Case Study: The Battle Of Balaclava 1854 Flashcards
When was the battle of Balaclava ?
25 October 1854 and was a battle in the Crimean war
Phase one: Russian attack
Russians take control of Turkish held recounts and causeway heights just before dawn.
They make preparations to tow away the captured guns
Phase two: the thin red line
Think: outnumbered infantry
8:30am, 2,300 Russian cavalry attack 700 British infantry and Turkish forces.
The Brits and Turks formed a line two-men deep and fired repeated volleys towards the oncoming Russian cavalry
Nearby British artillery battery fired grapeshot.
Russian cavalry retreated
Phase 3: Small amounts of British cavalry charge
9:15am, 300 British heavy cavalry charged uphill at 2,000 Russian cavalry who had only recently appeared on the battlefield
They used mainly swords but pistols where also used
The Russian cavalry retreated back over the Causeway heights
Phase 4: The charge of the light brigade
11:00am, the British brigade of light cavalry charged with swords+pistols down the North valley towards the Russian don battery hoping to capture it
The Russian don battery fired at them from both sides and their front
Those who reached the battery where confronted by Russian cavalry and had little choice but to turn back
Less than half of the 673 who began the charge returned uninjured, 113 dead
The outcome of the battle
Russians claimed the battle was a victory. They had captured the redoubtable and the Causeway heights
However the both the brit infantry and cavalry showed superiority over the Russian troops that they engaged
The COTLB caused the British tremendous losses
What did the battle show ?
Artillery was beginning to have a greater impact in battle and could limit the effectiveness of the once all powerful cavalry charge
The heavy bombardments from Sevastopol also made it necessary that the Brits dug trenches for protection.
This type of ware-fare foreshadowed although on a smaller scale the fighting in WW1
