The Battle of Balaklava Flashcards
When was the Battle of Balaklava?
25th October 1854
What did the allies’ caution after the Battle of the Alma allow Menshikov to do?
to move the Russian army to occupy the Causeway Heights overlooking Balaklava
What did the Br do in response to the Russians moving to the Causeway Heights?
fearing this threat to the harbour & the road to Sevastopol the allies recalled troops from the siege
BUT the Russians still could have been able to take Balaklava if Menshikov had not been tentative
What 3 famous actions did the fighting at Balaklava give rise to?
the stand of the 93rd Foot
cavalry charges of the Heavy & Light brigades
Where did the 93rd Foot oppose the Russians?
having witnessed some Turks retreating M sent Russian cavalry forward BUT they were opposed north of Balaklava by the Highlanders of the 93rd Foot
How where the 93rd Foot positioned?
General Sir Colin Campbell had deployed his Highlanders on the reverse slope of a hill (out of artillery fire) BUT seeing the Russian cavalry he moved his men to the hilltop, lining up in 2 ranks
- this encouraged the Russians to charge since normally should have done a square (R saw as easy win)
Did the Russian cavalry crush the 93rd Foot?
NO the 500 Highlanders stood their ground against superior numbers & their Minie rifles inflicted heavy casualties on the R cav that couldn’t break the ‘thin red line’ & retreated after a second failed assault
What happened to the phrase the ‘thin red line’?
became a byword for steadfastness
- the original words were ‘a thin red streak topped with a line of steel’ = coined by The Times correspondent William H Russell (reporter studied later)
What did General Lord Lucan when he saw the success of the 93rd Foot?
he had moved the Br Cav Division (which he commanded) to support the Highlanders (93rd) & observing that the infantry had stood firm against the R cav he ordered one of the 2 heavy brigades to charge
Was the Heavy Brigade successful?
the 800 strong heavy brigade led by Genera Scarlett charged at the R uphill (the R stood still - if they had charged downhill might have been different)
- the Br cav broke through
- Br horse artillery opened fire on the R rear
- the R were in retreat
What did the Light Brigade do after the success of the Heavy Brigade?
infamous mishap:
- seeing R troops removing allied (Turkish) guns captured earlier on the Heights Raglan wanted Lucan to move to stop them
- Lord Cardigan’s light brigade has do far remained immobile
- BUT now Raglan ordered a staff officer, Nolan, to tell Lucan to send in Cardigan’s cavalry
Why was there confusion/miscommunication about the charge of the Light Brigade?
- none of the senior officers present had a clear view of events & Raglan’s order to advance was vague
- Lucan disliked Nolan & the 2 prbly didn’t share much discussion
- the only guns Lucan could see where R at the end of the North Valley (which had more enemy artillery batteries either side)
- when Cardigan was told to attack he asked for clarification (aware of the cost of such a charge)
- Lucan 7 Cardigan barely spoke (even tho brothers in law)
- Lucan insisted those were Lord Raglan’s orders
Was the Light Brigade charge successful & why/why not?
NO
- the LB charged towards the R guns & took heavy fire from front & sides
- Nolan was killed by an exploding R shell
- by the time the LB reacher the guns = over 1/2 the men had been killed/wounded w many horses lost
- the survivors fought against R artillerymen & were only saved by cover provided from a Fr cavalry charge
What was the death toll/no. wounded from the Charge of the Light Brigade?
113/673 death toll
134 wounded
(not as heavy as it might have been BUT the impact was immense)
What did the Charge of the Light Brigade become emblematic of?
leadership problems in the Crimea:
- poor planning
- poor communication
- vague generalship
- conflicting orders
& failings only balanced by the bravery of the soldiers
