![]() Unfortunately for their troops, they had little or no interest in learning their craft. Many of these high-born individuals considered themselves superior by dint of birth. This limited commissions for the most part to wealthy aristocrats. Membership in many regiments incurred great expenses for uniforms and the officer’s mess. At the time of the Crimean War officers gained their commands through the purchase system that is, wealthy noblemen bought a position within a particular regiment. The British forces deployed around Balaclava contained some of England’s best troops but, tragically, also some of its poorest commanders. This was more than enough to capture the port if the Russians moved quickly and forcibly without hesitation. Liprandi had 25,000 infantry, 3,400 cavalry, and 78 cannons. Liprandi’s 12th Infantry Division had just arrived from the Danubian front. At the very least, an attack would force the English to divert forces, thus weakening the Allied right flank surrounding Sevastopol. He believed it was possible for a Russian force to sever the Allies’ thin line of communication to the port. General Prince Alexander Menshikov, the Russian commander in chief, plotted a counterattack to the exploit vulnerability in the British lines. The advance resulted from a series of misunderstandings that resulted in a garbled version of Lord Raglan’s original order. Lord Cardigan gallantly leads the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava. By possessing Balaclava, the British ensured that they could easily receive supplies by sea given that the siege lines were only seven miles from the harbor. The British occupied Balaclava, which had a long narrow inlet. The Allies marched around Sevastopol and secured several small harbors capable of handling their logistical needs. They retreated to the safety of the Sevastopol fortress to await the inevitable Allied siege. The result was that the Russians were able to regroup. Although the Allies won the battle, they failed to press their advantage. The landing force advanced toward Sevastopol, and a sharp clash occurred at Alma on September 20. The Allies assembled an army of 50,000 troops and landed unopposed on September 13 at Calamita Bay. ![]() Its capture or destruction would cripple Russia’s ability to continue the war. The stronghold was Russia’s principal naval base in the Black Sea. Britain and France decided to attack the Russian base at Sevastopol, on the southern coast of the Crimea. On March 28, 1854, the European powers declared war on Russia. Two months later an Anglo-French naval force entered the Black Sea. The Turks held their own on land, but in November 1853 a squadron of Russian warships destroyed a Turkish squadron at Sinope in northern Anatolia. The Crimean War see-sawed back and forth in its first year. The Charge of the Light Brigade would go down in history and verse, but the ill-fated attack was only one act of bravery and determination that would occur on the morning of October 25, 1854. It was a spectacle as foolhardy and pointless as it was courageous and heroic. Some distance behind and to their right, the Heavy Brigade trailed them. Without a trumpet call, he urged his horse forward and the brigade followed at a trot. ![]() Despite his faults, he did not lack courage. He took position in front of his brigade. James Brudenell, Lord Cardigan, an English nobleman with a reputation as a bad-tempered, impulsive man. They clutched their lances and swords and eyed in the distance the Russian guns that they were ordered to capture.Īt their head sat Maj. The 674 men and officers looked resplendent in their blue and red uniforms, trimmed in gold around the chest and shoulders. Spread across the valley floor were thin lines of horsemen belonging to Great Britain’s Light Brigade. The other end was in the hands of the British Army. They occupied three sides of the valley, looking down on it. Six battalions of Russian infantry, 30 cannons, and a cavalry force deployed in the North Valley east of Sevastopol near the town of Balaclava.
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