In Hamley’s words, ‘Then -almost as it seemed in a moment, and simultaneously- the whole Russian mass gave way, and fled, at speed and in disorder, beyond the hill, vanishing behind the slope some four or five minutes after they had first swept over it.’
The two forces struggled on the hillside, until the 4 th Dragoon Guards came up and delivered a further charge into the Russian flank. The wings of the Russian formation closed in behind the two lines of British horsemen and the Royal Dragoons charged the wings in the rear. The first line, of Scots Greys and Inniskillings, struck the Russian cavalry, followed by the second line, of Inniskillings and 5 th Dragoon Guards. The Russian commander appeared to be seeking to extend his line, after crossing the Causeway Heights. Trumpeter 11th Hussars: Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava on 25th October 1854 in the Crimean War: picture by Harry PayneĪs the Heavy Brigade charged, the Russian cavalry force halted, so that it received the Heavy Brigade charge stationary. The only British troops between the Russian force and the port were the two British cavalry brigades, the Heavy Brigade and the Light Brigade, which had their encampments in the valley, the 93 rd Highlanders and a small force of marines. Lord Raglan, from his headquarters on the Sapouné Heights to the west, saw the threat to Balaclava and his lines of communication. After a heavy bombardment, the Turkish troops were driven out of the Number One redoubt on Canrobert’s Hill, suffering some 400 casualties of a garrison of 500. Nine 12 pounder naval guns bolstered these positions. The Turkish troops were building six redoubts along the Heights, to protect the road and defend Balaclava. The Woronzoff Road, running along the ridge of the Causeway Heights, provided an important communication for the British, being the only firm road from Balaclava up to the siege works at Sevastopol.
The assault was commanded by his deputy, General Liprandi. On 25 th October 1854, Menshikov launched an assault across the Tchernaya River to the north-east of Balaclava, with the aim of capturing the British base. During October 1854, reinforcements came in to Menshikov’s army from elsewhere in the Crimea and further afield in Russia, until his army was larger than that of the allies. The allies were thereby left with two tasks the siege of the city and holding off Menshikov’s army. The Russian commander, Prince Menshikov, marched his army out of Sevastopol to the north-east, leaving a garrison to conduct the defence of the city. Once the march was completed, the French established their base at Kamiesh, on the south-western tip of the Crimea, south of Sevastopol, while the British took Balaclava as their base, fifteen miles along the coast to the east. Lord Raglan and Marshal St Arnaud, the two commanders-in-chief, resolved to march around the inland side of Sevastopol and begin siege operations against the city from the south. It would take the rest of the century for field tactics to catch up with the effects of the modern weapons coming into service.īritish cavalry in the Crimea: Battle of Balaclava on 25th October 1854 in the Crimean War: picture by Orlando Norie The new rifle was sighted up to 1,000 yards, as against the old Brown Bess, wholly inaccurate beyond 100 yards. This weapon was quickly replaced by the more efficient British Enfield Rifle. The British infantry fought with the Brown Bess musket in some form from the beginning of the 18 th Century.Īs the Crimean War broke out, the British Army’s infantry was being equipped with the new French Minié Rifle, a muzzle loading rifle fired by a cap (all the British divisions, other than the Fourth, arriving in the Crimea with this weapon). They were however on the verge of substantial change, brought about by developments in firearms.
Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Balaclava: The armies that fought in the Crimean War for Russia, Britain and France were in organisation little different from the armies that fought the Napoleonic wars at the beginning of the century. Officers of the French Chasseurs d’Afrique: Battle of Balaclava on 25th October 1854 in the Crimean War
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