Part 2
Alliance of Leipsic April 9, 1631. “ “ Vienna May 27, 1657. “ The Triple Jan. 28, 1668. “ The Grand May 12, 1689. “ The Hague Jan. 4, 1717. “ The Quadruple Aug. 2, 1718. “ The Germanic July 23, 1785. “ The Paris May 16, 1795. Austrian Alliance March 14, 1812. Alliance of Toplitz Sept. 9, 1813. The Holy Alliance Sept. 26, 1815.
ALMA, BATTLE OF THE.--Fought, September 20th, 1854. “Lord Raglan waited patiently for the development of the French attack. At length an aide-de-camp came to him and reported that the French had crossed the Alma, but that they had not established themselves sufficiently to justify our advancing. The infantry were, therefore, ordered to lie down, and the army for a short time was quite passive, only that our artillery poured forth an unceasing fire of shell, rockets, and round shot, which ploughed through the Russians, and caused them great loss. They did not waver, however, and replied to our artillery manfully, their shot falling among our men as they lay, and carrying off legs and arms at every round. Lord Raglan at last became weary of this inactivity--his spirit was up--he looked around and saw by his side men on whom he knew he might stake the honour and fate of Great Britain, and anticipating a little, in military point of view, the crisis of action, he gave orders for our whole line to advance. Up rose those serried masses, and passing through a fearful shower of round shot, case shot, and shell, they dashed into the Alma, and floundered through its waters, which were literally torn into foam by the deadly hail. At the other side of the river were a number of vineyards, and to our surprise they were occupied by Russian riflemen. Three of the staff were here shot down, but led by Lord Raglan in person, they advanced, cheering on the men.
And now came the turning-point of the battle, ... Lord Raglan dashed over the bridge, followed by his staff. From the road over it, under the Russian guns, he saw the state of action. The British line, which he had ordered to advance, was struggling through the river and up to the heights in masses, firm indeed, but mowed down by the murderous fire of the batteries, and by grape, round shot, shell, canister, case shot, and musketry, from some of the guns of the central battery, and from an immense and compact mass of Russian infantry. Then commenced one of the most bloody and determined struggles in the annals of war. The Second Division, led by Sir De Lacy Evans in the most dashing manner, crossed the stream on the right. The 7th Fusiliers, led by Colonel Yea, were swept down by fifties. The 55th, 30th, and 95th, led by Brigadier Pennefather, who was in the thickest of the fight, cheering on his men, again and again were checked indeed, but never drew back in their onward progress, which was marked by a fierce roll of Minié musketry; and Brigadier Adams, with the 41st, 47th, and 49th, bravely charged up the hill, and aided them in the battle. Sir George Brown, conspicuous on a grey horse, rode in front of his Light Division, urging them with voice and gesture. Gallant fellows! they were worthy of such a gallant chief. The 7th, diminished by one-half, fell back to re-form their columns lost for the time: the 23rd, with eight officers dead and four wounded, were still rushing to the front, aided by the 15th, 33d, 77th, and 88th. Down went Sir George in a cloud of dust in front of the battery. He was soon up, and shouted, “23d, I’m all right! Be sure I’ll remember this day,” and led them on again; but in the shock produced by the fall of their chief, the gallant regiment suffered terribly, while paralysed for a moment.
Meantime the Guards on the right of the Light Division, and the brigade of Highlanders, were storming the heights on the left. Their line was almost as regular as though they were in Hyde Park. Suddenly a tornado of round and grape, rushed through from the terrible battery, and a roar of musketry from behind thinned their front ranks by dozens. It was evident that we were just able to contend against the Russians, favoured as they were by a great position. At this very time an immense mass of Russian infantry were seen moving down towards the battery. They halted. It was the crisis of the day. Sharp, angular, and solid, they looked as if they were cut out of the solid rock. It was beyond all doubt that if our infantry, harassed and thinned as they were, got into the battery, they would have to encounter again a formidable fire, which they were but ill calculated to bear. Lord Raglan saw the difficulties of the situation. He asked if it would be possible to get a couple of guns to bear on these masses. The reply was “Yes;” and an artillery officer, whose name I do not know, brought up two guns to fire on the Russian squares. The first shot missed, but the next, and the next, and the next, cut through the ranks so cleanly, and so keenly, that a clear lane could be seen for a moment through the square. After a few rounds, the columns of the square became broken, wavered to and fro, broke, and fled over the brow of the hill, leaving behind them six or seven distinct lines of dead, lying as close as possible to each other, marking the passage of the fatal messengers. This act relieved our infantry of a deadly incubus, and they continued their magnificent and fearful progress up the hill. The Duke encouraged his men by voice and example, and proved himself worthy of his proud command and of the royal race from which he comes. “Highlanders,” said Sir Colin Campbell, ere they came to the charge, “I am going to ask a favour of you: it is, that you will act so as to justify me in asking permission of the Queen for you to wear a bonnet! Don’t pull a trigger till you are within a yard of the Russians!” They charged, and well they obeyed their chieftain’s wish; Sir Colin had his horse shot under him, but his men took the battery at a bound. The Russians rushed out, and left multitudes of dead behind them. The Guards had stormed the right of the battery ere the Highlanders got into the left, and it is said the Scots Fusilier Guards were the first to enter. The Second and Light Division crowned the heights. The French turned the guns on the hill against the flying masses, which the cavalry in vain tried to cover. A few faint struggles from the scattered infantry, a few rounds of cannon and musketry, and the enemy fled to the south-east, leaving three generals, three guns, 700 prisoners, and 4000 wounded behind them. The battle of the Alma was won. It was won with a loss of nearly 3000 killed and wounded on our side. The Russians’ retreat was covered by their cavalry, but if we had had an adequate force, we could have captured many guns and multitudes of prisoners.”
The following graphic account is taken from _Emerson’s Sebastopol_:
“On the 19th September the march commenced. Proceeding southward, the French army, under the command of Marshal St. Arnaud, with Caurobert and Bosquet as generals of divisions, keeping the coast line; the English on their left. The fleets accompanied the march, close to the shore, ready to render assistance should circumstances render it necessary.
The English army comprised about 25,000 men, and was composed of the following regiments, led as under:--
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, LORD RAGLAN.
_Light Division._--Lieut.-General Sir G. Brown. Generals of Brigade, Colonels Airey and Buller. 7th, 19th, 23rd (Welsh Fusiliers), 33rd, 77th, and 88th Infantry.
_First Division._--Lieut.-General H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. Generals of Brigade, Major-General Bentinck and Major-General Sir Colin Campbell. Battalions, Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Fusiliers; 42nd, 79th, and 93rd Highlanders.
_Second Division._--Lieut.-General Sir De Lacy Evans. Generals of Brigade, Major-Generals Pennefather and Adams. 30th, 41st, 47th, 49th, 55th, and 95th Infantry.
_Third Division._--Major-General Sir Richard England. Generals of Brigade, Colonels Sir J. Campbell and Eyre. 1st, 4th, 28th, 38th, 44th, 50th, and 63rd Infantry.
_Fourth Division._--Lieut.-General Sir George Cathcart. Generals of Brigade, Generals Goldie and Torrens. 20th, 21st, 57th, and 63rd Infantry; 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade.
_Cavalry Division._--Lieut.-General the Earl of Lucan. Generals of Brigade, the Earl of Cardigan and Major-General Scarlett. 8th and 11th Dragoons; 17th Lancers.
[The Scots Greys, the Enniskillens, the 1st Royals, and the 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards, forming the Heavy Brigade, under General Scarlett, did not land with the remainder of the army, but joined it after the battle of Alma.]
_Artillery._--General Strangways.
_Engineers._--General Tylden.
On the evening of the 19th, the first actual encounter with the enemy occurred. A strong body of Cossacks hovered about our line of march, and two or three guns opened fire upon our little force of cavalry from the heights on the river Bouljanak, the first stream we had to cross. The Earl of Cardigan gallantly charged the hostile troop, who evaded actual contact, and retreated until they had led our men within the range of the guns. Four of our dragoons were killed and six wounded in this skirmish. Two or three of our guns were speedily brought to bear upon the enemy, and Cossacks, gunners, and all were soon dispersed.
Another dreary bivouac on the wet ground prepared the armies for the great contest which awaited them. At day break on the morning of the 20th of September--a day destined to receive an undying fame in our military annals,--the troops resumed their march. As they approached the river Alma, and mounted the heights to the north of that once obscure but now renowned stream, they saw the preparations which the Russians had made to repel the invaders of their territory. The Alma is a small river, rising in the mountains in the east of the peninsula, and falling into the sea about twelve miles to the north of Sebastopol. The southern bank is formed of almost precipitous hills intersected by deep ravines. At the mouth of the river the cliffs are several hundred feet high, and almost perpendicular towards the sea. A large conical hill was the centre of the enemy’s position, and here enormous batteries and entrenchments had been formed, while the crown of the hills was occupied by dense masses of infantry. On the side facing the Allies, a huge redoubt was constructed with two faces, mounting thirteen large guns, and commanding the approaches to the summit and the passage of the river. Each side of the ravines enfilading the hill had powerful batteries, mounting altogether twenty-five guns, and on the cliffs towards the sea an unfinished redoubt was placed, and a large force of infantry and artillery held the position. It was presumed by the Russian commanders that the precipitous character of the hill was a sufficient defence to their left flank. In this expectation they were doomed to bitter disappointment, as the sequel will show. The immediate banks of the river were covered with vineyards and plantations, affording excellent shelter for the Russian riflemen, who were stationed there in strong force. The bridge carrying the main road across the river was destroyed, and the village of Burliuk, at its northern extremity, was in flames, to prevent its being made a point of attack by the Allies.
The effect on our men was almost miraculous. The sight of the foe strongly entrenched, and determined to wait their attack, stimulated them in an extraordinary degree. Fatigued as they were by the labours they had undergone,--despondent from their five nights’ melancholy bivouac on the wet earth, it seemed as if a new life were suddenly infused into them. Diarrhœa and dysentery had not quite departed from their ranks, and many had returned to the vessels, unable to accompany the march. But when they stood on the hill-tops on that memorable morn, and saw the tents of the Russian army, not a man but felt the strength of a giant, and burned with a fierce desire to cross bayonets with the enemy. Many a brave fellow, who had staggered thus far leaning on a comrade’s arm, and ready to drop behind and perish by the wayside, begged for a draught of brandy, and then, forgetting his weakness, and deriving new strength from the occasion, shouldered his musket, took his wonted position among his comrades, and marched bravely to the encounter.
Although the spot where they had bivouacked was only three miles distant from the river, it was mid-day by the time the allied armies had reached its banks, and were drawn up in battle array. It had been arranged by the generals that the French should commence the attack, and they occupied the extreme right of the extended line. The division commanded by General Bosquet, including those renowned warriors, the African Zouaves, rested upon the sea, and the left of their army consisted of Prince Napoleon’s division. Joining this wing of our allies, the veteran Sir De Lacy Evans was posted with the Second Division, supported by the Third Division under Sir Richard England. Sir George Brown’s Light Division came next; and the Duke of Cambridge led his magnificent body of Guards and Highlanders to the extreme left, as a support to Sir George Brown. Sir George Cathcart had the important but less showy duty of acting as a reserve, and, in conjunction with the cavalry under the Earl of Cardigan, guarding the attacking forces from any sudden _coup_ by the Cossacks, who were hovering in suspicious proximity to our rear.
Such was the army, composed of the choicest troops, and led by the most experienced commanders of France and England, which stood prepared to attempt the dislodgment of the Russians from their strongly-fortified position. Prince Menschikoff, the Russian commander,--the same who, in his character of diplomatist, had been the agent through whom the first insult had been offered to Turkey,--now, by a singular destiny, was the first general upon whom it devolved to measure swords with the military champions whom that insult had called into the field. His army numbered about 54,000 men, so that numerically the opposing forces were very nearly matched; but the Russians had the advantage of their almost impregnable position, to approach which a river must be forded, broken ground crossed, and steep hills ascended. In addition, they were abundantly provided with guns, which were so positioned as to sweep the ground over which the attacking force must pass, while the Allies had but a small force of artillery. So confident was Menschikoff in his advantages, that he did not scruple to boast his ability to hold his position for at least three weeks against any force that could be brought against him. A number of ladies and civilians from Sebastopol had also assembled on the heights to witness the defeat and utter rout of the invaders.
The plan of the allied commanders was that the French should make a vigorous attack upon the Russian left, and when they had succeeded in driving them in upon the main body, the English, taking advantage of the confusion, were to cross the river, and endeavour to force the centre of the position. The enemy, we have already said, had considered that their left was sufficiently protected by the precipitous nature of the cliffs, which rendered them almost inaccessible; but it appears they had not calculated on the activity of the troops to whom they were opposed. The steamers of the allied fleets, shortly before ten o’clock, commenced a vigorous shelling of these heights, and soon drove back the small force of the enemy which occupied them. The mouth of the river was very narrow, and Captain Peel had moored a boat across the stream, which materially facilitated the passage of the French soldiers. The Zouaves, thoroughly seasoned and trained to the emergencies of guerilla warfare in Algeria, stealthily crossed the river, and commenced the ascent of the almost perpendicular cliffs, clinging like goats to the rocks, and finding a precarious foothold where probably no other soldiers in the world could have maintained their position. While they were thus approaching the plateau, the main body of the French army dashed through the river, exposed to a galling fire from the Russian riflemen,--who were hidden in the vineyards and plantations,--and desperately fighting, struggled up the hills. Meanwhile, the gallant Zouaves had reached the top of the cliffs, and, rapidly forming into line, charged the Russians, paralyzed by their sudden appearance, and drove them back. But in achieving this desperate feat, they had separated themselves from the main body, and cut off the possibility of retreat. The unfinished redoubt, which we have already mentioned, now opened a deadly fire on their ranks; and had it not been for the timely arrival of General Bosquet and the remainder of the division, who had succeeded in reaching the plateau, scarcely a Zouave would have remained to tell the tale of that gallant achievement. Prince Napoleon, too, had by this time crossed the stream, and arrived at the scene of action, and the indefatigable French artillerists had succeeded, with immense difficulty, in dragging a few guns up the steep hill-side.
Animated by these reinforcements, the brave Zouaves gallantly charged the Russian lines, now concentrated nearer the main body, and advanced towards the redoubt whose guns had inflicted such loss in their ranks. Two of their number, Lieutenant Poitevin and a sergeant, rushed in advance of their comrades, and leaping upon the works, planted the French flag on the redoubt. But they paid dearly for their temerity. The shouts of the French soldiers, hailing this gallant deed, had scarcely reached their ears, when they fell mortally wounded beneath the flag they had raised.
Taken by surprise by this desperate assault upon his left wing, Prince Menschikoff hastily detached considerable reinforcements from his main body to the succour of the embarrassed regiments yielding to the prowess of their French antagonists. Then the battle waged fiercely: the French, with all the chivalry of their race, gallantly charged the Russian masses, and at the bayonet’s point forced them to retreat. The enemy’s artillery, however, poured a tremendous fire into the ranks of our allies, and for a time the issue of the contest seemed doubtful. Some French regiments of the line were driven back, so deadly was the fire to which they were exposed; and nothing but the unflinching gallantry of the troops who were enabled to hold their ground, prevented them from being ignominiously precipitated from the cliffs they had so adventurously scaled.
Marshal St. Arnaud, alarmed for the safety of his soldiers, hundreds of whom were lying dead around him, so fatal were the volleys from the Russian guns and so sure the aim of the riflemen, hastily despatched an aide-de-camp to the English commander, calling upon him to bring his troops into action without a moment’s delay. “We are massacred,” was the message--certainly not the words which Napoleon, or Murat, or Ney, would have used when attacking an enemy considerably less in force than themselves; for, be it remembered, Menschikoff still held the centre of the position with the main body of the army, which had not yet been brought into action. At half-past one o’clock the order to advance was given to the English army. The soldiers, who had been lying down, so as not to expose themselves unnecessarily to the fire of the enemy, sprang to their feet, and rapidly formed into line. Sir G. Brown’s Light Division, and the Second Division, under Sir De Lacy Evans, were the first to dash into the stream, and through a perfect shower of balls from the riflemen concealed in the gardens, and heavier missiles from the batteries above, reached the opposite bank.
Since the commencement of the French attack, our artillery had been throwing shot into the Russian redoubts, and under cover of this cannonade, and the accurate fire of the Rifle Brigade, which protected our advance, the two leading divisions succeeded in crossing the stream, though not without great loss. The Russians had previously marked out the range of their guns, so that they were enabled to pour their volleys into our brigades, as they advanced to the stream, with fatal precision. The burning village of Burliuk, in front of the position occupied by Sir De Lacy Evans, necessitated the separation of his division. General Pennefather led the First Brigade and a portion of the Second across the river to the right of the village; the remainder, under General Adams, crossing to the left. The Light Division struggled manfully up the bank, which was rugged and precipitous. The ford was deep and dangerous, and as the men, drenched with water, scrambled up the banks, scores of their number fell back into the stream pierced by the fatal rifle bullet. But the blood of the gallant fellows was flowing hotly in their veins; those who, in other times, had borne the shock of battles, felt renewed the old spirit which had made them conquerors at Vimiera and at Waterloo; those who for the first time trod the fatal field felt an indescribable and fierce courage, which the sight of danger and of death infuses into most men. Six months of inaction and passive suffering were about to be consummated by a glorious victory, which should crown them as conquering heroes or immortalize their death. They had stood long “like greyhounds on the slips, straining upon the start;” now “the game was afoot,” and the old fire of English chivalry was rekindled, and burnt with as glowing a flame as of yore.
Quickly forming into line, and opening a sharp fire of musketry, the gallant Light Division rapidly advanced towards the conical hill opposite to which they had crossed, and immediately beneath the guns of the great redoubt. As they passed through the vineyards, the soldiers plucked and eagerly ate large bunches of the luscious Crimean grapes, which allayed their burning thirst, and somewhat cooled the mad fever of their excitement. Sir George Brown gallantly led the charge, and, mounted on a white horse, was a conspicuous mark for the enemy. The 7th Royal Fusiliers and the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers were among the first in the mad career. “Hurrah for the Royal Welsh! Well done! I will remember you!” shouted Sir George Brown; and animated by his voice and example, the gallant regiment dashed up the hill. Then there opened a sheet of fire, and when the smoke lifted, the 7th was broken, and a long line of dead marked the path of the fatal missiles. For a moment the brave soldiers struggled onwards, and then, blinded and confused, fell back to re-form. The Welsh Fusiliers, regardless of the fierce volleys, still pressed onwards. Once they paused, as Sir George Brown fell at their head, and rolled heavily on the blood-stained ground. In an instant he was up again unhurt, and cheering the men to the charge. His horse had fallen, pierced by eleven shots, but he was unhurt! They had reached the first stockade, had even planted their flag upon the works, when a shout was heard--“Cease firing; the French are in front!” Their gallant chief, Colonel Chester, rushing to the front, exclaimed, “No! no! on, lads!” As he spoke he fell mortally wounded. Then the regiment, confused by the contrary orders, and disheartened, _did_ fall back; and the Russians, returning to the guns from which the brave fellows had driven them, opened a fire which left a long line of dead through their columns. Nine officers and about one hundred men were stretched upon the field. The other regiments of the Light Brigade, the 19th, 33rd, 77th, and 88th, emulated the courage of the gallant Welshmen, who, after a moment’s breathing-time, re-formed, and joined once more in the heroic assault.