A short story of the Battle of Balaclava. Find out about the blunder that wiped out the Light Brigade.
The Battle of Balaclava has become renowned as one of the most famous battles of all time. In reality, however, it was an encounter of relatively insignificant importance. The actual Battle of Balaclava was comprised of three different actions - a Russian cavalry charge against the British Highlanders, the charge of the British Heavy Cavalry against the Russian Cavalry and the infamous charge of the British Light Brigade against the combined Russian artillery, cavalry and infantry forces.
On the 25th of October, 1854 the Russians moved in on British positions on the hills of Balaclava, a town in Ukraine, about 10 kilometers from Sevastapol. Here the 93rd British Highlanders had made their camp. The Causeway Heights lay to the north of the British encampment. The six redoubts of the Heights were manned on that day by Turkish infantry. As the Russians advanced, Turkish messengers rushed back to warn the British. Meanwhile the Turks held their ground against the Russians. However, by the time the British started moving towards the action the Turks had been put to flight. The Russians were able to pour over the Causeway Heights and advance towards the British, who were commanded by Sir Colin Campbell. The commander ordered his men to stand firm and fight like men. They were to hold off the Russian advance with no thought of retreat. The resulting stand of the 93rd Highlanders has become the stuff of legend. So admirable was their defence that correspondant for the Times newspaper William Russell was moved to coin the phrase "˜thin red line,' in his description of the action.
The 93rd was doing a fine job in holding the advance of the Russian Cavalry. However, to their left another force of Russian horse soldiers was moving over the Causeway Heights towards the British camp. Against them the British sent six squadrons of heavy cavalry from the Royal Scots Grays, the Inniskilling Dragoons and the Dragoon Guards. The British, however, appeared hopelessly outnumbered. They were under the command of General Sir James Scarlett. It was his first time at commanding troops in battle. The Russians watched in amazement as Scarlett organized his men as if they were on the parade ground. The charge was sounded and the British troops moved in on the superior Russian forces. The British attacked their enemies like men possessed. The hacking of their swords drove the Russians back. Eventually the Russians broke and ran back over the Causeway Heights. The Heavy Brigade had done a fine job. Unfortunately the Light Brigade did not follow up the initiative by giving the chase to the fleeing Russians.
The decisive encounter of the day was to be dictated by the topography of the land. The rolling hills and valleys made it impossible for those in the field to see any more than what was directly in front of them. The generals who were watching from the higher hills, however, could see everything. Cavalry commander Lord Lucan was sent orders to secure the possession of the Causeway Heights. Lucan, however, could not see the promised infantry support that was advancing to give aid and so refused to move. This gave the Russians precious time in which they scrambled back up the Heights with artillery horses, intent on recapturing their guns. Lucan now sent Lord Cardigan out with 673 men to retake the Heights. The Light Brigade were riding towards disaster. The Russians had been given time to mass infantry and cavalry on both sides of the valley. But still the British advanced. What happened next was described by William Russell for the Times : "They swept proudly past, glittering in the morning sun in all the pride and splendour of war . . .At the distance of 1,200 yards the whole line of the enemy belched forth, from thirty iron mouths, a flood of smoke and flame, through which hissed the deadly balls. Their flight was marked by instant gaps in our ranks, by dead men and horses, by steeds flying wounded or riderless across the plain."
The Charge of the Light Brigade was an unmitigated disaster for the British. Only 198 men survived it. Despite this, the Battle of Balaclava, taken as a whole was a victory for the British. The Russians, however, ended up with the possession of the Causeway Heights. In addition, the British cavalry had been decimated to the point that it would play no more useful role in the Crimean War.
