-- Thou, on England's banners blazoned with the famous fields of old, Shalt, where other fields are winning, wave above the brave and bold; And our sons unborn shall nerve them for some great deed to be done, By that twentieth of September, when the Alma's heights were won. O thou river! dear for ever to the gallant, to the free, Alma! roll thy waters proudly, proudly roll them to the sea! Nearly forty years had passed since the British army had been engaged in European warfare. The Battle of the Alma, though it disclosed little tactical skill, and though it was not followed up as it might have been, had at any rate shown the desperate courage of the British soldier. The note of exultation which inspired the verses of Archbishop Trench expressed the popular mood. Presently there was a change. The number of killed and wounded was very large; but though many homes were thrown into mourning, it was felt, in the words of the official bulletin, that such a victory "could not be achieved without a considerable sacrifice." The country did not at the time grudge the sacrifice; but Lord Raglan's dispatch was followed by another. The Crimean War was the first in which the "Special Correspondent" played a conspicuous part, and the dispatches sent to the _Times_ by Mr. William Howard Russell availed even to overthrow a Ministry. In the _Times_ of October 9, attention was drawn to the futility of the nursing arrangements on the British side. The old pensioners, who had been sent out for such service, were "not of the slightest use"; the soldiers had to "attend upon each other." On the 12th a long letter from "Our Special Correspondent," dated "Constantinople, September 30," ended with the following passage:--