=Capture of the Mamelon.=--Sebastopol was bombarded, with the co-operation of the fleet, on October 17th, and the Russians made their first sortie on the 26th; in March 1855 they made another, and on April 9th the place was ineffectively bombarded; but on June 6th a bombardment was followed by an assault, and the Mamelon, an outwork of the Malakoff, was taken. Then the allies essayed the capture of the Malakoff and the Redan, the French to take the former and the British the latter; but despite the strenuous efforts of the men, the forts remained in the possession of the enemy. In these abortive attempts on June 17th and 18th the French lost 3,500 men, and the British 1,500; and of the six British and French Generals and Commanders who led the attacks on the 18th, 4 were killed and 1 wounded. The Royal Irish lost 259 officers and men by death and wounds in the attack on the Redan, and Captain Thomas Esmond of that regiment gained the V.C. and Sergeant John Grant the Meritorious Service medal. The Russians lost 4,500 officers and men killed and wounded. The siege was, following these repulses, resumed in the ordinary way, and the stubborn Russians, who were losing 250 men each day, began to realise that their magnificent courage could not stand much longer against the determination of the allies; and at the end of August, when the brave garrison was being depleted by the loss of over 900 each day, they determined upon the evacuation of the fortress they had held so well. So they built a bridge across the outer harbour, and made preparations to cover their retreat. =Capture of the Malakoff.=--Then the allies again determined to reduce the fortress, and bombarded it for practically three days and nights, at the end of which, on September 8th, the French again assailed the Malakoff, and carried and held it against the enemy, but the British failed to capture the Redan. The British losses were 2,271 officers and men placed _hors de combat_, including three generals wounded, and the French 7,567, including 5 generals killed and 4 wounded. The Russian losses were 12,915, including 9 generals. During the night the Russians exploded their mines, and Prince Gortschakoff successfully took his garrison, with most of the wounded, across the bridge, which they destroyed, and took up a position on the heights to the north of Sebastopol, from whence they cannonaded the fortress which the allies had occupied. The war was thus virtually at an end, although hostilities continued until February 1856, and the treaty of peace was not signed in Paris until March 29th. [Illustration: (Obverse.) MEDAL FOR INDIAN MUTINY, 1857-8.] [Illustration: (Reverse.) MEDAL FOR NEW ZEALAND WARS, 1861-6.] [Illustration: (Reverse.) MEDAL FOR INDIAN MUTINY, 1857-8.]